Just got my 563A today via UPS... hooked it up and am loving the SACD capabilities (my parents already had a SACD player via Sony Dream System, so I had some test material).

Anyway, I fired up The Matrix DVD for some testing, and I noticed something again (that i know most likely isn't a problem with the 563A) that I had from a previous DVD player. In fact, I believe almost for a fact its my new TV (Samsung 32" ProgressiveScan). Some of the lines (like pieces of lumber in The Matrix for example) bend near the edges of the screen. Perhaps one of you in this forum would know why this occurs?

I finally decided to return it since I thought my 3 yo basic Sony sounds a lot better, even with DVD-A titles.

??? did not get u?

bend near the edges of the screen. Probably poor geometry on your TV...

so...something fixable? (service menu or any other settings?)

it's odd because its not noticeable in all scenes of every movie or tv show, e tc

MindDesign:

There have definitely been reports of low output on the subwoofer analog output (the ones I have seen say that increasing it to +6 or using an ICBM are solutions). Since I only have one SACD I can't comment much yet - I'll try playing a movie and switching between digital and multichannel analog and see how it sounds in each.

Is there any news on how to make this player play multi regions?

Well had a chance to play with this puppy some more and the photo feature on it makes this unit more than worth it. iPhotos off of a Mac look stunning taken with just a 3.3 Mega Pixel Camera and even a 2.0 doesn't look bad. JPGs off my PC look fantastic and navigation through the setup is easy, a tad slow at times but not bad. I think you can set it to read faster but not sure yet.

If, can be made , multi region with pal play backl, I'll buy it back..

bickle:

There are varying reports on multiregion and PAL support ranging from: 'it played a region 2/3 PAL without any problems, no hack needed' to 'it won't play anything other than region 1' I don't have any non region 1 discs to try, so I can't test that part.

When setting the gains I attempted to match the digital output levels to 75dB, seemed logical. I ended up with +3 for LCR +4 for the Sub and +3 for the surrounds. Lower but not too bad. Oh, I also noticed that by toggeling speaker distances a foot one way or the other during playback definatly improved the sound, especially for the center channel.

For someone that as the 563 and ICBM hooked up...I assume you use large settings and sub on. In this case do you need to set the sub output at +6 and the rest at -3 (or something like that) to get good base? I guess what I am really asking..is the LFE channel 10 db low also? And would this not be hard to find out...how do you know if the bass is from the BM or the LFE channel? Thanks

Well Zoro, I went to go return it because I heard good things about the Philips 963A with its firmware upgrades that I might not need. But when I got to BB to return the Pioneer they said they would send me a check in 2-3 weeks because I paid with check. So I checked and sure enough there was another 20 bucks off for this unit, so I took a new one...... Now I need to reduce my DVDs in the house there multiplying like tribbles..... :)

So Garman, are you saying the 563 is on sale ths week for $160 at BB?

KOOL, GARMAN..LOOK at this review

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/html/reviews/techreview.php?rev=21

he gives it 4 paws out of 5...

But, its MOTION ADAPTIVE SCALINg, not AS GOOD as DCDI players, I agree with MIKE..So, I wait for UPGRADED NEXT PLAYER where pioneer will be giving u more TWEAKING..BUT if u dont NEED that..this player is a GEM..

I wish, it would be doing pal/region free too..

Originally posted by Darin
So Garman, are you saying the 563 is on sale ths week for $160 at BB?
Well, never mind... checked it out myself. I was already planning on getting this today at lunch, so I checked out Best Buy. While they do have it on sale, it's for $170. So I went ahead with my original plan & got it at CompUSA. They have a flyer (http://www.compusa.com/adproducts/html_ad/8_24/full_ad.pdf) with 10% off all home DVD players, and their regular price is $180 (like everone else), so that was a better deal. From everything I've read, this should be a step up from my quite old Sony DVD changer, though maybe not as good as some of the best out their video wise. But I've been itching to get into SACD & DVD-A, so for the price, this seems like a good move, and maybe a little down the road when the upscaling DVI players are a little more mature, I can go that route for better video.

Darin-
Compusa sells the Pioneer 563a? Which one, I can't find it at my local store.

-Michael

Anyone with this player own the Live at Knebworth DVDs?? Volume I of this two disc set will not play on my 563A. Can anyone else check this?? None of my other discs have a problem, including other's from the same company that put out Knebworth.

Originally posted by mwroobel
Darin-
Compusa sells the Pioneer 563a? Which one, I can't find it at my local store.
I got it from the one in Roswell, GA. You can search for it online. When I did, it said that the Roswell store didn't have any, but there were a couple of stores nearby that said "limited stock". But I had just been in to the Roswell store on Friday and saw that they had ONE in stock, so I went by today, and it was still there.

So they don't appear to have many of them, but they do carry them, and have a few in stock in some stores.

Originally posted by James R. Geib
Anyone with this player own the Live at Knebworth DVDs??

Sorry I don't have this disk, but I would like to ask about a disk I'm having problems with....

Does anyone with this player have the Disturbed "Believe" DVD-A (please, let's not get into a discussion about taste in music).

The menus play about a half second of sound and then it cuts out and loops over and over again. It is very hard to select anything during that half second.

Anyone have any problems with this disk on the 563a or any other player?

Well, I finally got one, and I must say WOW. Not only is the picture quality superior to the Sony 7700 I paid almost a thousand dollars for 2 years ago, it is SO much more forgiving in mastering errors. I had a number of DVD's I burned that played fine on the computer, but just displayed C:13:00 on the Sony. I have popped these into the Pioneer and 12 of the 14 that I burned and wouldn't play on the sony are playing fine on the pioneer. As a bonus, it recognizes and plays PAL discs as well, which the sony would never play! I love this unit!!!

Kool..u mean Region 2 Pal Discs? tell me ASAP? Thnx

does it do pal to ntsc conversion too?

Other people have reported being able to play PAL discs at vcdhelp (http://www.dvdrhelp.com/dvdplayers.php?DVDnameid=2936&Search=Search&#comments), though the reports do not seem to be completely consistent.

I'm one of those people at VCDHelp. :) My unit will play PAL discs, but it gets caught on the region code check. So it will play a region 0 PAL disc, but not R2.

Since the unit will play PAL, I'm hoping for a hack/mod to bypass the region check.

Sweet! I'm loving this player more and more.
I can also confirm PAL playback.

It played my R0 Pal version of Ringu perfectly.
Even my region modded RP82 couldn't play that.
Only my Xbox could play that disc.

Doug

Well I'll be..., I just popped in a PAL disc (R0) and I too can confirm that it played it back fine, PAL to NTSC conversion and all. I originally picked this player up just to play with sacd/dvd-audio until the denon 5900 comes out, but I have to say, I've certainly gotten more than my $179 worth out of the Pioneer. Best money I ever spent. Now, if someone can just come up with a region code hack for the player so r2 PAL discs can be played on it, I'll be even happier.

If anyone owns an older, region hacked pioneer player, have they tried it on the 563A? I'm looking online for hacks on older Pioneer models but haven't found one yet.

I've been on the fence about whether or not to get the 563A but region-hackable would just about push me right off the fence and into the cashier line at the local Best Buy...

Anxiously waiting for a successful region hack..imho..pioneer, i heard r easiest to hack..

btw..were u guys able to play pal disc in prog scan mode?

I just checked www.regionfreedvd.net and clicked on Pioneer players. Unfortunately it says for the 434 and newer players that a region hack requires a PDA (which I don't have). They did have button sequences for older players - maybe an owner of a 563 can try them?

http://www.regionfreedvd.net/player/pioneer.html

I have a Pronto, I'll try and see if his Pronto conf file will work with my unit when I get home.
I have the R3 version of Army of Darkness to test it with.

Doug

I tried PAL R0 DISC in PROG MODE..It works PERFECT with BEAUTIFUL PICTURE..UNFORTUNATELY, R2 does not..

I found these instructions here:


|

Region changing instructions for Codefree Pioneer DVD Players

1. Turn on the DVD player with no software inside so it says "ICOS" or "NO DISC"

2. On the remote control, press "SETUP" and you will see an "on screen display" that will show Audio 1, Audio 2, Video language, and General

3. Press the "GREEN RIGHT ARROW" until "GENERAL" is selected

4. Press the "Green" down arrow once

5. Press "display" on the remote to see what region the DVD player is accepting.

6. Press "condition memory" on the remote (nothing will be displayed on the dvd player)

7. Press "1 for zone one, 2 for zone 2, 3 for zone 3, etc..

8. Press "SETUP" once and your region coding will have been changed.

To change regions you simply need to change the above steps.



http://www.regionfreedvdplayers.com/regionfreedvd/pioneer-instructions.html

as this player remote is a bit different!!

Can some one try?

I think those instructions are for premodded players.

Doug

picked up the 563 at Best Buy today...
My RP56 gave me an error message last night when trying to play the LOTR TTT DVD, and a couple others, so I ran out to Best Buy to get this player. (sure the Panasonic probably just needed a lens cleaner or something, but oh well.)

I got the error message and said "Well honey, DVD players broke, I'll go buy a new one."

When I got to Best Buy, they didn't have any on the shelves... so I asked one of the Blue-Shirts if they had any in the back, and he checked the computer, and said two arrived on a truck they were unloading at that time, and he'd go see if it had been unloaded yet.

It had not, so I paid for it, and picked it up this morning.

I've only had a couple of minutes worth of The Fifth Element Superbit with it, in broad daylight, but my initial impression is that the RP56 is the superior player, when it comes to video quality. This is from a Mitsubishi WT-46805. I'd imagine on a larger screen, the difference would be more noticeable.

One of my favorite scenes in TFE is when Lee Loo falls into the cab, and she is communicating with Bruce Willis, because the glass offers so much intricate detail, as do the facial features, Bruce's stubble, and so forth.

This didn't make me think "Wow, what an incredible picture." but I'm pretty sure it would make most people say that. The RP56 made LOTS of people say that.

All in all, I'm not too disappointed, as I think the RP56 is probably just fine, and will be easily fixed... and I can rely on it for movies, and the Pioneer for DVD-A, and SACD duties.

If you're considering this player, don't take this as me feeling that the Pioneer has bad video quality, because it absolutely doesn't, it just isn't what I'm used to from the Panasonic RP56. Then again, in the price range of the RP56, what could ever touch it?

u r right doug..we need some easy instructions? LOL..

Okay, it looks like the Panasonic player is seriously dead.
After doing some research, I don't think anyone has a fix for the H02 error I received.

That means that more critical testing of the 563 is in store tonight.
I'll let you guys know.

IMHO, 563A is BEST VALUE for my $170 bucks..I have found..so far

I think those instructions are for premodded players.
Doug,
I believe zoro's are for modded players, but I don't think the site I pointed to is: http://www.regionfreedvd.net/player/pioneer.html

When you get a chance can you try any of those non-PDA instructions?

thanks a bunch!

Originally posted by Kidd Digital
This didn't make me think "Wow, what an incredible picture." but I'm pretty sure it would make most people say that. The RP56 made LOTS of people say that.

All in all, I'm not too disappointed, as I think the RP56 is probably just fine, and will be easily fixed... and I can rely on it for movies, and the Pioneer for DVD-A, and SACD duties.

If you're considering this player, don't take this as me feeling that the Pioneer has bad video quality, because it absolutely doesn't, it just isn't what I'm used to from the Panasonic RP56. Then again, in the price range of the RP56, what could ever touch it? [/B]

Did you run through the setup? I know when I first plugged it in, it's set to output to interlaced. I remember looking at the first DVD and saying; ahh, this isn't so good. Then I set it to progressive and the picture looks just fine.
The only problem I saw was it's a bit dark, at least compared to my last setup. Had to make a contrast adjustment to dial it in.

Well, till we find REGION FREE HACK, Just Burn pal R2 disc on a DVDRW and watch, it becomes region free!!Whether it becomes NTSC, I dont know?

Nice suggestion zoro, but the whole reason I (and others) are asking is to avoid spending a lot of $$$, trying to get an all-in-one DVD-A/SACD/region free player. If I have to buy a DVD-RW and media...well I might as just well buy a true region-free in addition to the 563A.

