I've owned the Pioneer dv-333 for about a month now and I researched it for months prior to that; basically I came down to it and the Toshiba 1600 which is $25-30 cheaper. Both have excellent reviews and there are only a few differences worth noting in making a decision between the two.

Most people agree that the remote for both the pioneer and the toshiba 'sucks' and having used many remotes in-store demonstrations I can say they arent that bad. My friends Rca dvd player remote was universal but the remote stank. I actually prefer the pioneer remote and even if you hit the wrong button, which will happen on badly spaced remotes, its unlikely to eject the disc or stop it as those buttons arent in confusing areas. You can buy a nice universal rem0te at radio shack but I prefer to use the original because of its simplicity.

I decided to go with the pioneer because of the optical and coaxial digital outputs(toshiba 1600 has only coaxial). I already had an optical cable (go with... Read more

This was the first player I had ever bought. I was looking for a nice entry-level unit that had good picture and sound, and people seemed to like this one. I especially liked how it had component video out, and was, of course, affordable.

The problem I found, however, was not so much with the player, but with its compatibility with my system. I've got a Sony WEGA (flat screen) TV. It's a great set, but for this player, too good. With all the DVD's I tried, there was a lot of video noise (pixelization) on the screen. It had problems rendering, especially, greyish areas. While this wasn't interolerable (depending on your P.O.V.), it didn't let me appreciate the DVD's as much as I knew I could. On 2001: Space Oddysey, it did a horrible job rendering many of the images. As I said, I attribute this to my system entirely. For those with mid-range to high-end systems, you should spring for a better player. (I got a Marantz DV-7000).

So how did the player fair on a regular set... Read more

First, the picture is amazing. It is hard to believe that this thing is so good for the money. IT PLAYS CD-R's! It has optical and digital outputs, and it is quiet as hell. I first played some DVD's that I have had problems with on other players, and this thing played them flawlessly. I cant reccomend this player enough! It is just awesome.