I had the 400v a couple of months ago before I returned it back to the store. The reason why I returned it is because it had grainy pq. I bought the new Sony DVP-NS700H a couple of weeks ago and returned it, because I did not like it. I had to go to 2 Best Buy stores to look and buy the 410V, because one of the stores were out of stock and my Oppo DV-983H shipped yesterday.

This comparison was done on a Sharp Aquos 37 inch lcd tv (I will be buying a 42 inch tv this summer) and by memory for the Sony DVP-NS700H and 400V. The audio performace was done with HDMI and my Yamaha RX-V1800 receiver. Now here is my comparison on each dvd player, except the Oppo DV-983H since I have not received it and it would not be fair for comparing a $399 dvd player to a dvd player that costs under $100.


Picture Quality and Video Performace
1. Pioneer DV-410V - The best pq against the Sony DVP-NS700H and Pio DV-400V. PQ was not grainy at all, it has a sharp and clear image. Colors looked decent. HQV testing on this dvd player was very solid.
2. Sony DVP-NS700H - Overall not as good as the DV-410, but decent. I noticed artifacts in the pq. PQ has edge enhancement that I can not get rid of and it had a somewhat grainy image. Colors as good as the DV-410. HQV testing was not as good DV-410.
3. Pioneer DV-400V - Very grainy pq, a lot of artifacts. The worst out of the two other dvd players. HQV testing was worse than the DVP-NS700H and DV-410V.

Build
1. Pioneer DV-410V - Excellent build for the price.
2. Pioneer DV-400V - Good build, but not as good as the DV-410V, because there is more weight in the DV-410V.
3. Sony DVP-NS700H - Decent, but not has good as its previous model and not as good as either Pioneer dvd player as mentioned here.

Audio Performace
1. Pioneer DV-410V - I feel that the HDMI audio is better with this player than the other 2 dvd players. HDMI audio is more fuller and dynamic.
2. Sony DVP-NS700H and Pioneer DV-400V - both sounded the same.

Overall
1. Pioneer has done a great job on the DV-410V and they improved in all areas that I did not like about the DV-400V.
2. Sony DVP-NS700H is just a good basic dvd player. Nothing special about it.

Right now I will be staying with the DV-410V but I should have waited this Friday to buy it from Best Buy because I received a 12% off coupon from the mail today, maybe they will honor the 12% off coupon this Friday. The Oppo DV-983 that I ordered will be delivered to me tomorrow. The big question is: Is the Oppo DV-983H worth the extra money from the Pioneer DV-410V?

Thought 400 and 410 were exactly the same other than cosmetic. Did they both score different on HQV?? I currently have the Sony and thinking of returning it, has too much digital noise.

Thought 400 and 410 were exactly the same other than cosmetic. Did they both score different on HQV?? I currently have the Sony and thinking of returning it, has too much digital noise.
They both scored different on HQV. The 410v scored higher than the 400v. The 410v video processor chip which is the same as the 400 has been tweaked. I did some more testing with the 410v tonight and I'm having second thoughts about it and I may return it tomorrow or Thursday. The new results are:
1. The 410v has a less vivid and less detail picture quality than the Sony DVP-NS700h. I noticed this in dvd movies.
2. The 410v does not pass blacker then black or whiter than white with HDMI even when I change the brightness level and contrast level settings in the picture adjustment screen. The NS700h does pass btb and wtw when I changed the brightness level up about 4 notches in the player and change the contrast level up about 2 or 3 notches.

Can't wait till my Oppo DV-983 arrives tomorrow. If I don't like it or I dom't feel it is worth the money, I will be returning it and rebuying the Sony DVP-NS700h again. I'm pretty sure that I will like it as a many 983h owners like theirs.

BTW I got the sony 700h to look some what good. Its way more noisy at 1080p than 1080i. Also lowering the sharpness on the tv helped out a bunch, especially with the EE. Seems like the player is overly sharpening the pic.

Here is an update:
I returned the DV410 about 2 weeks ago and I purchased the Philips DVP5990 a few days ago. Now here is a comparison on the Oppo DV-983H and the Philips DVP5990.

The comparison was done with my 37 inch Sharp Aquos LCD TV and my Yamaha RX-V1800 receiver. Here are the catorgories I done with the comparsion:
1. Picture quality
2. HDMI audio
3. Build quality
4. Better remote
5. Reliability

Here are the detailed results:
Picture Quality
983H - I noticed more detail in the image than in the DVP5990. The color renderation is excellent in this player, that the colors have a bolder and natural look to them. The image that the 983H produces are clear, sharp, free of jaggies, and the image has an almost a 3D look to it.