Well, I downloaded the 454 pronto ccf with hack from Remotes Central (http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/files/rcfiles.cgi?area=pronto&db=devices&br=pioneer&dv=dvdplayer&md=dv454&fc=&kw=pioneer%20454&st=&dt=&so=&pg=1&file=ccf_templates/dvd_players/pio-dvd-dv454.zip) but I couldn't find the option to run the hack! Hopefully someone will have luck with the Palm based codes...

carlo, i was thinking, it to be interim approach, while looking for an easy hack, man..if u have set up to burn ur dvds, and u wana watch r2, then do it..otherwise wait..

Well, I finally dug my 563 out of the box & hooked it up this evening. Although my receiver (Onkyo TX-SR700) doesn't do bass mgmt on the 5.1 inputs, it does do level adjustments (separately, for each input), so I left the 563 at "fixed" instead of doing level adjustments in the player. Having read all about the issues of low sub levels and too high of a crossover, I was fully prepared, and even set the sub at +10db for my getting started level. The high crossover became quickly apparent. My sub just isn't happy playing notes that high. It prefers to stay below 100hz, and I think a lot of music above that was making it's way to the sub. My system sounded much boomier than it has before. But what surprised me was the overabundance of bass... I kept adjusting my +10 down, and ended up at +4db. Really surprised me since I was expecting anemic bass response based on the reports I've seen. And it wasn't just my ears - I have a BFD, which has a level display, and I was actually hitting into the "red" before I adjusted the bass down. And it never gets that high with movies sources. I eventually changed the speaker setup in the 563 to "large" all the way around. At least with the two discs I have so far, it was a definite improvement. My little NHT 1.1s seemed a little happier playing bass that was too low for them than my sub was playing bass that was too high for it. I'm sure that will vary depending on the mix, and how much bass they have in the main channels. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for a firmware update or hack that will allow a lower crossover frequency. Short of that, I'll have to program another preset into the BFD to help balance the bass out for SACD/DVD-A playback.

Beyond the slight bass issue, sound was incredible. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the surround use was very nice and enveloping. The only titles I have so far are Dark Side of the Moon, and Beck's Sea Change. Very happy with both, good mixes, and great surround. I've got a few more titles on the way... can't wait for them to get here!

Haven't tried movies yet. Another day....

Will this give me a decent picture compared to my Sharp DV-S2 Faroudja based player? The Sharp is great for film but absolutely sucks at video- there is no tweaking whatsoever.

Also, I live in an Apt so I have no sub- is the bass mgt adequate? I'm not looking for anything great as I don't turn it up that loud anyways. Just as long as it puts something out.

563a is Ok, FOR VIDEO, BUT NOT AS GOOD AS dcdi BASED PLAYERS IMHO

Originally posted by Darin
*snip* The only titles I have so far are Dark Side of the Moon, and Beck's Sea Change. Very happy with both, good mixes, and great surround. I've got a few more titles on the way... can't wait for them to get here!



IMO, those are the 2 best. You might want to try Queen- Night at the Opera and Yes- Fragile DVD-As. Not as good as the ones you mentioned, but quite enjoyable ablums with good surround mixes.

All good titles, but I do not consider them top shelf WRT sonics (well maybe Beck). They are good, and the MC mixes are great, but the sonics are not the last word.

May I suggest:

Emmerson Lake amd Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery
Bigg Phatt Band - Swinging for the Fences
Chicago - Chicago II
Steely Dan - Everything Must Go

BFB in particular, if you like well recorded big band music, is killer.

I tend to favor rock and hard rock, but the sonics on BFB are incredible.

BGL

The Palm codes didn't work for me, but I'd be interested to hear the results of others...

Kidd Digital: The Panasonic and RP56 are very comparable to each other on video. I own both of them and I have them side by side in my rack and if you tweek the Pioneer it looks very much like the famous RP56 on video, with a slight edge to the Panasonic on Video but not by much. I am using a Sony 10HT on a firehawk screen and there both very good for the money.

I just picked up the 563A last night @ Best Buy for $170. I acutally picked up a 17" HD Flat Panel for the bedroom too, but that's another story. :) IMHO this DVD player is great so far. There is absolutely no sign of CUE.

I had a JVC 723 (about $600 when I got it) DVD/DVD-A player that had the CUE very bad and some other real serious *niggles* (combing, color banding in red, etc) with the video quality no matter how you set the processor to decode. The DVD-A side was very good and I got a lot of enjoyment out of the player for the past 2 years.

Well, the 563 is showing itself to be superior in every category. The picture is just beautiful on my Mits 46805 compared to the JVC and DVD-A playback is better as well. Having never heard SACD I can't comment on it.

The options on this player and the fact that I just got a huge upgrade in picture and sound for $170, I'm well pleased.

Just my .02

Originally posted by Garman
... and if you tweek the Pioneer it looks very much like the famous RP56 on video, with a slight edge to the Panasonic on Video but not by much.

How do you tweak the Pioneer so it looks similar to the Panasonic RP-56? What setting do you use? I'm still contemplating in buying the Pioneer.

My Panasonic is gradually dying on me. It starts to give bits of pixelization every now and then* (its gradually getting worse). Sign of dying laser head.
However, I don't want to buy a replacement DVD player with lesser PQ than the RP-56.

* the same disc played on different players (4 yo Pioneer DV-05 and 8 mo Panasonic DMR-E30, plus a couple of Pioneer DVD-ROM readers) posed no problem whatsoever.

David Susilo: The Pioneer is very good you can go into the setup menu and make some corrections to the menu to get a better picture. Also take a good look at the Philips 963A it has great video using DCDi and SACD Playback, and it also has CD Upsampling. Bottom line this unit is hard to pass up because of the price.

So just as a quick recap, this player plays:

1. DVD-V
2. DVD-A
3. SACD
4. VCD
5. S-VCD
6. WMA
7. MP3
8. JPEG
9. Audio CD

and as other features:

1. PAL/NTSC conversion (Region 1/ALL only - can it be made multi-region?)
2. Picture Tweak from the user menu
3. Digital Bass Management

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

can it be made multi-region?I haven't heard of anyone being able to accomplish this yet.

can anybody provide me a link to its online .pdf manual (if it is available at all)?

Thanks!

Originally posted by David Susilo, but editied for length here:
So just as a quick recap, this player plays:
6. WMA
Please correct me if I'm wrong. WMA playback was originally announced for the 563 back in January at CES by Microsoft, but does not appear to have been implemented on the actual units. Pioneer makes no mention of WMA in the current documentation or web site either.

If you look around on a couple of the threads here you can see where people have tried and failed to play back WMA files on their units.

Ok, seems I've got the info concerning the video DAC used in 563 and progressive scan chip - they both are in STm5589, as far as I know. Can anyone confirm/decline this info?

What video tweaks should be performed in the 563a menus?

Originally posted by bickle
What video tweaks should be performed in the 563a menus?

I would like to second this question...

Someone who has tweeked the 563a please supply with the results of your experiments and what settings you found display the best picture.

Thanks in advance!

You can download the manual right off their website.

At some point in this thread someone asked if the 563A can play MP3 file off a DVD. I can confirm that it can. I created a DVD-R and a DVD-RW filled with MP3s (about 1000 on eachin multiple directories). The Pioneer was the only DVD Player out of the twenty I tested at Best Buy, Tweeters, Circuit City, and CompUSA that would recognize the DVDs with MP3s on them.

I went ahead and bought the player and it is now happily playing in shuffle mode on the DVD-RW. Shuffle mode can either play tracks in a single folder you select or across all folders - pretty cool.

Thanks,
Larry

lrowland
Thanks for the heads up...that is a great feature that most players don't acomplish!

I should also confirm it can play WMAs and it will do Jpeg pictures as well. This feature alone is almost worth paying wat I did, everything looked great!!!!!!!

Originally posted by Garman
I should also confirm it can play WMAs and it will do Jpeg pictures as well. This feature alone is almost worth paying wat I did, everything looked great!!!!!!!

Please do tell us the magic trick you used to get to play a WMA file.

I would like to amend to this thread full of knowledgeable 563A users, the questions posed in this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=296777) thread.
Thanks!

Kevin: Correction to my last post, I looked and all the songs on my CD where of MP3 format and not WMA files. Jpegs however work wonderfully!!

-Sorry, I didn't read his last post.

He admitted he made a mistake. What kind of details do you want?

I got both Pioneer 563 and Sony 725p. Unfortunately, both of them have a flaw that is annoying. Pioneer has a big problem with Incorrect Progressive Flags which kind of spoils watching any dvd. On the other hand, Sony has problems with error correction with dvd+rw discs. Sometimes DVD+RW freezes during a playback. I guess I will take back Sony and get Panasonic RP82.

So much for getting RP82. It was discontinued.

Oski, after a ton of comparison test, I too am getting more disappointed on the Video side of this player. At first I thought it was fantastic, but sometimes things are too good to be true. After more extensive testing with my RP-56 and my Philips 963A, there is no comparison, the video quality of those unit far surpass the pioneer. The biggest thing that got me after many hours of watching movies etc..... Is there are certain times when the player looses focus, and this is the second unit I have had, because the first one was doing the samething. I hope Pioneer starts using a better video chip soon. This one is going back :( THe upside of things, this unit doesn SACD and DVD-A pretty good.

Don't need a mastercard ... just enter thru this link:

http://www.couponsandoffers.com/scripts/o510.asp

Works swimmingly

Garman, I have the same problem (looses focus) with my player too. I've tried 4 players and they poses the same problem.

David thanks for Clariflying that, I thought it was because I been so damn tired. But last night I used the same DVD on both players at the sametime and swithced back and forth an sure enough, the trusty RP-56 was rock solid!!!!!!!!

Is this reproducable - does it happen at the same point on the same DVD? If so, can you give me some examples so I can look for it on mine?

Just for kicks, I picked up Pioneer DV260 from Wally World. Strangely enough, it also has this same problem using 480p.

Darin I was using a couple of DVDs from the show Farscape Disc 4. And Star Wars, close up facial shots go blurry using the Pioneer unit. Now this mostly happens with my Sony 10HT projector on a 92" screen. However it doesn't happen when using my RP-56...... It also happens on my 36" but not as
noticeable.......

TheOski, I think just like certain Denon players most of the Pioneer players are using inferior chips for processing, at least to my eye.....

Oski, you may spend a tad more money, but try the Philips 963A it uses a Faroudja chip DCDi and looks pretty damn good!!!

Titles I use include "Barbie as Rapunzel" (full CG, no excuse for blurriness) and end of chapter 33 of Die Another Day (scene with the red Lamborghini stuck on the ground)

Oski, you may spend a tad more money, but try the Philips 963A it uses a Faroudja chip DCDi and looks pretty damn good!!! [/B]

Any reliable place to get it? Besides ebay.

j&r, onecall both authorized

Originally posted by TheOski
Any reliable place to get it? Besides ebay.



http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=phidvd963sa&svbname=293

"Any reliable place to get it? Besides ebay."

Onecall is an authorized dealer, and they usually seem to match the lowest price on the 'net from any other auth dealers. You may have to click a special link from their product page to see their "matched" price as they don't put it on the main page...

indeed i agree, u can match with j&r too, shipped

After reading all the posts, I decided to pickup the Pioneer DV-563A and give it a shot (the special "grand opening" sale price at Nebraska Furniture Mart gave me an additional incentive).

Since I've got an 18+ year old 20" TV and a 15+ year old receiver, I'm obviously not able to put it to any serious test. Yet. (And that's the bummer...now I've gotta go out and spend a mint on other "toys" to check it out more fully :) -- money, unfortunately, will keep me in check for a while).

Nonetheless, the 563 is (at the very least) an awesome MP3 player! I loaded up a DVD(+RW) with about 1000 of my favorite songs...who needs a CD changer?? :-) . The ability to load up >4GB of MP3 music is pretty sweet!

