Pioneer DV 440 DVD player

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...Read more

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...Read more

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!