Pioneer DV-400V Owners Thread - Page 6

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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!

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

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

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

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/showt...page=179&pp=30

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

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...