As for JPEG viewing, I had some issues at first...but think I got them figured out (this was using CD-RW and CD-R discs). I tried a number of things, so I don't know what fixed it...but the JPEGs seem to work best when they're created as NON-progressive (this has to do with their internal file format--nothing to do with interlaced/progressive video displays) and, possibly, when the disc is finalized, single-session, and disc-at-once. I lean towards the problem being "progressive" JPEGS (they either wouldn't display or loaded VERY slowly).

Now I can use my TV for a photo slide show when I'm not otherwise watching it :-) Hmm...an 18 year old TV isn't quite as sharp as an original photo (so, yet another excuse for a TV upgrade!).

As for TVs, I'm anxiously awaiting Sony's latest (KV 34XBR910) to see how it looks (although, at $2500, it isn't an imminent acquisition). I also need to figure out (perhaps more imminently) what to do for a decent receiver...off to another forum/thread for those issues.

After paging through this entire thread (bleary-eyed), I didn't see anyone specifically address the video quality issue that matters most to me: in-player letterboxing. Since I don't own a 16x9 capable TV, I have to use the 4x3 setting with letterboxing done by the player (on 16x9 encoded DVDs).

In general, how would you describe the quality of letterboxing by this player? Given its low price, I'm willing to cut it some slack...but if it's completely atrocious, then the rest of the features don't really matter if I can't stand to watch it.

Thanks.

there is in-player letterboxing?

Originally posted by David Susilo
there is in-player letterboxing?
All players have to do in-player letterboxing to show anamorphic 16x9 widescreen content on 4x3 sets. The video is stored at the full 480 height to take advantage of 16x9 sets, so when it's shown on a 4x3 set it has to reduce the height to maintain the proper aspect ratio. This is done either by interpolation, or by "throwing away" every so many scan lines.

But I'm afraid I can't answer the original question with much athority. I only watched one, or maybe two movies on mine before my new 16x9 set came. I remember noticing some shimmering, but that's to be expected. The only comparison I have is my older Sony non-progressive DVD changer, and even with that I didn't really try to analyze it, as it was just a temporary set-up until the new TV came. But nothing jumped out at me as being terribly bad (or better), in that respect

oh.. that in-player letterboxing. Doh!

I can't give you a direct answer, but can offer some hope....

I have a 45A, and originally had it connected to an older 4:3 display (no 16:9 mode) replacing a Sony 650D. I immediately thought it looked as good if not better than the Sony WRT In Player Letterboxing.

My initial impression was confirmed when S&V reviewed the 45A, and rated this feature as "Good". If you read their reviews, there are many players that rate fair or poor. Sony almost always rate good or better.

So, having said that, a 563 is not a 45A, but if Pioneer learned anything with the 45A, perhaps it trickled down to the 563.

BGL

Have you all read this info on the DV-563a from the Home Theater SPot:

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=UBB20&Number=472463&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Pioneer has been unable to use Faroudja chip sets because they were incompatible with the Pioneer platform. Some of the newer platforms (TiVo, DVD recorders) are on new platforms and do include some Faroudja processing.

Peace...

well, what can we say, no 663a, but still they will sell tons of 563a, wait and watch for 59ai

Originally posted by opiwan
I just picked up the 563A last night @ Best Buy for $170. I acutally picked up a 17" HD Flat Panel for the bedroom too, but that's another story. :) IMHO this DVD player is great so far. There is absolutely no sign of CUE.

I had a JVC 723 (about $600 when I got it) DVD/DVD-A player that had the CUE very bad and some other real serious *niggles* (combing, color banding in red, etc) with the video quality no matter how you set the processor to decode. The DVD-A side was very good and I got a lot of enjoyment out of the player for the past 2 years.

Well, the 563 is showing itself to be superior in every category. The picture is just beautiful on my Mits 46805 compared to the JVC and DVD-A playback is better as well. Having never heard SACD I can't comment on it.

The options on this player and the fact that I just got a huge upgrade in picture and sound for $170, I'm well pleased.

Just my .02 The JVC 723 does not have CUE...AT ALL...let alone very bad.

Originally posted by Marc Alexander
The JVC 723 does not have CUE...AT ALL...let alone very bad.

If the 723 doesn't have CUE then there's somthing wrong with mine because it was pretty evident on my mits and still shows on my LCD in the back room.

Just thought I’d throw my two cents worth in here. Just bought the DV-563A last week. Was unaware of its existence until I saw it advertised for CDN$299 at Future Shop, a Best Buy subsidiary. I did a Google search and came up with this thread. I want to thank you guys for all your objective comments on this machine. Better than a magazine review! The Canadian price equates to about US$215 but it’s still a steal. Seems to be in fairly short supply here in Canada. Had to go to several stores to find one. Also found that the only store here with any multi-channel software is Best Buy. The nearest Best Buy is about an hour and a half drive from here. Amazingly, when I asked about software at the Future Shop near Hamilton, where I purchased the unit, one of the salesmen in the CD department produced about half a dozen titles, which he seemed to have stashed away under his counter. That was his entire inventory of SACD and DV-A! And keep in mind that this is a major electronics retailer in a store almost as large as a Best Buy. What a laugh! It certainly improves my opinion of Best Buy.

Thanks again,

Bill

I tested a Denon 1600 yesterday because I wanted a dedicated DVD player that produced the best picture quality I could afford. The 1600 has the same video section as the highly regarded Panasonic RP82 (which I had before, but sold, thinking now I might've made a mistake). The Denon has Faroudja's DCDi de-interlacer; the Pioneer doesn't. I did several A/B tests & couldn't find any noticeable difference between the two players. I'm returning the Denon. Both don't have CUE & both produce a solid picture without jaggies or combing. I can't obviously do the kind of critical evaluation Stacey or Don (the Secrets guys) do, but after having owned/tested around 11 480p players (my first was a Toshiba 5900 & my latest being the Denon 1600), I continue to be very pleased with the Pioneer 563's picture quality.

I have been a "lurker" on the HT forums for about a year but I am not sure I have ever posted. Leave that to you experts ;)

I had a Philips progressive scan player(don't know the model off the top of my head. Was in the $160 range when I bought it about a year and a half ago) that had been giving me fits. Stalling, skipping and frustrating the begeezus out of me. After numerous cleanings I said the heck with it, told my wife I'm getting a new player.

Started looking and following this thread very closely. So I picked up the 563AS yesterday at Best Buy for $170. Very good price for this universal player imo. Have it connected to a Samsung 47" HD along with Onkyo797 6.1.

1st impressions, great sound, both DVD and SACD. Was a little concerned with the bass since that had been an issue here. Running a Velodyne 12" and the output with small speaker selection appeared very crisp and was not flat. So first impressions, it was very favorable. Picked up a multichannel Tony Bennet and Friends SACD. I think I need to try a few others, I wasn't getting that super audio multichannel seperation that I was expecting. Could be that particular recording or I need to try a few other multichannel discs.

Video I did not see the Chrome bug. Good. The pic was nice and sharp but the colors seemed slightly duller as opposed to my other unit. Skin tones seemed a tad bland and grass/sky colors appeared not as full with the greens/blues. Did not notice any color banding. I think some tweaking is in order though. Still a very good picture but will need some slight adjustments.

Any recommendations on video tweaking or what setting you may have found that make your surrounds shine;ie speaker distance placement.

DT: Just to your comments on the Tony Bennet CD… I do not have that CD, but IMHO the multi-channel mix does make a huge difference… read the review of the Beatles’ Anthology and the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds in the latest Sound and Vision for a good discussion of this. I experimented a couple of nights ago with Carole King’s Tapestry SACD. To be honest I didn’t find much difference between my regular CD and the two channel SACD (maybe my ears are not trained). The multichannel sound was a vast improvement but …. the multichannel mix really put me off at first. It has King’s voice coming from all directions at once… while the instruments are nicely separated, her voice is not. Eventually, I sort of got used to it, and have to admit it is a nice SACD.

On the topic of bass: This might be kind of a stupid question but… if one sets all the speakers to large, I would imagine that no bass goes to the sub? What if the fronts are large and the surrounds are set to small? Does anyone know how the 563 handles this and what the crossover frequency is?

Bill

For some reason this Pioneer still assumes you have small centre channel regardless of your setting. The bass for the centre channel will be channeled to the sub.

The crossover frequency for DVD-A is 100 Hz and for SACD is 120 Hz.

No wonder I'm just using this as a tied-me-over universal player.

That's a really stupid design flaw! Why the LARGE speaker setting for all channels, and Sub to ON doesn't turn off all bass management circuitry is beyond me.

:mad:

Overall, not a bad unit for the money (if you can get it at a good discount).

Dan

hi everyone,

i too picked up a 563 at BB. I haven't done any tweaking to it yet but so far the picture is decent. I am a little unhappy that there is no color, tint or sharpness adjustments in the menu. Actually the menu is kind basic. I don't listen to any DVD audio or SACD ( not yet at least) so i can't comment on that part of it.

I am planning on using this back and forth on a Wega XBR and a Panasonic L200U lcd projector until i get my HTPC going for the projector.

I picked this up after i returned the Mitsubishi DD8040 which i thought had horrible picture quality, the 563 is allot better.

Tonight i am going to run AVIA and see how it looks.

Anyone have comments on the video performance vs. an XP30? I don't have any DVD-A or SACD yet, but if the PQ is as good as the XP30, I might be tempted.

The de-interlacing is not as accurate as the Faroudja/SAGE based players, but it does do a decent job as a low cost universal player (or secondary player).

Many people seem to be buying this more for the SACD and DVD-Audio capabilities than its overall picture quality. I know that's why I bought it. Right now it's only used in interlaced mode and the PQ is far and away better than the older Toshiba it replaced. Not to mention the fact it has not been reported to be plagued by the chroma bug (the Toshiba was noticeable).

I tend to use it until the SACD and DVD-Audio specs. are finally ironed out (proper bass management and the ability to stay 100% in the DSD domain for SACD's are two big issues) and one unified digital audio connection is agreed upon (and products start rolling out with that standard onboard). There was no need to shell out hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on two separate players with all the hassle and expense that would entail since most receivers and pre-amps only have one 6 channel analog input, and they aren't ready for a standardized digital output.

Dan

I'm surprised noone has compared this to the Sony DVP-nc685 or the DVP-ns755. They are (or were) comparably priced. I know, the Pioneer has DVD-A and the Sony does not. But I don't have any of either disks now, and I personally would be OK with SACD only. So, is the Pioneer as good as the Sony on video and SACD? Are they comparable with respect to bass management? (I'll be using an Onkyo 600, "small" speakers and a sub -- it sounds like this setup will be OK for hte pioneer once I set the levels properly.

Also, will I have to change the level settings in my receiver when I go from SACD to DD5.1 or stereo CD?

Finally, if (alternatively) I use this with a receiver with only two analogue inputs (and no sub, so 2.0 mode), will it be higher resolution than a regular CD?

Thanks.

Originally posted by angedc
So, is the Pioneer as good as the Sony on video and SACD?
I thought the Sony had noticeable CUE, while the Pioneer is pretty good in this respect. Some will complain that the Pioneer converts DSD to PCM, thought I've not seen any evidence that this conversion is noticeable.
Also, will I have to change the level settings in my receiver when I go from SACD to DD5.1 or stereo CD?
If your 600 is anything like my 700, you can set the input levels for each of the six channels seperately for the 5.1 input, thereby making them equal to one another, as well as your other inputs.
Finally, if (alternatively) I use this with a receiver with only two analogue inputs (and no sub, so 2.0 mode), will it be higher resolution than a regular CD?
Yes.

O.K. so I needed another DVD player for my wifes new TV (Mits 55613). I picked this unit up and it performs great. The pq and (SACD & DVD-A) is excellent. I am very impressed with this product from Pioneer considering some of the issues with their past DVD players. This one does not exhibit any of those issues. Good job Pioneer. For $179.00, this unit will be tough to beat.

Hi Gents,
I'm usually active on another forum but was cruising this one looking for additional info on another subject when I ran across this thread. With about 350 replies, I certainly haven't read it all, but there's a review at: slottweak.com/DV_563A/563review.htm (sorry, I can't post a URL yet. You'll have to copy and paste) that might help explain bass management and other stuff about the 563.
I hope it helps someone.

