I will be purchasing a 300+ dvd changer the sony (DVP-CX860) or the pioneer (DV-F727) and would appreciate any advice as to which one to get. Is one more Pronto friendly?

thanks,

mitch

No idea,

I have seen several posts on the Sony though.

No bad news about it..

So, try searching for it.. and enjoy

Cheers
Scott

I had the Sony and sold it for the Pioneer (actually the pioneer DV F07 which has RS232 control capability). The Pioneer is much easier to use, has better user interface and the DVD playback quality is better IMHO

Marantz makes a THX changer based on the Pioneer chassis that I'm probably gonna buy, or I may cheap out and get the Pioneer

Check out the new Kenwood 400 + 3 DVD changer coming out soon. It's pricey, but there should be pretty good discounts on it.

But, check out the specs!

Thanks for the replies!!!

I'll report back after I pick one up.

I have the Pioneer 727 and really lke it. It handles DVD/CD/CDR. It is the same as the Onyko but about $200 less.

I gave up on all Sony after being an exclusive Sony user for almost 40 years.

I have the Sony DVP-CX860 and I like it very much when used with a Pronto. Without the Pronto you are forced to use a clunky-very slow interface to select disc's.
The Sony will autoplay either the disc in the #1 slot or the last disk played, this is dumb. You must do something to discourage the autoplay feature, Sony provides no solution to this dumb proplem but just assumes that everyone wants to play again the disc they played last. With a Pronto this can be overcome and the disc selection and play is delightful. The Sony is more compact than any of the other changers which is a plus.

I am in the same predicament as you wanting a multi-changer DVD player.

However, I have an amp that only has DolbyPrologic and so want the DVD player to have on board Dolby Digital - does the Pioneer / Kenwood / Marantz ?

Keep this posting going with your views on the changers - I know that this is a Remote forum, but getting a changer is a 'next step' once you have programmed your Pronto with the 'usual' system.

Cheers
C

PS> This is a UK posting before I am told that the US Sony has on board DD

I also have a sony dvp-cx860 and have a very nice pronto replica of the remote.

I have to agree that the sony interactive features suck pretty badly!!! but the changer itself it great!

I have all of the codes from the original remote in very clean form. So, if you chose the sony, you can jump right in and have some fun!

I also have a large dvd selection list that could very easily be customized to your own.

SanMan

The Kenwood has onboard EVERYTHING, including the Faroudja video processors, progressive scan, DVD-Audio, 3 slot "Rental Zone" where you can put in rented or borrowed DVDs/CDs - with its own transport controls, Internet access for Genre, Title, Artist, Track, Cover Art, etc. etc. etc. You really have to check it out at the URL mentioned in my post above!

As a DVD player I don't have any complaints about the Sony. As a changer it doesn't measure up to my expectations.

I have had a Sony 5 CD, 50 CD and for the last several years a 300 CD changer - the CX860 has had more misfeeds than all 3 combined. (A misfeed is defined as failing to load a CD or DVD, the unit then flashes an error code, opens the access door and powers off. Turning the unit back on can in some cases result it attempting to refeed the disc, which may fail again...you get the picture. I have all my gear in a glassed in cabinet which further ticks me off since there isn't room to open the access panel so when a misfeed occurs the access panel is only partly open and I can't reach the supposedly stuck disc.)

In my opinion the DVD folks at Sony should hire some of the Sony CD folks and have them handle the mechanical design.

The Pronto with SuperNudelist, of course, makes the unit useful and as long as it doesn't misfeed you will be happy. As others have noted the CX860 GUI is slow, poorly designed and the Pronto means you can mostly ignore it.

See www.audioreview.com for several owner reviews (over all rating is low due to the same factors noted in this thread).

I have purchased Sony gear for years but I doubt I would buy another DVD changer until I was convinced that it had been redesigned and the GUI was cleaned up. I do intend to buy another Sony CD changer as they do work fine.

SanMan,

Currently I have a Sony 850D 200 DVD changer and was planning to buy an 860 or 870 and use the old one for CDs. My reason for planning to buy is mainly for the ability to play the flip side of a DVD just by pushing a button (to my knowledge only the Sony 860 & 870 have this feature but I'm going to check out the other brands mentioned in this thread).

I don't yet have the ProntoPro but plan to buy one if I am satisfied I can fully customize it to control ALL functions of my A/V system--to this end I have downloaded the ProntProEdit software.

I agree that the Sony graphics interface on the 850D is clunky. When you say the Pronto "makes this go away" I assume you mean more than just duplicating the native remote's functions. I would very much appreciate recieving your code for the 860 and your dvd playlist. I assume the latter allows direct selection of any dvd by just pushing one macro button.

If you would email me those so I can play around with them I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
AJ

The Kenwood has "dual sided" play. No need to flip disks. You can actually put a CD in backwards and it will still play it!

This message was edited by GregoriusM on 08/08/01 02:43.06.

I would love to know how you have resolved the ridiculous autoplay on the Sony DVD palyer.