I purchased a DV-400V from Best Buy yesterday. I was shopping for a DVD player that featured USB flash drive support and was capable of playing AVI files encoded with the Xvid codec. Based upon that criteria, the DV-400V was an excellent fit.

I tested AVI playback using DVD+R DL media and a 16GB Corsair Flash Voyager USB 2.0 drive. So far it has played every AVI file that I have thrown at it, including those using external subtitle files.

Interestingly enough, although Pioneer makes no mention of this in their specifications, I was able to successfully play a multi-region PAL DVD. The DV-400V itself is region locked.

One quirk that I discovered is that my unit appears to suffer from video clock jitter. When connected to my Samsung SPN4235X/XAA EDTV plasma and set to 1080i output, the horizontal and vertical sync signals fluctuate sufficiently to cause a band of distortion along the right side of the display. The Samsung reported frequencies alternating between 33.76 kHz H / 60.08 Hz V and 33.84 kHz H / 60.22 Hz V.

My Westinghouse LVM-42W2 HDTV LCD did not appear to be affected by the clock jitter and was able to display all signals, including 1080p, without distortion.

I too purchased a DV-400V from Best Buy and despite not having a TV at the moment to hook it up to, I'd like to report on a few things about it that really has me excited.

The following info is taken right from the owners manual:

TV Aspect Ratio
4:3 (Letter Box)
4:3 (Pan & Scan)
16:9 (Wide)
16:9 (Compressed)

HDMI Resolution
720x480i (rare)
720x480p
1280x720p
1920x1080i
1920x1080p

Component Out
Interlaced
Progressive

HDMI Colorspace
Full range RGB
RGB
YCbCr (Default for HDMI) (Called "Component" in menu)

Video Adjust Menu
Sharpness (Soft, Standard, Fine)
Brightness (-20 to +20)
Contrast (-16 to +16)
Gamma (Off, Low, Medium, High)
Hue (Green 9 to Red 9)
Chroma Level (-9 to +9)

Audio DRC (Dynamic Range Control)
Off, Low, Medium, High

Virtual Surround
Off, On

Equalizer
Off, Rock, Pop, Live, Dance, Techno, Classic, Soft

Dialog Enhancement
Off, Low, Medium, High

Digital Out
Off, On

Dolby Digital Out
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital --> PCM

DTS Out
DTS
DTS --> PCM

96 kHz PCM Out
96 kHZ
96 kHz --> 48 kHz

MPEG Out
MPEG
MPEG --> PCM

HDMI Audio Out
LPCM (2CH)
Auto
Off

DTS Downmix
Stereo
Lt/Rt (compatible with Dolby surround matrix decoders)

General Features
Will do Zoom X2 and X4
Will play DivX, VCD, MP3, WMA, WMV (discs), MPEG-4 AAC, CD, JPEG, and of course DVD
Will display a multi camera/angle icon on-screen when it detects a multi-angle scene. (Defeatable)
USB input on front face
DVD/USB Button on player and remote
17 button functions on the player. (Full menu controls)

Downside: No Optical Out....Only digital coaxial out. This might be a big deal to some but not to me. My Audio system has Coax in and TV is HDMI.


A little more info....after removing the case, I found it to be using the MediaTek MT1389FE chip

Now I just have to hook it up and check picture quality.

By the way, BB had it for $30 more than what Pioneer was listing it for on their website :eek: . Once I pointed that out and they checked Pioneer's site, they gladly beat that price.


Anyone else out there that has tried this unit out yet ???

???? I was at Best Buy last Thursday and asked a salesman about the availability of the Pioneer DV-400V and was told that they only carry the Pioneer ELITE line and not the standard Pioneer line of electronics; So, what's going on here ?
By the way, did Best Buy have the DV-400V in both finishes, black and/or silver ?
--------------------------------------------
Marcos

???? I was at Best Buy last Thursday and asked a salesman about the availability of the Pioneer DV-400V and was told that they only carry the Pioneer ELITE line and not the standard Pioneer line of electronics; So, what's going on here ?
By the way, did Best Buy have the DV-400V in both finishes, black and/or silver ?
--------------------------------------------
Marcos
You must have gotten a clueless sales person.

They DO carry the DV-400V-K Pioneer now. It is the Black model and looks great aesthetically.

I went to the store and looked for the DV-400V but didn't see it on display so I asked a sales associate. He said they just had one and they weren't allowed to put it on display yet. I asked if I could buy it and he said "Sure as long as you specifically ask for it, I can sell it to you."

Next time you go to your store, ask for it and if they say they don't carry it, ask them to look it up in their system....it should be there.

By the way, they do carry other "non-Elite" stuff. The Pioneer PDP-5071HD Plasma for one.

I too purchased a DV-400V from Best Buy and despite not


A little more info....after removing the case, I found it to be using the MediaTek MT1389FE chip

Now I just have to hook it up and check picture quality.




Anyone else out there that has tried this unit out yet ???

Is the MediaTek Chip suppose to be a good one.. sorry I dont know..

thanks

Mark

???? I was at Best Buy last Thursday and asked a salesman about the availability of the Pioneer DV-400V and was told that they only carry the Pioneer ELITE line and not the standard Pioneer line of electronics; So, what's going on here ?
By the way, did Best Buy have the DV-400V in both finishes, black and/or silver ?
--------------------------------------------
Marcos

The local Best Buy had one on display and one on the shelf which I purchased. Black was the only finish available.

The Pioneer web site doesn't show anything other than black.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/product/details/0,,2076_310069745_435756832,00.html

Is the MediaTek Chip suppose to be a good one.. sorry I dont know..

thanks

Mark

This is my first experience with it. It appears to be used in a number of DVD players.

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers?chipset=MediaTek%20MT1389FE

To display the region and ROM information:

1) Power on the unit with no disc or USB flash drive inserted.

2) Press Home Menu on the remote.

3) Select Initial Settings

4) Scroll down to Options

5) Press Display on the remote.

Here is what I get:

REGION: 1
ROM VERSION: YGB7328I

Downside: No Optical Out....Only digital coaxial out. This might be a big deal to some but not to me. My Audio system has Coax in and TV is HDMI.

It looks like the Japanese version has optical out. :eek:

http://pioneer.jp/dvdld/player/dv_400v/img/zoom_06.jpg

A little more info....after removing the case, I found it to be using the MediaTek MT1389FE chip So, the question now becomes... does the 400V suffer from the "vertical compression" error when upconverting like some of the other players that use the Mediatek chipset?!?

The DV-400V is listed as having "PureCinema 2:3 progressive scan" which to my understanding would imply that it uses Pioneer's in-house developed de-interlacer/scaler chip.... Pioneer has been using this nomenclature for at least a couple of years to describe it and, as tested by Home Theater magazine, was one of only three manufacturers (Pioneer, JVC, Hitachi) that passed all de-interlacing and upscaling testings without having to resort to "hunting" and selecting different options in the user's menu to find the best settings for such purpose.
Perhaps the DV-400V uses the MediaTek MT1389FE only for MPEG2 decoding and for DivX playback leaving all de-interlacing/upscaling up to its own processing chip ?
By the way, after going to BestBuy and calling Tweeter etc plus J&R just to find out that none of them would have/were planning on stocking the DV-400V, i placed my order with the Pioneer Store and should be getting my unit by tomorrow...I certainly don't think that for $100 there is a better dvd player out there right now.
-----------------------------------------
Marcos

Am I the only one excited about the USB option for MP3 playback? I plugged my flash drive into the slot and was playing tunes in 5 seconds.

I also did a sound check on my test bench and found the USB sound quality (@ 320Kbps) to be only slightly lower than CD on my $3000 amp/speaker system. As such, I consider this playback quality to be near-audiophile grade. This is a big concern for me because many of the MP3 players have inferior sound quality, and the high-end stores still refuse to acknowledge a bit stream as a legitimate audio source.

What I want to know is: what are the compatibility options for USB devices? The Owner's Manual is very vague:

"Compatible USB devices include portable flash memory (particularly keydrives) and digital audio players (MP3 players) of format FAT16/32. It is not possible to connect this personal computer for USB playback."

So I purchased a Seagate/FreeAgent 250GB external drive (also at best buy for $99). It is NTFS. If I convert to FAT, will it play back via USB on the DV-400V ?

This to me is HUGE because it is a much cheaper solution than using a dedicated media PC with sound card upgrade. Of course I got passed back and forth from blue shirt kid to blue shirt kid at Best Buy, but the asst mgr in the Magnolia section was a true geek - he said Pioneer TVs already play back hard drives via USB direct to the TV, and that technically an I-Pod is a hard drive (and a proprietary one at that).

Any bitheads out there have an opinion about this????

Cheers,

Ed

The DV-400V is listed as having "PureCinema 2:3 progressive scan" which to my understanding would imply that it uses Pioneer's in-house developed de-interlacer/scaler chipThe predecessor (DV-490V) is also listed as having "PureCinema 2:3 progressive scan". Most likely this unit is just an incremental updating of the 490V, with the added ability to scale to 1080p and the inclusion of the USB capability.

edsspam, on other players with USB and the same chipset (Philips, Oppo), there seems to be a wide variation of which disks are compatible, and there is even some sensitivity to what formatting software works. I would expect the 400V to accept essentially the same drives. The following thread on videohelp, though about the Philips 5960, might be useful for you: http://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=301465 - DR

The DV-400V is listed as having "PureCinema 2:3 progressive scan" which to my understanding would imply that it uses Pioneer's in-house developed de-interlacer/scaler chip.... Pioneer has been using this nomenclature for at least a couple of years to describe it and, as tested by Home Theater magazine, was one of only three manufacturers (Pioneer, JVC, Hitachi) that passed all de-interlacing and upscaling testings without having to resort to "hunting" and selecting different options in the user's menu to find the best settings for such purpose. Marcos -

While I'd love for that to be the case, Pioneer has also slapped their "PureCinema Progressive" on their players regardless of whether or not it uses their proprietary de-interlacing solution. Check out Kris Deering's review of the DV-588A here (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=&manufacturer=21&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0#PioneerDV-588A), specifically the second paragraph where, despite the "Pioneer Pure Progressive" written on the unit, the Mediatek MT1389EE chip does all the de-interlacing and MPEG duties.

That said, has anyone checked the upscaling on the DV-400V for any signs of vertical compression?!?

Marcos -

...Pioneer has also slapped their "PureCinema Progressive" on their players regardless of whether or not it uses their proprietary de-interlacing solution...despite the "Pioneer Pure Progressive" written on the unit, the Mediatek MT1389EE chip does all the de-interlacing and MPEG duties.
That statement appears to be correct in the case of the DV-400V as well. I just thoroughly checked the main board and there is a System Ram chip, Flash Memory chip, Video Driver chip, DVD driver chip, and the MT1389FE. There are NO proprietary Pioneer ICs at all. (Unless the MT1389FE in this unit is a special Pioneer only version)

My assumption is that the MediaTek chip does the Scaling AND De-interlacing.

That being said, the fact that this unit will do 1080p AND 480i over HDMI, will do DivX AND WMV from the USB port, and is around a C-note is a good thing.

If the PQ is sub-standard however, then "all bets are off" and it must be relegated to the pretty paper weight category.

I am unable to hook mine up as I'm in the middle of moving from VA to NY and my TVs are boxed-up.

Anyone out there that can review the operation, and, more importantly the PQ, Scaling, and De-interlacing abilities? I plan to do an A-B comparison with 3 other HDMI equipped players I have once I get the TVs unpacked.

polyscroll >>> Does the DV-400V come packaged with a HDMI cable included in the box ?
>>>> Thanks > Marcos

polyscroll >>> Does the DV-400V come packaged with a HDMI cable included in the box ?
>>>> Thanks > Marcos
Nope...just Composite Video & Audio...Standard Fare.

DR -

Thanks for the post - I am working on the reformat issue as we speak - got my fingers crossed!

Marcos -

I found much better deals on cables online...retail outlets seem to have two options: very cheap and very expensive. I ordered an open-box NXG cable for $15 (retails for $50).

Cheers,

Ed

Thanks for the tip eddsspam, however, yesterday i ordered a HDMI cable from MonoPrice, one of the sponsors listed at the top of this page, which is a company that's been highly recommended by several posters at AVS - and it only cost me $9 for a 3ft length, shipping included !
On a side note, i'm not too pleased with Pioneer either (besides Samsung and the "HQV fiasco") for advertising the DV-400V as having "PureCinema 2:3 progressive scan", which to my innocent ears meant that it has the same video processing chip as the one used by its premier video displays and dvd players, and now i find out that it does not, it simply implies that the unit "correctly" de-interlaces film-based material....Talk about false advertisement : had i known that last week when i placed my order for the DV-400V i wouldn't have rushed so much to purchase it and would continue my research for a very inexpensive dvd player with 1080p HDMI output and a good, reliable video processing chip onboard; At this point, even a player with a Faroudja/DCDi chip would be high in my list.
Amazon is advertising a Sylvania dvd player with the above described features (1080p HDMI output plus DCDi) but upon further research i found out that the particular model number is not even listed at Sylvania's website and the closest dvd player to it does not have DCDi listed as an option...
-----------------------------------------
Marcos

Region free hack please

Next time you go to your store, ask for it and if they say they don't carry it, ask them to look it up in their system....it should be there.


I went to the Princeton NJ store today and was told they couldn't sell it until the 6th. I was looking right at 3 boxes high on the rack, but no go.

I went to the Princeton NJ store today and was told they couldn't sell it until the 6th. I was looking right at 3 boxes high on the rack, but no go.
They sold me one here in a Syracuse, NY store this past Sunday.

They must have GOOFED with me!

It is a heck of a $100 unit with tons of settings.

btw what is enhanced rgb, could it be hdmi 1.3? I cant wait for 600v in june!I am impressed!

Region free hack pleasePioneer players are not the easiest to make region-free. For example, here are the options for the 400's predecessor, the 490V:
http://www.pioneerfaq.info/english/dv490.php?player=DV-490V&question=Multiregion

It could be worse - the Sony players can't be made region-free no matter what you do. - DR

Pioneer players are not the easiest to make region-free. For example, here are the options for the 400's predecessor, the 490V:
http://www.pioneerfaq.info/english/dv490.php?player=DV-490V&question=Multiregion

It could be worse - the Sony players can't be made region-free no matter what you do. - DROr you can pay a premium and get one that has been modded to be region free with PAL-to-NTSC conversion such as these...
http://www.hkflix.com/hardware/xq/asp/pid.124/qx/details.htm
http://www.regioncodefreedvd.com/pioneer490.html
http://www.zonefreedvd.com/codefreedvd/dv490vs.php
http://www.barrel-of-monkeys.com/graphics/prod/dvdplayers/pioneer/desktoppioneer.shtml
They'll probably carry the new DV-400V model when its more widely available.