Has there been any progress on a region-free hack for this particular player??

I'm highly tempted to seek out the South American Lion King DVD with its enhanced mix in English DTS as well as other better versions of some of my favorite films.

Dan

me too, come on, guys!!!

Will this player have better PQ than my Apex AD-800? Now before you make an assumption because it's an APEX, this one never gets blurry all of a sudden and looks great with my NEC LT150 projector. It does a correct 3:2 pulldown with good DVD's. Can someone answer this question without making an assumption. And no matter how good the 563 looks, If I am going to see it change video sharpness spontaneously, it's unacceptable. I even have a spare brand new APEX AD-800 in case mine dies because I haven't found another I like that has aspect ratio control and/or I haven't been fast enough to acquire the popular pannys. I want to use the 563 with my NEC Lt150 projector and it would be nice to have DVDA and SACD capability.

There is a regionfree mod available for this player. It's being offered by these guys (http://www.jvbdigital.com/). You have to send in your player & also pay for return shipping. The mod itself is $64.

Since the 563 can convert PAL to NTSC, it'd have no problems playing R2 PAL discs after the mod.

we want free!!lol

Ditto!

Dan

Well, same here. That's why I haven't bought the mod yet. I change DVD players so often, it isn't worth it. Plus, I have two cheap regionfree players already.

Try Philips 727 for $79 bucks..

How is the pal->ntsc conversion on this player? Does it handle PAL anamorphic dvds correctly?

Yes, it does, but possibly has CUE..I will recommend pioneer instead..

Folks:

If no one else has already . . . I can confirm that the SACD chip in the 563A is the Philips SAA7893HL.

And, as long as we're at it -- the other VLSI parts are ST's STi5588CVB and STm6316ATXXB.

Maybe I missed this somewhere back in the thread but I'm a bit baffled by the notion that the 563A would convert to PCM before outputting analog from SACD discs.

I don't have a datasheet for the SAA7893HL in front of me but it was my understanding that there are NO components in the SACD scheme that output a digital datastream that isn't encrypted and that all parts which can handle this data are also part of the overall SACD licensing.

So, doesn't the SAA7893HL just output analog and isn't that the only way to listen to SACD on the 563A?

I visited the Philips SACD booth at AES last week in NYC and was impressed to learn about the three levels of encryption that are integral to the whole SACD design -- this is a medium with DRM built in from the get-go.

So, if the Philips part outputs "clear" digital for some other part to perform a PCM conversion before D/A, then this would seem to be a simple way to read the data and make an SACD "pirate" box -- all very unlikely, 'twould seem.

Plus, although this is probably not the right place to go into this, the "psychoacoustics" of DSD and PCM (at any bit rate) appear to be different, so any conversion of this sort would be considered quite problematic by many.

Btw, does anyone have a pointer to a website for Pioneer OEM transports (in English) and/or know how many models they are selling? Don't *all* of the "universal" players use Pioneer transports?

Thanks,

Mark Stahlman
New York City

Folks:

Sorry, I shoulda tracked this down before posting . . . the SAA7893HL datasheet clearly indicates that the part will convert DSD to PCM at 88.2 or 176.4 at 24 bits.

Seems that this is what happens in the 563A -- allowing Pioneer to avoid the cost of putting in a DSD DAC and only implementing the PCM DAC.

Drat! Gotta listen to some Miles Davis to figure out if I can hear the difference.

For what it's worth, the SAA7893HL does have programmable bass crossover and slope -- which is not to say that it can be accessed in the 563A.

While I'm at it, does anyone know what that connector at the far left-rear (marked CM601 inside) is used for . . . ?

Mark Stahlman
New York City

Originally posted by 3channelstereo
Seems that this is what happens in the 563A -- allowing Pioneer to avoid the cost of putting in a DSD DAC and only implementing the PCM DAC.
I thought I remember reading someone else post that the Burr-Brown DACs that are used are actually capable of accepting DSD. Of course, Pioneer still probably has to convert to PCM to do bass management, but even the lofty Denon 5900 has to for the same reason.

Hmmmm . . . there are 3x DAC's in the 563A (all from Burr-Brown) -- 1x DSD1791 and 2x DSD1702's. The datasheets for all these indicate that they will accept either PCM or DSD datastreams.

The SAA7893HL datasheet seems to say that bass management works just fine without any PCM conversion -- so, what's really going on?

If DSD is really converted to PCM . . . why?

Mark Stahlman
New York City

Well, this guy (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=2499942#post2499942) claims the 563 ISN'T converting to PCM, even though all the info we've been given says it does. I'm not overly concerned either way... I don't even know if I could tell a difference, and they both sound great with the right CD. The crossover frequency is a MUCH MUCH bigger issue to me, as my sub just doesn't like notes that high. I don't see myself buying a ICBM to solve it though... I'll probably just be patient and deal with it, and within a year replace the 563 with something that does BM much better AND does video upscaling, for about the same that I'd spend on an ICBM. :cool:

I have to report back that I am extremely pleased with this unit. It is truely a steal for $179.00.

Newbie needs help:) I bought the Pioneer 563 and would like to hook up the 6 channel analog output; should I purchase regular audio cables or should I be buying 6 digital coaxial cables? Any recommendations on what brand to buy?

Thanks!!
Don

Regular quality cables will work just fine. You are passing analog signals from these outputs.

Folks, can somebody explain this?

How does it matter whether the the DVD player (say Pioneer 563A) has 5.1 multichannel analog output if you have a a great surround sound 5.1 receiver that decodes all major stuff such as Dolby ProLogic, DTS, DTS ES etc ?

In other words for a TRUE 5.1 decoding of movie tracks (DVDs), does the DVD player has to have 5.1 analog output?

If you don't have such output, are you loosing the quality of sound and decoding feature?

Isn't receiver supposed to do this?

Thanks for any explanations.

Originally posted by naadi
Folks, can somebody explain this?

How does it matter whether the the DVD player (say Pioneer 563A) has 5.1 multichannel analog output if you have a a great surround sound 5.1 receiver that decodes all major stuff such as Dolby ProLogic, DTS, DTS ES etc ?

In other words for a TRUE 5.1 decoding of movie tracks (DVDs), does the DVD player has to have 5.1 analog output?

If you don't have such output, are you loosing the quality of sound and decoding feature?

Isn't receiver supposed to do this?

Thanks for any explanations.

The 5.1 outputs on the 563 DVD player are needed for playback of DVD-A and SACD music. Your receiver cannot play/decode hi-rez music (except thoses with I-link like Pioneer Elite). For movies you are fine using the internal DACs of your receiver and a digital connection frm the DVD to receiver.

Is it better to use the hi-rez audio outputs as opposed to the digital/optical output for movies?

Rich M.

For content that CAN be transmitted digitally (Dolby Digital, DTS, PCM from regular CDs), you are most likely better off using the digital connection assuming you have a fairly decent receiver.

Originally posted by Rmassey
The 5.1 outputs on the 563 DVD player are needed for playback of DVD-A and SACD music. Your receiver cannot play/decode hi-rez music (except thoses with I-link like Pioneer Elite). For movies you are fine using the internal DACs of your receiver and a digital connection frm the DVD to receiver.

I have the 49TXi and was gonna get the 47ai but could not pass this player up for the price difference.

Hi guys!

I'm considering offloading some of the work of my HTPC onto this thing - I'd like a consolidated interface for DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, SACD, and DTS-CD. My HTPC can at this stage be relegated to DivX and audio jukebox roles, until at some point I can afford an HDTV to make it worthwhile to play DVD Video on it again. (Currently SVHS)

Anyway, my question: I currently have an Audigy2 in my machine and enjoy the few DVD-A's I have very much (Yes, Deep Purple, Biohazard). I am curious if anyone has likewise moved from an HTPC/A2 to a 563A and can compare the quality of the DVD-A output?

-Doug

I have a question about the Dv-563. I have my third player and all exhibited the same problem. I have been on the phone to Pioneer tech support several times and in the end I was told it was a defective unit and return it. The player works fine with 5.1 analog output to my receiver for SACD multi channel, DVD-A and Dolby Digital. On 4 movies with DTS, only the front, right and left speakers have output. When the digital signal is output to my receiver, the DTS works fine.
Anybody else have this problem?

Why would anyone buy this player that converts dsd [sacd] to pcm.
You would think that Warner designed this player or something.
There is a good reason for Widescreen Review declaring sacd as sonically superior to dvd-a three years ago.
Thats right a video rag picking the non video format and I can tell you for sure that if they used a player that converted dsd to pcm...it would have gone the other way.

So Earz, are you saying you've had the opportunity to compare units that do and don't convert dsd to pcm and you found the ones that do convert inferior? If so, which models did you compare?

Originally posted by Earz
Why would anyone buy this player that converts dsd [sacd] to pcm.
You would think that Warner designed this player or something.


I was under the impression that this was dismissed already, and that the player has been confirmed to output DSD.

On a related note, I was chatting with an ex-Sony employee last night who claimed to own a huge library of SACD's (his format of choice) - he was very pleased with the 563A's fidelity and quite adamantly said that it output DSD with no conversion to PCM.

-Doug

This is a much debated issue. Here's a quote from another site (note: I'm not sure how accurate this information is, but the poster sounded quite knowledgeable):

The way Pioneer elected to do DSD conversion for SACD's is quite interesting, and not unlike a couple of very expensive and well regarded SACD players. With Bass Management off, the signal goes from DSD to Analog directly, and with Bass Management on, it goes from DSD to LPCM to Analog. Since it goes to LPCM, it shouldn't make a difference in sound quality and, in fact, I hear no difference when playing it either way (except, of course, nothing comes from my sub-woofer with BM OFF).

A got a great deal at CC on this player!!!

Unfortunately, you get what you pay for...
Seen on a Mits 65" HD set:
-Contrasty picture, that I was able to improve by lowering in the video section, still rather harsh looking
-I did the the 'Mike's New Car' test from Disc 2 of MONSTERS INC: horrible performance on Progressive Flag reading- the picture went in and out of focus.
-generaly soft picture on other material

THIS PUPPY IS GOING BACK TO CC IN A FEW DAYS

Why can't we get a decent $200-$300 DVD player anymore (RP82, XP30)?

I may try the Mits 8040 and the Denons next...

You'll like Denon 910 (I bought it as my replacement for my trusty RP-56). It's a nice player without flicker bug (at least not nearly as bad as the 56), no combing on the subtitle, very fast layer change (thanks to its 2 Mb buffer), very very very quiet motor.

hey, I need to get a progressive scan dvd player to compelment my new hdtv. I was seriously thinking about this player for several reasons. First, my receiver only decodes DD but my receiver has 6 channel in so i could have the player decode DTS as well as send the SACD/DVD-A sound through the 6 channel. I do not use a subwoofer becuase my mains are Cerwin Vega D-3's. Another reason is that I have 50 bucks worth of best buy gift certificates that would make this player 140 after tax. What would your decision be in this situation? Would you choose a different player?

For $140 it's hard to beat. I'd say go with it until the universal high rez. digital output standard is agreed upon.

Dan

Any more news on this player being modified for region free playback?? Something that we slobs can do at home?

Dan

oryan_dunn, the bass management is by far the worst aspect of this player, IMHO. If you won't even be using BM, then for the money, I'd say it's a no brainer. Personally, I even think the video quality is good. I haven't played the "Mikes new car" sequence, which several have reported that it has problems with, but all the material I've played on it so far has been good (including the Monster's Inc movie itself).

Personally, I don't think there are any players out there that I can afford that I'd want to keep for a long time... universal players are still relatively new, as are upscaling models. I expect we'll see affordable models in the near future that do both, do it better than most of them do today, and affordably. The 563 is a nice stop-gap until then.

Has anyone tried to use Outlaw Audio's ICBM-1 unit with the 563a to control it's bass management woes?? I just bought the 563a and I too am dissapointed the the lack of control with BM. The ICBM-1 is $249.00 directly from Outlaw Audio. Anyone think it's worth the money? I have included the companies link, check it out.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/icbm.html

Charles

Originally posted by Charles Scott
The ICBM-1 is $249.00 directly from Outlaw Audio. Anyone think it's worth the money? I have included the companies link, check it out.


