Pioneer DV-383-S DVD Player

(Progressive Scan - MPN: DV383S)

Description: Pioneer's DV-383 is a DVD player of many talents. It works with NTSC and PAL video formats, and plays discs with any region code. It plays DVDs and CDs just like any other DVD player, but it also plays DivX discs. DivX allows a disc to hold.... Read More

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Date Reviewed: 07/24/2006
phoenix_talons Member Since: Jul 2006 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 2 Days	Not as durable as it should be Strengths: Memory playback, widescreen setting, DVD multi-region compatible Weaknesses: Sensitive to video discoloring in Progressive setting, warranty does not apply to American consumer use, deceptive advertising that claims to "fix for free" when defective. Summary: First off, everything that has been said about this DVD player is spot-on. Multi-region code free is a great asset to have. So does the memory playback that automatically resumes from where you left off (watching DVDs). One particular feature is the widescreen setting (which my previous 2 DVD players don't have) that automatically plays a movie in its full screen aspect ration on a widescreen TV. Unfortunately, I can only delight in this unit for 2 days. It is too sensitive to Progressive setting (when not properly wired to a TV with Progressive scan feature). This causes the DVD player to display a green discoloring on the screen that, despite every step taken per the manual to resolve, cannot go away. Even after setting the unit back to Interlace, the discoloring does not go away. If anything, it got worse. By the next day, discolorings of blue and red become evident. (N.B. According to the unit manual, if the TV does not support Progressive Scan, the screen will not display video. It does not turn green!) To make matters worse, the DV-383S' warranty does not extend to American consumers. American warranties are only valid for 'Region 1' only products. So for the DV-383-S, the product description's claim that "if your DVD player ever becomes defective we will fix it for free" is false. According to Pionner Customer Service, the only option is to buy a brand-new unit (because the repair costs exceed the price of the DVD player itself; replacement is not even an option). But that's the risk you take when you buy a multi-system DVD player. I had heard nothing but excellent word-of-mouth of Pioneer products. This is my first Pioneer DVD player. For it to malfunction as it did after two days is a great disappointment. However, it has not shaken my confidence in Pioneer. Just only the DV-383-S models. 100% of People (1/1) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 12/04/2005
jmajer from CA Member Since: Jul 2002 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 7 Days	Does everything I want! Strengths: All-region capable, DivX certified, great PAL-NTSC conversion, firmware upgradable, digital audio output, multi-voltage Weaknesses: Remote is sometimes unresponsive Summary: I bought this because I wanted a reliable DVD player that would play DVDs from all regions, as well as DivX files. I also wanted the player to do a good job converting from PAL to NTSC, since my previous all-region player (the Philips DVP642) produced a lousy artifact-ridden image with PAL discs. The Pioneer plays my PAL discs beautifully - you'd never know it was PAL converted to NTSC. The player is also capable of outputting a PAL signal, and converts NTSC to PAL as well. The only weakness is the standard Pioneer remote it comes with. The design of it is fine (I have yet to see a "great" DVD remote), but the buttons can be a bit unresponsive sometimes, especially when pressing the same button several times in a row (such as for navigating menus). We use these Pioneer remotes at work, and they all have this problem, so I know it's not just mine. But it's not a deal-breaker for what is otherwise a great player at a great price. 88% of People (22/25) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are 1 comment for this review. Read all comments. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 04/14/2006
chenchr from CA Member Since: May 2005 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 7 Days	Pioneer DV-383s Strengths: plays both PAL and NTSC dvds great video quality and no difference between the PAL and NTSC discs Weaknesses: sometimes take awhile to read the MP3 discs Summary: The dvd player is slim and very good built. All the buttons are at the front of the player for ease of use, and it does come with all the latest digital connectors(optical, digital coax, and the regular composite RCA) It is overall very easy to use and don't need much setup at all. A true plug and play player. 50% of People (2/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 09/30/2006
ADQOSO Member Since: Jul 2006 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 1 Week	A True Multi-Region DVD Player Strengths: The Panasonic DV-383-S does exactly what the description claims it does: it will play any DVD from Region 0-6 on any TV. It is thin, small, lightweight and efficient. Weaknesses: I have detected no weaknesses at this point. It takes the player a minute to 'adjust' or 'recognize' a PAL DVD but once it has, it plays it with no problems. Summary: This is an excellent, low-cost, effective way to see DVD's from Regions outside your own. I live in the US and enjoy British shows and movies. Until now, I've always had to wait for them to be released in the NTSC or US format. Now I can buy them in Region 2 (or 4) Pal format. This is a very good piece of equipment at a reasonable cost. Highly recommended. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are 1 comment for this review. Read all comments. Post a comment.