OK guys, so i got my DV-400V and connected its HDMI output to my HDTV input and its coaxial digital output to my receiver's input (i bought an inexpensive JVC receiver to use in my dining/kitchen area that does not have HDMI inputs).
After making sure that i selected "HDMI RESOLUTION" at 1920x1080P and "HDMI DIGITAL AUDIO" to " ON", i get no sound from my speakers when watching dolby digital/DTS encoded dvds, and i found out that whenever one connects the DV-400V via HDMI to a tv that can accept such input, the audio coming through " COAXIAL DIGITAL OUTPUT" is DISABLED !!!! Damn you, Pioneer !
So now i'm stuck : either i connect the dvd player to my HDTV using analog video connections and bypass the HDMI connection (which doesn't make sense, since i made sure that my HDTV had HDMI inputs when i purchased it) and get dolby digital/DTS through the coaxial digital output from the DV-400V, or use the HDMI connection and not get any dolby digital/DTS through its coaxial digital output (which doesn't make sense either), or sell my JVC receiver and buy another receiver that has HDMI inputs (why should we be forced to do so due to poor implementation of basic features of a dvd player ?), or find another dvd player that outputs dolby digital/DTS through both its HDMI and coaxial digital and sell my brand-new Pioneer DV-400V ! .....Great, thanks Pioneer, the fun never ends....
I wonder now whether or not this applies to all dvd players that have HDMI outputs : when one uses the HDMI connection, all other digital audio output connections are automatically disabled ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated >>>
-------------------------------------------
Marcos

I went to the Sterling, VA store tonight and they had several units on the shelf, but none on display and no posted price.

Then I went to the Leesburg, VA store which had several on the shelf, a display model (powered with the remote sitting there!), but the posted price was $30 over MSRP!! A "helpful" salesperson confirmed the price, but couldn't get out to the web to verify the actual MSRP.

What does it take to get BB to come down to MSRP (or lower)?

...What does it take to get BB to come down to MSRP (or lower)?
When I bought mine, I simply told the sales rep at the store about Pioneer's $99 MSRP on their website. He confirmed Pioneer's price online, went and talked to the manager, then came back and said they could sell it to me for $103 (which was $1 less than Pioneer's price with $5 shipping).

Worked for me....

OK guys, so i got my DV-400V and connected its HDMI output to my HDTV input and its coaxial digital output to my receiver's input (i bought an inexpensive JVC receiver to use in my dining/kitchen area that does not have HDMI inputs).
After making sure that i selected "HDMI RESOLUTION" at 1920x1080P and "HDMI DIGITAL AUDIO" to " ON", i get no sound from my speakers when watching dolby digital/DTS encoded dvds, and i found out that whenever one connects the DV-400V via HDMI to a tv that can accept such input, the audio coming through " COAXIAL DIGITAL OUTPUT" is DISABLED !!!! Damn you, Pioneer !
So now i'm stuck : either i connect the dvd player to my HDTV using analog video connections and bypass the HDMI connection (which doesn't make sense, since i made sure that my HDTV had HDMI inputs when i purchased it) and get dolby digital/DTS through the coaxial digital output from the DV-400V, or use the HDMI connection and not get any dolby digital/DTS through its coaxial digital output (which doesn't make sense either), or sell my JVC receiver and buy another receiver that has HDMI inputs (why should we be forced to do so due to poor implementation of basic features of a dvd player ?), or find another dvd player that outputs dolby digital/DTS through both its HDMI and coaxial digital and sell my brand-new Pioneer DV-400V ! .....Great, thanks Pioneer, the fun never ends....
I wonder now whether or not this applies to all dvd players that have HDMI outputs : when one uses the HDMI connection, all other digital audio output connections are automatically disabled ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated >>>
-------------------------------------------
Marcos

Marcos,

In the "Digital Audio Out" category of the Settings Menu, try setting "HDMI Out" to "OFF". This should disable all audio from being sent to HDMI and hopefully enable digital audio through the Digital Coax output. I assume you just want to listen to digital Audio piped through your JVC receiver and not your TV. I believe this may work but can't confirm because I don't have mine set-up yet. (waiting on TV)

Let us know if that works.

btw tried hard drive via usb, only plays divx, jpegs not dvds, video files

Marcos,

In the "Digital Audio Out" category of the Settings Menu, try setting "HDMI Out" to "OFF". This should disable all audio from being sent to HDMI and hopefully enable digital audio through the Digital Coax output. I assume you just want to listen to digital Audio piped through your JVC receiver and not your TV. I believe this may work but can't confirm because I don't have mine set-up yet. (waiting on TV)

Let us know if that works.

The manual says this is the case... so it should work. You can run analog out to your TV if it accepts seperate analog input for HDMI (my Panasonic does, so that's my plan).

Some HDTV's also offer digial passthrough, but my Panasonic isn't DTS compatible.

polyscroll >>>> Thank you, thank you, thank you, you were absolutely right : it worked !
And how stupid of me : i was sure that i had tried just as you suggested, but i guess in my haste moving the tv around, pulling the receiver out of the rack while making sure that all cables/wires weren't disconnected, installing the dvd player in place and doing all the connections again (HDTV, dvd player, receiver, settings for all three, HDMI, AC line, etc, etc, etc ) i obviously neglected to re-check what would happen if i chose "HDMI AUDIO OUT" to "OFF")....Now i feel like such an A/V neophite and inexperienced audio-connection fool....So unlike me....Mon Dieu !....Shame on me !
--------------------------------------------
Marcos
P.S. : Now, if i could only delete my post....

This unit really does have a LOT OF SETTINGS! I like it from that standpoint but since I still don't have my plasma(s) to hook it to yet, I'm relying on others (the few that have one) to report on how well it operates, and, above all else, how is the picture quality?

any online owner's manual.

polyscroll >>> Needless to point out, i got my unit this afternoon and just connected it to my Mitsubishi LT37132 LCD and so far so good....Using HDMI 1080P versus 1080i i did not notice any blatant differences in the picture (leaving the final stage of upscaling to the Pioneer versus the Mitsubishi), but i'm certainly planning on getting busy soon with my test dvds...
Also, since the DV-400V has three choices of HDMI colors (full range RGB, RGB and component) i'm curious to see how these settings affect the overall colors of standard dvds.

zoro, could you clarify what did and did not work when trying to play from a usb hard drive? If I understand you correctly divx files play fine from the usb HD. Is this correct?

zoro, could you clarify what did and did not work when trying to play from a usb hard drive? If I understand you correctly divx files play fine from the usb HD. Is this correct?

yes!! indeed. but dvd video files do not, like xbox 360 multi media way.

jpegs ok, but divx hd does not.

The related DV-490V-S did not seem to do that well in PQ tests according to the hometheatrehifi shootout: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=DVD+Player&manufacturer=21&maxprice=400&deInt=0&mpeg=0#PioneerDV-490V-S%20(Component)
Does anyone know if the 400V resolves any of the issues mentioned in the 490 evaluation?

The related DV-490V-S did not seem to do that well in PQ tests according to the hometheatrehifi shootout: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=DVD+Player&manufacturer=21&maxprice=400&deInt=0&mpeg=0#PioneerDV-490V-S%20(Component)
Does anyone know if the 400V resolves any of the issues mentioned in the 490 evaluation?

to my eyes it looks good!!hopefuly Kris will get around shooting this one out and we will see review by 2008 lol :D

I do not see this on Best Buys web site yet. I will make a visit and see if I can grab one of these. Anyone know how it compares to the Elite DV-46AV?

Has it been verified that this player does 480i output from HDMI?

BB now has this player on its web site, at the proper MRSP. (It used it have it in store only at $30 above MSRP).

And, it is on sale this week for $6 off! :)
I can't seem to find it on either Best Buy's US or Canada sites.

Do you have a link?

Thanks

Sorry -- my bad... I knew I should not have been typing at 6 am... :o
I saw a player on sale listing for $99 from a company starting with "P" and blindly thought it was what I wanted it to be. Turns out it was a Panny model on sale....

Glad you caught me on this...I was just about to rush to my local BB to get it.
Boy would I have been disappointed when I got there...

Sorry -- my bad... I knew I should not have been typing at 6 am... :o
I saw a player on sale listing for $99 from a company starting with "P" and blindly thought it was what I wanted it to be. Turns out it was a Panny model on sale....

Glad you caught me on this...I was just about to rush to my local BB to get it.
Boy would I have been disappointed when I got there...

I was about to be really annoyed, since I just picked this up yesterday for $129.

So far I've been fairly impressed. Of course, I'm upgrading from a Toshiba HDMI player, which froze randomly during every disk, and couldn't properly handle 4:3 content over the HDMI cable (it stretched it no matter what you set it to). So, anything would probably look good to me.

I tested the USB port today, and that worked pretty well with MP3s. I couldn't get it to play movie files (I tried a variety of MPEG and DivX) over USB, which is a little disappointing.

OK guys, so i got my DV-400V and connected its HDMI output to my HDTV input and its coaxial digital output to my receiver's input (i bought an inexpensive JVC receiver to use in my dining/kitchen area that does not have HDMI inputs).
After making sure that i selected "HDMI RESOLUTION" at 1920x1080P and "HDMI DIGITAL AUDIO" to " ON", i get no sound from my speakers when watching dolby digital/DTS encoded dvds, and i found out that whenever one connects the DV-400V via HDMI to a tv that can accept such input, the audio coming through " COAXIAL DIGITAL OUTPUT" is DISABLED !!!! Damn you, Pioneer !
So now i'm stuck : either i connect the dvd player to my HDTV using analog video connections and bypass the HDMI connection (which doesn't make sense, since i made sure that my HDTV had HDMI inputs when i purchased it) and get dolby digital/DTS through the coaxial digital output from the DV-400V, or use the HDMI connection and not get any dolby digital/DTS through its coaxial digital output (which doesn't make sense either), or sell my JVC receiver and buy another receiver that has HDMI inputs (why should we be forced to do so due to poor implementation of basic features of a dvd player ?), or find another dvd player that outputs dolby digital/DTS through both its HDMI and coaxial digital and sell my brand-new Pioneer DV-400V ! .....Great, thanks Pioneer, the fun never ends....
I wonder now whether or not this applies to all dvd players that have HDMI outputs : when one uses the HDMI connection, all other digital audio output connections are automatically disabled ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated >>>
-------------------------------------------
Marcos

This is the same situation for the new Samsung 1080p7 player as well.. Clariying - you have to select BitStream to get Dobly Digital Out to your reciever - but then the audio over the HDMI does not work... which stinks when you are watching late at nights with kids etc..

I was about to be really annoyed, since I just picked this up yesterday for $129.

So far I've been fairly impressed. Of course, I'm upgrading from a Toshiba HDMI player, which froze randomly during every disk, and couldn't properly handle 4:3 content over the HDMI cable (it stretched it no matter what you set it to). So, anything would probably look good to me.

I tested the USB port today, and that worked pretty well with MP3s. I couldn't get it to play movie files (I tried a variety of MPEG and DivX) over USB, which is a little disappointing.
divx plays well, no divx hd, no dvd video support

Does anyone know if DVD+R DL's work???

Thinking about giving this one a try - my Samsung 1080p7 plays them sometimes and then sometimes not...

Mark

Does anyone know if DVD+R DL's work???

Thinking about giving this one a try - my Samsung 1080p7 plays them sometimes and then sometimes not...

Mark
yup!! verabitim DL are GO!

Does anyone have this player and another player to compare to? How does this one stack-up to the other(s) in the picture quality department?

Any observations or comments?

How does the dv-400v compare to the Sony DV-NS75H?

How does the dv-400v compare to the Sony DV-NS75H?


im curious of this myself

Received this player yesterday and it's good so far. First off, I don't have it hooked up to an HDTV so I can't answer any upconverting 1080p questions. I'm just running it to my Sony analog CRT and it looks very nice without any of the past problems that I had with other players in this price range.

I have component and digital coax (no optical out) cables to my receiver and the first thing I wanted to adjust were the video settings. Pioneer did a pretty good job because the factory settings are spot on in my opinion. Video quality is pretty sharp at 480i and you can tweak a bunch of video settings such as gamma, chroma, brightness, etc. Sound options are standard, but I didn't change any and just kept it at default.

The one problem(s) I had with my other dvd players (see my old posts) were 1) layer change and 2) chapter stutter. Specifically with Onkyo and Denon's cheaper models (Onkyo 704 & Denon 557). This player had none of those problems!!! Great since I didn't want to have the hassle of shipping it back for an return.

The first time I plugged this player in I had to double check since there was no "standby" light indicating that power was being supplied to it. So I open the disc drive with the remote button and about 5 seconds it powers on with the nicely supplied LCD in the front. Very detailed for a sub $100 unit. I also demo'd a Samsung $99 player and the display was really cheap looking and the constant blue power light was annoying. There is no power light with this unit except the LCD display telling what is going on at a given moment. Once I loaded a dvd, it was very quick with the load times and the buttons on the remote had great feel and quickness once you pressed them. Other players feel like there is a "lag time" from the moment you pressed and when something happened onscreen. The Samsung player I demo'd had this problem and it got old real fast.

Anyway, I can't tell you much about 3:2 pulldown and that chip that others were talking about since I'm not that familiar with all that techie stuff I'm just a regular guy that wants a great image and a "quick" player that doesn't have all those quirks I mentioned earlier. I didn't play any DVD-Rs, Divx or WMA/WMV files only dvds so someone else will have to comment on that.

Before quitting for the night, I did hook up my 60g video iPod and clicked on the USB/Dvd button and it recognized it without any problems. Only thing was that the menu system didn't show the names/albums/artist info so I had no idea what mp3 I was playing until I pressed Enter on the remote. One last thing about the remote: Nicely laid out and evenly spaced buttons!! Large enough buttons that makes sense. No hunting and pecking like some other remotes. Also, the remote had "clear" buttons that made me think that it would be backlit but my wish was not granted there. I kept looking for a "lightbulb" icon button but it's sensibly laid out that it took me only a few looks before I memorized the layout.

I guess that's it, I can't wait to get an LCD HDTV so I can really take full use of this player and see how the 1080p feature works. So far I'm happy with this purchase and am impressed with the features included.

im curious of this myself

more features, flexibility at least, and 1080p

Received this player yesterday and it's good so far. First off, I don't have it hooked up to an HDTV so I can't answer any upconverting 1080p questions. I'm just running it to my Sony analog CRT and it looks very nice without any of the past problems that I had with other players in this price range.

I have component and digital coax (no optical out) cables to my receiver and the first thing I wanted to adjust were the video settings. Pioneer did a pretty good job because the factory settings are spot on in my opinion. Video quality is pretty sharp at 480i and you can tweak a bunch of video settings such as gamma, chroma, brightness, etc. Sound options are standard, but I didn't change any and just kept it at default.

The one problem(s) I had with my other dvd players (see my old posts) were 1) layer change and 2) chapter stutter. Specifically with Onkyo and Denon's cheaper models (Onkyo 704 & Denon 557). This player had none of those problems!!! Great since I didn't want to have the hassle of shipping it back for an return.

The first time I plugged this player in I had to double check since there was no "standby" light indicating that power was being supplied to it. So I open the disc drive with the remote button and about 5 seconds it powers on with the nicely supplied LCD in the front. Very detailed for a sub $100 unit. I also demo'd a Samsung $99 player and the display was really cheap looking and the constant blue power light was annoying. There is no power light with this unit except the LCD display telling what is going on at a given moment. Once I loaded a dvd, it was very quick with the load times and the buttons on the remote had great feel and quickness once you pressed them. Other players feel like there is a "lag time" from the moment you pressed and when something happened onscreen. The Samsung player I demo'd had this problem and it got old real fast.