DVP5990 - For the price of the unit, the pq was decent but soft, but when I had the Sony DVP-NS700H and Pioneer DV-410V, I felt that both units had better pq quality. I felt the the color renderation from the DVP5990 was lacking, the detail was lacking also too, and I noticed a lot of jaggies.

HDMI Audio
983H - The HDMI audio output had a smoother and more detail sound coming from its output.

DVP5990 - The HDMI audio output had a rougher and less detail sound.

Build Quality
983H - Excellent build. Good for a $399 dvd player.

DVP5990 - Good for its price range.

Remote
983H - Very responsive. Feels good on the hand.

DVP5990 - I had to press buttons on it twice or 3 times in order to get a response. Terrible remote and awful feel on the hand.

Reliablity
983H - So far it has been reliable, except for a few times. For a few times when I press the power button to shut down with the tray open, it does not go off, it just closes the tray and the display reads disc loading.

DVP5990 - It started to act unreliable today. Each time when I turn on the unit I get no picture. To solve this I had to unplug it and replug it to get a picture, but when I do this I just get PCM audio from movies.

Conclusion
So far I'm happier with the Oppo DV-983H then with the Philips DVP5990 and both the Sony DVP-NS700H and Pioneer DV-410V. I will be returning the DVP5990 back to the store tomorrow. At first I felt that the Oppo DV-983H was not worth the extra money, that I requested a return a few days ago, and I was wrong. I'm glad that I gave the Oppo DV-983H another shot. Now I have email Oppo to cancel the return.

What was wrong with the 980h that it wasnt included in part of this test?

The 980H is far closer in price to the Pio or Sony than the 983 was.

I decided that I will be returning the Oppo DV-983H, because it was past my budget for a dvd player, I won't be using all the features, and I could save the money towards one of the new Pioneer blu-ray players that will be released this summer or a brand new 1080P TV.

Today I exchanged the Philips DVP5990 for the Pioneer DV-410V. On post #3, I forgot to recalbrate my screen to make the proper comparison against the Sony DVP-NS700H. I just now done calbrating my tv with the DV-410V and I'm pretty impressed with it so far. The DV-410V now has the best pq against the DVP5990 and DVP-NS700H and very close to the 983H. Out of the DVD players that I tried for under $100, the DV-410V is the best one.

The answer to my original question "Is the Oppo DV-983H worth the extra money from the Pioneer DV-410V?" In my opinion, the Oppo DV-983H is not worth the extra money, because I don't have desire to purchase any SACDs or DVD-Audios or use any of the features it has, and the DV-410V has pq that is very close to it. The DV-410V is the perfect dvd player for me.

On a 37inch you really won't see much difference from the oppo. The 983 excels at 60+ and projection screens when the pic is stretched. Anyways, I returned the sony 700 and have a oppo 980 coming to me. Even though it costs more its universally praised, got tired of buying, returning and programming my harmony. I'd rather pay little more for a great product and support. I'll most likely never play an audio cd/dvda or sacd on it.

Understand that until they firmware fix the Oppo's, all of them have subtitling problems with divx and xvid files. 20 characters and over gets cut off.

They are still looking into it right now.

The answer to my original question "Is the Oppo DV-983H worth the extra money from the Pioneer DV-410V?" In my opinion, the Oppo DV-983H is not worth the extra money, because I don't have desire to purchase any SACDs or DVD-Audios or use any of the features it has, and the DV-410V has pq that is very close to it. The DV-410V is the perfect dvd player for me.

Thanks for the input on the DV-410. I'm about ready to pull the trigger and hooking it to a Sammy 52a650. Any more input on that player before I buy.

Kage - IIRC, didn't you try out the Sony DVP-NS77H last year? If so, what are your thoughts on that versus the Sony NS700H and the Pioneer 410? You've piqued my curiosity on the 410 with your comment "HQV testing on this dvd player was very solid." I currently own the 77H but have been considering using it in a spare room and getting a new player for the HT. I, like you, also wouldn't use all the bells and whistles of the new Oppo so I'm looking for a solid DVD-Video player.

