price, disc changer,dts, dd, can play all formats
SOUND, PICTURE

haven't come across one yet.

I'm upgrading from the RCA that I've had 5yrs. or so. Did a lot of auditioning and online research before going with the
DV-C36. Didn't want to pay $700 for a DVD player, did a search on Ebay and got the price I was willing to pay.

Hookup/setup was very simple. Boy, is it deep, it just barely fits into the entertainment cabinet. Changer is cool, especially after having a single tray.

Now on to the reveiw. I like that it plays CDR's since I burn a few.

PICTURE: what an improvement, and I thought the RCA had a good picture. very sharp, you can see every little detail.
I did a side by side comparison, pain in the butt I know.
But how else to compare picture.

SOUND: AWESOME, did the same side by side comparison. now there's the HUGE difference. Put in Metallica S&M, 1st disc, 2nd track, Ktulu. You could hear the bass guitar before, but I could hear strings vibrate!! crystal clear. Went on to movies next, The Rock in DTS. When that first VX pearl hit the wall you could hear it break, never noticed that before.

Only problem I had was the 1st unit I received would play no video, played audio fine. Called Pioneer, they had me take it to an authorized repair center. They told me the DVM circuit board was no good. Sent it back to the vender, they sent me a new unit and that worked great.

Highly recommend this player.

Yamaha RX-V596
Pioneer DV-C36
Mitsubishi 27" monitor
Phase Tech PC-60(front)
Paradigm cc170(center)
Paradigm Atom(rear)
Paradigm PDR10 sub

Similar Products Used:

RCA

Audio, Picture, ease of use. 5 Disc changer.

None noted

Bought this after lots of research.
Great picture and I am only using S video on a 30" Toshiba TV. Has progressive scan for future.
Excellent audio, probably better than my regular CD player.
Using digital optical cable.
I think that this is a great buy in this price range (sub 500$).
Have watched several movies and they look and sound great on my system.
Very happy.

System:
Denon 1801
RBH 61 mains, RBH 661 Center
Polk S6 rears
Sony CD player
DH labs cables
ACI Titan sub

Similar Products Used:

Looked at several in stores and have used Toshiba higher end models before.

Audio and Video in this price range. Progressive scan. DVD/CD changer.

Remote. No 3:2 pulldown.

I bought this product last year just after it came out. I wanted to upgrade my Toshiba 3109 player after it started the famous problem of locking up watching some dvd's. I was set to buy a Marantz, but then saw this and decided to purchase it based upon the Elite name, features, and price. A progressive scan DVD changer under $500 seemed like a great buy, and the Elite line is known for it's video products.

I immediately heard an audible difference in both DD and DTS movies. Much more detail was present. Even my wife noticed!

On video, I had it connected to a 27" flat screen with component inputs. Great picture, but couldn't accept a progressive output.

3 weeks ago I bought a Mitsu WS-55857 55" HDTV. Hooked up the DV-C36 through the progressive input and WOW!!! What a picture!!! Toy Story 2 is stunning!

Conclusion: At the time, I felt this was a great buy. Today, I would also consider some of the other progressive scan players with 3:2 pulldown like the Toshiba 6200. Overall, I am very happy with the purchase.

My system:
Mitsubishi WS-55857 55" HDTV
Pioneer Elite DV-C36 Progessive DVD
Pioneer Elite 26TX THX-Ultra Receiver
B&W DM 602S2 front-soon to be upgraded
B&W DM CC6 center-soon to be upgraded
B&W DM 301 rears surrounds
Velo FSR-12 sub

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 3109

Number of Features at Price Point; Audio and Video Output Quality; CD Mode; Progressive Scan; Fit and Finish

Remote is Horrid; Lack of 3:2 Pulldown

I bought this nearly a year ago to consilidate my Sony CD Changer and Sony DVD Player.

Video -- Using S-Video Output right now. Watching "Heat" last night, I was amazed at the detail that was brought out in the dark scenes that are common in that movie. Great Black Level. Am looking forward to getting an HD-Ready TV, which is on its way to me, to test the progressive scanning.

Audio -- Sounds good running through the DAC in my Denon AVR-2801 receiver, solid bass and good soundstage. Wonderful presentation of DTS Audio, as witnessed by the DTS version of Santana's "Abraxas." Think the built-in audio DAC is decent when fed through Wireworld Solstice III interconnects, but not as good as the DAC in the receiver. Have tried to listen through a high-end DAC (can't remember the brand -- Birdland, maybe?) and the music was mellowed somewhat, almost like it was being fed through a tube amp. Didn't care for that.

Features -- Everything one could want except 3:2 Pulldown.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Single Disc DVD Player; Sony CDP-50 CD Changer

Sound of audio while playing CD's or DVDS
Very vivid Video
Progressive scan
DTS

Glitch with playing CD's in the Random mode. ANY track played in the random mode skips about 1/2 sec as if dropping a tone arm onto a record. Everything plays fine until the next random track is selected from the same cd or a different cd in the changer.

For the price I would reccomend this product. If you are going to play a lot of CD's in the "Random" mode it will drive you nuts and you might want to say away. I have not yet taken it to the factory authorized repair sataion. I will report back if/when they check it out. Also, the factory dealor, Future Home in Fresno says they will not take back there products they sell unless they do the installation. They are in the bussiness of complete installations not selling units piece by piece.