Anyway, I can't tell you much about 3:2 pulldown and that chip that others were talking about since I'm not that familiar with all that techie stuff I'm just a regular guy that wants a great image and a "quick" player that doesn't have all those quirks I mentioned earlier. I didn't play any DVD-Rs, Divx or WMA/WMV files only dvds so someone else will have to comment on that.

Before quitting for the night, I did hook up my 60g video iPod and clicked on the USB/Dvd button and it recognized it without any problems. Only thing was that the menu system didn't show the names/albums/artist info so I had no idea what mp3 I was playing until I pressed Enter on the remote. One last thing about the remote: Nicely laid out and evenly spaced buttons!! Large enough buttons that makes sense. No hunting and pecking like some other remotes. Also, the remote had "clear" buttons that made me think that it would be backlit but my wish was not granted there. I kept looking for a "lightbulb" icon button but it's sensibly laid out that it took me only a few looks before I memorized the layout.

I guess that's it, I can't wait to get an LCD HDTV so I can really take full use of this player and see how the 1080p feature works. So far I'm happy with this purchase and am impressed with the features included.

Is'nt that a lot of fun, that ou can connect any video/audio usb device. and player is lightening fast to respond to my pleasure

I too was not impressed with the Pioneer DV-440v - I gave it a try along with the 1080p7 Samsung and really like the easy and picture quality of the Samsung. The Samsung remote is great!! You can switch from 480-720-1080 by just a simple button on the remote. I have the Samsung 4146 LCD and the Samsung 1080p matches up nicely...

Mark

does this model have the 5.1 analog outputs on the back?

does this model have the 5.1 analog outputs on the back?
No, it does not.

Only analog 2 channel, Digital Coax, and HDMI connections to carry audio.

does this model have the 5.1 analog outputs on the back?Not really necessary as this player doesn't do DVD-Audio or SA-CD.

I have a Sony KDF-E50A10, so I initially put this DVD player in 720p mode, figuring that it would be best to have it output in my TV's native resolution. Apparently not. While watching some stuff over the past week I started to notice horizontal lines, especially with objects in motion. It was noticeably bad. Worse than the cheap upscaling Toshiba I had before. So, this weekend I changed it to 1080i, and it looks perfect. Very odd. Has anyone else here set this thing in 720p and noticed the same?

is the only color available right now is the black version? when will the silver version be available(DV-400VS)? also, what authorized Pioneer online retailers has this DVD player for purchase? thanks

Hi bnm81002

Here in Canada, Walmart has the silver DV-400s for 129 bucks

Still waiting to see what people think about this player on this forum before i pull the trigger

Hi bnm81002

Here in Canada, Walmart has the silver DV-400s for 129 bucks

Still waiting to see what people think about this player on this forum before i pull the trigger



thanks but I'm in the USA area(New York)

anybody knows where I can purchase this DVD player from in the USA area? thanks

Best Buy has them in stock or check online stores, it should be available everywhere now.

anybody knows where I can purchase this DVD player from in the USA area? thanks

As Goalier95 said, your local BestBuy should have it. BestBuy's website is showing it as backordered, but showing it as available in all of the stores in my area (northeastern MA, southern NH).

Also, as mentioned earlier in the thread, BestBuy has it priced at $119.99, though it appears to be currently on-sale for $107.99. I'm going to print out the Pioneer page and get them to at least come down to the $99 list.

Best Buy has them in stock or check online stores, it should be available everywhere now.




nope, that's why I asked where I can buy one

I bought the Pioneer dv-400v at Best Buy today to compare it to my Sony dvp-ns75h. The Sony has the better picture in sharpness, detailed image, and clarity. I will be taking back the Pioneer to Best Buy due to the not as good pq as the Sony, and I will never use most of its features. The one thing that I do not like about the Sony dvp-ns75h is that it takes about 10 seconds to load a movie. The Pioneer it takes about 5 seconds to load a movie and when I switch to different scenes in a movie, I noticed that there is a struttering problem. I got the Sony for under $100 not including tax and Best Buy is overcharging the Pioneer dv-400v by $25. Besides the loading time on the Sony, I really like it (Sony) a lot and I can't complain that I got it for under $100.

Were you upconverting on both? I am trying to decide between the two as well.

nope, that's why I asked where I can buy one

Where do you live? Have you checked many electronics stores and none at all? I'm not sure if Circuit City has them, but in Houston, TX every Best Buy has them in stock.

nope, that's why I asked where I can buy one

Got mine at BestBuy. They even matched the pioneer on-line price :)

Is it better as a NON MACROBLOCKING solution than the Oppo 970 when it comes to Panasonic plasma displays?

If it is and you own a Panasonic plasma buy it! If not don't buy it!

What's the answer--yay or nay?

I bought 2 a couple of weeks ago to replace an aging pioneer dv333 and one for the bedroom. I disliked the picture quality. It was too grainy and too dark. The old pioneer does a much better job than the new DV400.

Any other suggestions on DVD players in the <$150 range?

Thanks,

Taucherguy

Is it better as a NON MACROBLOCKING solution than the Oppo 970 when it comes to Panasonic plasma displays?The Oppo 970 does not have a macroblocking problem - that's the 971. This Pioneer and the Oppo 970 both use the same MediaTek chipset which does not have a reputation for macroblocking. - DR

I know that--what I want to know is is it better than the Oppo 970?

Got mine at BestBuy. They even matched the pioneer on-line price :)


how did you do that? did you print out the pioneer on line price and show the sales clerk? where in NY are you? I'm in Queens, if they price match then hopefully I can use the 12% off coupon for BB reward zone members, which I am a member of, thanks

I know that--what I want to know is is it better than the Oppo 970?Sorry, I misunderstood. The 400 seems to be too new to have garnered any head-to-head reports against the Oppo yet, but other than the ability to scale to 1080p it is hard to imagine that it betters the Oppo, which is the gold standard for sub-$175 players. - DR

I just recently purchased this dvd player and its great im interested in the divx or avi playback through the usb. i Own a 100 gb lacie portable hd i tried a few files a at first and no response i formatted using the the same fat 32 ,still nothing. i then externally powered it through the other power usb connection and then the pioneer showed me the root menu i tried a few divx and they played but the problem is that show a bit choppy, like missing frames. I tried files about an hour long at about 400 mb and an other at 700 mb. Could anyone else try it out the see if this is an isolated issue. I want to believe that it might be a transfer rate issue. Audio on the other hand is flawless on all video played. Thank you.

is the only color available right now is the black version? when will the silver version be available(DV-400VS)? also, what authorized Pioneer online retailers has this DVD player for purchase? thanks

I know One Call has it. So does Amazon and Abt, the latter with free shipping... and at the MSRP.

Thinking of getting this myself. I currenlty have the Pioneer DV-588A and I love it. Just wondering how much better, if any, this is over my DV-588A. My parents are looking for a new player, so I might buy this for them. Or keep it for myself and give them my current player. Hehehehe :-)

My DVD-588A has been able to play virtually everything I've thrown at it: SACD, DVD-Audio, DivX, VCD, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3, WMA, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD+R DL.

No optical out? What the hell :mad:

Just got mine at BB today for 99.99 + 12 % off for being a rewards customer. picture looks awsome besides for 90 bucks who cares.. i can rememer paying 800 for a dvd player a few years ago that doesn`t even compare to this one

I've been looking for an upgraded DVD player to take advantage of my LG LCD (1080i). I have heard a lot about the Toshiba HD AD and went to BB to check it out. I was mainly interested in the upscaling and heard it did a very good job. With the price $299 and the war still undecided between HD an Blue Ray and price of the HD DVD's I started looking at less expensive alternatives. The Pioneer DV 400VK caught my eye. I came to this forum and read about it. Decided that it might be "it". BB was selling it for $119 and I thought that it was a pretty good price until I read here where Pioneer was selling it for $99. Found a place on line @ $99 with free shipping. Went back to BB with a printout of both sites and they would not match the price. Say that they don't match internet prices only local. They just lost a customer. I'll order on line and also buy an HDMI cable on line for $15 instead of buying one from them for $50. I've got to check my receiver to see what av inputs it has....coax in? It's an older Pioneer so I'm pretty sure it doesn't have optical but that's not an issue as the 400vk doesn't have optical at least not in the States. Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting this set up. Well, got hunt down that deal and get things rolling.

According to Pioneer's site, it says this machine can handle WMV(windows media video) files. Can anyone verify this? I believe this would be a first for a dvd player. I've only seen machines that can do WMA.

Where have you guys been finding yours?
I won't buy from my local Best Buy since pioneers website lists MSRP at $99.99 and BB has it at $119.99 on sale for $104.99 which I think is BS.
anyone know if target or someone else is carrying this player?
I want it pretty much only for it's divx abilities since I have a PS3 and HD-DVD player for upscaling duties.

hey sk042 i just placed my order for the exact same player. (Pioneer DV 400VK) u will never guess were i found the player. its on walmarts website but i think it might be sold out i guess i bought the last one he he he. anyways my total price with tax and shipping was a couple of bucks less that bb's sale price. the player was $88.93

Where have you guys been finding yours?
I won't buy from my local Best Buy since pioneers website lists MSRP at $99.99 and BB has it at $119.99 on sale for $104.99 which I think is BS.
anyone know if target or someone else is carrying this player?


I ordered mine from "ABT", I tried posting the url but since I'm a new member I'm restricted until I have completed 5 posts. PM me if you want the site or just Google it or use Price Grabber. Free shipping and no sales tax....$99. When I ordered the site said that it was back ordered 7-10 days. Just got email today and it's been shipped...UPS ground, yeah cheap. I also ordered a HDMI 2m cable from a vendor on Amazon's site....$15 including shipping. Can't wait to get them.

The more I think about the treatment I got at Best Buy concerning price matching, the more I think that they not only lost a sale but also a customer. I've bought a LG 37" LCD TV; 3 printers; an iPod; and a bunch of DS/Xbox/Nintendo games from them along with lots of printer cartridgesin the past year. I'm thinking of consciously avoiding buying anything from Best Buy in the future. The excuse the manager I spoke with concerning meeting an online price (pioneer website and ABT) was that they only match local prices. Geee, the internet is closer to me than a 17 mile drive to BB. For a savings of $20 on the Pioneer and probably another $30 on the cable I can wait a couple of days. Cheers

did any one find a region hack yet

Quick question.
Just returned a Samsung 1080p7 and swapped it for the Pio DV-400. When I throw in my DVE to calibrate, the full PLUGE is not displayed. The darkest bar below video black in absent. The Samsung displayed it fine, so I know it isn't a problem with the display.
I've tried tons of changes in the menu for Video Settings etc on the DV-400, but it still won't display the full range of blacks. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Quick question.
Just returned a Samsung 1080p7 and swapped it for the Pio DV-400. When I throw in my DVE to calibrate, the full PLUGE is not displayed. The darkest bar below video black in absent. The Samsung displayed it fine, so I know it isn't a problem with the display.
I've tried tons of changes in the menu for Video Settings etc on the DV-400, but it still won't display the full range of blacks. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any advice.
How does the picture quality of the Pioneer compare to the Samsung?

this is the best player imo that u can get for 99 bucks or so

When I throw in my DVE to calibrate, the full PLUGE is not displayed. The darkest bar below video black in absent. It means that the player is not passing blacker-than-black. This was a problem with the 490V as well. You can probably get BTB if you use component instead of hdmi, but then you might lose above-white.

If the player does not pass BTB, then no combination of settings will restore it. - DR

i agree with drOs u might also need to restore ur default settings on both the player and ur dislplay and then go from there

It means that the player is not passing blacker-than-black. This was a problem with the 490V as well. You can probably get BTB if you use component instead of hdmi, but then you might lose above-white.

If the player does not pass BTB, then no combination of settings will restore it. - DR

mind giving a quick explanation on what that means? the blacker-than-black and not passing it.

Quick question.
Just returned a Samsung 1080p7 and swapped it for the Pio DV-400. When I throw in my DVE to calibrate, the full PLUGE is not displayed. The darkest bar below video black in absent. The Samsung displayed it fine, so I know it isn't a problem with the display.
I've tried tons of changes in the menu for Video Settings etc on the DV-400, but it still won't display the full range of blacks. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any advice.


Why did you return the samsung? I was going to buy the samsung but my friend told me the pioneer is a better dvd player.

i agree the pioneer is a much better product has higher pq when tuned properly

mind giving a quick explanation on what that means? the blacker-than-black and not passing it. There is a bit of a discussion here: http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/Video-calibration.html - DR

i agree the pioneer is a much better product has higher pq when tuned properly
What are you basing this on? Have you tried both the Samsung and Pioneer? I'm curious. I compared the Samsung to the Philips, which uses the same chip as the Pioneer, and liked the picture of the Samsung better - at least on my TV. I would love to hear from people who have tried both players. I know of one post in this thread where someone liked the Samsung better than the Pioneer.

I would say the picture quality between the two is really close. I liked the onscreen guide and range of adjusments on the Pio more than the Samsung. But the Samsung allows my display to show below black for more precise adjustment when using DVE. The picture looks great on both however.
For now, I'll stick with the Samsung.

BTW, I returned the original Samsung because it had a malfunction. Wouldn't even load and play certain DVD's and problems with navigation using the remote. The second Sammy is performing without any problems :) .

What tv are you guys using the samsung player with?

What tv are you guys using the samsung player with?
Sony KDS-55A2000

What tv are you guys using the samsung player with?
SONY KDL-40V2500

LG 37LC2D

BTW, I just got my Pioneer 400K online from APT...$99 no tax and free shipping. Everything came as advertised, new and pristine. Unfortunately the HDMI cable I ordered showed up a day later....$15 (bought from an Amazon vender) for a 2 meter cable I can wait a couple of days when compared to BB's cheapest 1 m cable $50. Anyway, things are looking good. I like the Pioneer. Nice looking, small, quiet and the user menu's are pretty good. Remote is good too, only complaint is that it isn't back lit. Watched "Casino Royale" @ 1080i ( best my LG can do) and it looked great! I can't really comment as to bench results and blacks that are "really" black but I can say that I liked what I saw. Anyway, best $120 I've spent. Cheers

Anyone know if the 1080P output is 24 or 60? Didn't find any info in the manual. My PDP4271 will not display when I set the DV-400 to ouput 1080P...

Anyone know if the 1080P output is 24 or 60? Didn't find any info in the manual. My PDP4271 will not display when I set the DV-400 to ouput 1080P...

60. See my note about clock jitter.

Original Post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=841054)

It worked fine on my 1080p LCD.

60. See my note about clock jitter.

Original Post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=841054)

It worked fine on my 1080p LCD.

