Pioneer DV434

ShepherdA · 03-19-2004, 08:35 AM

I've seen the old Pioneer Dv434 dissed in recent days, but I honestly don't know why. To my eyes, the picture that it delivers in progressive mode are absolutely stunning. I like it so much that when the need arose recently to purchase a DVD player for my second widescreen HDTV at our vacation home, rather than attempting to sort through the many possible current candidates, I decided to play it safe and buy a second (used) DV434. Someone please tell me why I made a mistake. I'm not trying to start a war here. I'd just like to know what this DVD player lacks compared to better ones. Thanks.

Jack Briggs · 03-19-2004, 10:51 AM

"Wars" are not allowed here.

A good argument against purchasing a used machine is the same one that is proffered for any playback device: moving parts. Used amplifiers, preamplifiers, and receivers can be relatively risk-free purchases, but the same cannot be said for a DVD player, CD player, or turntable. Given how good and how inexpensive current-model machines are, I'd have opted for one of them. But if you're happy with the used Pioneer, then groovy!

Dalton · 03-19-2004, 03:55 PM

Sheperd,
I have a 434 in my bedroom that has served me well for 3 yrs. I like it just fine!

Danny Tse · 03-19-2004, 06:16 PM

Pioneer 414 about to be put to use as transport....still going strong!

ShepherdA · 03-20-2004, 07:51 AM

Well here's what I've decided to do. I'm going to head over to my neighborhood Ultimate Electronics today and pick up the highly touted Denon 910. Then I'm going to A-B it against my Pioneer DV434. I've been told that the difference between the two should be like night and day. I'll let you know what differences my eyes are capable of discerning between the two. But in case it's not so obvious to me, what differences should I be looking for?

**HTF Ads**

Dave Simpson · 03-20-2004, 12:09 PM

Quote:

A good argument against purchasing a used machine is the same one that is proffered for any playback device: moving parts. Used amplifiers, preamplifiers, and receivers can be relatively risk-free purchases, but the same cannot be said for a DVD player, CD player, or turntable. Given how good and how inexpensive current-model machines are, I'd have opted for one of them. But if you're happy with the used Pioneer, then groovy!

Jack,

I'm not sure that Shepherd was inquiring about the general value of used dvd players. Rather, my impression is that he was asking what it is specifically about the Pioneer 434 that's given it such a piss-poor rep on the web (read the reviews on Audio Review for a few good laffs).
My experience with the 434 has always been positive. I bought a demo model for a hundred bucks Canadian, with full warranty, about 16 months ago, and I've had no difficulties with it. I like the fast menu navigation, and the way it steamrolls through layer changes (on the other hand, this is in comparison to my old, and fairly crappy, Toshiba 2109, which has given it up). And the 434's drive mechanism is surely a more quiet affair than that of my Liteon 2001, which I otherwise think is just swell. The 434 is being used with an old 27" Trinitron, although I did connect it to my Sanyo Z1 last week just for shits and giggles. Looked fine to my untrained eye for the half hour I demoed stuff. If you can get one for about $50, knock yourself out; otherwise, as Jack said, a cheap new player may be more reliable. Cheers.

ShepherdA · 03-20-2004, 12:59 PM

Dave, you are correct; I was asking specifically about the DV434's bad reviews. Like you, I see nothing wrong with the player. I've been using it for the last three years on my 61" HDTV, and the picture it delivers is very impressive. I also agree with your assessment regarding what would be a reasonable amount to spend on another one. I recently bid $46 on Ebay for a demo DV434 and won the auction, and I intend to use the player on my Sony Widescreen 51" HDTV at our lakehouse. I've picked up a Denon 910 today for comparison purposes. If I detect a significant difference in picture quality, I may very well resell the DV434 on Ebay and keep the Denon 910. I'll let you all know what differences my untrained eyes see.

ShepherdA · 03-20-2004, 03:35 PM

Okay, folks. Here are the results and my testing methods, for anyone interested.
METHODS:
I, my wife, and my two kids compared the Pioneer DV434 with the Denon DVD910 on my Sony KP61HS10 HDTV. Both DVD players were connected to the TV through identical component video cables via a component video switch. I A-B'ed the two players showing identical scenes of the movies, "Shrek", "Spiderman", and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines". My wife and two kids were blinded as to the identity of the DVD players that they were viewing. They players were referred to simply as "A" or "B". As the switcher, I was biased, knowing which image was coming from which DVD player.

RESULTS:
Three of the four of us could discern no difference whatsoever between the quality of the picture generated by each of the two DVD players. My wife, however, insisted that the Denon DVD910 picture was slightly grainier than the Pioneer DV434 with each of the three movies, and this was reproducible, even when I tried to fool her by changing the Denon's identity from "A" to "B".

CONCLUSION:
So much for the nasty reviews I've read on the Pioneer DV434. Maybe the reviewers had better trained eyes than the four of us avid movie fans. But I'm sticking with the old Pioneer DV434, which I just purchased for $46, and I'm returning the Denon DVD910 for which I paid $299.95.

Dalton · 03-20-2004, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Three of the four of us could discern no difference whatsoever between the quality of the picture generated by each of the two DVD players. My wife, however, insisted that the Denon DVD910 picture was slightly grainier than the Pioneer DV434 with each of the three movies, and this was reproducible, even when I tried to fool her by changing the Denon's identity from "A" to "B".

These were basically my results a couple of years back when i compared my 434 against the highly regarded Panasonic RP91. My TV is the Panasonic pt56wxf95(a 56" 16x9 set). I set up the 91 using information found here on the forum and did a blind test with my wife and a couple of friends and found that most of the time they could not tell a difference and when they did the 434 usually won. I only moved the 434 to the bedroom because thanks to the Net i discovered the CUE and now i always spot it so i now use the CUE free Pioneer 563. I have had believe it or not, 22 dvd players over the past 2 years. I just love changing equipment but now it's gotten ridiculous so i am going to stick with the 563 till i go HD DVD. I am getting a projetor in a couple of weeks so i actually may convert 1 of my many PC's to an HTPC. At that point i will use the 563 for DVD-A/SACD duties. Looks i have rambled off topic

. Anyways the 434 will happily reside in my bedroom until it finally kickc the bucket.

Tom Grooms · 03-21-2004, 10:45 AM

The 434 is NOT true progressive scan player. It's more like a line doubler. It doesn't have a film mode to do the 3/2 pulldown and doesn't even use any motion adaptive deinterlacing.

Im assuming that if you cant see any differences between the 434 and a decent player, your TV is doing the deinterlacing so you could sent it any 480i source and not notice any change.

Not to mention some of the worst chroma errors I have ever witnessed.

$0.02