Pioneer DV-563A Review (1 Viewer)

[Jason Green]

I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing. Empire comes up with a menu on my kenwood where i can choose surround hi-res and other styles. My pioneer only comes up with the menu when i'm on video mode and does not have suround as an option. only the stereo hi res and digital.
on both players i have it set to default to the audio disks when present. If i'm just not hearing you right, i apologize.

 

[dmt]

yep, I read this whole thread too (8 hours i think it took to read including all the extra links!) my eyes hurt now thanks guys.

but all in all great info on this wonderful piece of equipment which I have just purchased about a week ago. A week before that I bought one of those Sony Home Theaters In a Box (HT-DDW750) that I got which included the 5.1 speakers and an amp, I had a real cheap apex dvd player that I got for 40 bux which sounded great hooked up finally hearing 5.1 via coaxial to it until it finally conked out after working perfectly for a year running only into the t.v. and a 2 channel amp that I had before.

Great now time to upgrade! I bought the 563A-s at BestBuy for 149 the day my apex took a dump and was so excited to hear the SACD's and DVD Audio's that Ive been collecting for awhile on my new system! NOT(exactly that is)! Trouble is that HTIB sony setup does not have the 6 channel input for the multichannel bit (which really irked me~!) and what I did was connect the 2 channel audio out to my receiver for the analog inputs and the coaxial output to the receiver and the front 2 channels of the 6 channel audio out to my television inputs and used s-video on my regular tv. Amazing quality on everything. I am still blown away at the 5.1 sound that I have never heard before with the old school 2 channel jvc receiver that Ive had forever...

Which made me think, is there a prouduct out there that can take those 6 audio outs and downsample it in a ways to output it optically to my receiver via the optical one (since I already have it outputted coaxially for the video portion) is there like some kind of converter or cable that would do such a thing like that? Or do I have to upgrade to a receiver with 6 analog inputs (I just bought this thing!)

Home audio addiction starts here, one product begets another and so on, man! I thought it would be so easy!

Well, what I have noticed about this player that nobody has talked about was, although there is no dvd-audio data information put up on the little screen like one person was talking about, however, when you play mp3's the information is put up on the led display and is neat too see.

I have also noticed it does not play CD-Graphics for karaoke related stuff (of which I had got the new Motown orignal master instrumental karaoke tracks, available here: on singingmachine.com with the original instrumentals you can sing too! amazing items and exciting stuff)so I got the Motown Jukebox to play these things that is also on that site. Its really amazing to hear the instrumental tracks that the Funk Brothers played so prominently in this collection and to hear just the vocals, priceless!
Even my old Laserdisc player (pioneer Cld-d504 )plays karaoke stuff but not cd-g's on that one either... that one touch karaoke feature that took out the vocals always made me wanna sing!! But I guess you can't have everything right?

Other things I saw about this machine were that they played every dvd i have in my collection to perfection in every format just fine, the DTS sound is to die for! However the Marvin Gaye "Forever Yours" dts cd I have took a second or two to decode the signal when I start the cd so I am never able to hear the intro to What's Going On!

Redbook CD's sound bloddy amazing and the clarity of stuff via the coaxial cable sound so good, it made me wanna hear all my old stuff again!

If anybody knows of a product to take the 6 channel and output it via optical or coaxial connection that would be greatly appreciated because I dont wanna buy another receiver just as I bought this one just for the purpose of finally hearing DSOFTM in multichannel!

Thanks for all the info again, I feel alot better with this wealth of information I have got. Cheers

 

[Tom-K]

Jason, I have the same problem with the Queensryche disc. however, I think it is defaulting to the hi-res, because I am using the 5.1 inputs. Doesnt that mean it is in hi-res dvd-audio?