Kage - IIRC, didn't you try out the Sony DVP-NS77H last year? If so, what are your thoughts on that versus the Sony NS700H and the Pioneer 410? You've piqued my curiosity on the 410 with your comment "HQV testing on this dvd player was very solid." I currently own the 77H but have been considering using it in a spare room and getting a new player for the HT. I, like you, also wouldn't use all the bells and whistles of the new Oppo so I'm looking for a solid DVD-Video player.
Yes, I had the Sony DVP-NS77H then I sold it a couple of months ago. I felt that Sony took a few steps backwards in the DVP-NS700H from NS77H in how they tweaked the video processing chip. In my opinion, the DVP-NS700H has inferior pq (more grain, less vivid colors, softer, and less bright), more edge enhancement than the NS77H.

Pioneer has a winner with the DV-410. They tweaked the video processoring chip very well that it scored higher in HQV testing than both the NS700H and NS77H. The DV-410 has superior pq than both the NS700H and NS77H. The DV-410 has more vivid color, better detail, brighter picture, better sharpness, clear, less grain, and none of the edge enchancement that the Sony has.

In conclusion, I would stay away from the Sony DVP-NS700H, because its inferior to the DVP-NS77H. I highly recommend the Pioneer DV-410V.

Thanks Kage!

Kage, have you used the usb on the 410? Is it USB 1.1 or 2.0. I can't find it specified anywhere. I'm interested in playing Dvix movies and hoping it's a usb 2.0 interface.

Kage, have you used the usb on the 410? Is it USB 1.1 or 2.0. I can't find it specified anywhere. I'm interested in playing Dvix movies and hoping it's a usb 2.0 interface.
I wrote an email to Pioneer a few days ago and yesterday I received an email from them and they said that the 410V has USB 2.0. I don't not have any Divx movies to see if it is true.

I wrote an email to Pioneer a few days ago and yesterday I received an email from them and they said that the 410V has USB 2.0. I don't not have any Divx movies to see if it is true.


I think you need to send another e-mail and ask whether the Pioneer is capable of TRANSFERRING at USB 2.0 speed. There is a difference between USB 2.0 compliant and high-speed USB 2.0 transfer capability.

A device can be USB 2.0 compliant, meaning that it can accept a connection from USB 2.0 devices, but it will only process/transfer data at USB 1.1 speeds.

I had the same question and most have suggested that the 400/410 is USB 1.1. I have not seen anyone definitively find that the 400/410 can actually transfer data at USB 2.0 speeds. There was some recent discussion about this in the Pioneer 400V owner's thread on this forum.

I am sure that the Pioneer has better PQ, but I think Pioneer missed the boat by not keeping up with the times.

I think you need to send another e-mail and ask whether the Pioneer is capable of TRANSFERRING at USB 2.0 speed. There is a difference between USB 2.0 compliant and high-speed USB 2.0 transfer capability.

A device can be USB 2.0 compliant, meaning that it can accept a connection from USB 2.0 devices, but it will only process/transfer data at USB 1.1 speeds.

I had the same question and most have suggested that the 400/410 is USB 1.1. I have not seen anyone definitively find that the 400/410 can actually transfer data at USB 2.0 speeds. There was some recent discussion about this in the Pioneer 400V owner's thread on this forum.

I am sure that the Pioneer has better PQ, but I think Pioneer missed the boat by not keeping up with the times.

I understand how some have alot of people have movie files they want to few on a large screen TV and how having a USB port on there DVD player is a pretty convenient way of doing so especially if its critical that the port on the player be USB 2.0 to stream the movies smoothly.

With that said, its a matter of preference which feature is important to who. Personally for me PQ is higher on my list of requirements for a player then a USB port since I rarely if ever have a need to view movie files from my PC on my DVD player. The DV-410V though seems like a more solid player all around then the Philips which seems to be its main contender as far as players with USB ports that claim to have USB 2.0.

I have done quite a bit of searching on the net for the DV-410V and it seems like it goes for about $99 everywhere that I have seen it. Best Buy last time I was there had it for $99 as well so I rather pay 8% tax then $10 to $15 for shipping from an online retailer. If anyone knows of a place that does sell this for less then $99 please let me know, thanks.

I have done quite a bit of searching on the net for the DV-410V and it seems like it goes for about $99 everywhere that I have seen it. Best Buy last time I was there had it for $99 as well so I rather pay 8% tax then $10 to $15 for shipping from an online retailer. If anyone knows of a place that does sell this for less then $99 please let me know, thanks.


Would like to have both PQ and USB2.0 speed tranfer rate on one machine but....

