Pioneer DV-333 DVD Player
Depends on your system...
This was the first player I had ever bought.  I was looking for a nice entry-level unit that had good picture and sound, and people seemed to like this one.  I especially liked how it had component video out, and was, of course, affordable.<br />The problem I found, however, was not so much with the player, but with its compatibility with my system.  I've got a Sony WEGA (flat screen) TV.  It's a great set, but for this player, too good.  With all the DVD's I tried, there was a lot of video noise (pixelization) on the screen.  It had problems rendering, especially, greyish areas.  While this wasn't interolerable (depending on your P.O.V.), it didn't let me appreciate the DVD's as much as I knew I could.  On 2001: Space Oddysey, it did a horrible job rendering many of the images.  As I said, I attribute this to my system entirely.  For those with mid-range to high-end systems, you should spring for a better player.  (I got a Marantz DV-7000).<br />So how did the player fair on a regular set?  Just fine.  In fact, I gave it to my parents as an x-mas present, connected via composite cables on an old Trinitron set.  The picture looks great, and they are very happy.  Still, I must confess, there is some noise, but nothing worth complaining about if your not really into home theater anyway. And I'm pretty damn picky.<br />Here's a break down:<br />Pro's: (1)Dual-laser pickup (will play CD-R's); (2)great sound; (3)simple interface; (4)wide array of connection options; (5)good value<br />Con's: (1)slightly pixelated picture (varying by quality of TV set); (2)noisy transport (louder on some DVD's than others); (3)flimsy tray; (4)remote sucks (but what would you expect?)<br />If your comparing this to the Toshiba 1600 model, I'd say the main differences are that the Toshiba has a Zoom feature, while the Pioneer will play a wider range of media (because of the dual-laser pickups.)<br />Consider it!