Rating: 
Summary: Just the facts
Review: I believe that most of you buyers out there will not buy a DVD based on a customer review that only tells you it's a 'great' appliance or the picture an sound are 'great'. I've owned 4 DVD players and sadly the best way to know how it will perform is to test it on your system. So I will try to focus on issues that I think you should consider for your purchase.Video: The clarity and sharpness of the picture will depend on your TV set. I've tested this DVD on a Panasonic Tau, a Sony Wega and a JVC regular set. The picture is just fine with a regular set, but with the Wega and Tau it presents rendering problems. My suggestion: if you'd already spent a couple of extra bucks in your TV set you should consider buying a better player because this one won't take full advantage of your TV. If this is not your case then this DVD is a perfect match for a regular TV set. (It has a picture quality enhancement and I've seen that it performs better if you turn it off). Audio: No complaints here with the optical an coaxial outs. The signal to noise ratio is quite better compared to similar priced players. The transport is a little bit noisy on some DVD's and CDR's. This depends on the spinning speed of the disc. In other words, it will not be noisy through all the picture, just on some portions of it (mostly at the beginning and if the DVD has dual layer somewhere in the middle of it). General: Although it has no zoom feature, it has a couple of extras that might interest you like the last memory function, condition memory and the access speed (this last one is amazing). The remote is not as intuitive as others (example: the play button is not between the REW and FF so you'll find yourself looking for the buttons in the dark). I've tested it with region 1 and 4 DVD's without any problems.
Rating: 
Summary: Defective Player
Review: I bought my first DVD player (Panasonic) several years ago and it was very finicky with certain disks (The Matrix, in particular). I would see a lot of "noise" or the player would freeze altogether. I read other people's reviews (unfortunately not the ones in Amazon.com) and it seemed like the Pioneer DV-333 would be a good choice to play "problem" disks. Right from the beginning when I bought it, the player would make loud "pops" when I switched audio modes, particularly if I wanted DTS. Once I changed modes, the player would play the rest of the disk without any problems. After several months I started to experience some freezing when playing some DVD's. Eventually, just after a year, it would start to play up to the menu and then freeze altogether with every disk. I could play the same disks on other players with no problems. I brought it to an authorized Pioneer DVD shop and they diagnosed it to be a defective chip. They said it would cost me ...to repair ... ...
Rating:
Summary: DV-333 requires pristine discs
Review: I bought the DV-333 mostly to watch rented DVDs on my 20" Sony TV, not for use in an integrated home theatre setup. I'm happy with the image quality and the controls are fairly easy to use for routine operations. My main complaint, as noted by others in their reviews, is that the player doesn't do well with even slightly dirty or scratched discs. Unfortunately, this applies to 10%-20% of the rented DVDs I watch (I've never had a problem with one of the few DVDs I've purchased for my personal library). I see image and sound break-up and, in the worst cases, the picture just freezes and the player stops itself. In this case, the only remedy is to manually re-start play at a point in the program beyond where the problem occurs. This typically involves some fumbling around with the control to specify a location that loses the least amount of the program. Unless you are playing mostly new or well-cared-for discs, I'd look at alternatives to this model.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!!
Review: I bought the Pioneer DVD Player for my family for Christmas. We have truly enjoyed it. It has great sound and a wonderful, clear, crisp picture. It is the best DVD player that I have found for my money.
Rating:
Summary: Dependable! It has never failed on us!
Review: I bought this DVD player on July 16, 2000 after having an awful experience with an Emerson DVD player we impulse-bought at Wal-Mart one day. The Emerson was always freezing up and having problems. We got to the point where we almost didn't want to use it (the Emerson) because we were disappointed so often by its performance. My husband and I love DVD's for their wonderful sound (even though we don't use speakers or a home-theater system), picture, and ESPECIALLY the bonus materials that often come on DVD's. So, I got rid of the Emerson and went out & bought myself a Pioneer, because of Pioneer's reputation. (I did have last- minute doubts over whether I could just get another reliable brand that was cheaper and pay extra for an extended warranty through the store. However, I saw more value in the Pioneer brand-name.) I have never regretted buying this DVD player. We play rental DVD's, as well as purchased ones, and the player has never frozen up on us. (Occasionally, there is a split-second pause at the end of a scene, but that happens very, very rarely and isn't noticeable.) I have read that this DVD player can do a lot more high-tech stuff than just play DVD's, but if you are like us & just love movies, you will still be VERY CONTENT with this player. Also, since it is now over 2 years old, it obviously has stood the test of time!