Thanks. The 4271 will only accept 1080P24. :(

I am deciding between Sony DVP NS75H and this Pioneer DV400V. I am not sure if I can see the pq difference between sony's 1080i and Pioneer's 1080p on my 50" DLP TV. Can you really notice it? The pioneer doesn't have any reviews whereas sony is very highly rated. The specs of pioneer look good except I see it has DTS decoder 2 channel...whereas Sony has 5.1 channel. Is this a deal-breaker?? anyone seen any other striking differences that would make me tilt to one way or other?
thanx in advance,

I am deciding between Sony DVP NS75H and this Pioneer DV400V. I am not sure if I can see the pq difference between sony's 1080i and Pioneer's 1080p on my 50" DLP TV. Can you really notice it? The pioneer doesn't have any reviews whereas sony is very highly rated. The specs of pioneer look good except I see it has DTS decoder 2 channel...whereas Sony has 5.1 channel. Is this a deal-breaker?? anyone seen any other striking differences that would make me tilt to one way or other?
thanx in advance,

The Pioneer excels at playing DivX and Xvid encoded avi files - if that matters to you, I would go with the Pioneer.

I am deciding between Sony DVP NS75H and this Pioneer DV400V. I am not sure if I can see the pq difference between sony's 1080i and Pioneer's 1080p on my 50" DLP TV. Can you really notice it? The pioneer doesn't have any reviews whereas sony is very highly rated. The specs of pioneer look good except I see it has DTS decoder 2 channel...whereas Sony has 5.1 channel. Is this a deal-breaker?? anyone seen any other striking differences that would make me tilt to one way or other?
thanx in advance,
the pionner has more features like the divx playback and the usb port for playing videos though flash drive 1080p output but then again what your tv's max resolution

The Pioneer excels at playing DivX and Xvid encoded avi files - if that matters to you, I would go with the Pioneer.

Does this include playing such media from USB as well? I'll swear I've heard that some people get problems when trying to play DivX/XVid stuff from USB?

Does this include playing such media from USB as well? I'll swear I've heard that some people get problems when trying to play DivX/XVid stuff from USB?
its been working flawlessly for me i played mpeg videos divx and music files but havent tried the xvid files btw i use a sandisk cruzer usb drive

Love my player, had it since it came out early May from A B T E lectronics dot com. Only thing I can't figure out is playing WMV files on a dvd disc. All I get is audio and no video and most of the time it can't even read it. I'm thinking that it has to be a certain version of WMV for this to work. Haven't tried the Divx files yet, but everything else is working so well. Great picture quality and nice features for a 1080P upconverting dvd player. Highly recommended.

Been using this for a few weeks now... I'm very happy with it. It's easy to use, great picture in 1080i and I've even made use of the USB functionality.

anyone tried DTS? as per specs it is 2 channel. does it make a huge difference compared to DTS 5.1? I am novice in this area. plz help,
thanks

anyone tried DTS? as per specs it is 2 channel. does it make a huge difference compared to DTS 5.1? I am novice in this area. plz help,
thanks

The spec may refer to this players ability to "DECODE" and downmix DTS 5.1 to 2 channel LPCM output. It is one of the settings in the set-up menu.

I haven't verified it yet but I would imagine if DTS Output is set to "DTS" in the settings menu (instead of "PCM"), then digital bitstream content of 5.1 channels is output.

On a side note, I have compared this player extensively to my Toshiba HD-A2 Player while playing Standard DVDs.

My TV is a Panasonic TH-50PX600U Plasma using HDMI input.

The best picture from either player was at 1080i settings. The Pioneer when set to 1080p yielded a slightly softer, "out of focus" picture compared to 1080i. (not quite as sharp)

But I'm happy to say that the Pioneer has just as good if not better picture at 1080i compared to the HD-A2.

What I'm really impressed with is the tweakability of the 400V with its huge amount of settings and its lightning fast track and layer changes. I've never had a player change tracks so fast!

Hi!!

I got mine this morning. I've done some quick tests with my Pana 37PX70.
I set 720p and all I can say is:

PRO: Great colors!! and image resolution. Quick and quiet tray.
CONS: Image tends to aliasing artifact (at least in my case).

Now, the waiting for multiregion crack, any??

UPDATE: I saw in pioneerfaq, there is a new firmware for DV-300, will it work on DV-400?

Hi!!

...........................................

UPDATE: I saw in pioneerfaq, there is a new firmware for DV-300, will it work on DV-400?
Absolutely NOT! Dont even think about it!

I just bought the DV-400V at Best Buy. They wouldn't honor the MSRP on Pioneer's website but they did give me a $20 gift card, so it evened out.

I'm wondering, is there a way to disable the red Pioneer startup logo? I think it would be awfully ironic if one of my friends/family accidentally fell asleep and allowed that image to burn into our new Pioneer plasma TV. Any thoughts on if it can be disabled?

Thanks,

Matt

I just bought the DV-400V at Best Buy. They wouldn't honor the MSRP on Pioneer's website but they did give me a $20 gift card, so it evened out.

I'm wondering, is there a way to disable the red Pioneer startup logo? I think it would be awfully ironic if one of my friends/family accidentally fell asleep and allowed that image to burn into our new Pioneer plasma TV. Any thoughts on if it can be disabled?

Thanks,

Matt
i don't think there might be an option to disable the start up logo, how else would u know its on or on standby mode? If u knew the risks about image burn in on a plasma u should not have gone that route. but then again everyone has their own preference

There is a screensaver function that will kick in after approx. 10 min of no use and after 30 min of no use the player will turn it self off.

There is a screensaver function that will kick in after approx. 10 min of no use and after 30 min of no use the player will turn it self off.

Perfect, thank you.

Thank you Hkan!! I'll wait the correct firmware.

About DTS output, I seems clear, although I haven't tried. It says on the manual (even on the box) DTS 2Ch. PCM + DTS output!!!

I just bought the DV-400V at Best Buy. They wouldn't honor the MSRP on Pioneer's website but they did give me a $20 gift card, so it evened out.

Matt

i did the same thing! i was at BB yesterday looking at the unit. I asked a BB girl how much is the unit coz at their website it is discounted. She looked it up and told me it is discounted and would give it to me for $107. I asked again, how come the Pioneer website is saying its only $99, she looked it up again and told me that she can give it to me at that price.

i hooked it up to my sharp aquos 32 and hooked up my external WD 500 to the USB and watched the " entourage " divx. everything looked great and no problems with long filenames

definitely a good buy!

i did the same thing! i was at BB yesterday looking at the unit. I asked a BB girl how much is the unit coz at their website it is discounted. She looked it up and told me it is discounted and would give it to me for $107. I asked again, how come the Pioneer website is saying its only $99, she looked it up again and told me that she can give it to me at that price.

i hooked it up to my sharp aquos 32 and hooked up my external WD 500 to the USB and watched the " entourage " divx. everything looked great and no problems with long filenames

definitely a good buy!


Great show. And yeah I'm very happy with the PQ. Loads of settings too, which is nice.

-M

What are you basing this on? Have you tried both the Samsung and Pioneer? I'm curious. I compared the Samsung to the Philips, which uses the same chip as the Pioneer, and liked the picture of the Samsung better - at least on my TV. I would love to hear from people who have tried both players. I know of one post in this thread where someone liked the Samsung better than the Pioneer.
I bought the 1080p samsung dvd player. The pq was very good just using component cables. (I had apparently lost my HDMI cable so just tried with component). However its play,eject controls froze thrice!! Neither remote nor buttons on player worked..and this to on first day.that made me so skeptical of samsung reliability that I returned it back to CC. I am now gonna buy Pioneer when they come to Walmart again.
[I have samsung HLS 5087 DLP TV and it's awesome. which makes me believe that samsung has great technology but lacks mass production reliability/experience.my tv makes weird noises sometimes ;) ]

II am now gonna buy Pioneer when they come to Walmart again.
[ ]


Save gas money. ABT Electronics online....$99 + free shipping and no tax. Cheers

Got one at Best Buy today. It was tagged at $119.99. I informed them of Pioneers online price and they agreed to match plus shipping. When they went to ring it up, some gift card thing came up and I ended up paying only the $99.99 (no shipping) plus I got a $20.00 gift card. I think they were suppose to give me the gift card at the $119.99 price. Anyway net effect was $79.99. Clearly an "oops".

Got one at Best Buy today. It was tagged at $119.99. I informed them of Pioneers online price and they agreed to match plus shipping. When they went to ring it up, some gift card thing came up and I ended up paying only the $99.99 (no shipping) plus I got a $20.00 gift card. I think they were suppose to give me the gift card at the $119.99 price. Anyway net effect was $79.99. Clearly an "oops".

not an oops. they did the same thing for me today also. i just showed them the printout of the pioneers MSRP and they honored it. then they gave me a $20 gift card.

sucks though that it doesn't come with composite cables.

Can any of the owners post pictures of the file interface when selecting Divx/Xvid files?

I'm wondering whether it supports file tags for descriptions and whether it is better looking than the Oppo interface.
I'm considering buying this as a Divx/USB and 480i/HDMI DVD transport.

Thanks.

not an oops. they did the same thing for me today also. i just showed them the printout of the pioneers MSRP and they honored it. then they gave me a $20 gift card.

sucks though that it doesn't come with composite cables.
actually it does come with composite cables yellow rca plug and l/r audio i think you mean it doesnt come with hdmi cable

Bought mine (Spain) without hdmi cable supplied.

actually it does come with composite cables yellow rca plug and l/r audio i think you mean it doesnt come with hdmi cable

oh yeah...i meant component. i knew that it wasnt going to come with HDMI but i was atleast hoping that it would come with component.

oh yeah...i meant component. i knew that it wasnt going to come with HDMI but i was atleast hoping that it would come with component.
i think its rare when u see a dvd player come with componet cables they all usually come with composite or hdmi or both which in this case the pionner comes with composite

I must be missing something. I'm totally ticked I bought this player and can't believe I threw away the receipt. I have it hooked to a PDP-5070HD Plasma TV and all 10 DVDs I've tried have black bars top and bottom. I'm using the HDMI cable with 1080i and 16:9 wide settings. I looked in the owners manual and it says this what I should expect!!! I used the zoom feature on the TV to fill up the black space but the image looks distorted. So my question is why are all of you so happy with this player? Do you all watch it with black bars?

Rob

I must be missing something. I'm totally ticked I bought this player and can't believe I threw away the receipt. I have it hooked to a PDP-5070HD Plasma TV and all 10 DVDs I've tried have black bars top and bottom. I'm using the HDMI cable with 1080i and 16:9 wide settings. I looked in the owners manual and it says this what I should expect!!! I used the zoom feature on the TV to fill up the black space but the image looks distorted. So my question is why are all of you so happy with this player? Do you all watch it with black bars?

Rob

black bars are normal, its how movies were filmed.

Thanks a lot guys. you all rock!!
I found that, till Saturday (June 16) BB has a promotion that with this player you get $20 gift card. I went to BB with Pioneer site (99$) and walmart site printout
and they gave it to me for 87$!this is the link
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5811826
I havent tried hdmi upscaling yet.but so far so good. I am luving it

thanks

black bars are normal, its how movies were filmed.

Thanks, I guess that's why everyone is so happy with this player. From an idiots point of view I'm not sure why my TV is 16:9 if things arn't filmed that way but I'll deal with it. My new question is should I expect black bars from a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player as well?

Thanks, I guess that's why everyone is so happy with this player. From an idiots point of view I'm not sure why my TV is 16:9 if things arn't filmed that way but I'll deal with it. My new question is should I expect black bars from a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player as well?


It's not the player, it is the aspect ratio that the movie was filmed in. Do a search on "OAR" and you will see what I mean... ;)

It's not the player, it is the aspect ratio that the movie was filmed in. Do a search on "OAR" and you will see what I mean... ;)

Thanks, I looked it up on Wikipedia. I had no idea that was how movies and TVs were set up. Nothing like getting educated on a Saturday morning.

Here are som info links: http://tvcalculator.com/
and
Display formats (http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=de_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.dvd-tipps-tricks.de%2fbildformate.php)

I bought this DVD player today at the BB in Downers Grove, IL. They had quite a few, and they were selling them for 99.99.

I got home and connected it to my 46-XBR2 and it looked great in 480p via HDMI. I went to the settings to turn it to 1080p and it went through this are you sure warning script about loosing your picture if you TV cannot handle 1080p. I confirmed that my my TV could handle 1080P, and sure enough it went black and I had to rest the unit back to 480p.

Any idea why this occurred? What can I do differently? I could not play around with it again tonight as the kids had to watch something....

I bought this for the 1080p up conversion, and I will be upset if I cannot use it...

Any help is appreciated.

Denmark

I bought this DVD player today at the BB in Downers Grove, IL. They had quite a few, and they were selling them for 99.99.

I got home and connected it to my 46-XBR2 and it looked great in 480p via HDMI. I went to the settings to turn it to 1080p and it went through this are you sure warning script about loosing your picture if you TV cannot handle 1080p. I confirmed that my my TV could handle 1080P, and sure enough it went black and I had to rest the unit back to 480p.

Any idea why this occurred? What can I do differently? I could not play around with it again tonight as the kids had to watch something....

I bought this for the 1080p up conversion, and I will be upset if I cannot use it...

Any help is appreciated.

Denmark
i dont know what ur problem might be i connected my pioneer to my 40v-2500 via hdmiand said same time if it dosent support 1080p tv will go blank and it dint go black 1080p works good

Will the unit play FLAC files?

Thanks,
Yeto

It means that the player is not passing blacker-than-black. This was a problem with the 490V as well. You can probably get BTB if you use component instead of hdmi, but then you might lose above-white.

If the player does not pass BTB, then no combination of settings will restore it. - DR
have you been smoking? the dv-490v did pass the bette than black test of the home theather secret benchmark so i'm sure the dv400v does even better since it is better then the 490v!!!

Does this play ALL REGION and output ok PAL>NTSC over composite or S-video? Component?

does this DV-400 take a long time to power up and load like the older DV-490 and DV-393?
I have the dv-393 now, and I've become interested in the DV-400, but would like to make sure that this has a faster start up...the dv-393/490 takes a pretty long time to do anything after pressing the power on button remote...
-thanks.

I've got the DV-400 and a new Pioneer 5080. Given the resolution of the display, what is the best resolution setting on the DV-400 to feed the 5080. I've got it connected via HDMI and currently set to 1080p, even though this is not a native resolution of the display. Ideas?

Thanks in advance.

does this DV-400 take a long time to power up and load like the older DV-490 and DV-393?
I have the dv-393 now, and I've become interested in the DV-400, but would like to make sure that this has a faster start up...the dv-393/490 takes a pretty long time to do anything after pressing the power on button remote...
-thanks.
it does take quite a bit of time to power up the unit but after that navigating through the menu is quite fast

hmmm...thanks, fresh.
I guess I'll just have to live with it...i love my dv-393 for its price...amazing picture on CRT flat screen, but slow to start up.
planning to get a Tosh 32" LCD come thxgiving/xmas sales, and I think the DV-400 will be the perfect upgrade to the dv-393. glad it's black.

anyone hnows which type of chipset is used in dv 400 and dv 600 ???
mediatek 1389 XXXX ????

anyone hnows which type of chipset is used in dv 400 and dv 600 ???
mediatek 1389 XXXX ????

