Pioneer 588A vs Yamaha 657?

[morkys]

I believe the Yamaha 657 is a re-badged philips 720A. Any other thoughts regarding these two dvd players?

Does the Yamaha 657 have Dolby Pro Logic II and is it Chroma Bug Free (CUE)?

thanx

[MJA]

Avoid philips and their product any cost

check PIONEER DV-383S its cheaper than the 583 and its
region free

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AN5DT0/qid=1127573081/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8__i4_xgl23/1...onics&v=glance

[morkys]

What is so bad about Philips? Quality Control? Bugs? I kinda liked that the Yamaha (philips) has Dolby Pro Logic II. If its that bad, I guess I will forgo it. I have heard from some who have them and like them though.

The 588A is not much more than the 383S.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009H7HAU/sr=1-1/qid=1138848622/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-609...Fencoding=UTF8

Any thoughts as to whether the "slim" model is an issue vs the regular 588A?

Also, can the 383S be made into an SACD player with a firmware mod? I heard it was possible.

On the other hand, I am not sure the 588A-S is region free. I think it may be hackable, but not sure what it is to start with. It has PAL > NTSC conversion in it though.

thanx for the feedback,

[FulciLives]

The Pioneer DV-588A-S is a kick ass DVD player and does excellent PAL to NTSC but if you want it region free you have to buy it pre-modified. There is no simple way to modify it yourself.

Cheapest I've seen it pre-modified to be region free ... $180 USD

Here is a link ---> http://www.220-electronics.com/

The Pioneer DV-588A-S can do DivX/XviD ... MP3 and WMV audio files ... JPEG files ... DVD-Audio and SACD.

It also does excellent PAL to NTSC conversion making it a great choice for a region free player if you are willing to pay the premium for it.

Lowest price I've seen for it recently (regular region 1 version) is about $120 or so. That means you are paying about $60 extra to get it region free. Worth it if you need it.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[morkys]

Ok, fair enough. Thanx for the feedback. So the 383S is cheaper and comes region free? It doesn't have SACD (natively, although somebody has said you can get it via a firmware upgrade.)

What about the Yamaha 657 (aka Philips 720a)?
Any more feedback about that one? While I appreciate the 'avoid philips' comment, I would like to know more about why.

thanx

[morkys]

Does anybody know if there was ever a newer firmware update for this player? Secrets had this to say about it:

The core side of this player is where I had the most issues. The biggest offenders were Y/C delay and below-black performance. Th 588A would not pass a below-black pluge signal, and Y/C delay was greater than 1 pixel on both the Pb and Pr channels. This is what we saw from the 578 in core performance and is a rather surprising overlook by Pioneer. I am hoping that they will address both of these issues with a firmware update soon.

Mind you, for the price, and since I am merely looking for something to play all region dvd's, and get SACD Divx and DVD audio to boot, I can't complain, but I am just wondering.

Also, does anybody know if this player puts out a proper 0 IRE level? What about the 383?

[Big C]

Yamaha DVD-S657 hands down! I own the Yamaha DV-C6770 AKA Yamaha DVD-C750, the five disc version. It has the same MediaTek MT1389 as the Pioneer DV-588A-S, making it just as good at PAL-to-NTSC conversion. However, unlike the Pioneer, it can be used on both NTSC and PAL TVs, therefore, able to convert NTSC to PAL. Last but not least, it can be made region free with its supplied remote by ejecting the tray, entering 9 9 9 9 0 OK, and closing the tray. That way, you won't void your warranty by either having it modified either internally or via firmware. In conclusion, you have literally an all-format, all-region DVD player. Best of luck to you!

[morkys]

Hey. I picked up a used C750. Works pretty good. Had bad audio-video sync on some badly scratched library borrowed dvd's, and a dvd popped out of its spot in the carousel, but other than that, it has been working ok. Its my do-it-all player. I also have an older Panasonic CV 51 and an F85

[Big C]

Always glad to help! Good luck with your C750!