Pioneer DV440 DVD Player

Rating:
Summary: An excellent DVD player!
Review: After months of research, the pioneer DVD 440 came up top of my list as the most value-for-money in terms of performance, features and reliability. I've been using it for 6 months now, this is my review of the player:

Installation - Very simple, just plug the supplied cable to your TV and that's it.

Picture quality - Brilliant, sharp and crystal clear. You can also adjust/customise the video setting if you want to.

On-Screen Menu - Simple yet practical window-like menu. The text are fairly large and easy to read, unlike other DVD players that uses small graphics/icons which although looks nice but can be difficult to read and use. Got to admit, I almost didn't buy this player because (at first) I thought the on-screen menus are plain and even a little bit ugly, I mean JVC has this super flashy/high-tech menus and Panasonic 31k has this little icons thingies. But in the end I chose the Pioneer because of its easy to use menus and the features available. The features available on the JVC and Panasonic are rather limited. Flashy and good graphics is useless without ease of use and the features to go with it.

The on-screen display is very useful. By pressing the Display button on the remote displays all kind of info like elapsed time, remaining time, total time, transfer rate etc.

Playability - It plays EVERYTHING i.e. DVD/CD/VCD/SVCD/CD-R/CD-RW/MP3. I probably wont use all of them, but its good to know that this player can play them should the need arise.

Audio CD playback - Excellent sound quality. You can have program play, random play etc, all though its on-screen menus. You have to switch on the TV in order to listen to music (at least on my standard cable setting). I haven't figured out how to bypass the TV and go straight to my mini hifi yet.

MP3 - You can program play, random play etc etc...I don't use this feature much though...

Features - plenty of useful features, especially the a time search feature. Just press the "Time Search" button on the remote and you can jump to a specific title, chapter (press TS twice) or time (press TS 3 times) in the dvd. In VCD, you have to press 1 on the remote first before playing the movie to be able to have this feature. It has "memory A-B" so you can watch your favourite scene over and over again running in a loop.

Remote control - Does the job nicely, very comfortable to hold and good buttons layout. My only comment is that some buttons are small.

Absent features - this player does not have a zoom function. What it means is that if you have a normal (full screen 4:3) TV and you want to watch a movie in widescreen format, then you can only watch it in letter box format (black bars on top and below picture) or in 16x9 format (picture appeared "stretched"). Unless of course if your 4:3 TV has a zoom function. If you have a widescreen tv, then no problem.

Others - Very slim design, easy to put anywhere. Actually my player is a gold colour DV-533k, which is the DV440 equivalent for the Asian market. The only difference is that the DV-533k has added karaoke functions. Other than that, its exactly the same as the DV440, it even share the same user manual.

Conclusion: A great all-rounder dvd player that has great pictures, sound, plays everything and lots of features. If you are a first time buyer or an average movie-lover like me, then this is MORE than good enough for you.

Rating:
Summary: Better than most, if not all, for the money
Review: First, let me explain my experiences with DVD players. My first was a Sony s330, given to me a few years ago. Then a Toshiba 2109, then a Panasonic RV31 (discussed in another review below), and now this Pioneer 440. This is included so that those with some of the other models have a reference point.

The Sony, because it was my first, set the "standard" for good or bad. On my Toshiba 36in TV, which is supposed to be pretty decent, all of those players looked good. Besides the lack of component outputs and an occasional lipsync problem, the Sony was kept because its remote control was the best (though no lighted or glow-in-the-dark buttons), it has smooth FF and reverse, plus a convenient feature I'll mention later.

The Toshiba had a good image, but I hated the control (I think it has been improved in newer models), and I didn't like the jerky FF and reverse. So I sold it after almost a year.

I bought the Panasonic RV31 next, after reading many reviews on the net. It's apparently one of the few without a red-chroma bug, and its image is supposed to be very good. On my TV it did seem impressive, but I don't know if that was a placebo effect. However, it was returned because of one major problem: if I stop the movie and turn off the machine, it does not continue where it was stopped. Minor you may think, but my wife and I often watch movies late in the evening, and it's nice to continue where we left off before. Also, while it could play MP3s, it could only play them sequentially, not randomly. Kinda annoying. Also, while FF and reverse was smoother than the Toshiba, it was still inferior IMO to the Sony's. Or maybe I'm just used to the Sony.

That brings me to the Pioneer 440. Again, lots of research (its score is really high at audioreview.com), and the price is reasonable. The control is OK, not worse than the Panasonic, but I still prefer the Sony the best. Again, maybe I'm just used to it. The image is great, though again maybe it's the placebo effect. FF and reverse seems smoother than the Panasonic and close to the Sony's, if a little different. It resumes play at the same location after being stopped and turned off. Finally, it can play MP3's randomly.

If all that jabber above doesn't mean much, at least take the following advice. Unless you have a really nice HDTV (then you should get a progressive scan player!), the difference in image quality is not nearly as noticeable as remote control ergonomics and some of the convenience features. Finally, make sure the unit doesn't have any known bugs like the lipsync problem mentioned above, or problems playing certain movies.