DV-400 have new 89S (MT1389 revision S)

anyone hnows which type of chipset is used in dv 400 and dv 600 ???
mediatek 1389 XXXX ????
DV-400V uses an MT1389FE

ok thanks for answers
1389S ou FE ?

and the dv600V uses another version ?

I explain my question
It seem that the upscaling feature on dv 400V is quite average, not bad not very good
So per haps that the version of chipset inside the dv 600V is more performant on this

Is there somewhere where we could determine the difference between the different version of mediatek 1389 chipset ?

thanks for help

ok thanks for answers
1389S ou FE ?

and the dv600V uses another version ?

I don't know about the DV-600V but the markings on the MediaTek chip in my 400V clearly say MT1389FE.

Ok thanks

I hope that we vill have know exactly the chipset inside the dv 600 soon

any else have aliasing with upscale to 720p of dv 400 ?

It's been 12 years since I bought a new dvd player so excuse my excitement on some of the probably trivial features.

First and foremost, there are many people out here with sony kds-XXa2000/2020 that are running into a bug where the tv displays an "unsupported audio format" dialog for 10 secs when multi channel audio is piped to the tv via HDMI (regardless if speaker is off or if you route audio from optical or coax). Anyway, the Pioneer dv-400's nice feature of being able to turn off HDMI audio (or send 2 channel audio) fixes that annoying issue!

In addition, there are tons of great settings from the DVD's system menu. For example, the TV's video controls plus the dvd player's video controls will allow for some great fine tuning in PQ. The upscaling produced a great picture (to me) and the DD5.1 and DTS audio tests performed as expected. The usb port on the front is a nice plus. I can see where I may occasionally use it, but it's probably a forgotten feature for most people. Besides that, it's simply easy to use, great menu layout, great FF> and <RW speeds (it's super smooth) and jumping from chapter to chapter is fast.

A little disappointed in the lack of optical out but... whatever.

I did compare to the sammy 1080p7. Looked about he same to me - but my dvd choice to compare the PQ wasn't the smartest choice. But the ability to turn off hdmi audio sealed the deal for me. And at $99, it will hold me off until a true HD option becomes a little more affordable.

I have the answer of the chipset mounted on dv 600V
it is the 1389FXE

Ok - so maybe someone knowledgable can help me with my little issue.. Just bought this player from BB today with the 12% off - net cost around 95 bucks (very happy). I had a Toshiba sd-k860 prior, which worked well but froze on DVD playback from time to time - really got me mad. I love this unit's USB option, and the picture quality looks great on my Sharp Aquos.

However, here's my little GRRR - The Toshiba was able to send Dolby Digital audio over the HDMI cables without a problem - and I was using the optical out from my TV into my Onkyo receiver. Everything sounded great using the Sharp as a passthrough. However, with this new player, that doesn't seem to work. I do get audio out of my TV now (where with the Tosh I didn't as it wasn't passing a signal the TV understood so it just passed it through. So basicly, I will now have to use the coax out (which isn't the biggest of deals) into my receiver, but it's another cable.

Anyone know if this is by design or if there's any way to force the DVD player to send the right signal - or if it even is sending a Dolby Digital signal? One more point - playing not DD stuff (a DivX file for example) DOES passthru - but in ProLogic (which makes sense).

I don't think it's the TV as it did passthru the signal from the Tosh before... Just driving me a little batty - and more wires :) Any one have any ideas? Thanks.

Can anyone comment on how the 400V compares to the Philips 5982? Is it worth the extra $30?

Can anyone comment on how the 400V compares to the Philips 5982? Is it worth the extra $30?
This is a review from a customer from circuit city The DivX playback stutters. Had to return and get a Pioneer instead. The new Pioneer plays the same DivX files without stuttering. A shame...both are supposed to be DivX Ultra certified. U decide i think the pioneer looks like a better choice but thats just my opinion

Given the superbly awarded audio (SACD/DVD-audio/CD) and video performance of the Oppo 907HD/981HD, and the simple hack for region-free, I'm really leaning toward the oppo right now...has all the digital/analog outputs i need, and the reviews and awards it has won just blows any Pioneer away, although i like my current budget dv-393 a lot...and i do like the way the pioneer looks, but i doubt if it can match the oppo for bang/buck factor...

Does pioneer send audio, hdmi/optical simeltaneously?

The DV400 doesn't have optical so that would probably be a no. As for sending audio simultaneously through HDMI and Digital Coax at the same time - that would be a no also, it's either/or not both.

Not sure why you'd want to send audio over both coax and HDMI simultaneously. If you have a HT setup why bother with the TV speakers?

I have an Oppo 971H and it produces a great picture, except, it exhibits significant macroblocking enhancement on my JVC DILA set.

I'm looking for a budget upscaling player to connect to a Pioneer 4270HD. The higher-end Oppo's are off my list due to price and macroblocking concerns. The 970HD doesn't seem like it's worth the extra money over the Pioneer 400V or Philips 5982 (they all use the same Mediatek).

I would gladly spend a bit extra for the Pioneer over the Philips if it has appreciable differences, however, other than that one lonely review, I have not gotten a definitive answer...

I'm pretty happy with my DV400 . I had a crappy Toshiba $39 woot special before - the pq is about the same but the Pio is much faster and doesn't randomly freeze up for a few seconds like the Tosh did, the lack of resume was a pain also. The Pio looks great and does most everything well.

The DV400 doesn't have optical so that would probably be a no. As for sending audio simultaneously through HDMI and Digital Coax at the same time - that would be a no also, it's either/or not both.
i dont think u are correct because i have my pioneer conected to my tv via hdmi and to my av reciver via digital coax and it works great.

anyone who knows the code to make this dv400 region free?

First post here, hope I can give some good info.

relevant equipment;
Pioneer dv-400v-k
Pioneer Elite PRO-940HD plasma (768p screen)
Classe ssp-25 HT proc

I have had this player only a couple of days but have played around with it enough to address some issues brought up.

A couple of posters have complained about a dark picture. I initially hooked it up with component video cables since my display does a decent job of upconverting from 480i or 480p, and I did not yet have an HDMI cable. I found the picture to be unacceptably dark, losing almost all detail in dark areas. Using DVE I found I had to set brightness to +14, and that it was also not passing 'below black' information. With brightness set that high I regained detail in the dark but the player did not seem comfortable at that setting, sometimes having white fuzzies in gray areas. I was about to return the player but I figured I should give it a try with an HDMI cable.

Changing to HDMI, and again using DVE, I found that a brightness setting of +2 was perfect, 'below black' information was being passed, and the picture was much better. Night and day difference. If this can be confirmed by others then I would recommend not getting this player for component use.


The Coax and HDMI audio will work simultaneously, however to make any changes to the digital coax settings, other that turning it on and off, requires you to unplug the HDMI cable, make adjustments, then when you are done, you can plug the HDMI cable back in. You will need a spare video cable that isn't HDMI to adjust your digital coax output. This is silly.


For those wondering if the DTS is 5.1, and getting confused by the player saying 2ch downmix. IF you pass DTS to a DTS capable receiver/processer, it will handle the 5.1 automatically. If you have a receiver/proc that doesn't have DTS, you can use 2ch downmix through PCM, which will pass a signal that processors with Dolby Pro Logic can use to extract extra channel information from. The defauly HDMI audio output is 2 channel, to pass DD or DTS you have to set it to "Auto" in the Initial settings menu.


Other random things;

Picture fairly good, nothing horrible to complain about.

Power on takes a long time, and the unit makes quite a lot of whirring noises navigating tracks.

Changing the HDMI output to 1080P did not work on my Pioneer Elite 940, luckily I still had my component cables hooked up and it was still outputting 480p on them, so I could change to 1080i without factory reset.

With DVE I adjusted the chroma to +2, the same setting for both component and HDMI.

Good player for the price. (HDMI only)

I bought this player to wait out the blu-ray/hd-dvd battle and I think it will serve that purpose well.

I'm pretty happy with my DV400 . I had a crappy Toshiba $39 woot special before - the pq is about the same but the Pio is much faster and doesn't randomly freeze up for a few seconds like the Tosh did, the lack of resume was a pain also. The Pio looks great and does most everything well.

Ha... I had the exact same player from Woot. Had the same issues, too. This player is like a breath of fresh air compared to that one.

Ha... I had the exact same player from Woot. Had the same issues, too. This player is like a breath of fresh air compared to that one.

Now I don't feel so bad that I'm not the only sucker that bought that thing. The one thing the Toshiba did that the Pio won't is play Divx on rewritables. I'm not sure why the Pio won't do that, seems kinda silly.

Hi folks.
A few posts refer to the chip in DV-400V as the Mediatek MT1389 FE, and that it's the same chip in the Oppo 970.
Over on HomeTheaterHiFi, he says the Oppo has the MT1389 EE.

What do the letters at the end signify? is it just a designation for diferent manufacturers, different generations within a line, or actually different capabilities?

I tried the Philips 3960 (a de-USBed 5960) and wasn't impressed. Apparently it has the MT1389?? chip, according to VideoHelp.

So have I seen what the chip can do, or have I seen what a version of the chip can do?

Thanks for any help.

Given the superbly awarded audio (SACD/DVD-audio/CD) and video performance of the Oppo 907HD/981HD, and the simple hack for region-free, I'm really leaning toward the oppo right now...has all the digital/analog outputs i need, and the reviews and awards it has won just blows any Pioneer away, although i like my current budget dv-393 a lot...and i do like the way the pioneer looks, but i doubt if it can match the oppo for bang/buck factor...
Right you are!

I have had the OPPO DV-970HD for over a year now. I bought the Pioneer DV-400V for a second tv. I have to say the OPPO picture is better than the Pioneer DV-400V. The detail and color are superior. They both use Mediatek chips but OPPO has spent alot of time optimizing performance with the Mediatek chip and they definitely got it right. NO issue with using HDMI connection to tv and getting Dolby Digital and DTS through receiver at the same time. My Samsung HL-T5089 has USB 2.0 connection so I don't worry about only having USB 1.1 on the OPPO. You pay a small premium for the OPPO but it is definitely worth it. Have yet to find any disc, including DL and Divx that won't play on the OPPO. OPPO also has great customer support with regular firmware updates to improve performance.

fish1050

Right you are!

I have had the OPPO DV-970HD for over a year now. I bought the Pioneer DV-400V for a second tv. I have to say the OPPO picture is better than the Pioneer DV-400V. The detail and color are superior. They both use Mediatek chips but OPPO has spent alot of time optimizing performance with the Mediatek chip and they definitely got it right. NO issue with using HDMI connection to tv and getting Dolby Digital and DTS through receiver at the same time. My Samsung HL-T5089 has USB 2.0 connection so I don't worry about only having USB 1.1 on the OPPO. You pay a small premium for the OPPO but it is definitely worth it. Have yet to find any disc, including DL and Divx that won't play on the OPPO. OPPO also has great customer support with regular firmware updates to improve performance.

fish1050
Interesting, what HDMI resolution are you using to input to your HL-T5089 when you did this comparison, at 480i or are you scaling it a bit to 720P or 1080i? I assume you compared both the DV-400V to DV-970HD at several settings?

Right you are!

I have had the OPPO DV-970HD for over a year now. I bought the Pioneer DV-400V for a second tv. I have to say the OPPO picture is better than the Pioneer DV-400V. The detail and color are superior. They both use Mediatek chips but OPPO has spent alot of time optimizing performance with the Mediatek chip and they definitely got it right. NO issue with using HDMI connection to tv and getting Dolby Digital and DTS through receiver at the same time. My Samsung HL-T5089 has USB 2.0 connection so I don't worry about only having USB 1.1 on the OPPO. You pay a small premium for the OPPO but it is definitely worth it. Have yet to find any disc, including DL and Divx that won't play on the OPPO. OPPO also has great customer support with regular firmware updates to improve performance.

fish1050

Would you still say the DV400 was a good buy?

I was looking at the DV-400V today and really liked the features and aesthetics but it's the picture and sound that really matter which from what I gather reading this thread are nothing to write home about.
The Oppo, on the other hand, has gotten rave reviews however it looks like a $29.00 Craposonic. I could live with the look of the black DV-981HD but it doesn't have component out which I need. The OPDV971H and DV-970HD have component out but I just can't picture a tacky chrome DVD player sitting next to my, all black, high end audio gear. I don't get Oppo's marketing strategy. Build a super DVD player but make it look like a piece of junk.
I could always pay a few extra bucks and get a Denon 1930CI but it doesn't handle Divx or USB. Or how about a Marantz 6001 which does handle Divx but costs twice as much as the Oppo's and four times as much as the Pioneer. Oh yeah, and then there's the macroblocking and lip sync issues with the Faroudja chip.

Maybe I'll just keep my 6 year old Toshiba SD-1800 until they settle the Blu Ray/HD-DVD squabble and prices hit rock bottom.

Have this dv-400v-K with the pioneer pro 940hD. very happy with the dvd pq. using it to wait out hd dvd vs. bd. my question is: what settings are best to enhance the PQ? Do I use settings on the 940 or tinker with the DVD player ... does anyone have any suggestions re outputting from the DVD player (i.e., in 480p and let the plasma upconvert; or in 1080i and let plasma downcovert?). Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Interesting, what HDMI resolution are you using to input to your HL-T5089 when you did this comparison, at 480i or are you scaling it a bit to 720P or 1080i? I assume you compared both the DV-400V to DV-970HD at several settings?
When I did the comparison I had both players outputting 1080i since OPPO DV-970HD does not do 1080P. I had them both hooked up via HDMI to my HL-T5089 and simply swapped back and forth between them. I have two copies of Night at the Museum (borrowed one from a friend) so I had both movies running and did an a/b test back and forth. Also for the heck of it I tried switching the 400V to 1080P and I did not notice any significant improvement, in fact I found the image quality slightly worse as I was bypassing the Samsung tv's deinterlacer and scaler. My Samsung DLP has a very good scaler and deinterlacer (Faroudja), better than the on in the 400V or OPPO 970 so outputting 1080P with the Pioneer is no big deal for me. I found that the colors really popped on the OPPO and there was better detail especially in dark scenes, the contrast seemed to be better on the OPPO. That being said for $100.00 the 400V is not a bad player considering its features. The HDMI audio issue where you can't output dolby digital or dts to a receiver with HDMI connected to the tv would be a deal breaker for me on my Samsung HL-T5089 since I use it for my home theater. Also let me add that before I settled on the OPPO I went through two different Denon models the 1910 and 2910, the Pioneer 49AV, The Sony 90V (forgot whole stock number) and the Samsung 960HD. I had issues with all of them except the OPPO. The Denons had great picture quality but would not play alot of discs especially ones I burned. I would get weird digital artifacts on screen with the Pioneer and the Samsung and Sony kept locking up on me.

