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Pioneer DV-414. Is this a good DVD Player?

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Hey Folks
I recently purchased a great sound system(according to me at least :) , consisting of NHT speakers and a Denon reciever, and in order to take advantage of this newly increased audio performance, I let the folks at my audio store sell me the above mentioned player for $320 bucks. My question is three-fold:
First, Is this a good DVD Player? As I am totally new to this scene, I am utterly un-educated, and am doing a little research in retrospect. fyi, it has 10 bit video, 24 bit audio, and is CD and Video CD compatible.
Second, was the price I payed reasonable? This was an open box purchase, and I was led to believe that it was a very good DVD player, and worth the bucks, but I have begun to question that info.
Lastly, is Dolby Digital the same as 5.1? I am pretty sure that it is, but I'd love a little confirmation there, and if it isn't, what's different about them?
Thanks very much for your comments and time!
Dave Z
Oh, one more question if you have a sec: Currently, my only video hook-up option was a stright video out cable, as that was all I had available to me on me TV. I'm wondering if I am losing video quality, as compared to S-video cable and connections, because of this? Are they different, in terms of quality? Anything else I should know in order to get the best performance from my DVD system?

Follow Ups:

Re: Pioneer DV-414. Is this a good DVD Player? Dave Z 21:16:42 7/30/99 (0)
Hello once again.
I think I have now figured out my dilemna with the 5.1 -vs- 2 channel output. The difference being the quality of the audio recording encoded on the disk itself, as opposed to anything my system might have to do with it. I have since played a few DVD's that _do_ show 5.1 as the audio format.
I guess the last major question I have regarding DVD players is whether or not I'm stuck with my single RCA composite cable video link, as opposed to S-video. My TV only has coax and straight RCA video in inputs. Am I loing a lot of video quality because of this, and if so, is there anything I can do to improve it, short of buying a new TV?
Thanks again for your help, and I hope you're'll having a great weekend.
Dave
Oh, one thing, I checked the date on the back of my 414, and saw that it said September, 1998. So you think I might run into problems down the line due to the age, and lack of software updates on this machine, or should I not worry about it? thnks agn!
Re: Pioneer DV-414. Is this a good DVD Player? Soundboy 18:30:12 7/30/99 (0)
I purchased the DV-414 in November 1998, and have no problem with it. It is OK as a plain CD player, but the picture quality with this machine blows away the laserdiscs that I have. I have never tried the regular RCA video output on the DV-414, but the S-Video performance is excellent.
As for the price you paid, I've seen lower prices on this player. This is the lower end of the DVD player price range, as of right now. I've seen players selling at about $250.00, but those are the Samsung and Zenith models. No offense to people who own Samsung/Zenith machines, but I rather pay a little more for a Pioneer.
As for Dolby Digital 5.1.....think of it as an encoding system(it is actually an encoding system). The producer of the DVD can chose to use any combination of the 5.1 format. Check out the back of the packaging next time and you can see sometimes the DVD can say Dolby Digital and in MONO!!
Re: Pioneer DV-414. Is this a good DVD Player? kelsci 11:14:04 7/30/99 (0)
My brother owns this player. Videowise on his system, the picture quality seemed superior to a Magnavox 815 and a Toshiba 2109. The picture was more lifelike on this player with somewhat overall better color correction.
If you are using the standard video output of this machine into a standard video input on your tv set you will certainly get a watchable picture. We noticed a better overall picture when the S-Vhs system is used. We do not have a set to determine whether the component video outputs are the same or better than the s-vhs.
On the audio side, this unit is run over a Yamaha 2095. The best overall audio perforance with this machine was using the toslink optical cable which appeared to give better stereo surround imaging over the use of a good co-ax cable. It handled DD and DTS quite well. The 2109 which used coaxial reproduced superb ambiance and wtereo surround imaging in DD but I detected some overmodulation in some sound reproduction. In DTS, this unit sounded quite distorted. It could have been defective but I am not sure. There was no dynamics in the dts sound either on the 2109.
