Author Topic: Pioneer DV-696AV-S player (Read 31633 times)

dobler · « **Reply #30 on:** Jul 14, 2006 at 05:20 PM »

I recently purchased this player and have it connected to a 32" Samsung R7 LCD via HDMI. Here's my 2 cents:

Is there a difference between 480p and 720p?

Yes. It's all very subtle though.

It greatly depends on the type of material you're viewing. If it's purely digital (i.e. Episode 3, Pixar films) colors seem more alive. Reference DVD's like Gladiator appear to have more detail. Subtitles are smoother and less jagged.

At 720p, DVD's with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 have slightly thicker black bars. At 1.85:1, a thin black line appears at the bottom of the screen. Programs at 1.78:1 completely fill the display. According to firewired, purists will love this player since it produces a wider image and eliminates over scanning.

How about 720p and 1080i?

I couldn't tell the difference. Maybe the benefits will be more obvious at screen sizes of 50" and above.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with its performance.

P.S. I got my 10ft gold-plated HDMI cable from fellow member paolorenzo for 2000 pesos.

mike c · « **Reply #31 on:** Jul 14, 2006 at 05:51 PM »

meron akong DV-490V-S ... nag improve nga ang SD DVD picture when i used 1080i output.

dobler, kailangan ata yung TV ang mag activate nung HDMI connection.

meron bang naka compare ng 696 and 490 with regards to sound and picture? i mean mas maganda ba ang 696? kasi kung babasahin ang spec sheet ng dalawa, parang pareho lang ang HDMI video nila.

sa audio lamang ang 696 (based on specs) pero in real life, noticeable ba ang difference?

espi · « **Reply #32 on:** Jul 14, 2006 at 08:38 PM »

sir dobler / sir mike c,

can you verify sir flyme's post regarding digital audio outs are useless if hdmi connection is used? do you have the same problem?

sayang naman if that's gonna be the case.

mike c · « **Reply #33 on:** Jul 14, 2006 at 09:01 PM »

I don't know about the 696 but my 490 outputs both sound and video through HDMI BUT ALSO outputs sound through the optical cable.

I don't have an HDMI ready receiver, so kung totoo yun ... that would suck

buti na lang hindi.

espi · « **Reply #34 on:** Jul 14, 2006 at 09:05 PM »

that's good to hear sir.

how about it's performance when it comes to PAL format discs? ok ba?

what brand of hdmi cable are you using?

mike c · « **Reply #35 on:** Jul 14, 2006 at 09:36 PM »

ultralink HDMI cable.

haven't tried PAL yet. I don't see why the performance would be different ... even my old pioneer players have no problem with PAL discs.

espi · « **Reply #36 on:** Jul 14, 2006 at 09:52 PM »

Quote from: firewired on Jun 18, 2006 at 02:56 PM

Here's a look at the Pioneer DV-490. The HDMI output is pretty good with NTSC sources but has issues with PAL DVDs. Dang. It's beginning to seem like these cheap HDMI players are really... cheap HDMI players.

Pioneer DV-490V: Full Review

Also, some R2 buyers have confirmed that packed bitstream support is still spotty.

it's because of this review posted by sir firewired...

it says here that it's a let-down for those who have PAL discs.

well, i just need to confirm it from someone who already have this unit...'coz i have PAL discs in my collection e...hehehe...

how's your hdmi cable performance and how much?

dobler · « **Reply #37 on:** Jul 18, 2006 at 12:02 AM »

I had the chance to test the 696's divx playback. Video ran smoothly with no issues. The player's able to upconvert the video to my Samsung LCD's native resolution via HDMI. Picture quality was great. I don't plan to watch divx files on my PC anytime soon.

mYKi · « **Reply #38 on:** Jul 18, 2006 at 07:17 AM »

Hmmm. My Samsung DLP only has DVI inputs so it might not work with it as well.

gren · « **Reply #39 on:** Jul 18, 2006 at 11:19 AM »

you can get a converter. but its not readily available in your appliance chain stores.

checked amazon and you can get one for 15usd.

salespeople were trying to sell me their service unit for 3k

my intention was to plug hdmi to dvi to my pc. but apparently, it won't work. at least, not for samsungs. something to do with it being dvi-d the pc using dvi-a. not really sure about the details, it has been quite a while.

