Very nice machine (Pioneer DV 626)

Member Name: russlndr

Product:	Pioneer DV 626
Date:	06/11/00 (164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge array of outputs, excellent picture and sound, nice remote, plays CD-Rs

Disadvantages: No headphone jack, manual switching between S-Video and component out

Pioneer's DV-626D is a very nice machine. For about $390 you get DVD player with built-in both Dolby® Digital 5.1 and DTS decoders, which allows you to use 6 analog connections on the back of the player to extract excellent 3D dynamic sound.

The player has excellent picture quality; the image is very crisp, super sharp and has very natural colors. In fact, the sharpness is even a little bit too excessive. The player has a digital noise-reduction (DNR) circuitry that increases the picture quality even more.

The audio reproduction from both DVD and CD discs is excellent, which means that the Pioneer’s digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in this player is very good. However, if you have a high-end receiver with a better DAC you can use the unit’s digital out (it has both coaxial and optical out) to connect to it.

The DV-626D has a large array of gold-plated audio and video jacks on the rear panel. There are five video outputs: two composite, two S-video, and a component-video out. There are also two pairs of RCA stereo output jacks and two digital output jacks: coaxial and optical.

There are also 6 RCA jacks that facilitate the 5.1 output when using the built-in Dolby® Digital or DTS. And if you don’t have a 5.1-channel audio system, there is a "TruSurround" circuit, which simulates surround sound by using only a pair of speakers.

The only missing out is a headphone jack. I don’t know how often you expect to use your headphones, but I do it not more often than once a month. Also you can use the headphone jack of the connected audio system for this purpose.

Additionally, there is a manual switch on the back to switch between S-video and component out. But it is unlikely that you will switch between these two types of output often (if at all).

The remote is very nice; it has jog/shuttle control that looks nice and allows you to scan at 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, scan 1, scan 2 a
nd scan 3 speeds (scan1-scan3 speeds are each faster than the previous one). The remote has a backlight and also allows you to control the dimming of the unit’s front panel display or even turning it off completely.

The remote also allows you to control all audio and video parameters. You can even adjust the subwoofer, center channel level and surround speaker levels. It also allows you to control special effects and has advanced programming options. The button on the left side of the remote illuminates the most frequently used buttons.

The player plays CD-R discs, which not all DVD players do. It uses the Pioneer’s Twin Laser Pickup, using one laser for DVD and another one for CD and CD-R discs.

Overall, the player is nice, with excellent picture and sound, good remote, built-in DD and DTS decoding, CD-R playback and massive array of outs. For all these features, the price is about right.

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