 

[Ralph B]

I own the 563A (for $70 open box thank you CC) and I have it hooked up to my Sony Wega XBR800 HDTV and found grain was a problem with certain discs and not the player, as is with my XP50. side by side the pioneer was not all that bad and I would hardly call it disappointing. it actually is not a bad progressive player. I had to really look to find the difference in pic quality compared to my XP50. more to do with detail in small objects in movies like writing on a tablet like Indy jones..etc

I get floored everytime I hear someone bash this progressive player. maybe my eyes arent up to par with the rest of you but I dont wear glasses. maybe I should cause im missing something that you guys are seeing.

as for audio ? whoever can really pick apart sound is a genius to me. I have owned(still do) some pretty old players that I think sound great! I find it hard to believe that this new pioneer is so bad that someone would have to return it.

 

[Neil J]

I've had this player for awhile and I just noticed that when watching movies it always says D.MIX . I have a 5.1 surround system going on and I'm wondering what is up with the "downmix" flag?

 

[Chris Cash]

I get floored every time I hear someone bash this progressive player. maybe my eyes aren't up to par with the rest of you but I don't wear glasses. maybe I should cause im missing something that you guys are seeing.

I think the problem is that we have a lot of individuals that think they audiophiles when they aren't. The fact that anyone would even put this player up against anything on an audiophile level is a joke. There is nothing on the market that can compete with this player for this price range. I think these individuals are trying to show how smart they are but all they did was show they're ignorance.

~C.C.~

 

[Ralph B]

DVD player quality in general is really good. but it comes down to really good mastered discs and discs that arent worth being on dvd. thats what makes the picture stand out. the DVD player in my opinion is second to the quality of the disc.

again to me DVD in general is great! now bring on the HD-DVD

I have owned Pioneer since dvd first came out and owned a few of the players. not out of choice or I prefer tham but because of the quality for price of product they can out out. never mind that they are the only player that wont spit out any disc you throw at them. from VCD-SVCD to PAL discs, to home made DVD-R the pioneer will play them perfect everytime when all my others like Panasonic XP50 and some other really good suppose dvd players wont play them at all or break up. seems to me pioneer uses some good lenses. not counting they load a disc quicker than any machine I have owned. for the price(especially mine- $70) you cant beat it.

I have learned that picture quality is to be blamed on the disc not the player. granted that you arent running a colby dvd player or anything like that.

 

[Brett_Nachman]

This is my first post here. Great forum, by the way.

I have a 563A running in a 2-channel setup incuding:

Marantz 5400 receiver
Two, floorstanding, mid-level B&Ws

I have no sub and no center or surrounds. Currently, I have my 563 connected to the Marantz running composite cables from the 2-channel outs on the Pioneer (not the L/R 5.1 outs) to the front L/R ins that are part of the 6.1 analog setup on the Marantz.

My question is this: Can anyone see any problem (logistically or in terms of audio quality) with running composite cables out of the regular 2-channel outs on the 563A (as above) into one of the unused analog ins on the Marantz (e.g., Tape, CD-R, etc.)?

This would, I am assuming, allow me to still hear high-rez, 2-channel music, but would also give me the ability to control the tone functions on my receiver that are shut off when I feed into the L/R of the 6.1 inputs. And, if I didn't want to futz with the tone controls, I could just hit Source Direct on the receiver and have the same direct, unaltered source that would have otherwise been fed into the 6.1 inputs.

Am I making a mistake here?

Thanks for you help,
Brett

 

[Paul.S]

Brett:

What you describe above sounds accurate to me, but someone else moght have more seasoned comment.

All:

Remarkable 563A coverage for a local, mainstream paper:

http://www.ctnow.com/technology/hc-h...,611510.column

-p

 

[Brian L]

Am I making a mistake here?

Nope, thats exactly how you need to do it in a 2CH rig.

That said, my level of seasoning is open to individual interpretation, so take anything I say with the requisite grain of salt

If you are so inclined, here is a FAQ that covers most of what one might want to know about hooking up a hi-rez MC player.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...22#post1800722

BGL

 

[Gary DeRoy]

You might get better sound at 192 if you turn off digital output in the 563's menu. You might also want to set it to stereo, not sure.

 

[Dave F]

I have another 2 channel question...

