Pioneer DV-343 DVD Player
Pioneer DV-343 DVD Player With Twin-Laser Pickup
The Pioneer DV-343 is a replacement for a Pioneer's DV-333 DVD Player. As his predecessor, it has a solid look that matches other stereo components. <br />I also has a twin-wave laser pickup, which allows it, in addition to DVD Video and regular (stamped) CD Audio discs, read CD-R and CD-RW discs. More and more players on the market are including the this feature, which is useful if you are want to play custom-made Audio CDs and Video CDs (make sure the disc is finalized (closed) before trying to play it). <br />The player looks solid and will look well with other stereo components (but it is a little too tall). The remote, however, looks simple (with small buttons that look the same). It also does not allow you to control other video devices. But the directional menu buttons are intuitively located with \\"Enter\\" button in the middle. And you cannot control your TV from it. <br />The player's back panel has component video out, composite video and analog audio outs, S-Video, optical and coaxial digital audio outs, control input. The player supports slow motion and still/frame playback. <br />The conditional memory feature allows you store your settings, including parental control settings, for several discs, so your children will not be able to view the stuff they shouldn't - you have a button to activate this feature from the remote. <br />The startup time and resume play is very quick, less than three seconds. The picture quality is great, thanks in part to the patented Viterbi error-correction circuit, as well as sound. <br />As other players, 343 can provide you with Dolby Digital or DTS sound, if you have a receiver Dolby Digital and/or DTS decoder. You can use either coaxial or optical out (optical out is less susceptible to signal interference, but is more expensive). <br />If you don't have a Dolby Digital or DTS receiver, you can connect the player to either a Dolby Pro-Logic (or a new Dolby Pro Logic II) system, or any \\"standard\\" stereo system using two analog audio outs (RCA-type jacks). <br />The Pioneer DV-343 looks good, doesn't cost a fortune and plays CD-R/W. But the remote could be better and for the same price you can get excellent Panasonic RV31 (see my review of it).