Pioneer DV-757AI

Author's product rating:   

Picture Playback	Excellent
Sound Level	Excellent
Range of Features	Excellent
Durability	Excellent
Value for Money	Very Poor

Advantages:	Loads of features, great picture quality
Disadvantages:	Way too expensive for what it offers

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

Being a tech junkie is hard, as the new technologies keep coming out, it takes more and more money to stay on top of the game. With DVD player prices down to an all time low, it’s hard to see the rationale behind paying £600 for a DVD player. For that price you’d want it to come with a nice widescreen TV as well. So is this Pioneer really worth it?

Design:
The design on this unit is quite plain to say the least, considering its steep price tag. I think that Sony’s latest offerings look much better. It’s a classic silver look which I guess will never go out of style. I would expect a colour touch screen or something of the sort on this device, but alas all we get is an LCD screen which is not even graphic. All the right buttons are there and are quite easy to access. The remote is very functional, yet its design is a bit cheap and plasticky.

Features:
This is where this device really shines. This may be the most feature-rich DVD player to date. Not only does it support multi-channel DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD and multi-region DVDs but it also adds 2 Firewire ports (known sometimes as iLink). This is to be able to support future devices with iLink for better integration and wider bandwidth which means better sound and picture. However at this moment there aren’t enough of these devices to justify this addition.

Overall:
The picture quality is absolutely amazing and all the features work really well. However I don’t think it justifies the hefty price tag. After watching a bit of Lord of the Rings on it at Dixons I went for a cheaper Sony option (that at half the price came with Surround Sound speakers). If you are desperate to stay on top of the game and have the best DVD player that is future-proof(ish) and have lots of money to spare, then this is a machine for you. For the rest of us, there are plenty of better value options out there.