Theater Mode which adjusts the picture preferences to that more akin to a theater. Animation mode for those DISNEY DVD!!!(wont work on LD's).
Quick Flip
AC3 Output
Onscreen Graphic Interface

20 Bit DAC instead of 24
No DTS Output

NICE PLAYER!!! I bought this conbo player at Sears on clearance for $499.97. Quite the markdown from the original M.S.R.P. The player has a few nice touches-Quick flip for LDs, Theater Mode which adjusts the picture preferences to that more akin to a theater. Animation mode for those DISNEY DVD!!!(wont work on LD's).
For those of you who cant afford the 919 or if DTS is unimportant (Very small selection currently) check out your local Sears.

LD picture is smooth. Great sound. DVD picture quality overall is excellent. LDs load quickly. DVD chapter advance is fast. Plays CD-Rs. Unlike some players, this player does not "skip" like some do with The Matrix.

DVD picture quality not quite what it could be. Remote is small, small buttons. Not DTS. LD picture is smooth, but colors are somewhat dull. Slight lip-sink problems.

Great combo player. Good player for someone who doesn't want to give up their LDs yet. Confident that it will read movies and not skip.

Would like to know how to upgrade to DVL 91 specs and upgrade firmware to get rid of lip-sink problems.

I bought mine on clearance for $345 -- nothing touches this player for that price.

Similar Products Used:

Samsung DVD 927. Mitsubishi LD player.

superb video, best combi player in the world

no DTS but easily upgraded

i have had this unit for over a year now and love it each time i use it. Some of the complaints here are justified however some are unfounded. This machine is truly codefree as i have played region 2 disks while i was stationed in england. I have been able to record all my discs for friends (oops copywrite) without any problems. I guess maybe my machine is more versatile then those sold in the states. Anyway great job by pioneer.

Similar Products Used:

ld-900

This is a forum for audio. On the basis of sound quality alone this player is on par with typical budget cd players. Definitely no competion for a high end player

The DVL909 is the replacement for the now discontinued DVL700. At first hand when I brought home the unit the physical dimensions are practically identical.(the DVL909 upon further inspection is about 20mm taller) My first impression is that the unit is more civilised in it,s look, almost bland in appearance compared to the DVL700. This soon grows on you and actually is less cluttered and busy. It still retains all of the features that were accessible on the older unit, i.e display off, FF,RW and the flashing light signifying the type of disc by color. (the flashing light is much smaller but less protruding and still able to convey it's information) There are still two doors to separate smaller medium from larger ones. (dvd,cd,ld,cdvideo) All connections on the rear are retained and there is even new ones to the addition, DVL909 now has component outputs for those lucky few that will utilize it. The remote could not be any cheaper it seems at first hand but again soon grows on you and all the buttons seem to be in the correct place just when you need them. Yes the old remote was almost futuristic in it's look and feel but had it's ergonomic flaws.

The biggest difference between the two units on paper (other than the mentioned componenet output) is the addition of a new 10bit video processor as opposed to the older 9bit. So what you say but does it show and tell? Well yes the picture from DVD and laserdisc ( the laserdisc does not benefit from the 10bit) is better in every respect, color, contrast and sharpness. I can honestly say now it now strongly competes well in terms of picture quality to some of the better DVD players. (Toshiba and Sony) The sound is identical to the older one in everyway. The GUI (graphic user interface) is much simpler and easier to comprehend in it's operation and step by step set-up. The older unit suffered had some playback problems with some DVD's. Well I am here to tell you that the bugs have been ironed out in the new unit. (Guess it may be a little early to tell but so far, 2 weeks) Finally, the bit counter that every videophile was talking about on the Sony which tells you how many bits each frame is using.....can now be enjoyed on the Pioneer. Bravo Pioneer for a job well done.