So far I haven't had any usability issues with the 400V other than the stated HDMI audio issue.

fish1050

Interesting, what HDMI resolution are you using to input to your HL-T5089 when you did this comparison, at 480i or are you scaling it a bit to 720P or 1080i? I assume you compared both the DV-400V to DV-970HD at several settings?
My Samsung HL-T5089 uses a Faroudja chip which is better than the Mediatek chip in the 400V and OPPO 970. Therefore it does a better job scaling and deinterlacing the image than either player. I use my OPPO at 1080i but in all fairness since the Samsung DLP is doing the scaling and deinterlacing the difference between 480P, 720P, or 1080i settings on either the OPPO or Pioneer will be minimal at best. If you choose either 480P or 720P then the DVD player does the deinterlacing and the tv does the scaling. I have read and heard that most 1080P televisions do a very good job at upconverting a 1080i signal so that is why I chose that setting. That way my Samsung tv does the deinterlacing and the scaling. I have tried every possible resolution setting on my OPPO 970 and the differences are basically imperceptible (sharpness varied slightly, but color and detail were the same). I found this to be true with the 400V as well at least on my Samsung HL-T5089. So to simplify things I just did the comparision at 1080i. I did try switching the 400V to 1080P and found the image quality was slightly worse because I was bypassing the Samsung tv's deinterlacer and scaler and using the 400V deinterlacer and scaler.

There are several rules of thought when it comes to upconverting. One, if the television has a better scaler/deinterlacer than the DVD player then output an interlaced signal 480i if the tv can handle it or 1080i. That way the television does the deinterlacing and the scaling to 1080P. Two, if the DVD player has the better deinterlacer and scaler and can output 1080P then let it do all the work and bypass the television deinterlacer/scaler. Three If they both have the same or equivalent deinterlacer and scaler chips then have the DVD player do the deinterlacing (output 480P) and let the television do the scaling. All things considered the quality of the DVD player components and their implementation make a much bigger difference in picture quality than the resolution settings. If you find a big difference in picture quality between 480P, 720P, and 1080i settngs then the manufacturer used a very cheap deinterlacer/scaler chip or chips or they did a poor job configuring the units to work with the chipset or chipsets.

If you go to a web site like www.hometheaterhifi.com which does very in depth DVD player reviews you'll find alot of manufacturers use the Mediatek chips and yet the scores vary widely between units. They praise OPPO for their implementation of the Mediatek chipset and mark down other manufacturers for their poor implementation of the same chipset. It is refreshing having a company like OPPO that only releases new units when their are significant improvements over previous models and only after several months of beta testing by consumers. The OPPO DV-970HD has been on the market for over two years now and OPPO is continuing to issue free firmware updates to fix problems and add new features to the units. If it was any other manufacturer you would have to buy the next years model and hope they fixed problems from the previous years model. OPPO's parent company is one of the largest OEM electronics manufacturers in the world so they are well supported. Sorry to keep waving the OPPO flag so to speak but they are unique when it comes to electronics manufacturers. Don't take my word for it do a search on OPPO DV-970HD reviews and see for yourself.

Paying a premium for a 1080P DVD player only makes sense if it has a better scaler and deinterlacer than your television has.

I use to sell high end audio video equipment and do custom installs. I have several friends in the industry who keep me up to date on this stuff.

fish1050

I was looking at the DV-400V today and really liked the features and aesthetics but it's the picture and sound that really matter which from what I gather reading this thread are nothing to write home about.
The Oppo, on the other hand, has gotten rave reviews however it looks like a $29.00 Craposonic. I could live with the look of the black DV-981HD but it doesn't have component out which I need. The OPDV971H and DV-970HD have component out but I just can't picture a tacky chrome DVD player sitting next to my, all black, high end audio gear. I don't get Oppo's marketing strategy. Build a super DVD player but make it look like a piece of junk.
I could always pay a few extra bucks and get a Denon 1930CI but it doesn't handle Divx or USB. Or how about a Marantz 6001 which does handle Divx but costs twice as much as the Oppo's and four times as much as the Pioneer. Oh yeah, and then there's the macroblocking and lip sync issues with the Faroudja chip.

Maybe I'll just keep my 6 year old Toshiba SD-1800 until they settle the Blu Ray/HD-DVD squabble and prices hit rock bottom.
Have you seen one up close?

I have had my OPPO 970 for over a year and OPPO keeps adding improvements with firmware updates. I've never had a problem with it and customer support is excellent if you have any questions. It may not look great in pictures but the build quality is quite good for the price. Picture and sound quality comparable to the Denon's. Don't take my word for it reviewers say the same thing. I also know because I tried two Denon units including the 2910 which would not play several DVD's and was alot more expensive. I've heard the same complaints about the 1930 and 2930 as well. I guess you have to make a choice between paying more for looks or getting more bang for the buck. Honestly the OPPO looks alot better in person then it does in pictures and performance for both video and audio are excellent. The 400V isn't exactly a head turner either as far as I'm concerned and I own one. I have to say for the $100.00 you can do alot worse than the Pioneer 400-V. I have heard about issues with the new Panasonic 1080P player the 53S and the Samsung 1080P7 is hit and miss as well. Some people say it is great others have had nothing but problems. I won't buy it because it won't play DL discs. Most of the reviews on the Pioneer 400V have been positive in comparison to the Samsung and Panasonic. LG is coming out with a new 1080P player and it is no great shakes either. It sounds like most manufacturers aren't putting much effort into producing decent quality SD DVD players in the hopes people will get fed up and make the jump to HD-DVD or Blue Ray. Still to much for me, will live with my OPPO for now.

fish1050

Sorry to keep waving the OPPO flag so to speak but they are unique when it comes to electronics manufacturers. Don't take my word for it do a search on OPPO DV-970HD reviews and see for yourself.

Paying a premium for a 1080P DVD player only makes sense if it has a better scaler and deinterlacer than your television has.

I use to sell high end audio video equipment and do custom installs. I have several friends in the industry who keep me up to date on this stuff.
fish1050
Thanks very much for you in depth feedback fish1050. I have a new Samsung HLT-6189S (awesome!) and right now feeding it 480P component from a Pioneer 578A, and so far very impressed with its own internal scaler/deinterlacer. So like most video buffs with extensive DVD collections looking for what would work out best until the HD/BR player mess improves. Also Oppo is only a few miles away from me, as something to consider.

Thanks very much for you in depth feedback fish1050. I have a new Samsung HLT-6189S (awesome!) and right now feeding it 480P component from a Pioneer 578A, and so far very impressed with its own internal scaler/deinterlacer. So like most video buffs with extensive DVD collections looking for what would work out best until the HD/BR player mess improves. Also Oppo is only a few miles away from me, as something to consider.
No Problem,

If my comments make you a happy OPPO owner like I am all the better. That's great that you are close to OPPO. I bought my unit when I was living in St Louis direct from OPPO but I have since moved back to Canada and dealing with OPPO from Canada is not as easy as they don't have a Canadian operation. That is the one caveat that might keep me from getting another OPPO unit. I have heard that they are considering getting into the HD-DVD, Blue-Ray game at some point but they are being close lipped about it. I belong to the OPPO DV-970HD avs forum as well and there is lots of great information in this forum as well if you want more information. The link is below, it is a huge forum so it may take some time to get through it.

fish1050

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=682896&page=179&pp=30

Would you still say the DV400 was a good buy?
Sorry clicked on wrong post.

Majorhawk read my comments above for JohnAV. I clicked on his post twice by mistake instead of once on his and once on yours.

fish1050

The HDMI audio issue where you can't output dolby digital or dts to a receiver with HDMI connected to the tv would be a deal breaker for me on my Samsung HL-T5089 since I use it for my home theater.

So far I haven't had any usability issues with the 400V other than the stated HDMI audio issue.


I just picked the 400V up last week, after returning the Samsung 1080P7. Out of the box, I am getting DD and DTS into my receiver via coax AND 2 channel audio into the TV via HDMI. For me, this is ideal. I'm guessing your TV is telling the 400V that it is DD/DTS capable? If so, that seems like a flaw that needs to be addressed, hopefully via firmware for the 400v.

The 1080P7 had choppy video and audio, locked up several times requiring unplugging and wouldn't display over 720P on my 1080P display. Would not even do 1080i. After a week, it wouldn't play any discs. It did look nicer on the shelf than the Pioneer though... :cool:

Right you are!

I have had the OPPO DV-970HD for over a year now. I bought the Pioneer DV-400V for a second tv. I have to say the OPPO picture is better than the Pioneer DV-400V. The detail and color are superior. They both use Mediatek chips but OPPO has spent alot of time optimizing performance with the Mediatek chip and they definitely got it right. NO issue with using HDMI connection to tv and getting Dolby Digital and DTS through receiver at the same time. My Samsung HL-T5089 has USB 2.0 connection so I don't worry about only having USB 1.1 on the OPPO. You pay a small premium for the OPPO but it is definitely worth it. Have yet to find any disc, including DL and Divx that won't play on the OPPO. OPPO also has great customer support with regular firmware updates to improve performance.

fish1050

I need a player that will be a temporary solution until I pull the trigger on an HD TV. I'm more of an audio guy than a HT guy so my first priority is a player that will sound as good or better than my current Toshiba SD-1800 or, let's say. a Denon 1930CI in an analog(2CH) setup. I have an old Sony CRT(480i) so I don't really need HDMI, upconversion, etc. I find the picture on my Toshiba a bit dark at times so I'm hoping that either the Oppo or the DV-400 would be an improvement and it can't handle Divx, PAL like the newer models. But aside from that the Toshiba is actually a pretty decent little machine. It sounds good, has a simple menu and has proven to be very reliable over 5 years.
I don't want to trade off quality, reliability and ease of use for an inferior machine loaded with bells and whistles that I don't need.

Do you think the Oppo or Pioneer could be a good temporary solution or should I just wait for BR/HD-DVD ?

As far as sound is concerned, if you use the digital coaxial output there should be no difference from one player to the next.

I just picked the 400V up last week, after returning the Samsung 1080P7. Out of the box, I am getting DD and DTS into my receiver via coax AND 2 channel audio into the TV via HDMI. For me, this is ideal. I'm guessing your TV is telling the 400V that it is DD/DTS capable? If so, that seems like a flaw that needs to be addressed, hopefully via firmware for the 400v.

The 1080P7 had choppy video and audio, locked up several times requiring unplugging and wouldn't display over 720P on my 1080P display. Would not even do 1080i. After a week, it wouldn't play any discs. It did look nicer on the shelf than the Pioneer though... :cool:
Yeah that jibes with what I heard on other sites about the Samsung 1080P7. Amazing how Samsung can make great tv's but they can't make a decent DVD player that works.

fish1050

As far as sound is concerned, if you use the digital coaxial output there should be no difference from one player to the next.

Like I said I'm more of an audio guy than an A/V guy. I had a Yamaha RX-V1500 but went back to stereo setup as I was disappointed with its limited musicality.
Since I'm not using a surround receiver I need a player that has quality audio DAC(s) so I can get good sound using the analog output to my stereo pre-amp.
I keep hearing that Marantz, Rotel, Arcam, Cambridge are musical players but are in a different price range than Oppo or Pioneer and while Denon is more affordable it appears to be plagued with reliability issues.
There's never much talk about how these less expensive players sound. I want something that's as good or better sounding than my $89.00 Circa 2002 Toshiba SD-1800
I think I'll just pick up the Pioneer at BB and if it doesn't live up to expectations - back it goes.

I need a player that will be a temporary solution until I pull the trigger on an HD TV. I'm more of an audio guy than a HT guy so my first priority is a player that will sound as good or better than my current Toshiba SD-1800 or, let's say. a Denon 1930CI in an analog(2CH) setup. I have an old Sony CRT(480i) so I don't really need HDMI, upconversion, etc. I find the picture on my Toshiba a bit dark at times so I'm hoping that either the Oppo or the DV-400 would be an improvement and it can't handle Divx, PAL like the newer models. But aside from that the Toshiba is actually a pretty decent little machine. It sounds good, has a simple menu and has proven to be very reliable over 5 years.
I don't want to trade off quality, reliability and ease of use for an inferior machine loaded with bells and whistles that I don't need.

Do you think the Oppo or Pioneer could be a good temporary solution or should I just wait for BR/HD-DVD ?
Robosapien,

I use sell high audio and video equipment, we are talking $10,000+ systems and I did installs as well. In the last 5 years I have owned and demoed easily over 100 DVD players. I personally have owned the Toshiba SD-1800/2200/4700 and 4900, Denon 1910/2910, Pioneer Elite 45A/47a/79avi, Mitsubishi 8080, and Sony NS90V plus a few others that escape me now. I can say without hesitation that the only unit with better sound quality be it analog or digital than the OPPO DV-970HD is the Denon 2910. I would put the OPPO ahead of the 1910 which is an older version of the 1930CI. The OPPO is a universal player meaning it plays DVD-Audio and SACD. I know you mentioned only two channel audio but they specifically tweaked the analog audio to get the best possible analog sound. They state this on their web site. There alot of reviews on the OPPO including some on high end audio web sites and they all have good things to say about the OPPO 970's sound quality for music. The unit even has HDCD which is usually only found on higher end CD and DVD players.

I can try to sell you on the OPPO all day long so don't take my word for it. If you order one direct from OPPO they give you a 30 day no hassle rerturn policy. Since they don't sell the units in retail stores you can return it to them for any reason as long as it is in the original packaging. They ship the units double boxed and the player comes in a very nice black bag to keep it from getting scratched. Go pick up a Denon 1930CI and order the OPPO DV-970HD (I would recommend the 810 but it has no component video output) and do a comparison for yourself, that is the only way to guarantee you will be happy with your decision.

You mention waiting for Blue Ray and HD-DVD. I have yet to find anyone recommending them as audio players. Plus wth the DRM restrictions in place who knows what kind of restrictions there will be once a winner is declared. If a winner is declared they will be able to hit us with whatever restrictions they want. Digital audio quality will be downgraded to prevent piracy etc. At least with the current crop of SD-DVD players we can listen to what we want with relatively few restrictions and get pretty darn good sound quality.

Alot of people I know have bought the OPPO based on my recommendation alone since none had ever heard of OPPO and I have yet had anybody tell me they weren't impressed by the picture or sound quality and these are some pretty finicky people. I have had this OPPO for over a year, the longest I have ever owned a DVD player and I have yet to find a newer unit worth replacing it with until the HD war is settle anyway. I would consider the OPPO DV-810HD as it is 1080P but it has the Faroudja chip which causes macroblocking on DLP tv's like mine. Even then I will probably keep the 970 as my audio player.

fish1050

I can try to sell you on the OPPO all day long so don't take my word for it.
fish1050

I've never given so much thought on such an inexpensive item.
I've been sold on Oppo for quite some time now and would have ordered one a long time ago were it not for the psychological barrier of owning an all chrome DVD player. That's why I was hoping the Pioneer would be a reasonable(more aesthetic) alternative. But how will it look/sound?
Due to reliability issues the Denon is out of the question.