Pioneer has a promotion through June 16th

DVD Player with 1080p DVD Upscaling (DV-410) - 30% Off List Price
Comes with HDMI output, USB port for enjoying music, photos and video and video upscaling to 1080p for enhanced image quality

Use Promotion Code: 11WHSB6B5H

http://pioneer-usa.rsys1.net/servlet/cc6?igjQSRYUQTVIpttoOhgnxnuHptQJhuVaVA

Would like to have both PQ and USB2.0 speed tranfer rate on one machine but....

Pioneer has a promotion through June 16th

DVD Player with 1080p DVD Upscaling (DV-410) - 30% Off List Price
Comes with HDMI output, USB port for enjoying music, photos and video and video upscaling to 1080p for enhanced image quality

Use Promotion Code: 11WHSB6B5H

http://pioneer-usa.rsys1.net/servlet/cc6?igjQSRYUQTVIpttoOhgnxnuHptQJhuVaVA

Hey thanks alot man, that saved me about $25 from the $99 list price.

Hey thanks alot man, that saved me about $25 from the $99 list price.

not a problem :)

not a problem :)

Thanks again. Went ahead and placed my order and even with tax and 2nd day air shipping I still saved almost $30 bucks from buying it from Best Buy for $99 plus tax.

It is going to be a surprise gift for a friend of mine who just recently purchased a Sony KDL-52XBR4 and he doesnt own a BR player or a upconverting DVD player. This will definitely be a welcome addition to his setup.

Here's a coupon link for up to 12% off on dvd players from Best Buy. http://emailinfo.bestbuy.com/P/v3/CouponWrapper.asp?E=10543;069696;1373754230;1;02&R=T1_CPN_50532&A=1007&ci=50532.

Understand that until they firmware fix the Oppo's, all of them have subtitling problems with divx and xvid files. 20 characters and over gets cut off.

They are still looking into it right now.

I had a similar problem with Divx and .srt subtitle on my 983, until I changed the font size to Font 2, then the problem was gone.

Cheers

Here's a coupon link for up to 12% off on dvd players from Best Buy. http://emailinfo.bestbuy.com/P/v3/CouponWrapper.asp?E=10543;069696;1373754230;1;02&R=T1_CPN_50532&A=1007&ci=50532.

Thanks Kage. I may use that to go buy the 5990 for the bedroom to view my divix files at usb2.0 transfer speed. I ordered the 410 for the HT setup already.

Would like to have both PQ and USB2.0 speed tranfer rate on one machine but....

Pioneer has a promotion through June 16th

DVD Player with 1080p DVD Upscaling (DV-410) - 30% Off List Price
Comes with HDMI output, USB port for enjoying music, photos and video and video upscaling to 1080p for enhanced image quality

Use Promotion Code: 11WHSB6B5H

http://pioneer-usa.rsys1.net/servlet/cc6?igjQSRYUQTVIpttoOhgnxnuHptQJhuVaVA

Thanks for that! Just bought my dad his first upconverting player. :)

So does the 410 have USB 2.0 or not?

I just ordered one under the impression that it does. Still time to cancel if it doesn't...

Thanks for that! Just bought my dad his first upconverting player. :)

I just bought one for my Dad too! :D

Thanks a bunch to 650guy for posting that promotional code!!

I had a similar problem with Divx and .srt subtitle on my 983, until I changed the font size to Font 2, then the problem was gone.

Cheers


The problem still occurs regardless of size of font. You can easily test this with the divxtestcd suite which is free

Hi Kage,

Great feedback on your testing. I am trying to find the audio output for Pioneer 410v. Did you get to feed the output to a audio receiver for surround sound speakers? The spec says it only has a 2 channel DTS decoder. How did it work with a 5.1 or a 7.1 audio system? Also since your last message did you get to play any Divx or Xvid files through USB? Appreciate your feedback.

Thanks
Ik

Wheres It At

Hi Kage,

Great feedback on your testing. I am trying to find the audio output for Pioneer 410v. Did you get to feed the output to a audio receiver for surround sound speakers? The spec says it only has a 2 channel DTS decoder. How did it work with a 5.1 or a 7.1 audio system? Also since your last message did you get to play any Divx or Xvid files through USB? Appreciate your feedback.

Thanks
Ik

2-channel? WTF?

I have intentionally been seeking out dts DVDs. If this thing will only support 2-channels, I'm screwed.

2-channel? WTF?

