Pioneer DV-59AVi DVD Player

When it comes to DVD players let me tell you right from the start that I am not a technology fanatic. It's the one component in my audio-video rack that I don't spend a lot of time researching and getting into all the technical issues with. Generally I want a DVD player that offers an excellent picture along with some nice features.

I had previously owned a top-of-the-line Sony DVD player before progressive scan players became available. Since I had recently bought that player and was happy with it, I put off buying a progressive scan player. Furthermore, my TV at the time (a fantastic Sony 36" XBR tube-based TV) didn't support progressive scan anyway. Then I bought an HDTV that did support it and decided it was time to get a progressive scan DVD. The problem was that at this time there was a lot of debate about various chipsets, problems and such. So I decided to buy a very basic, temporary progressive scan player until this all worked itself out. I bought a $149 basic Sony DVD player. It worked just find, had a decent picture and nice features.

I then received the Pioneer Elite DV-59AVi as a gift and was extremely excited to give this a try. I had also recently gotten a Pioneer Elite 730HDi TV so I'd be one of the few people around who could plug go HDMI-to-HDMI directly (both the TV and the DVD player support the new HDMI interface that combines video and audio on one small plug that looks similar to a USB connector, but smaller.

Setup was breeze and all the cable inputs are clearly marked so I had this up and running in a matter of minutes. The first thing I noticed was that the player offers an amazing array of setup choices with regard to video quality and your desires. It supports standard 480p resolution, 720p and 1080i resolution. Anything above 480p basically results in the picture being upconverted to the higher resolution. 1080i looks so crisp that I just set it there and it hasn't moved since.

Upon playing the first DVD (I started with the old standby, The Matrix) it was clear that the picture is dramatically better than standard, lower-end DVD players. Both my wife and I immediately noticed the difference. It's extremely film-like.

What's more is that the stop-gap Sony player I had suffered from the well-known chroma bug which basically results in elements having unwanted "jaggies" or jagged edges running along them. This bug is, unfortunately, there in most inexpensive players and many higher-end players. It is not there in this player.

In addition to excellent video, the DV-59AVi is also and excellent choice for playback of DVD-audio or SACD (Super Audio CD) discs. Many players support one format or the other while this one supports both. Granted, you're limited to one disc at a time but as long as your needs aren't tied to a multidisc changer, you're in good hands with this for your music needs.

On the downside, I am a bit surprised by a few things that are a direct result of my experience with other players.

First, the DV-59AVi doesn't have a multiple disc resume feature. Many DVD players support the ability to remember where you left off on 1, 5, 10 or more DVD's. In a household with children this is often a big deal. My wife and I are continually interrupted by real life issues that force us to watch movies in parts. Then a child is likely to come along and watch a DVD of theirs. With other players you simply put your DVD back in and hit Play and it picks up right where you left off. With this player, it cannot remember the location of ANY disc that has been removed. In fact, it can only remember the location of where you left off if you don't remove the disc and then, it's actually easy to goof that up and make it forget that location.

Second, when using either FF or RW features, the picture becomes very jerky in nature. The other DVD players I've owned never had this problem. FF and RW for them resulted in the video going forward or back faster but in a stable fashion, here the picture will go quickly, then stutter, then go quickly again and then stutter.

Lastly, when I pause the picture it often goes out of focus for no apparent reason. It doesn't go out of focus much but it does go from a perfectly clear picture to a slightly foggy one, enough that you will notice it. Again, the $149 player never had this issue.

The remote is fairly decent and includes a nice jog shuttle for variable forward and reverse speed including frame-by-frame movements.

In the end I've decided to live with the negatives and to keep it for the excellent picture it produces, but I am very surprised to find a player costing 10 times the price of a basic player lacking the features of that lower-end unit. For me it'd be like buying a Ferrari only to find that it doesn't actually come with a radio (which I actually think is the case!)