I have mine set up with optical and analog 5.1 going to my receiver, and I have the 2ch outputs going straight to my tv for when I don't feel like turning on the receiver, etc...

The other night I threw in a disc and had only the tv on, so I was getting the 2ch output for sound. The audio track happened to be 5.1, so I only got the R/L channels & no center track. With my other players, they always downmixed the sound coming from the 2ch outputs. Is there anyway to set the 563A to do the same, without having to manually change the settings each time?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Paul.S]

The other night I threw in a disc and had only the tv on, so I was getting the 2ch output for sound. The audio track happened to be 5.1, so I only got the R/L channels & no center track. With my other players, they always downmixed the sound coming from the 2ch outputs. Is there anyway to set the 563A to do the same, without having to manually change the settings each time?

Dave, you were watching a DVD-V disc, yes? Listening in 2-channel stereo? If so, it's my understanding that 2-channel outputs are (always?) presented with a downmix of 5.1 DVD-V tracks per the DVD-V spec and that this is neither player nor setting-dependent. This downmix supposedly completely tosses the LFE (!) and collapses the four other channels down to two. I've never read a tech white paper or anything on this, but veteran SGHT tech editor Tom Norton has cited this in many a DVD review.

This is one of the reasons it is lamentable that Columbia, perennially the most consistent at including Dolby Surround tracks on their DVD-Vs, has recently abandoned the practice. Including Dolby Surround ostensibly obviated the need to conform a disc's 5.1 track(s) for 2-ch downmixability, a process that supposedly compromises the 5.1 track's fidelity.

BGL?

-p

 

[Gary DeRoy]

Dave, I think Paul is right and the 2 channel output is downmixed if the signal isn't in stereo to begin with. If I'm not mistaken, there's something about it in the 563's manual (which I haven't read in a long time).

 

[Paul.S]

How common is the 563A's ability to downmix DTS tracks? There's an "Initial Settings" menu option that allows one to choose "Stereo" or "Lt/Rt" as the preferred 2-ch downmix option for DTS tracks.

I'd think that any player that has an onboard DTS decoder would give 2-ch wankers such as myself the ability, for whatever reason, to listen to L and R of DTS-encoded content via either the dedicated 2-ch analog output pair or the L and R of the 5.1 cluster of analog outs (for instance, it provides a means to listen to those DTS CDs that Universal has surprisingly not yet re-released on DVD-A or SACD [. . . Nothing Like the Sun and The End Of the Innocence are examples]). But is it common on players that have onboard DTS decoders to be able to specify the type of downmix?

-p

 

[Brian L]

This downmix supposedly completely tosses the LFE (!) and collapses the four other channels down to two.

Boy, am I late to this party!

I think that is true, but I also think there is more than one flavor of DD downmixing be it in the player or receiver(have an e-mail in to Roger Dressler on this...no reply yet).

In the player, DD is in fact downmixed to 2 CH via the L/R analog outs. And there is information at the Dolby web site that does say that the .1 is tossed when this happens.

Plus, you have the choice of setting the digital out to bitstream or PCM (PCM being essentially 2 CH, I would think).

In addition, I have at least one player (a Sony) that offers the option of downmixing to Dolby Surround (so your receiver could decode with PL, PLII, PLIIx) or "Normal". Not really sure what normal means, but there is a menu option. Also not sure if it applies to the digital and analog out, or just analog.

Now, here's the other possibility. With the player connected digitally, leave the digital out set to bitstream, not PCM. As such, its the unmolested, DD output.

At the receiver, set it for 2 CH (that is, configure it for ONLY the front L/R speakers assuming that is what you have).

In that configuration, the receiver should remap everything (C, Surrounds, and .1) to the main L/R. It has been reported by others that in this arrangement, NOTHING gets tossed, even the .1 is re-assigned to the mains.

Again, I have asked Roger Dressler to confirm this, but based on reports from others, if I was a 2 CH wanker(cheers Paul!) I would probably try that, versus letting the player do it.