I have intentionally been seeking out dts DVDs. If this thing will only support 2-channels, I'm screwed.
If you have a receiver that has DTS decoding, you don't need to worry about the 2 channel DTS decoder in the DV-410V, because dvds that have DTS will bypass the the DV-410V decoder and bitstream the signal to your receiver, so that you'll get either 5.1 channel or 6.1 channel sound.

*Phew*

Yes, my receiver does support dts. Do I need to set anything in the 410's menu for it to bitstream?

And does this mean that I don't need to pay any attention to whether or not the player itself supports dts? Because that was most of the reason I wasn't looking at a Philips player.

*Phew*

Yes, my receiver does support dts. Do I need to set anything in the 410's menu for it to bitstream?

And does this mean that I don't need to pay any attention to whether or not the player itself supports dts? Because that was most of the reason I wasn't looking at a Philips player.
Disable HDMI audio and turn on the digital output in the settings and enable DTS and Dolby Digital. I prefer to have the DTS logo on dvd players, because its guaranteed to bitstream the DTS signal.

Thanks. :)

I'm trying to understand why it is that Pioneer went with 2ch for the 410? I had the 400 and I don't recall it being limited to 2ch.

Thanks. :)

I'm trying to understand why it is that Pioneer went with 2ch for the 410? I had the 400 and I don't recall it being limited to 2ch.
Because it has 2 channel analog outputs and the dv-400 also had the 2 channel DTS decoder.

Kage or anyone else with any of these players:

Anyone try any region free capabilities and any PAL-NTSC situations? Comments?

kage...
after you re-calibrated your tv for the dv-410v did you notice if it passes below black or above white signals?

also, would you say the difference in quality between the dv-410v and the dvp5990 is night and day especially when it comes to jaggies?

Disable HDMI audio and turn on the digital output in the settings and enable DTS and Dolby Digital. I prefer to have the DTS logo on dvd players, because its guaranteed to bitstream the DTS signal.


That didn't work. :(

I set HDMI audio to off and there isn't a setting to turn either DTS or Dolby off, so they're on it looks like. But I only get stereo to my receiver. And I don't get the DTS/Dolby Digital logos on my receiver's display with the 410 like I do when using my HD-A20.

Help. :(

Read page 35-36 of your Pioneer manual to setup your digital audio outputs correctly.

Got it. My receiver reverted to Stereo for some reason.

Kage or anyone else with any of these players:

Anyone try any region free capabilities and any PAL-NTSC situations? Comments?

Yes.. I'd like to hear about this also as I'm looking for a player that will play both types.

Thanks!

I'm curious how any/all (particularly the Pioneer DV-400V) of these DVD players handle older discs, scratched discs and dvd+/-r? My current 3+ year old Sony is having progressive problems playing through these discs and at some point soon I'll have to replace it. Also, the online rental discs I get are usually in less-than-new condition. Thoughts?

Thanks so much for this thread...it's full of really helpful info!

I'll second varaonaid's request on info regarding playback of scratched discs as well as dvd +/-r. I'm sick and tired of my backups (with no read errors) skipping in my player but not on my computer! Drives me crazy that I usually end up watching the end of a movie on my laptop because my Xoros (I know, there's my first problem but I needed a cheap PAL/NTSC machine about 3 years ago) apparently can't read the outer portions of a disc very well. At this point, I'd sacrifice picture quality for a player that could play ANYTHING you throw at it! Thanks in advance.

I'll second varaonaid's request on info regarding playback of scratched discs as well as dvd +/-r. I'm sick and tired of my backups (with no read errors) skipping in my player but not on my computer! Drives me crazy that I usually end up watching the end of a movie on my laptop because my Xoros (I know, there's my first problem but I needed a cheap PAL/NTSC machine about 3 years ago) apparently can't read the outer portions of a disc very well. At this point, I'd sacrifice picture quality for a player that could play ANYTHING you throw at it! Thanks in advance.

Ohhhhh, I feel your pain! Not even an hour ago we missed watching the end of a movie because it just wouldn't play through - and this was on a new commercial disc!! It's just painful to know the ending is right there on that little disc and you can't see it...

So, we're looking forward to any info on the read capabilities of the 410 player.

Thanks again!

This is my take after testing the Philips 5992 (same as 5990), Sony DVP-NS700 and Pioneer DV-410V. My display device is a 62" Mitsubishi DLP.

