Home > Consumer Reviews > Pioneer DVL-919 DVD / Laser Disc / CD and CD-R Player

My husband had an old pioneer laserdisc player that finally gave up the ghost. I bought him this for his birthday and he is thrilled! The unit is very bulky and is noisy as well but plays beautifully! It handles both laserdisc and dvds. If you still have lds, this is the only available new player I can find. All in all a very good product.

I was around at the beginning of Laserdisc and have always owned a player. Not many people realize that Laserdisc is nearly equivalent to DVD technology - Laserdisc has up to 425 lines of horizontal resolution and DVD has 500 lines. There are also DTS Laserdiscs (although not many) and most of them have digital sound.

However the great advantage with this player is that you get the best of both worlds! You have a DVD player and Laserdisc so hey we don't need arguments to prove which is best!

The Laserdisc side of this player supports up to DTS technology although you will need a RF Demodulator for AC-3 (also know as Dolby Digital 5.1) Laserdiscs if you have a modern amplifier. The Laserdisc also has both side plays so it will play both sides of Laserdiscs without having to flip the disc over. It also has frame by frame playback so you don't need to buy CAV discs. It will frame by frame any Laserdisc. The best video output of the player is S-video.

What can I say the Laserdisc side of this player is wonderful! Pioneer was always the best at making players and this player succeeds in every aspect.

The DVD side of the player is no slouch either and it supports up to DTS. The video output is composite so it is equal to a progressive scan DVD player. The DVD side of the player performs as good as any out there.

Overall this is a great package, I have one because I can buy Laserdiscs at $1 and these are the classics. I have it also because I am not fazed by the slight difference in quality between Laserdisc and DVD plus it is also a DVD player anyway. Bottom line - if you want the ultimate in exuberance then buy this!

Super fast shipping, even followed up a phone call to make sure everything arrived safe and sound. Highly recommend this seller!!

I just bought this thing from Amazon and all I can say is WOW!!!!

This is probably the best purchase I have ever made. This thing is everything I ever expected and more!! It's easy to use as well - even my wife can operate it!

I have to say, everyone out there who is thinking of buying this, stop thinking. I bought it and I am extremely happy with it the moment I powered this thing on. YOU ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THIS PURCHASE! I GUARANTEE IT!!!

I was forced into buying a new Laserdisc player after my previous Pioneer Elite CLD-79 was struck by lightning and subsequently destroyed. Sadly, the Pioneer Elite DVL-91 is no longer available, so I settled for this. As it turns out, however, I was not settling at all. This is a great player! The picture quality is not quite as crisp as my previous Elite, but it is still fantastic on both LD and DVD. Most aspects have been improved. LD side change time is roughly half of my old Elite player, sound is better, and LD spin up is faster. My only real quibble is that the remote control was apparantly designed by someone who hates people. Buttons are arranged seemingly at random. Even after several months of ownership and use, I still have to take a long look at the remote before I venture a push of the buttons. The design of my previous player's remote control was far, far superior.

One other thing: upon receiving delivery of my player, I found that the laser was bad and was in need of replacement. It was taken to an authorized Pioneer service center where the laser was replaced swiftly, free of charge, and with no fuss. Many months later, it still works perfectly! I appreciate Pioneer's service. On my previous Elite LD player, which was hit by the lightning, the Pioneer service center I took it to worked tirelessly for weeks trying to fix it. In the end, they failed, but they also did not charge me for the work they did. Thanks again!

This is my third Pioneer laser video product. Based on my experience so far with my Pioneer LD player (rest in peace), mini DVD player, and new DVD/LD player, I would never purchase a laser video product from any other company.