When you figure in the $249.00 of a ICBM-1, and then the price of the 563A. Might it not be best to wait for the next round of universal players, if the bass management of the player itself is a real issue for some? As the combined cost of both totaled is almost $450.00, and that takes it out of the bargain category that a lot people are looking in right now.

The ICBM is great at analog bass-management and its just a great, well-built piece of equipment in general.

It is true that the "bargin" price of the 563A is negated with the additional purchase of the ICBM though.

I've had my ICBM for almost 2 years now (I think that's right) and it has paid for itself in that I have gone through several DVD-Audio players on my way to a universal player like the 563A I'm using now. Already having the ICBM as part of my system does make the 563A a bargin again - for me anyway.

Darin, I agree with you 100% regarding the video quality and "stop-gap" comments.

I was using ICBM-1 with my Pioneer 563A. Then, once I got fed up with the cable-clutter, etc., and sold it. Only then I realized my mistake and understood how better DVD-A and SACDs sounded when I had ICBM. So I ordered it again!

It still looks like that affordable universal players with digital bass management are a couple of years away and the mere flexibility ICBM offers is great indeed.

I also think that it's a bit over-priced at $249.00 considering falling prices of good players while the ICBM sells at the same price since 2001. Probably volumes of production of DVD players help reduction in price - or may be, Outlaw simply enjoys/exploits unique positioning of ICBM - I am not sure. Used ICBM can be bought around $175.00 from audiogon or B-stocks (whenever available) at $199.00 from Outlaw.

Said that, I must add that ICBM also helped saving money by reigning in my frequent urge to upgrade. For example, I was thinking of adding an outboard amplifier to my Denon 3802 receiver - and now with ICBM, since low frequencies are routed to my SVS 25-31PC+ sub for the high-rez music, I simply can't justify purchasing an amplifier. In a similar way, I haven't "upgraded" to any more recent SACD/DVD-A/Universal players (from the audio point of view) - because ICBM would still be needed whether I go for Sony ES, Pioneer Elite or say, Denon 2900/5900 (I don't have receiver able to handle high-rez digital links).

My conclusion: ICBM makes a great combo to almost any player including Pioneer 563A.


Jigesh

Originally posted by jigesh
It still looks like that affordable universal players with digital bass management are a couple of years away and the mere flexibility ICBM offers is great indeed.
I don't see why that would be the case. The only major issue IMO with the bass management on the 563 is simply the crossover settings. They could have easily set them lower, or made them user selectable. Pioneer just didn't. There's no reason why a player couldn't be built today just like the 563 at the same price point with a more appropriate crossover point.

As to the ICBM, I've read from many that it solves the BM issue with the 563, and the combo make a great universal player. Personally though, I'm holding out. The money I spend today on an ICBM could probably buy a whole new player in a year that improves on the 563 in other ways as well.

I don't see why that would be the case. The only major issue IMO with the bass management on the 563 is simply the crossover settings.

With ICBM, you can select cross-overs for EACH speaker (or speaker pair; unlike 80Hz or 100Hz for ALL in many players) - since each speaker (front L-R, center, surround L-R, Surround back) will most probably be with different frequency response curves in a typical HT set-up. Besides, with ICBM you also get two choices for cross-over slopes, LFE trim, subwoofer level adjustment, and dual subwoofer management (if employing two subwoofers).

Jigesh

I realize the advanced features of the ICBM may be nice, but I don't consider lack of those features an "issue" with the 563. Typical a/v receivers/processors don't offer that level of control either. Ideally, all of your speakers are identical, but if not, they should at least have very similar tonal qualities. If not, I could see how the per/channel adjustments could help, but what do you do when listening to other sources?

Anyway, I realize the ICBM has its merits, which can be especially useful in certain situations. One of those situations is the poorly chosen crossover frequencies of the 563, and the inability to change them. Setting those frequencies at an anadjustable point that is well outside the range that is considered common and "good practice" is a flaw, IMO. The ICBM is probably the best way to fix that flaw, if you don't mind spending more on the fix than you spent on the entire product.

If not, I could see how the per/channel adjustments could help, but what do you do when listening to other sources?

In that case, you can connect ICBM between the prepro and external amplifier (if applicable). That way, delay/speaker distance adjustments of the prepro are discarded though...

The ICBM is probably the best way to fix that flaw, if you don't mind spending more on the fix than you spent on the entire product.

I agree. The options are basically either to wait till the entire product (with BM fix) becomes available at affordable price or to spend on the fix (plus cables, etc.) that may add up to be higher than the product cost itself. However, to me, spending on ICBM is still more essential than (like many) spending on expensive inter-connects, bi-wiring, etc. A matter of individual needs, views and preferences....

Best wishes,

Jigesh

How come 5.1 analog sound volume is a lot quieter compare to the digital sound?

P.S. Has anyone figured out the region hack for 563 yet?

Since 563's sister model is DV-667A, a Taiwanese model (region 3), should be an easily hack universal player. Has anyone tried to get its firmware?

a couple more questions.
Since I will not be using a subwoofer, I will not be using base managment. This means that I will be sending the signals unaltered to each speaker correct? If that is the case are DVD-Audio and SACD recorded in 5.0 sound instead of 5.1?

I just got done reading a review of this player at:
http://www.slottweak.com/DV_563A/563review.htm

In the review, it states that when the subwoofer is set to off, the LFE track will NOT be sent to the main speakers. Is this true? I hope not or else I'll have to have my receiver do the digital decoding off DVD movies (my receiver only does DD not DTS). That would be a bummer, not to mention i would need to use two input selections on my receiver. Has anyone else used this unit in a similar situation (no sub, using player to decode DD and DTS material)? If so, how does it sound? Better yet, could someone with this player compare the sound of when the player decodes the DVD video sound to their receiver (assuming that your receiver is an average receiver)? Thanks for any input.
Ryan

It does play NTSC R3 DVDS, but not pal..just PAL R0!!!

Nice find. I'll have to try my R2 (Japanese) NTSC DVDs now. If the PAL-to-NTSC conversion on this unit was good, I'd consider paying for JVB's mod.

I think, PAL TO NTSC is decent, very simillar to my Philips 963sa!
I played Region 3, MIB super bit..it played without a hiccup, even played okay on denon 1600..but PAL region coded dont play..

Originally posted by zoro
It does play NTSC R3 DVDS, but not pal..just PAL R0!!!

Are you saying your region 1 Pioneer DV-563 can play region 3 DVDs? Please tell me how?

It might just be the software, not that the player is doing anything special. It appears that Superbits (or at least some of them) might be fairly "region free", despite their labeling. See this thread (http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=306050).

it is playable, no doubt, ntsc r3

Forgive my ignorance, but what countries are covered by Region 3 discs?

Dan

I think Region 3 is Asia, or part of it anyway.

Region 3 covers South Korea, Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tailand, Singapore, Malasia, Indonesia... etc.

China: R6
Japan: R2
India and Middle East: R4 or R5

Originally posted by zoro
it is playable, no doubt, ntsc r3

I have tried Region 3 Final Fantasy (2 disc version) and Orange Road Movie and New Movie. The disc drawer just opened up and gave me "Incompatible disc region number, can't play disc". All are NTSC. The only disc that works is the 2nd disc of Final Fantasy, which contained Extras. It is probably not region coded anyway.

Can you tell me which discs have you tried that worked?

well, than as suggested previously, that super bit version, must be region free, but it does say r3 on dvd though..

Just purchased a DV-667 in Hong Kong, which is just the asian version of the 563. Looked at the Denons (1400, 2200) but they cost WAY more than this Pioneer unit and I had a hard time justifying spending TWICE to THREE times as much. For the money (About $185 usd) you really can't go wrong.

First impressions: Popped in the new Finding Nemo (R3) dvd and the video quality was great. Very sharp on my 36inch SONY KV36-DZ950 display (this is a Japanese import model TV. The quality is far and above ANYTHING Sony currently sells in the HK market and Western markets from what I have seen). Previously used a Samsung P708 which used the DCDi chip, and there was very little discernable difference between it and the new Pioneer.


Being rather adventurous, I immediately voided the warranty on my unit and opened it up to see what was inside. DACs as confirmed, were two 1702s and 1 1791. Power supply board was bare and unshielded but expected from a unit of this price. More surprisingly was the discovery of the MPEG decoder/deinterlacer. From what I can tell, the video deinterlaceing is performed by a combination of STMicroelectrionics STi5588/STM6316 chips. Checked the web but there is very little information concerning these chips and hardly any reviews. Does anyone have any information concerning these and how they spec out against the more common DCDi, Silcon image chips? Thanks!

Yep, a no go on non-R1 region-coded DVDs. Tried R2 (Japan) & R3 (HK) NTSC discs.

Hi
I am curently doing my own little home shout out between the pio563 and the Denon 2200 using a 65inch MITS HD set:
On the Gladiator dvd, the Denon was slightly sharper, with better shadow detail. On Mikes New Car (from Monsters Inc) the 563 was horrible, with the pic going in/out of focus as the player switched from Progr to interlaced.
On the new Star Trek series dvd, the Denon was much sharper. Same for the Thunderbirds set. It seems that the 563 may have some issues with Video based material.
Overall build quality, pic quality, and available adjustments(contast, gamma, sharp, color) make the 2200 a clear winner. Obviously, some of these differences will be less noticeable on smaller sets or with viewing material chosen.
Of course there is a $400 price difference...
I have not had any audio time yet..

Quick question, since I will not be using a subwoofer, will I use bass management? If not, then wouldn't that mean that SACD's are encoded in 5.0 instead of 5.1? It just seems like the SACD's that I have seen have said 5.1 which would indicate that it has a sub channel and those with the subwoofer would not be using bass managment.

Also, I read a review of this player somewhere else that stated that if you tell the player that you do not have a sub, then the LFE channel on DVD's will not be redirected to the main speaker outs when the player decodes DD and DTS. Owners of this model using 5.1 analog out, could you test this out and let me know? Since my receiver does not do DTS, that would suck. Thanks.

I got a 563 and just bought 3 SACDs to try out.

Peter Gabriel --- Shaking the Tree- SACD Stereo, CD Audio
Shania Twain --- Up! - SACD Stereo, SACD Surround, CD Audio
O' Brother Where Art Thou OST ------ SACD Stereo, SACD Surround

The 563 seems to lock in one type of sound track, how can I change to different one. In the setup menu, SACD is set to Multi-channel be played first. Do I have to go into setup menu to change to 2-channel and back everytime? Is there any easier way such as using remote? How can I play the CD audio tracks at all?

Also home come the volumes through 5.1 analog outputs are dramatically quieter than via digital outputs. Is there anyway to rectify that without buying expansive equipment?

Also with DVD-Audio, there are usually 4 types of sound tracks: DTS, DD, DVD-audio surround, DVD-audio stereo. How come 563 will start from DVD-audio surround and DVD-audio stereo, while RP-82 will start from DTS adn DD? I was playing Eagles - Hotel California.

Has anyone dealt with a hum caused by the composite video output? I simply connected the 563 composite video to my TV and stereo RCA's to my receiver and I get a terrible hum.

When the video cable is pulled, no hum. Listened to Money SACD for the first time and all I can say is WOW! Can't wait till I can lose the hum for real DVD enjoyment. (My temp TV only has composite video)

Hey guys, been working my way through this thread for the last couple of days and I'm pretty excited about this player and seriously considering purchasing it to compliment my recently acquired Panasonic 36" CT-36HL42 HD, Denon AVR-1803 receiver, and (older) Polk sats and sub. All your input so far has been great, thank you!

I remember somebody a page or two back mentioning they had problems with the "Believe" DVD-A by the band Disturbed. Once I pick up a DVD-A player, that will be one of the first discs I pick up (along with Maroon by The Barenaked Ladies). Has anybody had success with either of these DVD-A's? Did you have to change any settings to get them to work?

