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Pioneer DV-343 DVD Player

Pioneer DV-343 DVD Player

List Price: $219.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Skips easily, doesn't play DVD-R
Review: I bought the dvd player two years ago, and it is already skipping with lightly scratched DVDs. Also, the machine does not play DVD-R (home-burned DVDs) well at all, so I suggest you buy an upgrade machine. Even if you do not burn your own DVDs, you may receive some from friends.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great DVD Player at a Super Price
Review: I bought this DVD player mainly to play SVCDs that I burn on my computer. I had an Apex 600A, but I had all sorts of trouble with it recognizing SVCDs (Sometimes it would, sometimes it wouldn't). The Pioneer unit recognizes them consistantly and plays them with better quality. It also plays DVDs great. This is a really great player for the price. The only negative I can find (and it is minor) is the size of the buttons on the remote. The buttons are very small and it is easy to hit more than one at a time. But the quality of the rest of the unit clearly out-weighs this small problem.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Its not worth buying
Review: I bought this dvd player, to play the 50 dvds we already have and we tryed 40 in this machine and only 2 would play.
It was a real disapiontment.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Quality, trouble-free experience with Pioneer DV-343
Review: I bought this excellent Pioneer DV-343 player for family use at Christmas 2001. It was easy to hook up and set up, worked the first time, and has worked ever since. I was infuenced by customer reviews that noted some cheaper and more expensive players rating higher with videophiles would sometimes stop or skip when using rental DVD disks. My unit has played new, used, rented, loaner, and library disks (DVD, CD-ROM, CDW, and CD-RW) without fail, always giving a first rate experience. The picture is crisp, clear and true on my Sony Trinitron. The sound quality is terrific through my Sony receiver and JBL theater monitor speakers (even without monster cable connections). I'm buying a second unit today for the bedroom.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Never again
Review: I bought this model less than a year ago, now it has stoped working. I was very dissapointed.
Also, I didn't like the remote control. The layout of buttons wasn't very useable, and they are tiny. Hard to work with in a dimly lit room.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Another region locked player
Review: I bought this player after reading rave reviews from (...). And so far, I like it a lot... with a few caveats. Firstly, Pioneer caved in to the evil MPAA and disabled the 343's region-code changing functionality, the primary reason I bought it. Thus, I removed 2 stars from my rating because of Pioneer's asinine decision to make their player incompatible with over half the world's DVDs. Secondly, it does not have fast-forward or reverse capability, something present on a lot of cheaper players - and flipping through random scenes in the "forward seek" mode is disorienting and imprecise. Thirdly, a minor annoyance occurs when a new DVD is inserted: the intro sequence plays, and cannot be paused. And lastly, it's not slimline. I have little enough space with all the other stuff stacked in my TV cabinet; why on Earth must Pioneer expand their player to 10 times the size of its internal electronics? If I cut a hole in the side, I could probably store a couple dozen DVDs, with their cases, in the empty space in the box.

It does get some minor bonus points, though, for having a relatively dim display (so the unit's faceplate doesn't distract you from the movie) that turns off completely when the power is off. So unlike my VCRs, it doesn't light up a dark room with an eerie glow when not in use.

If you put in a region 1 DVD and press play, the 343 works well. I have had no problems with scratched rental DVDs, and the layer transitions are completely seamless, as they should be. The motor is also very quiet; silent at 3 feet, to my ear. So, apart from some stupid design decisions, the general operation of the player seems to be excellent. My conclusion is that Pioneer's engineers are top-notch, but their product designers are either (...), or worse - marketing department personnel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Product
Review: I have owned several pioneer dvd players including the 333 and my most recent purchase the 343. The 343's performance is outstanding. While its not much to look at, its crisp picture and outstanding sound makes it a still!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: OK.....for first few months
Review: I have the same problem as Gary up there. It worked fine for about 3 or 4 months and now it gets stuck and I have to press fast forward to get it going again. Sometimes it gets stuck in the Menu mode and I have to stop it all together. I've cleaned it and it still messes up. Unfortunately Im stationed overseas and don't even have a Pioneer Repair shop to take it too. I would defintely pass on this DVD player.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great buy for the price
Review: I originally bought an Apex AD-3201 and returned it because the audio and video stuttered a few times per DVD. I decided to go with this Pioneer since the DVD-ROM I use on my computer is a Pioneer and works flawlessly.

This player is an excellent buy for the money. It may not have MP3 feedback (the AD-3201 does), but all my DVDs play flawlessly. Has no problems with music CDs or CD-Rs either.

It also has every jack known to audiophiles on the back. SVIDEO, Coax, Optical, Component Video: they're all there.

The buttons on the remote are little small, but I can live with that. The only thing I really dislike is the search feature. The Apex player (or PowerDVD on my computer) has a very smooth search feature, but this Pioneer player does not. It can be very hard to find a specific part of a DVD because it jumps around in fairly large increments. It's like watching a fast slideshow rather than watching the movie play back very fast.

I believe Panasonic's RV31 has "High Speed Smooth Motion", which undoubtedly solves this problem. Of course, that player costs more.

Bottom line: if you want a low priced, name brand DVD player that gives great sound and video, this is a fine buy. And don't forget that DVD of The Phantom Menace as well: the Pod Race scene in Digital 5.1 is killer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Very satisfied
Review: I purchased the Pioneer DV-343 at a great low clearance price from Amazon. The unit replaces my Panasonic A110, which no longer played DVDs properly. The Panasonic did not have a long life, which is one of the reasons I quickly excluded them from consideration.

I like Pioneer equipment and also have a Pioneer DV-434, which I also like very much. I think the DV-343 is a very good player with excellent sound and picture. I also think the remote control is fine, although I use a universal programmable remote for all my components. Although the height of the unit is a little larger than some of the newer units, I have no issue with it. It's the exact same dimensions as my earlier Pioneer DV-434.

My only negative comment about the DV-343 is that it does not offer the capability of dimming or turning off the front panel display. My DV-434 has this capability. I expected the DV-343 to have such a simple feature, but apparently you have to step up to the next model to get it.

I'm very satisfied with it and recommend it at these new low prices.


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