Working, clear sound and clear pictures. Comes with HDMI cable and power cord. PioneerElite-DV-59-reviewed.gif It is sometimes an unfortunate fact of life that a technology is usually perfected just before it is replaced. With the impending arrival of high-definition DVD in the forms of HD DVD and Blu-ray (with the prerequisite format war to slow things down, of course), it is worthwhile taking a look at what has been achieved with regular DVD. The Pioneer DV-59AVi (MSRP $1,000) is a player that takes the universal player format as far as it is going to go, incorporating HDMI digital video out with up-scaling to 720p and 1080i, as well as DVD-Audio and SACD decoding with digital output through an IEEE1394 iLink connector. This is the pinnacle of technological achievement with DVD, and it is amazing how just a few years ago we were marveling at the first progressive scan DVD player. Now we actually have decent de-interlacing, no chroma bug, and digital output of high-resolution audio in one package. Another major reason to look at this player is that it provides a preview of the technologies that will be present in the next generation of high-definition DVD players.