Now, all this is irrelevant for hi-rez stuff. To the best of my knowledge, there is no downmix capability with either DVD-A or SACD.

You would simply choose the 2 CH tracks on that media, and connect via the analog out from the player.

As for DTS, while I would expect that it functions similarly to DD in terms of downmixing either in the player or the receiver, I can not say for sure.

BGL

 

[Paul.S]

BGL:

Thx for comments re Dave F and his 2-ch issues.

I'm having some head-scratching fun figuring out my own DTS downmix 2-ch issues.

In addition, I have at least one player (a Sony) that offers the option of downmixing to Dolby Surround (so your receiver could decode with PL, PLII, PLIIx) or "Normal".

Yeah, on the DTS tip, in the 563A manual's section on "DTS DownMix," it says ". . . [choosing] Lt/Rt will downmix to a 2-channel signal compatible with Dolby surround matrix decoders."

Apparently, the 563A's "DTS DownMix" (pg. 66), "Audio Output Mode" (pg. 66) and "DTS Out" (pg. 55) settings work together . . . but in a way not consistent with how they are described in the manual. For instance, I'm currently listening to my DTS CD of Telarc's The Big Picture even though I do not have the "DTS Out" set to "DTS > PCM" so as to have the player convert DTS to PCM. I think this means that the "Audio Output Mode" being set to "2 Channel" trumps the "DTS Out" setting.

I bought many of these DTS CDs back in the day with plans on having a surround set up by now. What I wanna do (separates, ATI 2505 5x250 wpc to go with my Yamaha M-85 2x250, maybe a Rotel pre/pro and floor-standing speakers all around) is kinda expensive and I'm still deliberating/procrastinating/obsessing over whether I want to do something less expensive to go surround and use that ca$h for a DLP projector blah blah blah . . .

Whenever I've, just for shits and giggles, tried to play one of these DTS CDs in past/other current players (including the Tosh SD-2108 and the Mitsu DD-8020), I've just gotten static. Not so with the 563A. I think it's because those other players passed a DTS bitstream, but could not decode it.

I literally just last night (yes, I'm lame: this is what I did on a Saturday night) noticed the different DTS logos on these three players. The SD-2108 and the DD-8020 have a "DTS Digital Out" logo. The 563A has a "DTS Digital Sound" logo. Perhaps I'm imbuing this difference with too much significance and it is simply reflective of a change in marketing. But one could read the difference as being the "Digital Out" logo means the player is simply capable of finding the DTS bitstream/flag and passing it via the digital out, whereas the latter logo means the player has an onboard decoder and is thereby capable of presenting even a signal downmixed from DTS to the analog outputs.

Anyone?

"Bueller? Beuller?"

-p

 

[Brian L]

Yeah, on the DTS tip, in the 563A manual's section on "DTS DownMix," it says ". . . [choosing] Lt/Rt will downmix to a 2-channel signal compatible with Dolby surround matrix decoders."

That a bit of a hoot! How about saying "compatible with DTS NEO:6 decoders! Bet the DTS love that one!

One more unsubstantiated guess: DTS downmix may refer only to discrete 5.1or 6.1 DTS content, same as DD downmix? DTS CD's where matrix encoded, where they not? Perhaps that is why you get differing results?

 

[Dave F]

Dave, you were watching a DVD-V disc, yes? Listening in 2-channel stereo? If so, it's my understanding that 2-channel outputs are (always?) presented with a downmix of 5.1 DVD-V tracks per the DVD-V spec and that this is neither player nor setting-dependent.

Actually my problem is that this isn't happenning. I was expecting the 2 channel analog outs to send a downmixed output to the tv, but what I get is just the right & left channels of a 5.1 mix, and no center channel (so I miss 95% of the dialogue).

-Dave

 

[Paul.S]

Dave F:

I said:

Actually my problem is that this isn't happenning.

Dave, I suspect that you have your RCA cable connected to the L and R of the 5.1 cluster instead of the dedicated analog outputs--the stereo pair . . . ??

-p