New player

[shokhead]

Got a Pioneer 79AVI,any thoughts?

[edtyct]

Well, you're well aware that you bought an excellent piece of equipment; I won't belabor the point. Those who aren't so aware can Google it and start drooling. If you're an iLink guy, you can even play your DVD-As and SACDs through a single cable, and pretend that you have HDMI 1.2. The video adjustments on the Pioneer verge on overkill, but somewhere somebody has a use for the RGB color option.

Hey, this area of AR is a bit moribund, so why not stir the pot a little? Here goes my attempt to shake things up: Why did you opt for a standard definition player that sells for at least $600 when arguably, you could have bought the less-expensive Toshiba HD-A1 deck, which would have given you the performance of the Pioneer on SD material with an added bonus of hi def disks and at least a taste of hi def movie sound? Even though the Toshiba might have some annoying quirks that preclude it as a long-term investment, you needn't have kept it any longer than you will the Pioneer before investing in a grown-up hi def DVD player. Doesn't the prospect of hi def capability, on top of just about everything worthwhile that you can get from a mainstream SD player, favor a Toshiba purchase over that of any higher-priced SD DVD player?

Let the sparks fly.

[shokhead]

Because i can care less about HD right now. From what i could find i thought it would be a pretty good buy at almost half price. The more you read,the more neg things you can find but i am hoping it will be a good one for 2-4 years. I'm abit more about audio then video.

[likeitloud]

Because i can care less about HD right now. From what i could find i thought it would be a pretty good buy at almost half price. The more you read,the more neg things you can find but i am hoping it will be a good one for 2-4 years. I'm abit more about audio then video.

I, too am not sweating the HD format yet, until some A/V receiver that will support
it properly get worked out. I think Pioneer is working hard on those issues. I've seen
this unit wired up to a Pioneer PureVision 42" monitor in a store playing one of
the Star Wars flicks, and it was amazing. Also if your like me, my rig is used about
70/30, music/movies, I can only imagine how a SACD sounds. Also the anti-vibration
issues Pioneer is addressing, is something other companies should be pursuing.
I say, great score, and let me know how it goes, I maybe right behind you, on a
purchase. Also any piece of gear distributed only at Walmart/Cosco/Target ain't
gonna fly, IMO. Later

[shokhead]

If he still has it,a guy on videogon had a 79 in the box for $549.

[likeitloud]

If he still has it,a guy on videogon had a 79 in the box for $549.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm all over that price, for that quality of a unit. I'm selling
my DV45A to an in-law, and the 79 looks like what I need for my system. Later

[edtyct]

You guys certainly have, or will have, a player that won't let you down, but I'm not sure that waiting for an HDMI 1.3 receiver is necessarily a good reason to abstain from hi def now. Presumably, you already run 5.1 or more analog cables to a receiver for DVD-A and SACD and a coaxial or optical cable for DD or DTS for audio, and either a digital or component output from a DVD player directly to a display or indirectly through a receiver for video. None of those current scenarios rules out getting everything that a hi def DVD deck has to offer now; nor do they require any extra effort or accessories to accomplish it. A receiver with HDMI 1.3 in the future might cut down on cables, but a current receiver without it won't set you back any more with, say, the Toshiba HD-A1 than with the Pioneer. Presumably, not until the next wave of hi def player, receiver, and display will all of the cable/delivery wrinkles get ironed out. But these aren't prohibitive problems today.

I can see not having any interest in the Toshiba because it requires a hi def TV, because it's too dodgy (even with the new firmware), because it doesn't offer SACD (which is on life support as it is), or because it's audio in general isn't as good as that of the better SD players, but not because receivers can't handle it. On the video side, the Toshiba even offers 1080i via component, which all remotely current digital displays and most receivers have enough bandwidth to process.

All things being equal, the Toshiba might well appeal even to someone in the market for a $300 tp $500 SD DVD player, who might have thought his/her next player would simply be treading water until a more developed hi def player hit the market.

Anyone out there in that situation?

[Geoffcin]

http://www.secondact.biz/product.aspx?productID=BD-P1000

Still $650, but looks tempting....

[shokhead]

You guys certainly have, or will have, a player that won't let you down, but I'm not sure that waiting for an HDMI 1.3 receiver is necessarily a good reason to abstain from hi def now. Presumably, you already run 5.1 or more analog cables to a receiver for DVD-A and SACD and a coaxial or optical cable for DD or DTS for audio, and either a digital or component output from a DVD player directly to a display or indirectly through a receiver for video. None of those current scenarios rules out getting everything that a hi def DVD deck has to offer now; nor do they require any extra effort or accessories to accomplish it. A receiver with HDMI 1.3 in the future might cut down on cables, but a current receiver without it won't set you back any more with, say, the Toshiba HD-A1 than with the Pioneer. Presumably, not until the next wave of hi def player, receiver, and display will all of the cable/delivery wrinkles get ironed out. But these aren't prohibitive problems today.

I can see not having any interest in the Toshiba because it requires a hi def TV, because it's too dodgy (even with the new firmware), because it doesn't offer SACD (which is on life support as it is), or because it's audio in general isn't as good as that of the better SD players, but not because receivers can't handle it. On the video side, the Toshiba even offers 1080i via component, which all remotely current digital displays and most receivers have enough bandwidth to process.

All things being equal, the Toshiba might well appeal even to someone in the market for a $300 tp $500 SD DVD player, who might have thought his/her next player would simply be treading water until a more developed hi def player hit the market.

Anyone out there in that situation?

Zero interest in HD and video is second to SACD and DVD-A for me.

[likeitloud]

You guys certainly have, or will have, a player that won't let you down, but I'm not sure that waiting for an HDMI 1.3 receiver is necessarily a good reason to abstain from hi def now. Presumably, you already run 5.1 or more analog cables to a receiver for DVD-A and SACD and a coaxial or optical cable for DD or DTS for audio, and either a digital or component output from a DVD player directly to a display or indirectly through a receiver for video. None of those current scenarios rules out getting everything that a hi def DVD deck has to offer now; nor do they require any extra effort or accessories to accomplish it. A receiver with HDMI 1.3 in the future might cut down on cables, but a current receiver without it won't set you back any more with, say, the Toshiba HD-A1 than with the Pioneer. Presumably, not until the next wave of hi def player, receiver, and display will all of the cable/delivery wrinkles get ironed out. But these aren't prohibitive problems today.

I can see not having any interest in the Toshiba because it requires a hi def TV, because it's too dodgy (even with the new firmware), because it doesn't offer SACD (which is on life support as it is), or because it's audio in general isn't as good as that of the better SD players, but not because receivers can't handle it. On the video side, the Toshiba even offers 1080i via component, which all remotely current digital displays and most receivers have enough bandwidth to process.

All things being equal, the Toshiba might well appeal even to someone in the market for a $300 tp $500 SD DVD player, who might have thought his/her next player would simply be treading water until a more developed hi def player hit the market.

Anyone out there in that situation?

That is my set-up pretty much word for word. I have seen HDTV signals and up-converted
flicks, and for now, until something really big happens, can't justify the cost. I, mean
my receiver dosn't even support it. The picture can only be so sharp, and I
have no complains on the audio side. A new sacd/dvd-a player, with common sense
upgrades, I can deal with that. Your input was spot on. Thanks