Rating:
Summary: Pioneer DV440 DVD Player
Review: Highly recommended. Cannot find anything wrong about it. Plays everything you throw at it, even converts PAL VCD to NTSC (cuts some lines at the top and bottom). Does NOT convert PAL dvds to NTSC. Picture quality is excellent. Yes, it doesn't have progressive scan and DD/DTS decoder built in, but dont forget how much it costs. Besides, if you are serious about HT, your receiver will have better DD/DTS decoder anyways. If you dont have progressive scan display, you dont need progressive scan output. It makes good sence to buy it pricewise - when you upgrade later, you won't loose much money. Another good thing - it plays CDs with MP3 and supports random play for it - I think it's the only player like that (maybe dv-444 is the same, I dunno).

Rating:
Summary: Pioneer DV440 DVD Player
Review: I bought this player ... and I couldn't be happier. The only thing it doesn't have is progressive scan, but
I think the DV444 has it. Great audio and video quality, plays
cdr/cdrw with ease. Plus the mp3 feature is great. Actually
keeps the directory structure and shows id3 tags. Only eight chars but better than anything else out there.

I haven't found a downside yet!

Rating:
Summary: Amazing for the price!
Review: I bought this player ... and I couldn't be happier. The only thing it doesn't have is progressive scan, but
I think the DV444 has it. Great audio and video quality, plays
cdr/cdrw with ease. Plus the mp3 feature is great. Actually
keeps the directory structure and shows id3 tags. Only eight chars but better than anything else out there.

I haven't found a downside yet!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent & Wonderful DVD player
Review: Strengths

1. MP3 playback
Wonderful GUI Menu for MP3
Wonderful function for MP3 (random play,program play etc)

2. Video Adjust
Fine Focus, Contrast, Brigtness, Sharpness, Chroma, Hue

3. Robust DVD Mechanism
Very fast response & robust reading capability

4. Wonderful outlook design, Very slim.

5. Beautiful VFD display

6. Wonderful Picture & Sound Quality

7. And many many many many. No need to comment...

I have Pioneer DV-533K, Asian model of DV-440. I have used many DVD players, but Pioneer DV-533K is BEST. It is not a lie.

I abandoned multi-channel DTS, Dolby Digital sound and finalized to 2 channel.

I think Pioneer MP3 function is BEST. It has many unusual functions for MP3 playback. For example, MP3 navigator, random play, folder play, fast search, and etc..

VFD display information is perfect.

Audio & Video quality is excellent for the price. It has also video adjust functions.

Analog Devices ADV7172KST is used for video encoder and

Burr-Brown PCM1742 is used for audio DAC.

And it has many many functions.

I think I will use this Pioneer DVDP for very long time.

It is BEST DVD product for the price.

Rating:
Summary: Pioneer DV-440 DVD Player - A Good Choice But There Are Bett
Review: The Pioneer DV-440 sells for (price), plays CD-R, VCD and MP3. Sounds like a good value, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, if you compare it to two great inexpensive players from Panasonic and Samsung (RV31 and M301 respectively), the DV-440 doesn't look like such a good deal. Not that this player is bad, but there are better models. After comparison, you see that the best feature of DV440 in comparison the aforementioned players is its slim design.

CD-R, VCD, MP3, AD, DD, DTS, etc.

The player reads CD-R in addition to standard-issue CDs and DVD-Video discs (aided by the twin laser pickup), it also plays MP3s and Video CDs. The picture quality as well as sound are excellent (DV440 uses Analog Devices video DAC) with sharp picture and low audio noise level.

VCD playback is also good, although Video CDs provide only adequate picture quality, incomparable to DVD, due to MPEG1 encoding and 352x240 resolution. The player has both optical and coaxial digital audio outs.

The advertised high-speed loading and resume features don't impress after Panasonic RV31. The picture quality is also no better, at least there is no noticeable difference. And the remote control, supplied with Pioneer does not impress either - buttons are small and similarly shaped.

The "standard" DVD features are present: parental control, angle select, language select, subtitle select, slow and fast scan, etc. The digital audio outs allow you to pass audio data in digital format to a Dolby Digital or DTS receiver for processing. You can also use analog stereo audio outs and pass the signal to stereo sound system or to a Dolby Pro Logic decoder.

I am really at a loss here why would somebody choose Pioneer DV440 over either Panasonic RV31 (which costs the same) or Samsung M301 (...). Panasonic RV31 is a benchmark in this price range with good looks, excellent picture quality, CD-R/W, MP3 and VCD playback and very fast operation. And Samsung, although slow in disc navigation, costs less and provides much of the same features.

Conclusion

Competition is fierce in DVD world. Although Pioneer DV440 is a good overall DVD player that provides excellent picture and sound quality, plays CD-R, VCD and MP3, there are better choices.