Plays all formats (less mp3) crystal clear picture and sound, no zoom - I hate zoom , its pointless. 3 year warranty is an excellent out of the box bonus- big selling point to me

On screen display could use some cleanup, upgraded remote would be better

I went out and bought this unit yesterday to replace my "no disc" Toshiba. I bought my Toshiba about a year and a half ago and had no problems. 2 nights ago we eject a rental and put in another DVD- no disc. 1 year warranty=pay through the nose. I went to the place I bought it from with my let down toshiba with one thing in mind- buy another changer. I looked around for a bit and the Pioneer DV-C36 caught my eye. Clean look from the front, simple hook up in the rear, plays CDR's and the "ELITE" name. Now I know from past experience in the Car Audio industry that "Elite" was the best of the best in car audio which in turn to me means that their home theatre must be equally as good. Comparison:


Toshiba Plus:

Better remote
Beep conformation
Better on screen display (much better to be precise)

Toshiba Minus:

No picture noise reduction
No tunable audio (low mid high)
No progressive scan (for those who can afford a High Def)

All in all I'd say they are comparable units, they both are changers and they both have their plusses and minusses.
Warranty sold me, 3 years of worry free use out of the box.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD4109x 6 disc changer

A multitude of audio & video outputs: analog, digital, optical audio outs, and component and s-video outs. Also, progressive scan for

None. (see review summary)

This is my first DVD player and I am very impressed by the obvious visual and audio improvements over VHS. I think it's important to note that I am using a Sony Trinitron, the picture of which is incredibly sharp and clear with realistic color representation. The S-video out makes connections a breeze (with a compatible TV, of course) and I like the ability to change the format (4:3, 4:3 pan, and 16:9) to suit your viewing desire. It also has a Cinematic
mode to enhance the lighting on really dark movies, perhaps this would be useful when watching in a completely dark room to simulate a theatre environment.

Audio playback of CDs is superb, with obvious sonic improvement over my late '90s Sony single-disc player, originally $125. The unit has no trouble playing all the brands of CD-Rs I own (Fuji, Sony, and TDK). I haven't tried a CD-RW yet, but I have 100% faith that CD-RWs will work fine. A neat feature is the CD-Mode, which causes the unit to skip over any DVDs in the tray and only play audio CDs, useful for non-interrupted music listening.

Apparently most reviewers like to bitch about the remote, but I find it full of useful features - saving me from getting off the couch as often! I believe they had to find SOMEthing wrong with the DV-C36 so the remote became the scapegoat.

Summary:
Buy this unit if you would like to immediately improve the audio playback of CDs compared to an inexpensive CD player, and if you want to have the option pf upgrading your TV to a progressive scan unit in the future without having to replace your DVD player. All this at a great price, get 'em while you can!

Excellent video & audio for the price
Plays CD-Rs

Remote

This is an upgrade for me from the Pioneer DV-414. Plus, I wanted a changer and one that plays CD-Rs. As an entry level Elite component for around $400 is a good buy. You get many of the Elite circuitry improvements not found on the other models.
I don't have an HD ready TV so I don't use the progressive scan. If I did have an HDTV I would rather have a more advanced player with 3:2 pull down anyway.
But even the standard video through components, is excellent. I notice an improvement in quality in both the picture and sound. Probably more in the audio.
I take the coax digital out and feed a Monarchy II digital processor before going to my receiver anyway, so this serves me fine as a CD/DVD combo player.
Lots of features to play around with. I like the 'CD Only ' feature which turns off the video circutry when playing music. Very nice feature.
My only real gripe is the remote which should be back-lit
and larger.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DV-414

Price, Plays CD-r's, Progressive Scan at under $400, 5 Disc changer, Seperate cicuitry for DVD and CD (CD Mode).

Not THX Certified, No 3-2 drop down, remote.

I purchased the Onkyo 601 changer 3 months ago from Ubid and got a lemon. Even when it worked I was less than impressed with the performance.

This is a preliminary review on this product because I have not actually received the unit yet, it is in transit currently. I thought some visitors may benefit from my considerable research. I spent over 10 hours of research to be sure I did not repeat my mistake of buying the refurbished ONKYO. I will say, after I contacted UBid via phone 3 months after the purchase they were very accomodating and gave me a 100% refund.

Ok, as for this unit. I currently own a Pioneer Elite VSX36-TX and am very happy so I immediately looked into Pioneer's Elite line of DVD players. This is the only Pioneeer Elite 5 disc changer. I was a little disappointed that this unit was not Dolby THX certified as the Onkyo was. I'm not sophisticated enough to know if this makes a big difference. It does come with Dolby Digital and Dolby DTS. A huge factors for me is the ability to play CD-R as well as regular cd's. From what I read, this unit comes with a CD only mode which has a seperate laser and circuitry to read the audio only.

This unit comes with progressive scan, which I understand offers a superior picture. While I do not have a progressive scan monitor yet, I like that I can get one in the future and not have to upgrade my DVd player. I hear the picture that this sends out is stunning in progressive scan mode.

the best prices I found were on EBay and Crazzieeddie.com. Both were in the $380 range. I chose to work with an established retailer rather than a private party. With shipping it was about $425.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 601

Very "un"Elite remote

This is a must have component for any film buff! I already own a Pioneer Elite LD player which I also love. This DVD player replaces a Sony DVP – S330. I have the Pioneer hooked into a 53” Sony HD TV. The Progressive Scan picture is stunning to say the least! I keep turning around and looking for the projector. The image is as close to the original film a person of average means, such as me, can find outside of their local multiplex. The sound is great too. I have it hooked into an Onkyo THX receiver, with Cambridge Soundworks speakers. (Tower, Center Channel Plus and the Surround). I also like the five-disc capacity as I use it as a CD player as well.

The only bad is the remote. Should have a backlight! Also the DVD player remote keeps turning on the LD player as well.

For the money look no further fellow film fans. This is it!

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-S330