Pioneer DV-656A DVD Player

Pioneer's DV-656A is probably the best Home Theater Quality DVD player you'll find for under $500. It combines a 10 bit Video processor with a 24 bit/192 Khz audio processor for incredible sound and video quality. It's progressive scan output is perfect for HDTV sets, and it has all the best outputs for connection to a home theater system. On top of all that, it has a built in DTS decoder for people using older home theater recievers or shelf system that don't have their own decoder, and it plays nearly all the different formats of avaliable disc. It can play back any kind of home made "burned" DVD disc, as well as DVD Audio discs (you can now also play DTS CDs without needing a seperate decoder), VCDs, SVCDs, CD-R and CD-R/W discs, it can decode MP3s (meaning you won't have to waste space changing MP3s into .WAV format when you burn CDs with your PC), and it even plays back SACDs (Super Audio Compact Discs)! It won't decode the HD portion of HDCDs, but they will still play in regular playback mode on the 656A. The next unit up that can boast these features is a unit from Pioneer's Elite lineup that retails for $500! The only real downside is that many regular retailers don't carry this unit, chances are you will have to get it online, but I purchased mine from Crutchfield.com and got it (after tax and shipping) for $203. It's an amazing player, top quality in every way, a definite 10 out of 10!