Rating:
Summary: There are Lemons in the Trees
Review: I bought this DVD player on October 30, 2000, based on Pioneer's reputation and on the reviews I'd read here at Amazon.com. It worked great -- for all of forty days. At that point it stopped playing DVD's altogether. It simply locks up after 10-30 seconds of play and nothing but a complete power-down will get it moving again. And even then, it only moves for another 10-30 seconds. I'm now in the process of receiving warranty repair service from a Pioneer-authorized service center (which is essentially a local independent contractor approved by Pioneer). The customer service folks ar Pioneer were average -- not overly dismissive but not overly helpful either. I bought the DV333 thinking I'd have a nice little unit on which I could watch my budding DVD collection over the holidays. Instead I've had the headache of driving the unit to a repair center -- and I have no idea when it's coming back. This unit may be fantastic when it works as intended. But not all of them do. I'd at least consider another brand before opening your wallet.
Rating:
Summary: Problems after 20 months of light use
Review: I bought this model in December, 2000 as a family Christmas gift based on reviews I read here. We used it "lightly" - probably playing one DVD movie a week from then until last month. The machine no longer responds predictably to either the remote (with fresh batteries) or the front panel controls. If I try to power it on, there is no response. After 10 minutes, if I try again, the power will come on. Then I try to play the DVD. Again, no response, but if I try again after several minutes, it might work. This repeats for nearly every subsequent command. When I finally give up and try to power it off - you guessed it - it does not respond until I try again some time later. I opened the unit to peek inside, but nothing looks amiss. I will try to contact Pioneer tomorrow, but am not hopeful after just reading other reviews here...
Rating:
Summary: The best player for its price range
Review: I bought this Pioneer DV-333 player in November 2000 and I am very happy with it. Video: The picture quality delivered is amazing, and I say that as I've seen it on my Sony Wega TV. This TV has a very clear definition and you would notice imperfections easily, but there were none on any of my discs. Anamorphic DVD's can be viewed in the 16:9 enhanced mode and for those the picture is quite life-like. Note that I am using component video cables to connect the DVD to the tv. Audio: Using a digital optical cable to a Pioneer receiver, the sound is excellent for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS. I have previously used the Pioneer DV-525 which also delivered a great sound. make sure that you have a receiver with a DTS decoder for DTS movies. Playback: This DVD player plays everything. Here's what I tested on it: DVD (region 1 or all-region) CD, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD, and SVCD! If you have a CD burner on your computer this will come in very handy if you might want to burn downloaded mpeg-1 and mpeg-2 video-clips on CD media. Value: At this price you won't find a more complete or better quality unit. If you have more money to spend I recommend buying the 5-disc model, Pioneer DV-503.
Rating: 
Summary: Great First Player
Review: I bought this player as an avid video/audiophile as well as a movie junkie and bought it as a second player for a second movie room. The first thing that struck me was the front panel; Pioneer got it just right with very little clutter up front making a very simple and elegant looking box. The setup was a breeze with a very simple on screen guide. I popped in my first disc (my personal favorite demo: Mission Impossible), and I was quite pleased with the result. The picture was very crisp, using the composite video inputs, and the sound was extremely clear with the digital out to my Yamaha receiver. While the player doesn't come with all of the bells and whistles of players a couple hundred dollars more, this player delivers worth every penny! I do however have a couple of complaints. The remote is small and not backlit, and while the primary control buttons are well positioned, they are still small and hard to manage in the dark. Also with the remote is that I have had some problems with it responding from certain angles. Another minor dissapointment is that the fast forward, rewind, and slow motion are somewhat tricky to deal with. It takes a few laps to get to that particular moment you like to watch again and again (i.e. Seann William Scott's decapitation in Final Destination). But this mistakes really only stick out to those of us picky enough to care. However, some other neat features, such as the ability to play CD-R's, DTS playback, and a full 24-bit conversion rate (necessary for all of those 5.1 and DTS CDs out there) make up for it; features rarely seen in players in this price range. And the solid audio/video playback, ease of use, and flexibility make this one of the best first-buy players out there; well worth the extra over the bottom barrel and below players (please don't waste your money on those, just swallow the extra C-note). The DV-333 packs in features that some boxes don't have and boosts some pretty beefy movie viewing. Pioneer most definitely got it right this time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent quality for the price
Review: I have been extremely pleased with my choice of the Pioneer DV-333. Everything has performed as advertised, with flawless playing of DVDs, CDs, and CDRs. Setup was a breeze, taking no more than ten minutes. The sound quality is wonderful, and unlike as was mentioned in the editorial review, no harshness was apparent when using the digital sound outputs. The remote is not perfect, with the buttons being very small and no lighting, but all major functions of the DVD player can be handled by most univeral remotes. There is no built-in Dolby decoder in the 333, so to get true surround sound you will need a receiver with a decoder. An excellent value!
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