Slim and good looking with all the functionality! (Pioneer DV 444)

Member Name: kevip6

Product:	Pioneer DV 444
Date:	30/10/01 (658 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks Great, Sounds Great, easy to use

Disadvantages: ???

Hi,

I started in the DVD market with a simple DVD player and Decoder card in my PC. This was a great entry level as it allowed me to play DVDs from any region and was a very cheap (about 95 pounds) way to gain access to the amazing quality of picture and sound the media had to offer.

I soon after got myself a DigiTheater from VideoLogic, which comprises of a Dolby Digital Decoder and a set of 6 speakers. This opened up the world of Dolby Digital sound and i was hooked on DVDs from that point on!

I carried on with this setup for a while until recently when i decided to bite the bullet and get myself a decent stand alone DVD player. I have about a 50/50 mix of Region 1 (USA) and Region 2 (Europe) discs and so a multi region player was a must.
Looking on Techtronics web site i soon decided the Pioneer 444S was the way to go as it looks fantastic and had all the features i could possibly want.
So i went on some forums and found a good deal from www.homecinemaheaven.co.uk. The player cost me £220 in the end including delivery and full modification chip, which allows the multi region playback, as well as disabling the Macro Vision protection! The 444S is a beauty to look at, finished in a modern silver and is very slim at only 5.5cm in height. Buttons are at a bare minimum on the front of this player and most of the functions are performed via the remote. This is, i assume for design purposes and it works rather well. The on screen menus have a very intuitive feel and almost all functions can be performed without resorting to the manual. I did however have to look up how to change the output format from NTSC to PAL for an American disc, as this requires a non-standard combination of buttons to press. This was easy to find though and the manual is very well organized.

Feature wise this player had everything i could possibly want, you can speed up or slow down play by a number of factors. Freeze frame pictures are very clear a
nd the method in which freeze is achieved is configurable in the menus. It can put out Dolby Digital and DTS digital sound via either an optical or coaxial cable. There is also a Virtual surround mechanism in which the player will try and emulate 3D sound through the standard stereo speakers. Video outputs include a dedicated S-Video out, an RGB Scart that can put out RGB/S-Video/or A/V, and set of composite A/V out sockets so you can connect the player to a number of output devices. The menus allow you to specify what type of screen you have and the also the output type for the Scart. The actual picture quality is very good in both PAL and PAL60 modes, and it played the American discs with no problems at all. Sound is very good as well with the Dolby Digital signal being detected by my decoder with no problems.

One of the best additional bonus features of this player though is the speed of the functions. This is very noticeable having used a Whalfedale 750 extensively, when you switch this player on it loads and then when you ask it to open, its almost instant! It make the usability so much better and it has a very well made and proffesional feel to it.

To sum up i love DVDs and this player is best i have ever used. I can't think of a single bad point about it and am truly very impressed by the whole thing!

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