EDIT: BTW, where's the best place to get the 696?

dobler · « **Reply #40 on:** Jul 18, 2006 at 08:37 PM »

Just got a copy of U2's Vertigo 2005 DVD. For some reason, Tower Records Megamall was selling a PAL version.

No playback issues on the 696.

Kick ass concert by the way

firestorm · « **Reply #41 on:** Jul 19, 2006 at 06:21 PM »

Quote from: dobler on Jul 18, 2006 at 12:02 AM

I had the chance to test the 696's divx playback. Video ran smoothly with no issues. The player's able to upconvert the video to my Samsung LCD's native resolution via HDMI. Picture quality was great. I don't plan to watch divx files on my PC anytime soon.

Hi dobler, have you tried divx files that have a higher resolution than 720 x 480 which I think was the limit of the first generation Pioneer divx players? Thanks.

dobler · « **Reply #42 on:** Jul 19, 2006 at 10:06 PM »

Quote from: firestorm on Jul 19, 2006 at 06:21 PM

Hi dobler, have you tried divx files that have a higher resolution than 720 x 480 which I think was the limit of the first generation Pioneer divx players? Thanks.

I don't have divx files that big.

firewired · « **Reply #43 on:** Jul 20, 2006 at 07:44 AM »

Picked up the DV-696 from FlyMe last night and so far so good. I don't have an HDMI cable yet but I was able to do some testing on 480p (player) / 720p (Samsung DLP) this morning.

The big news is that the Xvid packed bitsream issue seems to have been resolved by the new Mediaktek chip. I tried several TV episodes that stuttered badly on my DV-383 (fw 1.20) and they all played smoothly on the 696. Panning shots look great!

Unfortunately HR.HDTV files still don't play in this generation. Actually none of the new DivX/MP4 players I've tested play HD recorded files so it looks like this won't be available anytime soon with the big brands. According to the DivX website, only players from AVeL and I-O Data have been DivX HD Ultra certified.

Btw, I split the DV-696 discussion from the original thread.

espi · « **Reply #44 on:** Jul 20, 2006 at 07:31 PM »

sirs,

reviews naman on the PAL handling performance for this player via HDMI.

as well as to verify if the digital outs are disabled when HDMI connection is being used.

thanks!

ravel · « **Reply #45 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 08:05 AM »

On the initial menu settings/digital audio out settings, you can disable hdmi out so you can configure all other settings like Digital out, DTS out, etc. My receiver doesn't have HDMI in, but my TV has, that's what I did with mine -- TV-HDMI-IN to 696AV-HDMI-OUT, 696AV-Digital-OUT to Receiver-Digital-IN. I hope this helps.

firewired · « **Reply #46 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 08:15 AM »

As for PAL performance, I can't comment because my Samsung L6 DLP is NTSC only. My DV-696 is configured to output NTSC signals so it does conversion on the fly when you insert PAL sources.

espi · « **Reply #47 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 08:55 AM »

i see.

is this unit available at all appliance stores already? what is the price range for this unit?

thanks!

ravel · « **Reply #48 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 10:30 AM »

i got mine in SM Megamal-3F-Listening Room, P6,800. I hoped there was black though, silver lang eh = )

firewired · « **Reply #49 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 11:14 AM »

Quote from: ravel on Jul 21, 2006 at 08:05 AM

On the initial menu settings/digital audio out settings, you can disable hdmi out so you can configure all other settings like Digital out, DTS out, etc. My receiver doesn't have HDMI in, but my TV has, that's what I did with mine -- TV-HDMI-IN to 696AV-HDMI-OUT, 696AV-Digital-OUT to Receiver-Digital-IN. I hope this helps.

Did the same thing, and yes, all the digital outs are working. In fact, I'm really happy that HDMI audio works on my Samsung DLP because I've never really used the TV for audio output since everything goes through my receiver. Now I'm able to do both and just discovered that the Samsung sounds really good!

scoob · « **Reply #50 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 11:28 AM »

Quote from: firewired on Jul 21, 2006 at 11:14 AM

Did the same thing, and yes, all the digital outs are working. In fact, I'm really happy that HDMI audio works on my Samsung DLP because I've never really used the TV for audio output since everything goes through my receiver. Now I'm able to do both and just discovered that the Samsung sounds really good!