I've never given so much thought on such an inexpensive item.
I've been sold on Oppo for quite some time now and would have ordered one a long time ago were it not for the psychological barrier of owning an all chrome DVD player. That's why I was hoping the Pioneer would be a reasonable(more aesthetic) alternative. But how will it sound.
Due to reliability issues the Denon is out of the question.
I think a lot of us are having problems deciding whats the best inexpensive upconversion DVD player to purchase. :-)
The Pioneer DV-400 is black in the states, and aesthetically goes well in most peoples setup. Just to play devils advocate, I know test wise the Oppo has garnered some great reviews, and it represents good performance for its price, but not quite up to reference quality as some would like to see in a under $200 player. Several reviews of the Oppo do pick on its overall appearance as something you expect to buy in a Walmart, and that the disc caddy feels real flimsy. (watch the CNET video review) This image (http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/transports/dvd-players/oppo-dv-970hd/image/image_view_fullscreen) shows why some are concerned. Compare that to the image (http://www.world-import.com/images/dv400dvblack.jpg) of a Pioneer DV-400. Heck even the Pioneer DV-400 silver version (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-DV400-Silver-DVD-Player/dp/B000QUN4TI) of the same player looks a lot better then the Oppo DV-970. Another competitor is the Sony NS75H (www.crutchfield.com/S-Olx0ldBNSvV/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=54400&tab=morephotos&pi=3&i=158NS75H&display=L#Tab) to consider in all of this. Theres also the low cost Phillips DVP5960. Based on all the player freeze up issues the Samsung 1080P7 isn't even worth considering

Is there anybody out there who has the DV-600? Is there any differences between the 600 and the 400 in PQ? As far as I understand is the main difference between them that the 600 has better sound quality. :)

Is the 600 available in North America yet? I don't see it on Pioneer's website and the few comments/reviews I've seen are from the UK.

Where is a good place to get this for sup $100 shipped??

Where is a good place to get this for sup $100 shipped??
well i got my from walmart for 104 shipped but i think there out of stock

I believe, given that the oppo has superb audio and picture quality, per all the reviews, etc, it's very probably better than all the other dvdp's mentioned, so the looks won't play a role for people who really want true performance.
if this was a fashion show, then the pioneer is clearly better. but the quality of the oppo image posted is also a hell of a lot worse than the other images, which contributes to the lesser looks, i think.

oppo's "flimsy" tray, per oppo digital, was designed as such on purpose, to take some abuse, and be flexible, and not break, and if you see Cnet's review of the 981HD, they mention that since they tested the 970HD a while ago, they NEVER had any trouble with 970 tray, and that it was still working fine at the time of 981 testing !"
here's the Cnet quote:
[B]"...The DV-981HD sports essentially the same disc tray, in black. While it still appears to be fragile, we have to admit we haven't had a single problem with our DV-970HD, nor have we heard any reports of the disc tray snapping off. While it still may not be the best choice for those with little kids, the bend-but-don't-break disc tray may be more durable than it appears..."

and i know at least 5 people personally who have the 970HD newly bought when it first came out, and none of them said anything about the tray breaking.



I think a lot of us are having problems deciding whats the best inexpensive upconversion DVD player to purchase. :-)
The Pioneer DV-400 is black in the states, and aesthetically goes well in most peoples setup. Just to play devils advocate, I know test wise the Oppo has garnered some great reviews, and it represents good performance for its price, but not quite up to reference quality as some would like to see in a under $200 player. Several reviews of the Oppo do pick on its overall appearance as something you expect to buy in a Walmart, and that the disc caddy feels real flimsy. (watch the CNET video review) This image (http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/transports/dvd-players/oppo-dv-970hd/image/image_view_fullscreen) shows why some are concerned. Compare that to the image (http://www.world-import.com/images/dv400dvblack.jpg) of a Pioneer DV-400. Heck even the Pioneer DV-400 silver version (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pioneer-DV400-Silver-DVD-Player/dp/B000QUN4TI) of the same player looks a lot better then the Oppo DV-970. Another competitor is the Sony NS75H (www.crutchfield.com/S-Olx0ldBNSvV/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=54400&tab=morephotos&pi=3&i=158NS75H&display=L#Tab) to consider in all of this. Theres also the low cost Phillips DVP5960. Based on all the player freeze up issues the Samsung 1080P7 isn't even worth considering

I believe, given that the oppo has superb audio and picture quality, per all the reviews, etc, it's very probably better than all the other dvdp's mentioned, so the looks won't play a role for people who really want true performance.
if this was a fashion show, then the pioneer is clearly better. but the quality of the oppo image posted is also a hell of a lot worse than the other images, which contributes to the lesser looks, i think.

oppo's "flimsy" tray, per oppo digital, was designed as such on purpose, to take some abuse, and be flexible, and not break, and if you see Cnet's review of the 981HD, they mention that since they tested the 970HD a while ago, they NEVER had any trouble with 970 tray, and that it was still working fine at the time of 981 testing !"
here's the Cnet quote:
[B]"...The DV-981HD sports essentially the same disc tray, in black. While it still appears to be fragile, we have to admit we haven't had a single problem with our DV-970HD, nor have we heard any reports of the disc tray snapping off. While it still may not be the best choice for those with little kids, the bend-but-don't-break disc tray may be more durable than it appears..."

and i know at least 5 people personally who have the 970HD newly bought when it first came out, and none of them said anything about the tray breaking.
In a nutshell what people where expecting is a followup to the Pioneer DV578A/588A family with better audio performance then the DV-400 which the DV-600 possesses. If the DV-600 was out a lot more people would be happy. Oppo came out of nowhere in 2004 and produced a low priced decent performance 971 unit, and then came out with 970, 981 models.

These specs bother me:
Digital audio characteristics
Frequency response . . . . . . . . . . .4 Hz to 44 kHz
S/N ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 dB
Dynamic range
DV-600AV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 dB
DV-400V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 dB (why?)
Total harmonic distortion
DV-600AV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0023 %
DV-400V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0065 % (why?)

Where is a good place to get this for sup $100 shipped??

right now $79 @JR, I dont know abt shipping

^^^ Thanks for the heads-up, I went to J&R this afternoon and got me a DV-400V for $79 + tax. Will be paired with a 32" 720p Vizio LCD for my sister, so based on TV brand I presume the Pio upscaler is the way to go. Right? :o

^^^ Thanks for the heads-up, I went to J&R this afternoon and got me a DV-400V for $79 + tax. Will be paired with a 32" 720p Vizio LCD for my sister, so based on TV brand I presume the Pio upscaler is the way to go. Right? :o


let me know if you could region hack it!! that was my only prob with this player

I just got this player and so far it seems like a great choice, even through component. The HDMI cable arrives tomorrow from Monoprice.

Is there a U.S. version of the DV-600 coming to the States soon? The European version (though 220v) allows full DSD bitstream output (besides decoded MLP DVD-Audio to multi-channel PCM) via HDMI without a conversion to a lesser PCM resolution, so it looks like it's fully HDMI 1.2 compliant.

I want a fairly decent, yet inexpensive transport for my SA-CD's and DVD-Audio discs to an Integra DTC-9.8 pre-amp (probably) that accepts both multi-channel PCM and pure DSD bitstreams for decoding to pretty decent Burr-Brown DAC's. If I add bass management and the like on top then like everything it seems the DSD data will be converted to PCM.

could someone tell me if the usb port is 2.0? Or 1.0?

could someone tell me if the usb port is 2.0? Or 1.0?
im pretty sure its usb 2.0

Anyone eventually knows if there is any difference (picture-wise only) between this decent DVD player and its big brother, DV-600 ?

I'm not into SACD / DVD-Audio and wonder whether the extra cost of DV-600 is justified if only DVD-Video use is concerned...

I believe, given that the oppo has superb audio and picture quality, per all the reviews, etc, it's very probably better than all the other dvdp's mentioned, so the looks won't play a role for people who really want true performance.
if this was a fashion show, then the pioneer is clearly better. but the quality of the oppo image posted is also a hell of a lot worse than the other images, which contributes to the lesser looks, i think.

oppo's "flimsy" tray, per oppo digital, was designed as such on purpose, to take some abuse, and be flexible, and not break, and if you see Cnet's review of the 981HD, they mention that since they tested the 970HD a while ago, they NEVER had any trouble with 970 tray, and that it was still working fine at the time of 981 testing !"
here's the Cnet quote:
[B]"...The DV-981HD sports essentially the same disc tray, in black. While it still appears to be fragile, we have to admit we haven't had a single problem with our DV-970HD, nor have we heard any reports of the disc tray snapping off. While it still may not be the best choice for those with little kids, the bend-but-don't-break disc tray may be more durable than it appears..."

and i know at least 5 people personally who have the 970HD newly bought when it first came out, and none of them said anything about the tray breaking.
I have never had any issues with the OPPO 970HD in the 15+ months I have owned it and the tray is very sturdy even though it is quite thin. To get a DVD player with the performance and features of the OPPO for $150.00 you have to compromise somewhere. You can call the 970 cheap looking but it is a very solidly built unit. You can pay more for looks but in the end if it doesn't do a good job looks don't mean squat. Their parent company BTK is one of the largest OEM manufacturers of electronics in the world. They know how to make good products and and keep the costs down. I have had $300.00 plus DVD players including a Pioneer Elite and a couple of Denon's and I would put the OPPO 970 up against any of them. The Pioneer and Denon's had to be returned because of performance or compatibility issues. I have had the OPPO 970 longer than any DVD player I have ever owned.

fish1050

Hello, I picked up the dv400 last week and so far no complains at all.
I hooked it up to an Benq PE8700 projector with a hdmi cable and using an HDMI-DVI adaptor for the projectors DVI input since it has no HDMI.

PQ looks great, looking at 1080i, the projector max resolution but a funny little problem occurs once and a while:
The HDMI light on the front of the player is sometimes blinking instead of constant on.
When I turn the player off and on again, the problem is gone, this seems to be random, I can turn the power off an on sometimes and have no problems but then later I have the blinking problem for a couple of tries.
There seems to be no difference in pq since the benq reports that's being feeded an
1080i signal.
The 'problem' that in de setup menu's the HDMI resolution and color setup are
grayed out and I only get to adjust the component settings, normally this is vice versa. Am I making any sense here ? (Since English is not my native language :) )

im pretty sure its usb 2.0
Someone posted earlier that the pioneer has a MediaTek MT1389FE chipset, in that case its going to be USB1.1 :(

When using the DV-400V connected via HDMI, have you guys played around with the color control that has three options, FULL RANGE RGB, RGB and COMPONENT ?
Connected to my Mitsubishi native 1080p LCD, the interesting thing i noticed is that, even though the owner's manual recommends using the COMPONENT option, i found out that by selecting FULL RANGE RGB i get a noticeable increase in contrast, with black/dark grey areas of the scene improving markedly....I was never pleased with the "washed-out" blacks i was getting from my DV-400V using the recommended HDMI color option, whereas now i am pleased with the black level i am achieving.
It may be very well that by using FULL RANGE RGB i might have skewered the overall color towards a little reddish cast, but the improvement in black level and contrast more than make up for it, and besides, with the Mitsubishi i have the choice of fully adjusting the three primary and the three secondary colors, which i now plan or re-visiting with my test DVD, while still keeping the improvement in black level and contrast.
If you are not pleased with the black level of your display connected to the Pioneer DV-400 via HDMI, my suggestion is to play around with the HMDI color control and see if you notice any improvements like i did; It might surprise you...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marcos

So, where is this mythical big brother DV-600 that people are comparing it to? Is it still the European model that's already out... or do people know when the U.S. version will be out?

Thanks.

Dan

So, where is this mythical big brother DV-600 that people are comparing it to? Is it still the European model that's already out... or do people know when the U.S. version will be out?
Thanks.
Dan
So far only available in Europe, not in the states. I see DV-600 owners from UK discussing the players.

So, where is this mythical big brother DV-600 that people are comparing it to? Is it still the European model that's already out... or do people know when the U.S. version will be out?

Thanks.

Dan

Pioneer seem to release some products in Europe way before they do in North America.
The A-A9-J and A-A6-J integrated amps were available in Europe early 2007. I asked a local dealer to call me when he got them. I had completely forgotten about it when he called me last week. I still can't find them on their US/Canadian websites.

Hey all...

Just picked myself up this DV400 this weekend with my Sharp 42" 62U LCD

I currently have it hooked up via HDMI (1080P video) straight to my LCD and the Digital Coaxial Audio to my Pioneer VSX-816 Receiver.

I believe that I've successfully disabled the audio on the HDMI (thanks to this thread) so that its exclusively going through the coaxial to my better speakers.

HOWEVER, when playing DVD's that I KNOW are DD 5.1, when pressing the "audio" button on the remote it displays "Dolby Digital 3/2.1" on the screen.

The thing is, I AM hearing sound through my rear speakers (have a 7.1 setup), but I'm unsure if its just my receiver splitting a 2.1 sound across all speakers.

Can any suggest on how I can make the display say 5.1 or is this an inherent bug that always shows "2.1" when infact there is a 5.1 signal going through?

Thanks all!

I've just got one DV-400V-K from BB, it plays DVDs and data DVD with Divx on them. But it could not recognize any of my CD-R or VideoCD written on my PC. What do you think, is it just defective unit and I need to exchange or it is incompatibility with my CD/DVD writers?

Update: it does not play any CD, even music. I'll return it.

I just bought a DV-400V yesterday. I read a lot of good reviews on here so I thought why not. I have to say that I'm disappointed that it's up converting ability. I'm connecting with a HDMI and comparing it to my Philips DVP5140, which is connected through component video.

The difference I see between the two players is very marginal. I found that at 1080p, the picture was very noisy. On some movies, this was ok, on others it was too distracting. At 1080i, the picture was smoother and generally better.
I know up converting will never be as good as HD, but I don't think my expectations are too high either. If I had to determine which player was being used based on the PQ, I don't think I could tell.

I would not recommend this player if the only reason you are buying it is for it's up-converting ability. If you are in need of a new player, or want something to play DivX, I would recommend it. But since my Philips player isn't very old, and can play DivX, I will most likely return this one.

I just bought a DV-400V yesterday. I read a lot of good reviews on here so I thought why not. I have to say that I'm disappointed that it's up converting ability. I'm connecting with a HDMI and comparing it to my Philips DVP5140, which is connected through component video.

The difference I see between the two players is very marginal.
You are leaving out an essential piece of the equation: what TV is it plugged into?

Every TV has different processing. Some are better at certain conversions than others. Your TV might do a great job upconverting 480p to its native resolution, but a poor job downconverting 1080p.

Don't assume 1080p will always offer the best picture. I've found 1080i is best with my Pioneer plasma, even though the TV downscales and deinterlaces it to 768p.

If your TV has a high quality scaler, then it might do a very good job upscaling 480p via component to its native resolution, such that you won't see much benefit from an upscaling DVD player.

Many TVs have inferior scalers to the Mediatek chip in the Pioneer, so they benefit from using one of the upscaled outputs. Which one looks best is dependent on the TV's internal processing capabilities.

This may be a silly question but does this player do 768p upscaling via HDMI or component?

Hey all...

Just picked myself up this DV400 this weekend with my Sharp 42" 62U LCD

I currently have it hooked up via HDMI (1080P video) straight to my LCD and the Digital Coaxial Audio to my Pioneer VSX-816 Receiver.

I believe that I've successfully disabled the audio on the HDMI (thanks to this thread) so that its exclusively going through the coaxial to my better speakers.

HOWEVER, when playing DVD's that I KNOW are DD 5.1, when pressing the "audio" button on the remote it displays "Dolby Digital 3/2.1" on the screen.

The thing is, I AM hearing sound through my rear speakers (have a 7.1 setup), but I'm unsure if its just my receiver splitting a 2.1 sound across all speakers.