Thanks a lot,
Scott.

Originally posted by 9mileskid
Has anyone dealt with a hum caused by the composite video output? I simply connected the 563 composite video to my TV and stereo RCA's to my receiver and I get a terrible hum.

The humming could be a ground loop problem. Please see:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/groundloop/index.html
Otherwise, try to connect your TV, DVD player and receiver into the same power bar, see if that can get rid of hum. Please tell me your trial 'cause I might have a similar problem with component video switch box - not with humming noise particularly but with diagonal wavy video lines.

The video lines (and scrolling bars) can also be caused by 60Hz noise (which is also the reason for audible humming). Try disconnecting your cable TV or satellite cable and see if it goes away (if it does you probably need a ground isolator). Be sure you're using properly shielded interconnects as well.

Dan

Disconnected the RF cable from Sat Dish and it's gone. Having them come out to see if Dish and Cables are grounded coming into the house. It's got to be something before it hits the TV.

DJ

You should definitely make sure your cable ingress is grounded properly - that's a safety issue. But if it is grounded, and you still have a problem, try this the Jensen ISO-MAX Model VRD-1FF:

http://www.jensen-transformers.com/iso_vid.html

I use it and it works very well - no degradation of the picture quality. Compatible with HDTV, Pay-per-View, and Cable Modem.

The dish should be grounded to your main house electrical ground to keep the potentials the same.

Dan

I guess I know the answer to this, but I'm hoping I missed something...

Is their no simple way to switch between SACD layers on this player? The only way I can figure to do it, you have to stop playback and then navigate through "Initial Settings -> Options -> SACD Options" or something like that.

Stopping playback isn't such a big deal, but getting through the menu means my OSD needs to be on, which seems like a pain if I'm just trying to switch layers.

Any shortcuts?

This probably isn't a problem that often, I can leave it on multich, since that what I'd want most times. But when I'm playing around checking differences of 2ch vs. multich it is a pain.

It'd be nice if, while the disc was stopped, I could push "audio" or something and have it cycle between existing layers...

SACD layer switching:

I have the same problem as well. Supposedly, the SACD soundtrack O Brother Where Art Thou has a SACD surround soundtrack and my 563 is set at multi-audio first, but I could never play its surround track. Does anyone know why? I have checked the official SACD website and also on the back of SACD disc, it said it has 5.1 surround support. Help?

Omikron said "try to connect your TV, DVD player and receiver into the same power bar, see if that can get rid of hum.;

I had a hum problem due to different ground potentials on new vs. existing electrical outlets and a very bad hum from the cable TV connection. I bought a Monster HTS-2000 and plugged in my all my audio and video equipment except my power amps. The HTS-2000 also has connections for 75-ohm cable and telephone. It solved the hum problem and made my hi-fi system sound better. Highly recommended.

Dan

Originally posted by Omikron
SACD layer switching:

I have the same problem as well. Supposedly, the SACD soundtrack O Brother Where Art Thou has a SACD surround soundtrack and my 563 is set at multi-audio first, but I could never play its surround track. Does anyone know why? I have checked the official SACD website and also on the back of SACD disc, it said it has 5.1 surround support. Help?

I took a look at the disc at a local Best Buy (in Canada) last night, and whatever it may state on the back in fine print, the wording on the side of the spine clearly states "Stereo". Are you positive there are two mixes?

-Doug

DougHamm:

On the front cover, it does say 'SACD Stereo'. On the back, as you may have already known, it says:

(5.1 Surround Sound etc.) Mixed by Mike Piersante
SACD Surround Sound requires Multi-Channel SACD Player & compatible Surround Sound System. SACD Stereo
SACD Stereo requires SACD Player. CD Audio can be played on CD Players.

http://members.shaw.ca/gracehut/O%20Brother.jpg

I also have checked the official SACD release website:
http://www.superaudio-cd.com/

and the complete European releases as of November, 2003:
http://www.superaudio-cd.com/documents/ReleaseListSACDNov03.pdf

1030
Artists: Various Artists O' Brother Where Art Thou OST
Label: Universal Music/ Lost Highway
Catalogue number: 0 0088 170 358-2 6
SACD Stereo
SACD Surround

Although this is the European releases list, my SACD has the same Catalogue number: 0 0088 170 358-2 6
So it should be the same release.

Can anyone tell me if all three video outputs (Component, Composite and S-Video) are simultaneously active during DVD play?

Originally posted by Omikron
SACD layer switching:

I have the same problem as well. Supposedly, the SACD soundtrack O Brother Where Art Thou has a SACD surround soundtrack and my 563 is set at multi-audio first, but I could never play its surround track. Does anyone know why? I have checked the official SACD website and also on the back of SACD disc, it said it has 5.1 surround support. Help?

I too was suckered by this disc - it's extremely confusing! The fact is that there is no SACD Multichannel mix (unless you consider two-channel multichannel). The packaging borders on the fraudulent.

I still like the disc, but I prolly would have just bought the CD if I knew there were no MC mix.

Can anyone tell me if all three video outputs (Component, Composite and S-Video) are simultaneously active during DVD play?
Partial answer: the DV-563A's component and S-Video outputs are simultaneously active during DVD play. I've used component out to view DVDs via my projector and it showed the video at the same time on a small direct view TV via S-Video (I have the TV connected primarily to set various menu options for the player and my pre/pro but it also shows the movie when it is turned on during playback). I haven't used a composite connection for quite a while, (and don't have a third video display conveniently located to try it simultaneously), so I can't vouch for composite working at all. :>)

Burke

Originally posted by Burke Strickland
Partial answer: the DV-563A's component and S-Video outputs are simultaneously active during DVD play. I've used component out to view DVDs via my projector and it showed the video at the same time on a small direct view TV via S-Video (I have the TV connected primarily to set various menu options for the player and my pre/pro but it also shows the movie when it is turned on during playback). I haven't used a composite connection for quite a while, (and don't have a third video display conveniently located to try it simultaneously), so I can't vouch for composite working at all. :>)

Burke

Burke, I assume your player is set to run as interlaced. If you do so all outputs (SVideo, Composite and Component) will be active. But if within the setup menu you switch to Progressive. Only the component outputs become active and obviously in progressive mode.

Originally posted by EC
Burke, I assume your player is set to run as interlaced. If you do so all outputs (SVideo, Composite and Component) will be active. But if within the setup menu you switch to Progressive. Only the component outputs become active and obviously in progressive mode.

Burke, Eric,

Exactly what I needed to know -- thanks very much for your help.

Bob

Is there any difference in video quality between the DV-563 and the DV-363?

Originally posted by Ineedanewtv
Is there any difference in video quality between the DV-563 and the DV-363?

Bump. I know "silver is the new black" but silver still sucks. Anyone have a response to the original question?

TIA,

Brian

Though I just posted this on the GWIII owners thread, I may as well post it here too.

I just picked up this DVD Player yesterday and have a couple of questions.

1. Should I use the DVD Player on Progressive or Interlaced mode ? (which is better - Progressive conversion on DVD Player or GWIII? )
2. How does one stop the "onboard Progressive conversion" on GWIII ?
3. Are there any tweaks to the player or TV while using this combo ?
4. what is "Flagging" on DVDs ?
5. Any other useful tips ?

TIA

PS - BTW - This week this player is available on CC website for about $164.xx after their 10% online discount.

Well, I might be able to help on three points:

1) It all depends on personal visual preference. The TV may do a better job of de-interlacing than the player, or vice versa. If the TV does it better then keep the player in interlaced mode.

2) If the player is set to progressive output (and that's the set up that looks the best) then usually the TV will "sense" you are sending it a 480p signal and bypass its internal de-interlacing step altogether.

3) Flags are embedded into the video stream so that they mark the frame cadence of the source material and if it was transfered as film or video. If it was from a video source to begin with then there is no 2:3 pulldown cadence as there would be with 24 fps film material converted to the ~30 fps NTSC video standard. Some players' de-interlacing circuitry can only read the flags in order to understand the right cadence and appropriately convert to 480p (as with the Pioneer brands). If there is a problem with those flags (most DVD's have either some or a lot of bad flag data) then you can see all sorts of combing, jaggies, and other artifacts. If the player reads the flags, but can switch to a reading of the natural cadence of the 2:3 pulldown for film if there are "bad" flags encoded and then switch back when it picks up the right ones again, then you will get far fewer visible artifacts (this switching must take place in less than a second).

There are good tests for de-interlacing performance on Video Essentials and Digital Video Essentials.

Dan

Originally posted by Dan Hitchman
Well, I might be able to help on three points:
Dan

Thanks Dan. Your answers were very informative for me.

I am expecting to receive my DVE Disc in a couple of days too.

I have had this thing over a month now.

A few comments:

1) Seems to work OK for all disks I have tried ... just plain CD, DVD , and SACD.

2) The built in progressive convertor is different from the convertor in my
TV as seen in the test tracks of DVE, but I can't see any actual picture quality difference between the two methods, or with my older
non-progressive player. DVDs look excellent but don't come close
to over the air Fox widesceen (i.e. 480i converted to 1080i at the
station and then to 720p at my STB.)

3) the fast forward and reverse and slow motion controls suck big time.
I may go back to the older player for DVD and just use this one for audio.

Doug McDonald

The 563A has been a great budget player for me. I still have the desire to upgrade when HDDVD becomes available, and at that time I'll probably get a player with better audio capabilities. The 563A sounds great for it's price, but a few players I've had in my system have bested it, and should have given their price.

Overall, a great universal player. It has only failed to play one disc, and I'm sure that is due to poor mastering. The DVD Live at Knebworth music concert disc I had would not play properly. I exchanged it for a brand new one from Best Buy, and the new one failed as well. No other disc of the hundereds I've tried has failed to play.

A recommended buy! :)

James

Has anyone tried to play a DVD that has been created using a standalone DVD Recorder in 4 or 6 hour mode?

There's a thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=342943

where a new owner picked up a 563 and can't get it to play a disc presumably because of the 352x480 resolution of the video. Cheapie DVD players play it just fine, just not the $200 player that everyone says is the greatest thing to come along for those looking for multi-channel audio without paying big $$$.

He also had a DVD-Audio problem, where he couldn't get the Dolby Digital track to play without the player rebooting on him. If anyone has some experience, please click on the link and help him out! (I was looking at the 563 as well until I saw his message....)

I just bought the 563a tonight for $220 CDN or about $170 US. What a bargain! I just started playing with the video and found it a bit harsh. I turned off progressive and let my Infocus 5700 PJ do the deinterlacing (it has the DCDI Faroudja processor) and it looks great. The sound is great so far. Haven't touched the SACD or DVD-A yet but I am very hopeful. I have a Harman Kardon 7200 which does BM on the multichannel analog inputs so I think this is a perfect match for the 563a. I hope that setting all the speakers to 'large' and subwoofer 'on' will send an unadulterated signal to my 7200 and I can apply proper bass management there without resorting to another piece of equipment like the ICBM. I'll keep you posted on how this works.

outlier2:

How did you manage to get 563a for $220 CDN?

I bargained them down from $249. It pays to ask for a lower price. ;-)

At Futureshop?

Nope, FS wanted me to pay $249 for their display model! Jerks.

I bought mine at Visions electronics. I got the last new one in the city. Most retailers are not ordering new ones for some reason (I think Pioneer may be replacing them soon although the timing seems short as I believe they were released less than a year ago.

