I bought my chipped Pioneer 525 DVD player over a year ago now and ever since I have been incredibly pleased by its performance. At the time of purchase I was looking for a machine around the 300 pound mark which not only had excellent video playback, but also excellent sound quality, as I ... Read review
This review already contains more than 120 words. As a Ciao member you could earn up to £5 with this review.
A review by colin99 on Pioneer DV-525 May 13th, 2004
Author's product rating:
Picture Playback
Excellent
Sound Level
Good
Range of Features
Average
Durability
Poor
Value for Money
Satisfactory
Advantages:
Top notch pictures and sound
Disadvantages:
Mechanically noisy and spindle motors fail
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
Only a quick review here, in case someone is looking at buying a second-hand Pioneer DV-525.
Compared to modern DVD players, it does show its age. Though capable of playing DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R and CD-RW (not all of which had even been invented when this machine was built!), along with Video CD and SVCD, it will not play MP3 nor display CD Text.
All usual DVD player functionality is in there, including Widescreen support. The remote control is not laid out in a particularly inspired way so it can be a little tricky to use in the dark. I almost always use a universal remote control instead. Reverse play is not very well supported, you can't just play backwards at normal speed unlike a few other Pioneer models.
Pictures are top-notch, even today. Sound is very good too. But mechanically the machines make all kinds of ghastly noises when playing some disks, and this can detract from the audio slightly. It's a reasonably large and substantial looking unit, and inside you can see that this was built to a higher standard than many of today's DVD players. But then the new cost was around £350 when first released, so it was a fairly up-market machine.
Eventually the Pioneeer developed a faulty spindle motor (extraordinarily noisy even for the DV-525). Pioneer have been making defective spindle motors for around 15 years now and seem quite happy to carry on doing so! Even though I could fit the motor myself, the cost of the part was going to be good money after bad. How long would the laser last now anyway?
So I retired my trusty old Pioneer to occasional use in the spare room. I think back now, the multiregion mod on it alone cost twice what you could buy a basic player for today.
Connectivity includes both optical and co-axial digital outputs, very handy in some systems. The SCART socket has RGB outputs, unlike a few really cheap machines of today (2004). There's also an S-Video output. So it's quite well connected, though lacks a headphone socket.
It was a great machine in its day, but I wouldn't pay more than a pittance for a second hand one today because it may well have a short life now.
Advantages: Excellent sound and vision reproduction, plays CDRs Disadvantages: Remote control, frame reverse
I bought my chipped Pioneer 525 DVD player over a year ago now and ever since I have been incredibly pleased by its performance. At the time of purchase I was looking for a machine around the 300 pound mark which not only had excellent video playback, but also excellent sound quality, as I was keen to incorporate it into my hi-fi system as a CD player. The CD playback is smooth and easily comparable to a player of around the 200 pound mark. The only ... ...you would expect from a Pioneer DVD player, though avoid the composite output at all costs and if you have the oppurtunity use the S-video output for the best image. I did find though that when using the RGB Scart output, that the tv picture was too dark and I had to continually readjust the tv's brightness controls when using the player.
The player itself has most of the features you'd expect from such a player, audio, subtitle, multi angle, navigational ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Cheap, good picture and sound, multi region(if chipped),Plays all CD's Disadvantages: None for me
...place to write about the Pioneer DV-535, but as the only difference between the two models is that the DV-535 is black and the DV-525 is silver & doesn't have an optical out. This seemed as good a place as any.
I have read some reviews on this site and others, and like most people did a fair bit of research on forums etc. This is a very good DVD player for the money. I brought a multi region one from richer sounds for £207 including 3 years warranty. ... ...cd's (both shop bought and those i have ripped on the computer). The remote is easy to understand and the whole thing is a cinch to set up. The player is automatic in detecting most region 1 DVD's, but if it doesn't then it can be remote hacked as well
I have heard a lot of people talk about the noisy DVD drawer when ejecting or loading up, but to be honest I havent noticed this, and I wouldnt expect anything remotely mechanical to be whisper quiet. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Cheap, Very good looking and wonderful picture Disadvantages: None
I have spend a lot of time listening to and evaluating the latest DVDs on the market. After looking at around 10 Market Leaders from companies like Yamaha, Panasonic, Sony, and the like, I finally settled on this DVD player. I thought the sound and Picture quality and in particular the features on this DVD were very impressive. Everything about it looks and feels right. The quality of the construction matches the quality of the picture even the remote ... ...with their 808 amplifier match up perfectly. I paid £320 for this DVD but it can be purchased for less in the back of Hi-fi Magazines. My advice bet a demo at a local electrical store, and the buy it for a bargain price from a magazine, be sure to use you credit card for security and insurance cover. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Plays CDRs Disadvantages: Size, Noise from Player, Remote control
I bought this player on the premise that it could play VCDs recorded onto CDR's and I've not been disappointed. The playback is fine from pretty much every type of media I have tried.
As for DVDs, its very well specced, and doesn't have problems with any of the more tricky titles such as Matrix or Something About Mary (region 2).
The player has multiple ports for SCART, and S-Video with outputs for Dolby Digital and DTS (although you need a DD/DTS ... ...player as I can see. First, the unit is HUGE (compared to most modern players, esp. Sony DVP-F11 - see my Ciao opinion! ;-). Secondly, the drive makes a humming noise whilst playing, thought that might be unit, I can't check.
The final downside is the remote control. Its disgraceful. Its about the size of 3 match boxes stuck end to end, and its the most uncomfortable thing EVER. Yeuk. Replace it with a One for All immediately! ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: full feature, VCD playback Disadvantages: noisy disk drawer
...your video recorder) as the Pioneer doesn't have a UHF output. However this is the norm with DVD players as it is a digital standard and not really designed for use with ropey televisions!
The picture quality is as good on many of the more expensive machines. It has none of the green tint you get on some of the budget machines such as the Proline.
All in all the Pioneer represents excellent value for money. It is a nice looking machine, and a bargain ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Pioneer DV-600AV was interesting for me because it has possibility to play DVD-Audio and SACD and it has got integrated
decoder with analog output for 5.1. Extra interesting is the quality of sound which some DVD players are having bad quality.
Quality more
If you are looking for a DVD player possibly as replacement or just want something just plain cheap to play your DVD's, then this is not for you.
This DVD player not just plays DVDs but also plays Divx discs. Which are supposed to be more storage per... more
I've had my Harmony for a few months now. It works fine, exactly as I had hoped and I am now extremely pleased with it....
....BUT, I thought I had better write a review before I completely forgot how nearly I could not get this thing to work, and I... more
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
