Pioneer DV-343 DVD Player

Rating:
Summary: Quality, trouble-free experience with Pioneer DV-343
Review: I purchased this DVD player about 6 months ago and have had nothing but a great experience from this player. The picture and sound quality are excellent! The colors are reproduced pretty accurately and clearly. As for the sound? Phenomenal. Using both Dolby Digital and DTS, I am happy to report that this payer handles any DVD with aplomb.

The features of this player cannot be beat for it's price. I love the fact that when you stop or turn the power off, the DV-343 remembers exactly at what point you stopped when you press play again. The loading time on the player is very fast and it is very quiet. For you foreign film fans, you can set the player to automatically default to the films native language and automatically turn the english subtitles on (woo hoo!!!) It can recognize foreign film DVDs from U.S. film DVDs! All the menu functions of the unit are pretty intuitive, so maneuvering through the menus is pretty easy.

I have only one complaint about the DV-343. The remote control is non-intuitive. I had a Toshiba SD-3007 before the Pioneer and I could use the remote in the dark without looking. With the Pioneer, the buttons are pretty much all the same size and shape, so you will need the lights on to see the labels. Fortunately I have a Harman Kardon TC-1000 touchscreen remote with a backlit LCD, so I don't run into that problem.

Remote control aside, I would highly recommend this player to anyone looking for a player on a budget.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent ! Typical High Quality Unit From Pioneer
Review: I purchased this DVD player about 6 months ago and have had nothing but a great experience from this player. The picture and sound quality are excellent! The colors are reproduced pretty accurately and clearly. As for the sound? Phenomenal. Using both Dolby Digital and DTS, I am happy to report that this payer handles any DVD with aplomb.

The features of this player cannot be beat for it's price. I love the fact that when you stop or turn the power off, the DV-343 remembers exactly at what point you stopped when you press play again. The loading time on the player is very fast and it is very quiet. For you foreign film fans, you can set the player to automatically default to the films native language and automatically turn the english subtitles on (woo hoo!!!) It can recognize foreign film DVDs from U.S. film DVDs! All the menu functions of the unit are pretty intuitive, so maneuvering through the menus is pretty easy.

I have only one complaint about the DV-343. The remote control is non-intuitive. I had a Toshiba SD-3007 before the Pioneer and I could use the remote in the dark without looking. With the Pioneer, the buttons are pretty much all the same size and shape, so you will need the lights on to see the labels. Fortunately I have a Harman Kardon TC-1000 touchscreen remote with a backlit LCD, so I don't run into that problem.

Remote control aside, I would highly recommend this player to anyone looking for a player on a budget.

Rating:
Summary: Best bang for the buck!
Review: I would have given it 5 stars but just days after I ordered mine, it went on sale for $... less than what I bought it for. Features are great and it comes with all the basic audio and video cables for easy hookup. It took me about 10 minutes from the time I opened the box to the time I started watching my first dvd. Great unit at a great price!

Rating:
Summary: Good for the price, but doesn't last long.
Review: I've had this player for almost two years, and it is a good *DVD* player for the price. Gives decent picture and sound on a 24" flat screen stereo TV; I'm sure its limitations would show up on a better system. Only issue is that it seems a little more sensitive than other players to scratched up rental DVDs-- only had problems with one or two out of 50 or so.

However, the other disc types (CD, VCD, CD-R/RW, etc) barely worked at first, and now no longer work. The player will chew on the disc for a while, then spit it out. When I first bought the player, some CDs would work, especially after a few tries. I probably should have addressed the issue when the player was still under warranty, but I didn't really have a need for the extra features so I didn't bother. (Now I'd like to be able to play VCDs, oh well.) Never had a problem with DVDs; I imagine the second pickup is defective.

Decent player for the price, but like most equipment in this price range, be careful about durability.

Rating:
Summary: Good for the price, but doesn't last long.
Review: I've had this player for almost two years, and it is a good *DVD* player for the price. Gives decent picture and sound on a 24" flat screen stereo TV; I'm sure its limitations would show up on a better system. Only issue is that it seems a little more sensitive than other players to scratched up rental DVDs-- only had problems with one or two out of 50 or so.

However, the other disc types (CD, VCD, CD-R/RW, etc) barely worked at first, and now no longer work. The player will chew on the disc for a while, then spit it out. When I first bought the player, some CDs would work, especially after a few tries. I probably should have addressed the issue when the player was still under warranty, but I didn't really have a need for the extra features so I didn't bother. (Now I'd like to be able to play VCDs, oh well.) Never had a problem with DVDs; I imagine the second pickup is defective.

Decent player for the price, but like most equipment in this price range, be careful about durability.

Rating:
Summary: Remote Control
Review: Is a very useful item, quality in everything. The only thing is the Remote Control is very fragil.
I am looking to replace mine. I need it.
Somebody sell one, give me a shout.: [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: This is not for PAL DVD's
Review: It is OK. I like it. In Amazon.com technical preview was noted that this model could run both NTSC and PAL DVD's, that why I bought it. But when I put my Multizone PAL based DVD, which I previously watch in color using my PHILIPS computer DVD drive, was screened just in black and white. I was very disappointed because of that. Unfortunately this model is working just in NTSC system. Anything else is OK.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Gift
Review: LOL, I just got this as a gift. It seems to run good. But it's a good idea for someone without a dvd player. It's cheap and user friendly.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed Pioneer Fan
Review: My advice is not to waste time and money investing in one of these DVD players. If you buy three of these DVD players, perhaps two will work for you. I bought one as a 2001 Christmas present for my son to go with his Pioneer A/V receiver. It play fine for two months and stopped working in March 2002. We tried all of the trouble shooting fixes, used a DVD disc cleaner and installed new A/V cables. The pioneer representative said that it was a laser pick up problem. Nothing (DVD, CD, etc.) will play on it. So off to the repair shop it goes. Hardly, what you would expect from a quality Pioneer product. It is fortunate that there is a one year warranty on parts and labor, otherwise it would be a large paper weight.

Rating:
Summary: Lousy Customer Service
Review: Player worked fine for the first 3 months then kept getting "stuck" every few minutes. Took it to authorized Pioneer service facility for warranty repairs where it has remained for the last 7 weeks. Still don't have it back! Pioneer refuses to provide a replacement unit. With this kind of service, I suggest taking a pass on the Pioneer.