Pioneer 696

I bought on of these from Richer Sounds yesterday, very good player for the money. running it at 720p via hdmi and gives a very good picture with no apparent problems. Played everything i threw at it with ease and it also comes multi region even though it is not stated on their website.

I got mine price matched for ?25. It is really small, not only height but depth aswell.

Take a look

thanks dvdchild :)

what company did you use to price match against?

the best i've found is £129.99 + delivery

I got mine from Richer Sounds in Reading for £107.15

I asked them to match this multi region model from PRCdirect, it's listed for £117.15 inc delivery.

http://www.kelkoo.prcdirect.co.uk/showproduct/DV696AV-SILVER

The the Richer Sounds Price match policy knocked another £10 off.

i think the 696 is a good machine for the money, i got mine when they first came out, and i've been very happy from day one. i previously used a samsung 950 which had a few annoying quirks, plus it was black, and i wanted the 696 in silver to compliment my pio plasma

in reading the forums, someone asked me to test a scene from i think SW EP2 in pal, and sitting up close to the 50" pio 505 xde i could see jaggies in the particular scene, however in normal playback you don't notice. the jaggies apparently only affects PAL and not NTSC. as i prefer to watch dvds without my nose touching the screen i don't notice any problems. i did notice the 696 was sharper than the 950, which has a different chip and tends to soften the upscalled image, and doesn't have jaggies

i've no idea about a model comparison, but i guess the 626 is quite an old model, and might not have progressive scan on pal and/or ntsc. with simple technology advances, plus using hdmi, i would expect the image to be at least as good

i use the 720p setting and watch a fair mix of pal and ntsc, perhaps more ntsc, and you can't really tell the difference PQ wise

if you check the other thread on the player, i think someone snagged one for about ?10 delivered, multi region. mine was ?30 delivered multi region when it first came out. it doesn't come with hdmi cable, i just used the one that came with my sammy 950

apparently if you want a better universal player, the general consensus is the denon 1930 is the one to get, but it's more than twice the price at ?50. the older 1920 had a few issues like lip synch and ac3 support on divx, which is what put me off getting that, i dunno if the 1930 is issue free

thanks for your help guys, gonna give Richer Sounds a call and see whether they will price match that £117.15 player (can't see why they shoudln't if they have before).

The 626 is a very old model (although I paid £450 quite a few years ago) it's multi region, but no progressive or component sockets, but it's served me well :)

Definately think I'll get the player, I'm sitting around 7-8 feet away from the screen, so i'm sure any jaggies won't even be visible.

cheers for your advice :)

if you check the other thread on the player, i think someone snagged one for about ?10 delivered, multi region. mine was ?30 delivered multi region when it first came out. it doesn't come with hdmi cable, i just used the one that came with my sammy 950
Argh, can't find that anywhere :mad:

Argh, can't find that anywhere :mad:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=365162&page=31

thats the thread, start at the most recent page and work back, it can't be much more than 5 pages

btw, if your old player didn't have component or progressive scan, then i'm sure you will see a big difference with the 696. it also plays divx/xvid, dvda, sacd, and most things you can throw at it

i sit about 2 metres from my 50" screen and don't notice the jaggies, not that i look out for them, i just put the film on and watch it and it looks and sounds fine

Argh, can't find that anywhere :mad:

Check post #4 of this thread to see how to get one for ?07.15

Check post #4 of this thread to see how to get one for ?07.15
I must be blind:suicide:
I had just looked back through the entire “Pioneer 696, Only?thread where ?10 was also mentioned, and then clicked on newest post in this thread.

Should have looked up!

you can get it on peter tyson website for ?09.99 or ?29.99 with a qed hd cable

Im still waiting for mine from PRC - ?17 multiregion. I wouldnt recommend them at this stage because theyre talking baout 6 working days delivery even with the item in stock - not really on.

Id go with Peter Tyson or RS if you have one nearby

Rich

cant fault the petertyson site. Ive ordered a few things from there the last month or so and all have turned up within 2 days. Plus you get the 2 year warranty

My Father has the same LCD and just bought a 696. He previously had a Philips running on component and was ahocked when he watched Revenge of the Sith on 720p with the new Pioneer. It had virtually no picture noise and colours and definition was a noticeable improvement through HDMI compared to the Philips. A good little player for the money, it seems.

Im still waiting for mine from PRC - ?17 multiregion. I wouldnt recommend them at this stage because theyre talking baout 6 working days delivery even with the item in stock - not really on.

Id go with Peter Tyson or RS if you have one nearby

Rich

I don't like PRC, I've only brought a DVD player from them 3 years ago and it took 2 weeks even though it was in stock.

When it eventually turned up it had been shipped directly from the supplier so I don't think it was in stock at all.

Quite possibly, Im on the brink of cancelling it but they will charge me a restocking fee, just not competitive by todays standards.