You might be interested in reading this review:

http://www.slottweak.com/DV_563A/563review.htm

and for the audio tests:

http://www.slottweak.com/DV_563A/563tests.htm

and for the crossover points:

http://www.slottweak.com/DV_563A/update1.htm
http://www.slottweak.com/DV_563A/update2.htm

Omikron,

Yes, I looked at those first. I have the 563a set to "large" for all speakers and SW on so I bypass the suboptimal bass management and use my HK7200 for BM (it also has BM on the analog SACD and DVD-A inputs). I still haven't hooked up the cables for the hi rez because I have no software to play yet anyway. :-(

Good price Outlier - and don't forget that Visions offers LIFETIME price protection, I just got another $200.00 off my Sammy HLN617W for the Future Shop sale. For the 563A, I paid $209, without asking, brand new in box. Of course drop 6 grand on a TV and you'll be amazed what prices they will give on stuff :)

i recently picked up a 563a at Circuit City's sale. i wanted to try out SACD and I figured this would be a cheap way do to that.

i tried the progressive out and was quite disappointed at to what I saw. there was shimmering on the noses of many actors (Fifth Element/SuperBit, LOTR 2 Towers) and stair step-jaggies everywhere. compared to the interlace output it looks absolutely atrocious. i'm wondering if the unit itself could be defective.

the associated equipment was a Runco VX-1c, bypassing the internal decoder and going direct to the projector. now, this may be where the problem arises ;), I had to make a component->DB15/VGA cable to connect to the Runco and it's a piece of crap (i'm not paying Monster Cable $200 for theirs... that's more than the player! :)). i took a (cheap) VGA cable, cut off an end, split out the RGB wires and soldered on RCAs. it seems to be OK, but lack of shielding on the SUPER TINY wires could be an issue. I finally found a place on-line (RAM Electronics-AVSForum advertiser) that makes a decent looking VGA/component cable for $20 so I may try that.

i know that running 480p direct to the projector isn't an issue, I do that all the time with various satellite receivers and everything looks great so it's something to do with the 563a. has anyone else seen this kind of picture quality issues with the 563a?

Originally posted by eelpout
i tried the progressive out and was quite disappointed at to what I saw. there was shimmering on the noses of many actors (Fifth Element/SuperBit, LOTR 2 Towers) and stair step-jaggies everywhere. compared to the interlace output it looks absolutely atrocious. i'm wondering if the unit itself could be defective.
I'm watching Fifth Element (Superbit) right now on my recently acquired DV-563a connected via component video to my Toshiba 57HX81 and the only shimmering I've seen thus far is on the main DVD menu, where you can setup the audio, etc. I haven't seen any stair-stepping or "jaggies" yet. The picture looks great, at least to me. :)

The DV-656a seems to be a bit "faster" in the opening/closing of the tray and the DV-656a has the "auto-progressive" that the DV-563a does not.

Peace...

I also just purchased this unit for SACD mostly, but where can I find an online site dedicated to selling SACDs and DVD-A?

www.cduniverse.com has very large SACD and DVD-A sections.

RichC

I just picked this unit up to try it out and have something until I decide if I want to buy a Denon 1600 or something else. I must say I am impressed with this player though, it was noticeably better then my HTPC with PowerDVD. I might end up just keeping this player instead of the Denon 1600, seeing how its 2.5x cheaper then the Denon.

Tomdkat,

I had similar concerns about the 480p output from this player. I switched to the 480i ouput to let my Infocus 5700 do the processing and I got a very nice picture. I'm very pleased so far with my purchase given the price I paid.

Has anyone tried one of the DTS Entertainment DVD-Audio discs on the 563?

I bought the Moody Blues "Days of Future Passed" yesterday. I had been hesitant to buy any of the DTS discs previously because I wasn't sure whether it is true DVD-A!

The 563 identifies the disc as a CD but plays it in six channel audio like a SACD. If you switch out of 6-channel input mode it plays it through the digital connection in DTS. Each sounds distinctly different, although the mix is the same. (Interestingly, my Panasonic DVD-RV31 identifies it correctly as a DTS-CD.)

BTW, I would not hesitate to buy another of the DTS Entertainment discs. This one is terrific.

My favorite DVD-A is a DTS disc: "Toy Matinee," featuring the late, great Kevin Gilbert. Sparkling studio recording with full use of all channels, melodic high-tech progressive pop. I bought it before I owned a DVD-A player and really enjoyed the DTS 5.1 version, but the DVD-A track is absolutely transparent. I doubt it sounded this good in the studio at the time.

(And that last thought brings up all sorts of interesting questions about what we mean by "accuracy.")

RichC

Any known hacks for this player "as yet" to make it Multi-Region...??

i've decided I'll gamble that my "shimmering" and jaggie problems with 480P might be related to my homemade cheapo component->VGA cable and give Ram Electronics $20 for a real one.

i'll report back if my issues go away.... or not.

I actually found the 563 to be a little lacking in the PQ category. I bought one in hopes of replacing a Panasonic S35. I hooked them both up to a Hitachi 57S700, and watched different scenes that give DVD players a hard time, such as the "Zion party" scene in Matrix Reloaded, where the fire light is shining on Neo and Trinity, 'solarization' tends to happen in this scene. If you don't have a digital TV, it's not as noticeable. The panny did a noticeably better job, so the Pioneer ended up going back to the store. Another good scene for comparing DVD players is the first 5 minutes of Bring it On. I did not test any audio aspects, just picture quality.

Regards,
PolkThug

Originally posted by PolkThug
such as the "Zion party" scene in Matrix Reloaded, where the fire light is shining on Neo and Trinity, 'solarization' tends to happen in this scene. If you don't have a digital TV, it's not as noticeable.Is this more or less noticable with the DV-563a? I've got one now so I'm curious to see what you're talking about. I've also got a Panasonic DVD-XP30 I'll use as a reference and a Pioneer DV-656a I'll try for curiosity. I'll be using a Toshiba 57HX81 as the display.

Another good scene for comparing DVD players is the first 5 minutes of Bring it On. What do you notice here? I own both DVDs you mention so I would like to give them a spin. :)

Peace...

Originally posted by tomdkat
Is this more or less noticable with the DV-563a?

Although it is a problem with both, it is more noticeable on the 563A. Look at the back of Neo's neck.


What do you notice here? I own both DVDs you mention so I would like to give them a spin. :)

Peace...

The opening scene has the cheerleaders dancing around in their bright red outfits. On crappy DVD players the outfits look more 2-dimensional looking.

Let me know what your observations are. And like I said before, digital TV's really bring out these problems, on analog TV's its not that big of deal.

Regards,
PolkThug

563sa, is not comparable to multi 100s dvd player but holds good, on it self for under $200, universal, imho..if u want state of the art , go for 59avi, for $1600, 8X more

Originally posted by BigScreen
Has anyone tried to play a DVD that has been created using a standalone DVD Recorder in 4 or 6 hour mode?

There's a thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=342943


A fellow member of the TiVo-Community Forums created two DVD-R's for me on his Pioneer 810 (DVD-Recorder and TiVo combo unit) and sent them to me to try out.

He recorded 1 hour of video onto each disc. One in EP Mode and one in LP Mode.

Both play just fine on my Pioneer 563A-S. So I guess the bottom line is that the disc that I was having trouble with is bad in some fashion that allows it to play on all DVD Players except for the 563A. :(

I'll be seeing the guy I got that disc from again in a couple of weeks and I'll find out what DVD Recorder he made it on and see about getting a replacement.

So the bottom line is that I'm keeping the 563A despite the reboot issue on the Silverline DVD-Audio disc.

I picked up a Pinoneer DV-667A in Singapore that had been modified to support multi-region.

I've watch some region 1 DVD's and am currently watching "28 Days Later" that a friend picked up in China labeled "DVD-9" (supposed to be better quality) and region "2-PAL". It looks very nice on my 36" Sony XBR, though I don't have the trained eye of most on this site.

I've got it hooked up to the 6 channel analog input on my Yamaha receiver and have played a multi-channel SACD (Michael Feinstein) and DVD-Audio (Olivia Newton John - DTS Entertainment) without trouble. I select the 6-channel input on my receiver and have the DV-667 configured to play the SACD/5.1 and DVD-Audio portion of the disks. Those work great.

Today I found a T. Rex "Electric Warrior" DVD-Audio (Warner Bros./Rhino) disk at Virgin, but when I try to play the DVD-Audio portion of the disk, I get no audio. If I tell the DV-667 to play the DVD-Video portion of the disk, I can hear the DTS audio over the digital connection fine. I verified that the Olivia DVD-Audio disk still could be heard over the 6-channel analog connections.

It seems to be playing some sort of track, but no audio can be heard and it switches between tracks before the full length of the song (ie track one is 4 minutes long, but it switches to track two after on about 1 minute). Could this be a defective disk? Has anyone got experience with this DVD-Audio disk ?

Thanks,
Eliot

Originally posted by eliotw
I picked up a Pinoneer DV-667A in Singapore that had been modified to support multi-region.

Great! Someone with DV-667A! Could you tell me whether your 667 is hardware modified or software hack? Was it modified by the factory or retailer? Did you receive your 667 in the unopened box with original tape transparent tape sealing it?

I've watch some region 1 DVD's and am currently watching "28 Days Later" that a friend picked up in China labeled "DVD-9" (supposed to be better quality) and region "2-PAL". It looks very nice on my 36" Sony XBR, though I don't have the trained eye of most on this site.

"DVD-9" just simply means single-side dual-layer, while "DVD-5" is single-side single-layer (where most often pirated DVDs use).

I've got it hooked up to the 6 channel analog input on my Yamaha receiver and have played a multi-channel SACD (Michael Feinstein) and DVD-Audio (Olivia Newton John - DTS Entertainment) without trouble. I select the 6-channel input on my receiver and have the DV-667 configured to play the SACD/5.1 and DVD-Audio portion of the disks. Those work great.

As for Olivia Newton John disc, was it 'Back with a Heart' (DTS only) or 'One Woman's Live Journey' (DVD-A and DTS)?

]Today I found a T. Rex "Electric Warrior" DVD-Audio (Warner Bros./Rhino) disk at Virgin, but when I try to play the DVD-Audio portion of the disk, I get no audio. If I tell the DV-667 to play the DVD-Video portion of the disk, I can hear the DTS audio over the digital connection fine. I verified that the Olivia DVD-Audio disk still could be heard over the 6-channel analog connections.

I cannot seem to find the Electric Warrior DVD-A version. There are two version of audio CD. One the remastered version as shown below:
http://www.musictap.net/Graphics/CDCovers/TRexElectricWarrior.jpg

It seems to be playing some sort of track, but no audio can be heard and it switches between tracks before the full length of the song (ie track one is 4 minutes long, but it switches to track two after on about 1 minute). Could this be a defective disk? Has anyone got experience with this DVD-Audio disk ?

Thanks,
Eliot [/B]

If you go to the play menu, how many 'groups' you can see listed? You can switch group, thereby going into different audio format.

Thanks for the info about DVD-9. My friend picked them up at a "legit" shop in Bejing, but they were really cheap. They were selling the DVD-5's too.

Could you tell me whether your 667 is hardware modified or software hack? Was it modified by the factory or retailer? Did you receive your 667 in the unopened box with original tape transparent tape sealing it?


I first saw the player at Sim Lim (big electronics mall in Singapore) and that shop's first price was SGD$499. I went to a regular electronics store in a mall and they had it for SGD$449 (US$260) and said it was multi-region. I decided to get it from the regular shop and asked them to show me it's multi-region capability. The display model would not play multi-region, they said it had not been modified. They pulled a unit from the back and it would not play multi-region either, they said they thought all had been modified, but this one was missed. They brought a second one out and it played multi-region. I am not sure if it had the original tape, I'd suspect not since it sounds like the modify them there, though the packing material was is excellent condition.

If there is anything I can do now to determine how it was modified, let me know.

As for Olivia Newton John disc, was it 'Back with a Heart' (DTS only) or 'One Woman's Live Journey' (DVD-A and DTS)?


It's the DVD-A and DTS version of "One Woman's Live Journey".

cannot seem to find the Electric Warrior DVD-A version.

The cover looks the same as you posted, but above the graphics it says "5.1 Surround Sound Music" and on the back is a chart of disc content and players needed:

DD 5.1 surround Sound - All DVD Players
Advanced Resolution Surround Sound (96kHz/24-bit) - DVD-Audio Players
Advanced Resolution Stereo (192kHz/24-bit) - DVD-Audio Players

Thanks for the tip on using the "Disc Navigator" to look at the groups. When playing the DVD-A portion there are 3 groups. 1-[1-12], 2-1, 3-[1-24].

Group 2 is a music video.