The DVL909 is the replacement for the now discontinued DVL700. At first hand when I brought home the unit the physical dimensions are practically identical.(the DVL909 upon further inspection is about 20mm taller) My first impression is that the unit is more civilised in it,s look, almost bland in appearance compared to the DVL700. This soon grows on you and actually is less cluttered and busy. It still retains all of the features that were accessible on the older unit, i.e display off, FF,RW and the flashing light signifying the type of disc by color. (the flashing light is much smaller but less protruding and still able to convey it's information) There are still two doors to separate smaller medium from larger ones. (dvd,cd,ld,cdvideo) All connections on the rear are retained and there is even new ones to the addition, DVL909 now has component outputs for those lucky few that will utilize it. The remote could not be any cheaper it seems at first hand but again soon grows on you and all the buttons seem to be in the correct place just when you need them. Yes the old remote was almost futuristic in it's look and feel but had it's ergonomic flaws.
The biggest difference between the two units on paper (other than the mentioned componenet output) is the addition of a new 10bit video processor as opposed to the older 9bit. So what you say but does it show and tell? Well yes the picture from DVD and laserdisc ( the laserdisc does not benefit from the 10bit) is better in every respect, color, contrast and sharpness. I can honestly say now it now strongly competes well in terms of picture quality to some of the better DVD players. (Toshiba and Sony) The sound is identical to the older one in everyway. The GUI (graphic user interface) is much simpler and easier to comprehend in it's operation and step by step set-up. The older unit suffered had some playback problems with some DVD's. Well I am here to tell you that the bugs have been ironed out in the new unit. (Guess it may be a little early to tell but so far, 2 weeks) Finally, the bit counter that every videophile was talking about on the Sony which tells you how many bits each frame is using.....can now be enjoyed on the Pioneer. Bravo Pioneer for a job well done.

I have lived with this machine for a few weeks now and think it has some good, but also bad points. Let's begin with the bad ones:
- It is a very noisy player. Especially with Laserdisc, but also DVD, you really have to sit far away from the player and not play at too soft a level, to prevent the noise from the mechanics disturbing you.
- I dont't find the build in DAC very inspiring. Using an external DAC really helps here.
- It won't play DVDs from any region. Just the region it was sold in. This can be solved by a fairly simple modification.

Now the good points:

- A perfect image as far as I am concerned from DVD as well as Laserdisk. I found the 'cinema' mode very useful for the playback of laserdisks. It enhances contrast and makes for blacker blacks.
- It has a very good CD transport. Use it with a good DAC and you will be surprised by the improvement it makes to the sound. Use a good digital cable, like the 'Van Den Hul The First'.

I think this machine is 'good' in most departments. I would rate it 'excellent' in the picture quality department however. As for sound quality: not even on par with a good mid price CD player.

This is a great combi-player!DVDs and LDs picture quality is really better than my previous Pioneer DVL-700 DVD/LD player, probably due to the 10 bits video processor. But what I really liked this model is the possibility of to dodge the stupid area code and MAcrovision protection. If you own a DVL-909, look at the www! You will find some very explicit sites teaching you how to kill the area codes and Macrovision protections!! Thanks to that sites I watching now ANY DVD made in US, Japan, Brazil, etc.

I have over 70 Laserdiscs, and I wasn't about to get rid of all of them just yet. I wanted a DVD player, and figured this was the unit to get. I've had a Pioneer LD forever, and knew I could trust this one......
I've had this unit for over 7 months. I really like it, but there are some features missing from the $299 units out there today.

The only complaints I have are with features. Just about every DVD player out there now has a zoom feature, which is missing from the 909. Also- When playing Laserdiscs, the unit does not display time remaining for the disc (it does for DVDs).

All in all, it's a very reliable unit. I reccommend it if you have a large laser collection and aren't ready to part with it yet.

Hi! I'm so glad to have the DVL 909 the secong generation DVD player.The 10 bit video procesing is more clearer than the 9 bit before. I play my DVD's at a superved A/V reproduction, with my Yamaha 995 reciever.
I like to have the new model 919 coz of the DTS feature but aside that
they are all thesame in feature I think. Even I have mine last year of May 98
I had a very high price of closed to 1000 u.s. dollar.
I f some of you have the 919 please let me know the other difference
in general & comparison