A product that launched in the second half of
2003, the
Pioneer DV-563A is a fantastic piece of
A/V equipment for the home entertainment enthusiast.
At first glance, this player does not look particularly
state of the art. It is a single disc DVD player, which may not appeal to some; it has both
component video and
S-Video outputs; it has
progressive scan, as well as
optical and
digital audio outputs -- but none of these are anything new on DVD players anymore, and standard on so many... why, then, would one choose this player?
Simply put, the DVD-563A is the first "
dual-standard" product aimed at the
consumer-level pocketbook, in terms of next-generation music technology. As you may or may not know, there are two new competing audio
standards making their way to the marketplace. The first was
SACD, or "
Super Audio CD", which is backed primarily by
Sony. The
DVD Audio specification, albeit perhaps ambiguously named, came out later, backed by
Panasonic.
Now, as it currently stands, it is true that, for the most part, people still listen to their music the "
old-fashioned way" (if you consider CDs or
MP3s old-fashioned!), neither specification has been particularly embraced by the industry or marketplace. However, the various advantages both offer (
Dolby Surround Sound, longer albums, and, for the music industries, varying degrees of
copy-protection) are nonetheless very compelling.
However, in a situation that smacks of the old "
VHS vs.
Beta" battle for market share, neither of these supposed "standards" has yet grabbed even a
plurality of the market
To further cloud the situation, both of these standards have been somewhat troublesome in the world of home audio.
SACDs will not play on standard CD players unless they are
hybrid discs, and even then, the listener will only get the standard
stereo mix. Similarly,
DVD-As
will play on most of today's standard DVD players... but again, unless the listener's device supports DVD-A itself, the surround sound effects of the recording cannot be realised.
And thus, we come back to the DV-563A.
SACD-only players, despite the specification having been out for several years, are still usually pricey. This was resolved to some degree, by adding the capability to some DVD players. However, due to the
bitter rivalries between these two specs, it has been hard to find a player that could handle both, for an at-all reasonable sum of money.
The DV-563A changed all that. A
well-equipped DVD player that can handle
MP3 and
WMA formats, as well as
CD-R/
RW and
DVD-R/
RW mediums, it also supports both the SACD and DVD-A
specs. Combine this feature set with the quality standards that have come to be expected from
Pioneer, and an initial market price of $160
USD, it is hardly difficult a difficult
justification to make, when shopping for a new player, especially if one is a fledgling
audiophile.
The sound and video quality on this player are terrific, and with the ability to support both means it will stick around long after the most recent standards
skirmish is (ever?) resolved. With the
battle lines drawn all around, Pioneer stepped up into this
power-vaccuum of sorts, and exploited this animosity to provide a high-quality product that "Joe Consumer" can afford and use.