As I said, it seemed to switch tracks before the song should have been finished (this is when there was no audio). I now see that it switches the tracks after about 2 minutes for every song. I think that group 1 tracks are just menu tracks and each menu track is about 2 minutes long. What I see is a photo on the screen with track name and 3 or 4 buttons on the bottom right of the screen (next, track list, photos, lyrics, prev). While this menu is displayed, I hear no audio and no keys will make the audio start. I suspect it should be playing one of the group 3 audio tracks, but the mechanism to do that seems to not work. There is an "Audio Setup" section in the menus and I tried it with both stereo and surround choices.

There are supposed to be 12 songs on the disc and group 3 has 24 tracks. 1-12 seems to be multi channel when I listen via the 6-channel analog connectors and tracks 13-24 seem to be 2 channel stereo. (BTW, all of these tracks send only DD 2-channel to my receiver via the digital connection. The only 5.1 digital signal I get is when playing the DVD-Video portion of the disc)

So I think I can enjoy this disc by manual playing the group 3 tracks, but the menuing system seems to be broken. I am guessing an incompatibility with this player and maybe bad choice of menuing mechanism on the disc. Does it sound like a defective disc rather than an incompatibility? Has anyone seen a similar issue with other discs?

Thanks,
Eliot

So, I've had my DV-563a hooked up for a few weeks now and I've watched about 10 or so DVDs (maybe 15) on it and haven't had any "major" problems. I have noticed a minor quirk every now and then and I think I prefer the video performance of the DV-656a to the DV-563a.

For those of you with this player and who own Fifth Element (Superbit), do you notice "shimmering" on the DVD menu? On my DV-563a, the DVD menu shows a noticable amount of shimmering around the third menu item, while on my DV-656a the menu is "spot on". Both are connected to my Toshiba 57HX81 via Monster 3 component video cables.

EDIT: I've read where someone else has noticed shimmering on this same title, but in a different spot. Nevermind. :)

Peace....

eliotw:

Thank you for enlightening me on the origin of your 667. It sounds like the region-free modification was not done at the retail store, possibly by some distributor before shipping there. Modification might creat a quirk on the player, see the following quote from another thread:

Originally posted by Lee Bombard
I placed an order for this unit from HKFlix and boy am I sorry!

1st the good news...Unit came quick and was nicely packed.

Now the bad news...The PAL to NTSC either sucks or was bad on this unit. I know that there is some conversion speed-up to contend with but this thing seemed to be on acid. Very jerky as well. The regular region 1 stuff played back fine...at first. By the 3rd or 4th day the video on the unit would literally go out after 20 or 30 minutes of use. I'd have to turn it off for an hour or so and then it would be OK for another 20 or 30 minutes.

At this point I e-mailed HKFlix and after a day or so of back and forth the bottom line was NO REFUNDS under any circumstances. Repair only. So I received a faulty unit, had it for 4 or 5 days all together, returned it for repair 2-3 weeks ago and have heard nothing since. I could not be more disgusted with HKFlix or their modified Pioneer 563A.

The really sad part is that this was not my first purchase from them but will most certainly be my last.

In your case, it sounds the culprit is the Electric Warrior DVD-A itself since your other DVD-A disc played flawlessly. As you pointed out, the Hi-Res stereo and Hi-Res surround are in the same group - that is very wrong. Mostly like the menu system on the disc got screw up. I will check on my Eagles - Hotel California for you later. It has four audio formats: DD 5.1, DTS, Hi-Res Stereo, Hi-Res Surround. I noticed every time I inserted this disc, it will automatically go to Hi-Res menu, which only have Hi-Res Stereo and Hi-Res Surround to choose from. On my other player Panasonic RP-82, initial start menu is the DD 5.1 & DTS. I didn't bother to play around with choosing which format before since I only had Pioneer 563 hooking up to the 6 channel analog inputs of receiver. I will do some more fiddling....

I have looked thru the thread looking for more info on the progressvie performance of this player. I didnt see much, but at over 24 pages, I might have missed it!! :)

It seems the video is not up to the same level as my JVC I replaced with the 563.

Just for kicks I changed to interlace output, and it seemed that the PQ picked up a notch. I am using a toshiba 50h81 which does a 540p upconversion on all non HD sources anyway.

I know therorically I should get a better pic with progressive out, but could this be a time where I would be better letting the tv handle the conversion??

Just wondering if I was crazy or not!! :)

I've had my 563A since day one of it release. Still liking it but still looking to upgrade too though.

I haven't bought many more DVD-Audio or SACDs in the last 6 months are so though. Still using Outlaw ICBM for bass.

I see macroblocking when playing Finding Nemo that I don't see on my other players. Even in slow motion and frame advance the problem appears. Normally, every DVD looks and plays fine.

Got an Iomega DVD burner about a month ago and have been able to play DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW in the 563A without issue.

I still think this player was a great deal to this day.

Just got this player this weekend. I noticed upon first viewing that the picture was incredibly dark. I went into the players setup menu and put on VE at the Pluge pattern. Under the customer settings of the 563's video menu, when i reduce contrast, only then will the blacker than black strip appear - so I left that adjustment to better allow me to adjust black level. Has anyone else had to do this? I would have expected the brightness setting on the player to allow me to see the blacker than black strip, not the contrast setting - any thoughts?

I found the initial 563 settings are very dark as well. Color is very dull and not as sharp. So I turned up one notch in the Brightness, Contrast, and Chroma. That helps, but I still thinks RP82 looks better - more 3D like. What is Chroma exactly? Should I leave that alone?

It's a $150 universal player. It's not going to be spectacular for anything. But it works.

Dirk--How do you set up the 563 to let the TV do the converting? Just set it to interlaced mode? My TV has a Farouda chip (a Sammy DLP) which is supposed to be superior to what you can find in most DVD players.

Johnia, I'd be very interested in knowing where that button is that you speak of?

Originally posted by oryan_dunn
Johnia, I'd be very interested in knowing where that button is that you speak of?
Sorry, my mistake! That info is for the 656A which I replaced with 563A, and I still get them mixed up when asked which one is which. So I'm deleting that post right after I make this one.
Anyway for the 563A, the only way you can turn the progressive scan on or off, is through the setup menu for the player. And setting it there, for interlaced, means it's turned off. As it does not have the switch on the front like the 656A does. And I think that as far as Pioneer removing the button like the 656A had, that it was a big mistake on their part.

Again, sorry for the wrong info.

Originally posted by Johnla
And I think that as far as Pioneer removing the button like the 656A had, that it was a big mistake on their part.


No kidding!! A button to do that would have been so helpful. Especially since my tv automatically streched 480p, if i have a full screen movie or want to watch the special features of a movie, i have to go in and change it in the menu. What a pain. Oh well. We all make mistakes, to bad it wansn't me overlooking the button.

Ryan

The best thing would be BUTTON ON REMOTE!!

Very true

Ive owned one for several months. My only complaint is the DVD skips can be extra nasty on this player, making a loud noise and such.. My other players seemed more forgiving of skips, and handled the errors a bit better.

Its great though, 95% of the time, I would buy one again.

Originally posted by dirk1843
Just for kicks I changed to interlace output, and it seemed that the PQ picked up a notch. I am using a toshiba 50h81 which does a 540p upconversion on all non HD sources anyway.

I know therorically I should get a better pic with progressive out, but could this be a time where I would be better letting the tv handle the conversion??

Just wondering if I was crazy or not!! :) Dirk,

I have essentially the same display (56H80). You're not imagining anything. I've seen it too.

And tomdkat: Interlaced Out is as good or better than Progressive Out into these displays. I saw some shimmering on the Soprano's Top Menu block text in Progressive Mode that disappeared when switched to Interlaced.

BTW: The DNR systems in these displays are as good or better than anything I've seen yet on a DVD player.

I'm having problems with the 563a recognizing disks. DSOTM hybrid SACD worked fine the first 4-5 times but now it only recognizes CD layer. LOTR worked fine at first, now it won't play. DVD-A takes a few attempts but will generally load eventually. Half my DVD's require re-loading!!!!! This is unacceptable. I've cleaned them just in case but many of these were brand new and had this problem. Are others having this issue with the 563a or do I have a unique unit???

I loaded a regular CD yesterday and it did not recognize it the first time, I reloaded it and it was fine, I could not get the problem to occur again.

How many of you had had some issues the 563a reading discs?

Guess I've been lucky--no problems w/any discs since I got it 8 months ago. I mostly use my Momitsu V880 via DVI w/my front projector (better PQ), but when the Momitsu acts up sometimes, the 563A is my (reliable) alternate.

No problems reading discs, but it is in the shop because it was having trouble freezing occassionally during DVD playback.

Originally posted by PrimeTime
And tomdkat: Interlaced Out is as good or better than Progressive Out into these displays. I saw some shimmering on the Soprano's Top Menu block text in Progressive Mode that disappeared when switched to Interlaced.
Thanks for the comment. I've tried my Pioneer DV-656a and Panasonic DVD-XP30 in interlaced mode when connected to my Toshiba 57HX81 and noticed a LOT more "jaggies" then when both players were in progressive mode. In fact, I use my Pioneer DV-656a most of the time because of the "auto-progressive" feature that my Pioneer DV-563a doesn't have lets me conveniently know which DVDs are anamorphic and which are not so I can know when to change video modes. :)

When I watch non-anamorphic DVDs, I notice a LOT more jaggies and other artifacts that I don't when I watch anamorphic DVDs. Both Pioneer players comb but the DV-563a doesn't comb as much/badly as the DVD-656a does.

My 57HX81 still has NOT been ISF calibrated yet. :)

Peace...

I thought 563sa, did not comb, rather shimmer..

I'll find one of the DVDs I noticed this on and will post chapter/time info for others to verify. Hopefully, it will be a DVD I own vs one I rented. :)

Peace...

CC is selling the 563A for a GREAT price right now..grab it. Cant say the price as it is not allowed.

Are there any major differences besides DVD Audio between the Pioneer 363 and 563A? I would like to buy a good player in black and if the quality is better for 563, I shall stick to it. I have to pick one up soon.

CC is selling the 563A for a GREAT price right now..grab it. Cant say the price as it is not allowed.You've got to be kidding? Why wouldn't it be allowed to tell us at AVS what great deal can be had on any unit? Who told you that you can't help your fellow AVS-ers to a great deal on gear? :rolleyes: ?

Coz we are not allowed to talk numbers on Rear Projection TV forum where I usually spend my time and therefore assumed the same for this forum as well. The price is $120 plus tax! Thats damn cheap considering the MSRP is still at $250!

Mind if I ask an incredibly newb question, as I've had my eye on this player as well...

How can I determine if my present setup can even handle playing SACDs or DVD-A's worth a hoot? What are the standards I need to look for.

I currently am stuck with a Sony HT500D HTIB.

The price is $120 plus tax! Whoa... that makes this a very nice unit for potential modding by folks like Modwright.... Can you say... second system? ;)

What are the standards I need to look for.Q,
You need a preamp or receiver with a 5.1 analog input bypass... or a unit like the old, wonderful Sony TAP-9000es, which was designed to be a multichannel music preamp with HT bypass.

Ok. My Sony 5500d HTIB does do 5.1 and DTS and I do see analog multichannel inputs on the back. 600 watt system.

I also see that the Pioneer unit here has coax output, optical output, and the 5.1 output. Theoretically, it looks like I could do it. I guess I would connect via the analog mutlichannel, or should I do coax?

What kind of cables do you use for that multichannel anyways? Thanks!

Q,
the optical or coax digital connection will be fine for watching movies or listening to CDs, but, SACD and DVD-A isn't passed via those connections. So, for SACD and DVD-Audio, you'll need to hook up those 6 analog connections. Analog connections all just use RCA ended interconnects just like your analog stereo connections use.

Thanks! I just bugged some other poor guy about this as well. It seems like this unit would be a nice, inexpensive way to get the job done.

According to Alex Paychev (APLHIFI.COM - another moder of the 563A) the 563A has the same transport mechanism as used in the following Pioneers: 47, 47i, 59i, & and I think also the Marantz 8400. So yes. the 563A is a good transport for modding.