Can any suggest on how I can make the display say 5.1 or is this an inherent bug that always shows "2.1" when infact there is a 5.1 signal going through?

Thanks all!

Hey there.... Dolby D: 3/2.1 is actually 5.1.... 3=No of front channels, 2=No of surround channels, and .1 is the subwoofer representation. Not to worry

Hey there.... Dolby D: 3/2.1 is actually 5.1.... 3=No of front channels, 2=No of surround channels, and .1 is the subwoofer representation. Not to worry

Ahhhhhhhhhhh well don't I feel really silly right about now! hahaha... thats excellent to hear (literally). THANK YOU sincerely for your insight/help!

One last question... is there any quality difference between Dolby Digital and DTS? Or is it just a matter of preference... I've always used Dolby Digital in the past.. this is the first time I've ever had the option to choose.

***ALSO... I'm not sure if this has been emphasized in this thread yet, but this player also plays BOTH NTSC and PAL DVD movies!! (pretty good for North Americans to play all of your 'backup' content you can retrieve off of the net)

Cheers,

One last question... is there any quality difference between Dolby Digital and DTS? Or is it just a matter of preference... I've always used Dolby Digital in the past.. this is the first time I've ever had the option to choose.
Cheers,
See this Audioholics article on Dolby versus DTS (http://www.audioholics.com/education/surround-sound/dolby-digital-vs-dts-a-guide-to-the-strengths-of-the-formats).

DTS has always been a step higher in audio quality compared to Dolby Digital on most DVD's sampled.

returned my sammy 1080p7 for this player since that player has a lot of issues, i'm impressed with this pioneer player.. it plays my verbatim dual layer dvds(something the samsung 1080p7 didnt do) and everything else i've thrown at it.. the usb port on the front is also a bonus, you can even hook up an ipod to this player and play mp3s off it.. in my opinion this is a very nice player.

I have a Pioneer PDP-5070HD and thought that the DV-400V would be a decent match. The DVD player is connected to the plasma via a HDMI cable. I set the DVD player to 1080i and compared the DVD playback to the exact same content recorded on the DVR over my HD cable. The DVD playback looks horrible. What am I doing wrong? Am I expecting to much from this DVD player? Should I return the DVD player for an Oppo or better DVD player?

I have a Pioneer PDP-5070HD and thought that the DV-400V would be a decent match. The DVD player is connected to the plasma via a HDMI cable. I set the DVD player to 1080i and compared the DVD playback to the exact same content recorded on the DVR over my HD cable. The DVD playback looks horrible. What am I doing wrong? Am I expecting to much from this DVD player? Should I return the DVD player for an Oppo or better DVD player?
An upscaled DVD, no matter how good the player, will never rival an HD image.

Lack of optical audio on this player baffles me. Thinking of going with the H/K DVD 48 instead. Any thoughts on the 48?

Lack of optical audio on this player baffles me. Thinking of going with the H/K DVD 48 instead. Any thoughts on the 48? Yeah do you want spend a lot of money on a universal player versus a HD player from Toshiba for same price .....$399 list? Quite a jump from a $100 DV-400 player, that you could buy a coax digital cable for. BTW this HK DVD 48 hasn't made it to dealers yet...too new.

a certain online retailer lists it for 299.99, I think, still B/O though. I may, however, end up just getting the DV400 to hold me over until the new Pioneer BD player hits the streets.

[
***ALSO... I'm not sure if this has been emphasized in this thread yet, but this player also plays BOTH NTSC and PAL DVD movies!! (pretty good for North Americans to play all of your 'backup' content you can retrieve off of the net)



So are you saying that the DV400 plays PAL dvds right out of the box because I haven't found a region free hack for this player. I have been waiting to buy one of these till a hack was available as having the capability to play PAL DVDs is a must for me in a new unit. I was going to just go with the Phillips 5982 as it has an easy hack and plays PAL dvds well, from what I have read, but if it is confirmed that this Pioneer will play them then I prefer Pioneer to Phillips. I hope that you or someone that has this player will reply and confirm that it will play PAL dvds out of the box or provide the region free hack you used.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Anybody has any recommended settings for this player over HDMI I'm using the DV-400 with the Pioneer 4270

[


So are you saying that the DV400 plays PAL dvds right out of the box because I haven't found a region free hack for this player. I have been waiting to buy one of these till a hack was available as having the capability to play PAL DVDs is a must for me in a new unit. I was going to just go with the Phillips 5982 as it has an easy hack and plays PAL dvds well, from what I have read, but if it is confirmed that this Pioneer will play them then I prefer Pioneer to Phillips. I hope that you or someone that has this player will reply and confirm that it will play PAL dvds out of the box or provide the region free hack you used.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Totally right out of the box!

I had two PAL DVD's I "acquired" and burned to disk not realized they were PAL instead of NTSC when I got them... On my prior panasonic player they didn't work so they just got shoved into a drawer for a good year.

I popped them into this DV400 and whammo.. full upscaled 1080P goodness!

Good luck... tell us how it goes.

My receiver has one digital coax input, but its being used by my computer. Would it be bad to passthrough the audio through HDMI to my TV and take optical out to my receiver? Is there any disadvantage to this?

edit: My receiver does not have HDMI input.

Totally right out of the box!

I had two PAL DVD's I "acquired" and burned to disk not realized they were PAL instead of NTSC when I got them... On my prior panasonic player they didn't work so they just got shoved into a drawer for a good year.

I popped them into this DV400 and whammo.. full upscaled 1080P goodness!

Good luck... tell us how it goes.

it does do, pal, but only if it is region zero or region all. it would not do any strict region coded dvds whether pal or ntsc without modification, thats why i returned it

hmm.. every comment on this thread regarding picture quality is that it sucks. Guess I can cross the DV-400V off the list..

The PQ is not the best, nor is it the worst. I returned it and got a PS3 after the price drop.

hello everyone...I just purchase this Pioneer DV-400V not to long ago. I about to order my HDMI cable from MonoPrice.com, but I thought even via component it can upscale to 720p? Iown a Samsung HLS66w (720p/1080i), right now it only showing me my dvds at 720x480p @ 60Ghz...am I doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance...

hello everyone...I just purchase this Pioneer DV-400V not to long ago. I about to order my HDMI cable from MonoPrice.com, but I thought even via component it can upscale to 720p? Iown a Samsung HLS66w (720p/1080i), right now it only showing me my dvds at 720x480p @ 60Ghz...am I doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance...
I believe you only have 480p component output on DV-400.
Using a HDMI cable you can set it for 480p, 720p, 1080i, or 1080p depending on maximum native resolution of your display.

Thanks for the reply JohnAV, I appreciate it. One last question, I've never really ordered an HDMI cable before and on the MonoPrice site there are several AWG HDMI cables. Which one do I need?

I see 22AWG, 24AWG, 26AWG, 28AWG.

Thanks in advance...

Thanks for the reply JohnAV, I appreciate it. One last question, I've never really ordered an HDMI cable before and on the MonoPrice site there are several AWG HDMI cables. Which one do I need?

I see 22AWG, 24AWG, 26AWG, 28AWG.

Thanks in advance...

It depends on what you need, ie flexible cable, long run, etc. The thinner gauge(higher #) is more flexible is OK for short runs. The opposite is true for thick gauge cable (lower #). I have tried many different HDMI cables and I can't really see much difference at about 2 - 3 meter cable run.

I believe you only have 480p component output on DV-400.
Using a HDMI cable you can set it for 480p, 720p, 1080i, or 1080p depending on maximum native resolution of your display.


Also does 480i over HDMI :)

It depends on what you need, ie flexible cable, long run, etc. The thinner gauge(higher #) is more flexible is OK for short runs. The opposite is true for thick gauge cable (lower #). I have tried many different HDMI cables and I can't really see much difference at about 2 - 3 meter cable run.
ok cool, im gonna go with the 6ft 24AWG...thanks for the info

My receiver has one digital coax input, but its being used by my computer. Would it be bad to passthrough the audio through HDMI to my TV and take optical out to my receiver? Is there any disadvantage to this?

edit: My receiver does not have HDMI input.
I'm curious to know this myself as well...

My receiver has one digital coax input, but its being used by my computer. Would it be bad to passthrough the audio through HDMI to my TV and take optical out to my receiver? Is there any disadvantage to this?

edit: My receiver does not have HDMI input.

if your receiver supports optical in, and your tv will output digital audio via optical, there should be no problem...

steven

The Oppo, on the other hand, has gotten rave reviews however it looks like a $29.00 Craposonic. I could live with the look of the black DV-981HD but it doesn't have component out which I need. The OPDV971H and DV-970HD have component out but I just can't picture a tacky chrome DVD player sitting next to my, all black, high end audio gear. I don't get Oppo's marketing strategy. Build a super DVD player but make it look like a piece of junk.


Oppo have just answered my prayers. Black unit with component out already ordered. I might have ordered the DV-600 if it were available in Canada but...

http://www.oppodigital.com/dv980h/default.asp

does anybody have any inside information concerning the new player by Pioneer, model DV-48AV, what are the features, price, when it will be available? also, any other Pioneer models as well? thanks

Anyone using this player in 480i through HDMI? I am looking for a decent player that will do this, so I can have my Processor scale to 720P through its HQV Reon Chip. Currently I have a Panasonic S97, but I would like to take advantage of the HQV, and retire my S97 to another TV. What seems to be the overall impressions of this player.

it does do, pal, but only if it is region zero or region all. it would not do any strict region coded dvds whether pal or ntsc without modification, thats why i returned it


Thanks for the info. I want a player than can play all Pal discs well. I have been checking and there are no region free hacks for this unit available at this time, so this unit is out for me as well. I guess I will just have to go with the Phillips or stretch the budget for the new Oppo. Thanks again for the info.

hi zebu3, you can purchase Pioneer DV-400 with region free through regioncodefreedvd.com for $139. I was also looking at this unit, but there is no hack out there yet.

hi zebu3, you can purchase Pioneer DV-400 with region free through regioncodefreedvd.com for $139. I was also looking at this unit, but there is no hack out there yet. Who would pay that much for a DV-400 when the new Oppo 980HD is thirty bucks more ($169)?

Who would pay that much for a DV-400 when the new Oppo 980HD is thirty bucks more ($169)?
i dont who you are johnv but the Pioneer DV-400 is a very good dvd player.. unless you have been using for more than 3 hours, i will not let you say it's no good. it gives a very good picture and i doubt somebody would notice the difference unless they are in high gear and then they would have bought a denon anyway. so they are budget for everything and i prefer to buy from a known name manufacturer than a no name like oppo even if they are supposely that good.

I also own a pioneer dv-393; so i have nothing against pio.
I'm sure the dv-400 is also a decent player.

To call Oppo a "no name" is BS! the "no name" dvdp scored 98 points in home theater hi-fi reviews an benchmark tests, beating a Denon which was about 4x the cost of the Oppo. Cnet thinks oppo pretty much has the best PQ, and esp. SQ for SACD/CD. so they ARE good; and not "supposedly"; you should do a bit of reading about what experts say about Oppos dvd players before dismissing them.

( I also thought my pioneer dv-393 is great until i saw the results of its benchmark test against the oppos test results. )

and check this thread here at avs to see people actually replacing pioneer ELITE players with the new oppo dvdp!(see last page or so)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11163306#post11163306

i dont who you are johnv but the Pioneer DV-400 is a very good dvd player.. unless you have been using for more than 3 hours, i will not let you say it's no good. it gives a very good picture and i doubt somebody would notice the difference unless they are in high gear and then they would have bought a denon anyway. so they are budget for everything and i prefer to buy from a known name manufacturer than a no name like oppo even if they are supposely that good.When someone recommends buying a modified region free version of the DV-400, yes I consider that a poor buy for $139.

I found it odd that Pioneer reduced the digital audio dynamic range with the DV-400 model to only 88 dB. I have two earlier pioneer players BTW, and this DV-400 only offers Digital audio out via coax, not optical. When you compare this player to say a Sony DVP-NS77H for the same price the DV-400 is not that great a buy, its just OK.

I am amazed that you are referring to Oppo as a no name, because of their popularity and numerous AV magazine awards.

When someone recommends buying a modified region free version of the DV-400, yes I consider that a poor buy for $139.

I found it odd that Pioneer reduced the digital audio dynamic range with the DV-400 model to only 88 dB. I have two earlier pioneer players BTW, and this DV-400 only offers Digital audio out via coax, not optical. When you compare this player to say a Sony DVP-NS77H for the same price the DV-400 is not that great a buy, its just OK.

I am amazed that you are referring to Oppo as a no name, because of their popularity and numerous AV magazine awards.

firdt of all the dv-400 is not 139$, it is more like 120$ or less. second of all ask any salesman in any retail store (best buy,circuit city, mom and pop video store) and 95% wont know who the heck is oppo so sorry to burst your bubble but oppo is a no name (which doesnt mean they are not good).

btw, coax audio and optical audio offer the sqame quality of sound so their is no lost there unless your receiver doesnt have enough coax in i guess.

so to finish i think oppo are gret but for 50$ less i prefer to have the dv-400 also by the fact that eventually hd-dvd or blue ray will be the medium of choice for audiophile like you seem to be.

firdt of all the dv-400 is not 139$, it is more like 120$ or less. second of all ask any salesman in any retail store (best buy,circuit city, mom and pop video store) and 95% wont know who the heck is oppo so sorry to burst your bubble but oppo is a no name (which doesnt mean they are not good).



great example of knowledgable people: Salesman in BB, CC :) :)
They're the biggest morons ever, who know nothing about products; name any iof the hi-end audio video stuff, and they don't know those either.
are you serious? you think those puppets know more than the people @ Cnet or people who do the Benchmark testing @ HT hi-fi?
If you seriously think Oppo is a no name you REALLY have to use the web better.

did you even check out the threads HERE on Oppo dvd players?

I just bought the DV-400 and I was considering the Oppo as a player to get, but since the Oppo is 1/3 more the cost, the DV-400 was an easy choice for me. It also has a very nice picture and is has nice picture quality controls.
My wife hates all the stuff, but I called her in to see the picture quality of the Pio and she said "this blows away the Sony player you were using (NS75)"
I also agree the Oppo isn't a readily recognized brand. Go stand on a busy street and ask 50 people if they own or have heard of Oppo.
Like the other guy said, it doesn't mean they are not good, but I can see someone being more comfortable buying from Pio.
BTW, I picked this up last Sunday at BB for $99 after they price matched the pio price on the web.
It's been a rough weekend though. The first Pio had to be returned because of no video out of the HDMI, and then I discovered a 20 ft HDMI cable went bad so I have to replace that as well. If I add in my Sony DVD player dying on me last week, it has been a really bad week for me and HT gear.

true; oppo may not be known to the average customer who can't see or care about differences in PQ or SQ or advanced features; HOWEVER, oppo is recognized AND well respected by professionals and experts AND people with considerable know-how about DVD/HT etc. standing on a busy street probably won't give a chance to meet many of THOSE people.

take a look @ the back panels of a pioneer and a Oppo; you'll see how much more professional the oppo feels/looks.