Philips DVP3040 vs Pioneer DV-393-S

[Ryo94]

Hi,

I would like to buy a dvd player mainly to play xvid and mp3-dvd, these two dvd players looks like fills these request but I really don't know wich of these is better. Here are the specifications of both:

Philips DVP3040
http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/catalog/tree/HOME_AUDIO_VIDEO_GR_US_CONSUMER/DVD_PLAYERS_RECORDERS_CA_US_CONSUMER/product/DVP3040_37_US_CONSUMER/catalog.jsp?activeTab=specifications&language=en&country=US&catalogType=CONSUMER&proxybuster=SMXVQLP3C45YXJ0RMRESHP3HKFSEKI5P

Pioneer DV-393-s
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/product/details/0,,2076_310069745_300923898_tab=B,00.html?compName=PNA_V3_ProductDetailsComponent

Couldn't find any review of the philips player but I found 1 review of the pioneer that say that is a below-average player (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=130#PioneerDV-393-S)

Could somebody help me to choose, thanks a lot in advance.

[BigDid]

Hi,

I would like to buy a dvd player mainly to play xvid and mp3-dvd, these two dvd players looks like fills these request but I really don't know wich of these is better. Here are the specifications of both:
Philips DVP3040
http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/catalog/tree/HOME_AUDIO_VIDEO_GR_US_CONSUMER/DVD_PLAYERS_RECORDERS_CA_US_CONSUMER/product/DVP3040_37_US_CONSUMER/catalog.jsp?activeTab=specifications&language=en&country=US&catalogType=CONSUMER&proxybuster=SMXVQLP3C45YXJ0RMRESHP3HKFSEKI5P
Pioneer DV-393-s
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/product/details/0,,2076_310069745_300923898_tab=B,00.html?compName=PNA_V3_ProductDetailsComponent

Hi,

You have a great tool to compare different brands and models see: http://www.divxtest.com/form/divxtest2_list.php?lang=eng

Couldn't find any review of the philips player but I found 1 review of the pioneer that say that is a below-average player (http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=130#PioneerDV-393-S)

Could somebody help me to choose, thanks a lot in advance.
I won't help you choose but I can point out some facts:
- both models don't have optical audio output nor DTS decoder
- both seems quite balanced in terms of capabilities; same MTK 1389 chipset used
- both have quite middle range compatibility -> 48% (my peekton is 58%)
- try incorporating higher models like the Philips dvp 5500 and Pioneer dv 585a to help making the choice.

You can also see the related buyer guide sticky: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=98228

Did

[Surf]

So, why not choose one of the highest rated one by OPPODIGITAL?

[Ryo94]

Thanks BigDid but regrettably there is not much to pick in stores here, that line of players is right followed by expensives dvdrs like the philips dvdr3455H.
Probably I could find some pioneer 588a in "not reliable/0 guarantee" places or try to import some one but that will increase the price a lot, players like pioneer 588a are over 240 dollars here (if you can find it) against 160 that it costs any of the mentioned above, I could make the effort and buy a 588a but there comes the lack of guarantee issue, any fail and I'm screwed, pioneer doesn't have official dealer, retailers, RMA where go to cry in my country :(

So, why not choose one of the highest rated one by OPPODIGITAL?
Same cause, lack of local availability, really expensive to import, not RMA here.

So that's the situation, anyway I'm not looking for the best dvd player just one that play well mpeg4 and dvd-mp3 (cbr & vbr 192-320kbps) and that doesn't break down after 1 year.

[johnhamler1]

hi,

in which country are you???can u not just drive to the next biggest city around you?

i checked for oppo too, 50$ for UPS...total 250$.

I had a philips 3010 which died 7 months later due to weak motor...
I think the 3040 have same engine inside and will not last long.it was nice for divx and dvd, but solidity is crap...(noisy engine, slow to load...)

then i got a 5900 in exchange with hdmi, and it s bigger and bulky, but I am sure it s stronger and will do longer.this one play lot of div x.

I suggest you the 5960 of phillips , and u can plug abig hardrive on the USB port and make it a movie center with thousand of movies ready on your remote controll, is that not sweet???, but get it with extended warranty like i did, cus i won't be happy if my player die 2 days after the 1 year warranty (unles i can change it for a new model like i did with my previous div x player ;) ).

and check for sub if you are not english like me, it helps to have subtitle on my movies.just a suggestion before to spend money.

[Ryo94]

hi johnhamler1, I'm from Argentina and I'm in Buenos Aires (the biggest city) so if I can't get it in stores here I doubt I can get it in other city.
I could find a wide variety of players in Brazil or Paraguay at low cost but without ticket and 0 guarantee (go figure the origin of those electronics).
So I'm still between these two models by the moment.
I heard the same thing about some philips dvds so probably I'll go for the pioneer, I need to check it out but if the pioneer dv393-s support long filenames (40+ characters) like it does some 575 with new firmware that's another point to it since I usually burn dvd-mp3 with long filenames (%track - %artist - %tittle)
Regarding to the subs, I'm done if the player support srt files and have options like font size, center & subtitle outline.

[Ryo94]

Well, I went for the pioneer dv-393-s and after check it for 2 days I'm satisfied, probably cos this is my first mpeg4 player, but is more than fine for the price.

the goods:
- good video quality for dvd & mpeg4
- play any kind of mp3 dvd (tested cbr/vbr 192-320)
- nice disc navigator
- fast disc loading
- silent

the cons:
- like BigDid say doesn't have optical audio output & DTS decoder
- the A/V cables that comes with the playes sucks (with new shielded cables the video quality improved significantly)
- no font adjust for mpeg4 subs (probably a new firmware can fix this)
- filenames are limited to 14 characters (I hope that this can be fixed also with a firmware update)

[johnhamler1]

0 Warranty? run away from philips...
or get one of these big model I have like the dvp5900.

[BigDid]

Well, I went for the pioneer dv-393-s and after check it for 2 days I'm satisfied...
Hi, glad for you

probably cos this is my first mpeg4 player, but is more than fine for the price.
My first SAP lasted 2 years in bad conditions: high temperature and humidity, so in normal conditions I suppose it can last 4 years or more ...

the goods:
- good video quality for dvd & mpeg4
- play any kind of mp3 dvd (tested cbr/vbr 192-320)
...
the cons:
...
- filenames are limited to 14 characters (I hope that this can be fixed also with a firmware update)
This is standard MTK chipset pros and cons; concerning the 14 chars limit search for MTZ threads or posts, you may find useful infos on modded firmware if no official available.

Did

[thorz]

Hi Ryo94

Have you found a new firmware for the DV393s? I have just got it and cannot find anything on Pioneer website.

Any ideas? Thanks.

[Ryo94]

Hi,

I'm also looking for a firmware update to solve the font issue in dv-393, at the moment I only found this one but I didn't test it yet...

firmware v1.16: http://dev.workpress.hu/pioneer/pio_393_fw_1.16_an.zip

... since it was made to fix only the font-size issue adding an option to choose between 18, 20, 22, and 24px (only font arial narrow). Probably I'll wait a little more time for a firmware that also include transparency & outline (instead the ugly opaque box) and subtitle alignment since increasing the font size with the current ilignment will obstruct the picture in 16.9 movies.

firmware 1.16 pic: http://dev.workpress.hu/pioneer/pio_fw_1.16_ntsc.jpg

[Ryo94]

I found this too:

http://www.pioneerfaq.info/english/dv490.php?player=DV-393&question=Firmwares