Nice to hear this. Region free na ba? Or still needs to be hacked?

TIA

firewired · « **Reply #51 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 11:35 AM »

It identifies itself as an R3 player but it played all the R1 discs I tried. Thing is, FlyMe used the cellphone hack to convert it but he wasn't sure if it was locked in the first place. My officemate dobler said his unit from Sights & Sounds Shang came region-free out of the box.

espi · « **Reply #52 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 11:42 AM »

Quote from: ravel on Jul 21, 2006 at 10:30 AM

i got mine in SM Megamal-3F-Listening Room, P6,800. I hoped there was black though, silver lang eh = )

sir,

is this offered at 0% deferred payment?

ravel · « **Reply #53 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 12:16 PM »

Sorry, didn't ask for deferred payment option.

Region1 and Region3 works fine.

Btw, where can I find good SACD or DVD-Audio selections. I haven't tried it on the 696 yet.

espi · « **Reply #54 on:** Jul 21, 2006 at 06:37 PM »

im currently here at the megamall and still thinking if im gonna get this unit...

hehehe...

i asked for a 6 mos. deferred payment and they offered a very good deal...

now im confused...hahaha

Philander · « **Reply #55 on:** Jul 25, 2006 at 03:32 PM »

Quote from: ravel on Jul 21, 2006 at 12:16 PM

Sorry, didn't ask for deferred payment option.

Region1 and Region3 works fine.

Btw, where can I find good SACD or DVD-Audio selections. I haven't tried it on the 696 yet.

Montage, Greenbelt3.

knefut · « **Reply #56 on:** Jul 27, 2006 at 01:21 PM »

sir, any updates on the price of the 696?

looking forward to use this as a dedicated cd player because it has the burr brown DAC.

marckd1 · « **Reply #57 on:** Jul 30, 2006 at 06:40 PM »

Quote from: knefut on Jul 27, 2006 at 01:21 PM

sir, any updates on the price of the 696?

looking forward to use this as a dedicated cd player because it has the burr brown DAC.

6990 in ambassador and can also availed thru sip/deferred payments. I already ordered one and it will be available on Monday. Out of stock units nila.

does asian unit also has burr brown dac or it's only in uk version? if this will be included in the specification of asian version then it will perfectly matched my yamaha 1600.

firewired · « **Reply #58 on:** Jul 30, 2006 at 08:40 PM »

Good point. The Singapore web site doesn't mention Burr Brown and neither does the manual that came with my unit.

Anyway, I've done some more testing over the weekend - this time to compare the 696's 720p output over HDMI vs. letting my L6 HD DLP (which comes with a Faroudja chip) upconvert to 720p from a progressive 480p component signal.

I hate to say this but the L6 seems to be doing a better job than the 696's Mediatek chipset on difficult sources. Its not obvious when viewing good transfers -- particularly 3D animation or recent films mastered from HD sources. These are uniformly excellent over HDMI.

I tried Superman (1978 version, Region 1 2001 release) and saw problems immediately. In the first act of the film, there were clear aberrations in certain scenes. The red sun comes to mind as well as the Kryptonian sky as the Phantom Zone mirror/portal drops from space to claim General Zod and company. 720p via HDMI produced visible color banding and posterization artifacts that were absent when viewing the same scenes over component.

I can't generalize this observation though since I've only tested it on one setup. Perhaps other 696 users can test Superman on their TVs/monitors and post their findings here?

firewired · « **Reply #59 on:** Aug 06, 2006 at 09:19 AM »

Some good news for DV-696 owners: apparently my problems last week were TV and not player-related. I spent yesterday morning calibrating the video output of my Samsung L6 and DV-696 setup after I did some research online and found out that the artifacts on Superman were, in fact, a DLP RPTV issue that manifests as banding and posterized blotches.

I'll post my findings in greater detail under the Samsung DLP thread but this is apparently a platform issue that seems to be aggravated by the fact that the TV isn't calibrated properly out of the box for HD sources. I had to enter the Service Menu and tweak extensively -- an experience that isn't really for the faint of heart.

Once I made the appropriate adjustments, the image went from okay to impressive. Letting the DV-696 upconvert to 720p produces better quality now compared to my TV's Faroudja chip.