Pioneer BDP-51FD vs. Sony BDP-S550

[defunder]

Pioneer BDP-51FD vs. Sony BDP-S550

Hello, everyone. I have been trying to find definitive evidence of which of these players is the better. The Pioneer seems like a better player, but lacks an ethernet port and obviously certain features b/c of that.

I have been wavering on the decision since last week and I finally found this forum. Can someone please convince me to buy one or the other already! (Or another blu-ray player in the $250-300 price range.)

I cannot make up my mind.

[onehothemi]

What kind of TV is it getting hooked up to first? Unless you need the 7.1 analog out's the 550 is the same core level chip as the 350 so save the money, what amp are you using? if you are letting the amp doing the processing bitstream direct into the amp then get the BDP-S350 I thought the sound and picture was flawless. I had the 51, and had nothing but problems with it. Returned for repairs 3 times to Pioneer as Best Buy wouldn't even touch it. All my Sony units since then have been spot on. I own or have owned, BDP-S300, 301, 350, 550, and the PS3 on different levels, and I WOULD NOT recomend the 51FD. I have also owned Samsung models 1000, 1400, and 1500 and personally feel that right now, Sony is the brand to beat. Unless you move to the uper echelon Elite series I would stay clear of Pioneer. Great name shitty product, as in recent years the quality control in my opinion has gone to the birds. In addition to the size, power consumption, and HEAT level the Pioneer unit creates, the Sony BDP-S350 is SOOOooo tiny and quiet, and quick loading. The features are great and the updates plenty.

[defunder]

Thank for onehothemi for the response. I will be getting a Sony player b/c you took the time to respond.

The Sony 550 is the same price as the 350 on Amazon. Are they both better than the 500?

[defunder]

By the way, the TV is the Panasonic TH Viera 50PX80U, if that matters at all.

[onehothemi]

I feel like this, it's bluray, the differences between players is minimal, it's still 1080p, its the color and processing that makes the difference. In addition, it's SONY's technology, why not go with the people who created it, and know it inside and out. I think either or the S350 or S550 if the price is the same where you found it are far superior to the 51FD. I like to use Crutchfield for references, as their information is usually spot on and they list all the references and infomation right down in a clear and easy to read list. Personally I think the 51FD will upconvert DVD's slightly better, but as far as the S350 and S550 units go, I feel the both out perform the 51FD in bluray, there is a reason the Elite series cost that much, the processors and mechanics and software are much more advanced. I also know the 51FD has a few more customization features such as noise reduction and so on, but if that's the stuff you really want instead of tru bluray power, get a PS3. The tv is a great Panasonic so with the x.v. Color and Deep Color, I'd go with the BDP-S350 for great value, compatibility, and picture quality, as the TV is a true 720p TV I think the Pioneer just won't give you what the Sony unit will as far as picture performance and load times. Hope this all helped. BUT PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, my opinion is one of thousands. The best thing you could do, is go to a store that has friendly staff, see if your tv is on display there, if not, something as close as possible, and tell them you'd like to see a bluray demo on it with a BDP-S350 floor model, shit even bring your own disk in a regular black case (so they don't think you stole it lol). I refused to leave the store and not but anything unless the staff is willing to help, and not feed me BS just to buy something. Also if you are making the purchase at Best Buy check the Magnolia section they usually have impressive bluray demo's going on. Cheers!!! HEMI

TV
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_13350PX...50PX80U&tp=161

BDP-S350
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158BDPS...DP-S350&tp=171

BDP-S550
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158BDPS...DP-S550&tp=171

BDP-51FD
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...1FD.Kuro?tab=B

[didihala]

Originally Posted by onehothemi

I feel like this, it's bluray, the differences between players is minimal, it's still 1080p, its the color and processing that makes the difference. In addition, it's SONY's technology, why not go with the people who created it, and know it inside and out. I think either or the S350 or S550 if the price is the same where you found it are far superior to the 51FD. I like to use Crutchfield for references, as their information is usually spot on and they list all the references and infomation right down in a clear and easy to read list. Personally I think the 51FD will upconvert DVD's slightly better, but as far as the S350 and S550 units go, I feel the both out perform the 51FD in bluray, there is a reason the Elite series cost that much, the processors and mechanics and software are much more advanced. I also know the 51FD has a few more customization features such as noise reduction and so on, but if that's the stuff you really want instead of tru bluray power, get a PS3. The tv is a great Panasonic so with the x.v. Color and Deep Color, I'd go with the BDP-S350 for great value, compatibility, and picture quality, as the TV is a true 720p TV I think the Pioneer just won't give you what the Sony unit will as far as picture performance and load times. Hope this all helped. BUT PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, my opinion is one of thousands. The best thing you could do, is go to a store that has friendly staff, see if your tv is on display there, if not, something as close as possible, and tell them you'd like to see a bluray demo on it with a BDP-S350 floor model, shit even bring your own disk in a regular black case (so they don't think you stole it lol). I refused to leave the store and not but anything unless the staff is willing to help, and not feed me BS just to buy something. Also if you are making the purchase at Best Buy check the Magnolia section they usually have impressive bluray demo's going on. Cheers!!! HEMI

TV
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_13350PX...50PX80U&tp=161

BDP-S350
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158BDPS...DP-S350&tp=171

BDP-S550
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158BDPS...DP-S550&tp=171

BDP-51FD
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...1FD.Kuro?tab=B

The only negative thing about S550, and to me is a BIG negative, is that they removed the Frame Advance/Slow Motion button!! Why on earth did Sony do that? They have replaced it with 10 second advanced forward which is useless since if you want to advance you just push the FF button! I have asked this question on other S550 related forums and no one responds!