Philips
Pros: Price, USB port
Cons: Less refined, low color output, low quality picture when paused

Sony
Pros: Very good picture quality, lots of menu options
Cons: no usb port, not Divx compatible

Pioneer
Pros: Very good picture quality, USB port, high build quality and finish
Cons: Black level, auto power off is not adjustable, low quality picture when paused

All players played discs of varying condition (scratched, damaged...) and load times were about the same.

Overall the Sony and Pioneer are very close is picture quality. If a USB port and Divx playability is not important I would recommend the Sony. If Divx is a must have the Pioneer is the way to go. Its worth the extra money over the Philips.

Consumer Reports top rated the Pioneer. It rated equal to the Sony DVP-NC800H which appears to be a multi-DVD version of the DVP-NS700. My take from comments of users here and elsewhere is the Pioneer is better build, but the performance difference may be minimal. The problem for me is the Pioneer has no optical digital output and my receiver only has one coaxial input currently occupied by my TV's output. To those of you who think the Pioneer performs better, do you think the performance difference is good enough for me to give up surround sound from my broadcast TV stations? (I know the Oppo would probably be the best choice, but I am only looking at players less than $100, unless I go Blu-Ray.)

BTW I got the sony 700h to look some what good. Its way more noisy at 1080p than 1080i. Also lowering the sharpness on the tv helped out a bunch, especially with the EE. Seems like the player is overly sharpening the pic.


:D oh , and i think what you are said is so professional , and i am also play the game for a long time , but i think i can not play it well ,a nd i am also do not understand the thing in it

Maybe new players will be announced in CES, but i don't think the will get much better from 410....

Maybe new players will be announced in CES, but i don't think the will get much better from 410....

If Pioneer uses the same chip that's in their new Blu players it might. :)

Can the display be turned off or dimmed? I know this isn't an important feature, but I prefer to be able to turn off the time display when watching a movie.

Hello. I recently bought the Pioneer 410V-K, and I just want to make sure I'm getting the best PQ possible. I have a Panasonic 42PX50U...the Pioneer...and a Yamaha YHT-390...all via HDMI from Monoprice.
I used a THX Optimizer for the TV settings, and the only thing I changed on the player is -1 gamma (everything else is 0). If it matters, the TV's settings are:
-Picture mode...Normal (Cinema seems too dark for my tastes)
-Contrast......+25
-Brightness....+11
-Color...........+9
Everything else is 0. Color Management ON....Temperature NORMAL....Video NR ON
I was wondering how much you guys change the player's settings in relation to the display's settings. Is it better, for the most part, to leave the player's settings to 0? Or do you play around with the settings on the player, then adjust the display accordingly (i.e. increase brightness on player....then decrease brightness on display)?
Stupid questions, I know, but I just want to make sure I'm getting the best PQ possible. Thanks in advance.

Hello. I recently bought the Pioneer 410V-K, and I just want to make sure I'm getting the best PQ possible. I have a Panasonic 42PX50U...the Pioneer...and a Yamaha YHT-390...all via HDMI from Monoprice.
I used a THX Optimizer for the TV settings, and the only thing I changed on the player is -1 gamma (everything else is 0). If it matters, the TV's settings are:
-Picture mode...Normal (Cinema seems too dark for my tastes)
-Contrast......+25
-Brightness....+11
-Color...........+9
Everything else is 0. Color Management ON....Temperature NORMAL....Video NR ON
I was wondering how much you guys change the player's settings in relation to the display's settings. Is it better, for the most part, to leave the player's settings to 0? Or do you play around with the settings on the player, then adjust the display accordingly (i.e. increase brightness on player....then decrease brightness on display)?
Stupid questions, I know, but I just want to make sure I'm getting the best PQ possible. Thanks in advance.

It is better to use the display device's (TV's) controls to set up the picture quality. If the picture still looks sub par to you after that, then go ahead and try to enhance it a bit with the player's controls. The Pioneer DV-410 does not pass through any "Darker than Dark" black levels. (I have a cheap little Toshiba SD4000 that I paid $29 for and its black levels are truly superior to the DV-410's, oddly enough!) Nevertheless, the DV-410's peformance is VERY good, if not excellent.

And yes, it does have USB 2.0 and the attendant transfer rates, just make sure your memory stick does, too :cool:

There is a dedicated Pioneer DV-410K thread on this forum, so go ahead and read that over from start to finish. There is a Swedish guy who builds firmware updates for it and they add a lot of good features :D Guys on that thread are also using hard drives attached via the USB port to watch movies encoded in DivX, WMV or AVI morning, noon and night ;)