Samsung DVD-1080PK Vs Pioneer DV-600AV-S

Hi All,
I'm interested to know your views on the performance of Samsung's DVD-1080PK against Pioneer's DV-600AV dvd player.
I will be using it to play and upscale for my future upgrade to a 42 inch plasma (Panny 42 Pv8 I think) from a CRT.
The Samsung has a retail price of 4900/- Im not sure on the Dv 600 (looks to be around 9k). Does anybody have an idea about the correct prices.
I'm wondering whether its worth going for the Pioneer over the Samsung, considering the price difference unless there is a marked difference in performance and thats where I need all your help.

Here are the links
DVD-1080PK hyper vision - DVD players SAMSUNG

DV-600AV-S

Thanks in advance!

Flared, the Pioneer has the capability to play DVD-A and SACD. That is one clear advantage that the Pioneer has. In addition the Samsung does not decode DTS, one of the most common audio coding that come with movies.

If these are not relevant to you, both are equally good for Video and audio. I am personally using a DV-585 and a DV-686, earlier models of Pioneer, and I am very happy with their performances. I have also seen a Samsung perform, and it is also very good. The reason I chose the Pioneers were for SACD, DVD-A, and it's USB capabilities. Pioneer has a reputation in the market that it is capable of playing literally any disc you throw at it.

What I would suggest is that you audition both players before deciding. If a Pioneer 600 is not available in your town, I am sure a Pioneer 400 will be available. That is more common and has been around for some time. The differences between the 400 and 600 will be better features in the 600.

Cheers

Thanks Venket!
Pardon my ignorance! I use a Denon 1803 AVR, so is the dts decoding still an issue. The Samsung DVD player does have USB capability according to its tech specs. "Playing literally any disc" is definitely high up in my priority.
I live in Chennai so I guess I might need to look around only in the grey market.

Flared i am myself a samsung HD 860 user, and have been looking around for the 1080p reciever, unfortunately not able to find any stock in bangalore, if you are able to find stock in chennai it will be awesome, most of the shops here dont even have a demo peice of the same

Flared - if you are using an AV receiver which sports the necessary sound processing technology (DTS, Dolby Digital etc.), then it is not necessary to have it in the DVD player.

I have the Samsung model that you mentioned. I bought it recently. The other model I would consider is the Philips 5986K. It is a very capable DVD player too. The Samsung looks better, has slightly better fit and finish and a better remote control. The Philips has DivX Ultra certification which the Samsung does not have.

Also there is this irritating problem that I have with the Samsung DVD player. I dont know if I can get rid of that. I have my music collections on DVD discs organized into albums. Once I get into a particular album, I seem to find no way to go back to the exact spot that I was browsing. It takes me back to the first album from where I have to tediously scroll back. By the time I get to the M's from the A's, sometimes I lose interest.

If you have got your collections on MP3 and have organized it for listening on DVDs or CDs, this is something you might give a thought about. Please note that I have not tested this on the Philips. Also the other thing is that long filenames cannot be seen - which is again a problem with MP3 files.

As far as Video and Audio quality is concerned, Samsung is very good. With DivX as well as with DVDs. The remote response is a bit slow, but the chunky remote feels good on the hand and the dotted buttons for the 'Play', 'Pause' and 'Stop' functions are a thoughtful touch considering that we would be using the remote in the dark a lot of the time.

The Pioneer alternative that you can think of is the Pioneer 400AV. This will not play DVD-A or SACD but will do all the things that the Samsung or Pioneer will do. All three players also have the very convenient USB input.

Flared, as TheVortex has already answered, if you have a modern AVR such as the Denon, you don't need DTS decoding on the DVD Player.

I am not sure about Pioneer DV-600, but the DV-400 is there in many shops around Chennai.

If you are worried about buying from the grey market, just go in for the Samsung or Philips after auditioning both.

Remember, personal audition is absolutely essential.

Dushie: I will definitely let you know if I find it. I haven't yet started doing the rounds so hopefully I can locate it here.

thevortex: I'm a little queasy about Phillips as I see a majority of negative reviews for their players but I haven't checked the specific model that you mentioned. Pioneer 400AV sounds interesting, I shall try and check that out. Isn't it odd that there are no dealers for pioneer in India considering they make great Plasma Tv's and DVD players!
How does the PQ compare between the phillips and the samsung?
Digital-to-Analog Converter : 14Bit/108MHz (samsung) vs 12Bit/108MHz (Phillips)... does this make a difference?
Which one handles scratched discs better?
Lots of questions!

Venket: Thanks for your advice! Will definitely check out these products personally.

Flared - try reading a few reviews on Amazon on the Philips. Philips has more good reviews than the other brands in question actually. I have read opinions where the Philips is spoken above the Pioneer 400V.

I only know of Pioneer dealers here in Chennai - so if you dont live here, I do not know of information that can help you in locating dealers, I am afraid.

About the Picture quality and about the DAC, as you rightly said, Samsung does have 14 bits to Pioneer's and Philips' 12 bits. But as others have mentioned to me, it is not about the bits but about the DAC chip used in the DVD. In all three cases, I am not sure what is the chip that has been used. It could be mediatek, but I am not sure. On viewing movies, the Samsung looked the best of the lot to me. But that could be subjective because the viewing conditions were not the same nor were the lightings. Its a pity that there are no shops stocking all these brands under the same roof with a proper viewing room.

I dont know which one handles scratched disks better. Only Sony talks about the Precision drive technology which specifically is supposed to read horribly scratched disks.

If it matters to you, Samsung and Philips also have Karaoke facility and the Samsung has a CD ripping feature which can rip Audio tracks off the CD to a USB drive if present and connected.

Do a test of all three and things should be clearer.

Thanks for the valuable information.
I live in Chennai so can you let me know who deals in Pioneer products?

Audiopeople, T.Nagar.

www.audiopeople.net