DD does not necessarily mean that the dvd has a five channel mode. Look carefully an any dvd you purchase to see that it says it has a 5.1 soundtrack. Some do come in two channel DD which may be monaural or stereo with a dolby surround track. The 414 can display on picture for you what kind of soundtrack you are listening too. There may be a choice of different types of sund tracks on the main menu of the disc as well. I would also check the manual of the 414 which I believe has a section how to set the machine on an audio priority basis. I also think that on occassion that some 5.1 soundtracks play 5.1, the 4l4 states they are 5.1, but the movies rear channels are in Dolby Surround. I tended to think this on the DVD of the "Black Hole" which is a story all to itself.
Re: Pioneer DV-414. Is this a good DVD Player? Darren A. 10:51:41 7/29/99 (2)
The Pioneer DV-414 is on the entry level end of DVD players. It is a good player given its competition at that price point. I would say the price you got is fair, not great. With your system, a better DVD player is just a waste of money. If you are using it for music, that could be improved with a better CD player or an outboard DAC like the MSB link. The 5.1 you refer to specifies how many discrete channels of sound you are hearing. In the case of Dolby Digital, 5.1 channels (5 full range, 1 sub which is 1/10th of an octave) is one of the supported formats. Dolby Digital also supports 2.0 channels which is really just Pro-Logic. DTS also uses 5.1 channels of information. So the answer is no, they are not the same, Dolby Digital is the sound encoding format, 5.1 is how many channels of sound are encoded.
About the s-video. If you are using the RCA composite video input you are losing video quality. The video is stored on the DVD in component form (3 signals) and can be down mixed to s-video (2 signals) or composite (1 signal) and then reconstructed at the TV with a comb filter. The more downmixing you do, the more info you lose. Go to s-video ASAP and you will get a much better picture. To get the best video performance out of your DVD, rent or buy the DVD video essentials, that will help you optimize your video picture. Also, try turning your "sharpness" adjustment down. Sharpness adjustment is really for fixing ugly NTSC signals like VCR pictures. For DVD signals, it does more harm than help in most cases.
Hope this helps
-Darren
- Re: Pioneer DV-414. Is this a good DVD Player? Dave Z 13:29:52 7/29/99 (1)
  Thanks very much for the info Darrin. You answered my questions, but also illicited a few more. When you were talking about 5.1, the format I understood. I guess my main question is this: I know my Denon 1700 has 5.1 capability, and I had assumed that all DVD's were recorded with this audio format in mind. Yet, when I was watching a movie last night, my audio settings were saying Dolby Digital, 2 channels. I also have the option for Dolby Digital ---> PCM. I also have 3 other audio format settings, Linear PCM, MPEG and DTS. I don't see a setting anywhere for 5.1 .
  One of the main reasons I went to DVD was to get 5.1 sound, rather than Dolby Pro Logic, which I already had. I am suffering a 25" TV at present, so it certainly wasn't for the picture, although improvement is always nice. I have the feeling that I already am getting 5.1, through Dolby Digital, but I was just hoping for some more info on it. I hate not understanding things.
  So, when my audio is saying 2 channels, am I missing out on performance? I'd like to know now, so I can re-adjust my system if necessary, while it's still a returnable/exchangable purchase.
  Thanks very much for your help.
  Dave Z
  Quick run-down on my system:
  Denon AVR-1700
  NHT VT-1.2's, right and left
  NHT VS-1.2 Center
  JBL-2500 rears, old but adequate for now
  Pioneer DV-414 DVD Player
  Panasonic PV-4551 Hi-Fi VCR
  Oh, lastly, I do have a question concerning my picture quality. You were saying that my current single video out is inadequate. Is that why my picture hesitates from time to time? I also notice this with my digital cable system, and it's quite annoying. I am afraid I might be limited by my television in this case, as the only video inputs it has are the straight RCA composite and coax for cable. Is there a way to get around this shortcoming? Again, thanks!
  - Not all DVDs are 5.1... Rich 07:15:40 8/01/99 (0)
    ...this has nothing to do with your equipment. If only two channels are present on the disc, that's all you're going to get.

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