This feature was extreamly useful and important, at least tome. Great feature where you want to see how a fast action scene is played frame by frame.

As for the BIG negative thing about 51FD, they do not support playing photo albums of .JPG pictures and .MPEG home movies. Aagain I am scrathing my head, why Pioneer did not incoporate this feature? Sony does.

Any opinions?

TIA

[kostiko]

Originally Posted by defunder

Pioneer BDP-51FD vs. Sony BDP-S550

Hello, everyone. I have been trying to find definitive evidence of which of these players is the better. The Pioneer seems like a better player, but lacks an ethernet port and obviously certain features b/c of that.

I have been wavering on the decision since last week and I finally found this forum. Can someone please convince me to buy one or the other already! (Or another blu-ray player in the $250-300 price range.)

I cannot make up my mind.

I would steer away from this model...I passed through two units with firmware bugs. Initially they were loaded with version 1.08 but just trying to switch from HDMI to S-Video will freeze the unit and a hard reset would be necessary. So I downloaded the latest update (1.25a) which solved the initial problem... but it created other 'monster'. If you play a bluray disc and feel the necessity to go to sleep before the end of it, do not power off the machine. It will resume the disc without any sound. It won't do this if DVD discs are played. So I thought that it is something wrong with the TV set. Packed everything and went back to the dealer and performed the same scenario at his location with a different TV brand. Of course that the result was the same meaning bad. I was a Pioneer lover (I still have three strong playing DV-410). To add insult, today Pioneer Electronics North America, removed any firmware support from their support page. I called Customer Support and 'surprisingly' they seemed blank and the only response was to bring the machine at their location. Oh yeah.. Like I would spend $500+ (I live in Canada) and my time for this kind of experiment. All I needed was a nice player (see the amount spent) with the least problems based on Pioneer reputation. So finally, again after I passed through two units, and a Panasonic BD-55 returned after one week because of random picture freezing (laser problems) I ended up with Sony S550. And I hate Sony but it was the only option left in this range of price/quality. I keep my finger crossed but until now, no obvious problems. The up converting of Pioneer and the sound quality were great but I don't expect to hard reset the unit every time when watching a bluray disc. And as specified in this forum, when comes to picture quality in bluray playing, is really hard to make a difference in-between Pioneer and Sony. So my message as stated, steer away while you can... Maybe in the future they will do a better job and win again confidence...

[Blacklac]

And my Pioneer 51 has been perfect since I got it. I love the damn thing.

[SatinKzo]

Originally Posted by Blacklac

And my Pioneer 51 has been perfect since I got it. I love the damn thing.

how long have you had it? I'm looking for another player at a bargain (which these are right now) that has quality upconverting on DVD. How do you rate these?

*edit: nevermind, I found what I would consider your answer over at HDD.

[Blacklac]

Originally Posted by SatinKzo

how long have you had it? I'm looking for another player at a bargain (which these are right now) that has quality upconverting on DVD. How do you rate these?

*edit: nevermind, I found what I would consider your answer over at HDD.

I've had it since around July, when it came out. I've had 4 or 5 HD DVD players, one was a refurb lemon, but the rest were fantastic units. Quite reliable. This Pioneer has been even more reliable, for me. I absolutely love this unit. The only thing (reasonably priced) that I'd consider swapping it for is the new Oppo. However, my current Pioneer 51 is region free for SD DVD and so far the Oppo cannot be made region free at all. Also, it seems the Pioneer has a few more picture controls. I really, really want the Oppo, I love the way it looks and the 983 I used to have was top notch, however with this Pioneer I just can't justify the purchase. The only real upside in my setup to the Oppo is speed, but the Pioneer's speed doesn't bother me at all.

That said, I still prefer my PC for Bluray playback from a PQ standpoint. On my setup, my PC has slightly more of a 3D/realistic look and is slightly sharper, but yet extremely natural looking. Only downside, I'm limited to legacy audio or 2 channel lossless. One day I'll be able to bitstream from my PC...

[didihala]

Originally Posted by kostiko

I would steer away from this model...I passed through two units with firmware bugs. Initially they were loaded with version 1.08 but just trying to switch from HDMI to S-Video will freeze the unit and a hard reset would be necessary. So I downloaded the latest update (1.25a) which solved the initial problem... but it created other 'monster'. If you play a bluray disc and feel the necessity to go to sleep before the end of it, do not power off the machine. It will resume the disc without any sound. It won't do this if DVD discs are played. So I thought that it is something wrong with the TV set. Packed everything and went back to the dealer and performed the same scenario at his location with a different TV brand. Of course that the result was the same meaning bad. I was a Pioneer lover (I still have three strong playing DV-410). To add insult, today Pioneer Electronics North America, removed any firmware support from their support page. I called Customer Support and 'surprisingly' they seemed blank and the only response was to bring the machine at their location. Oh yeah.. Like I would spend $500+ (I live in Canada) and my time for this kind of experiment. All I needed was a nice player (see the amount spent) with the least problems based on Pioneer reputation. So finally, again after I passed through two units, and a Panasonic BD-55 returned after one week because of random picture freezing (laser problems) I ended up with Sony S550. And I hate Sony but it was the only option left in this range of price/quality. I keep my finger crossed but until now, no obvious problems. The up converting of Pioneer and the sound quality were great but I don't expect to hard reset the unit every time when watching a bluray disc. And as specified in this forum, when comes to picture quality in bluray playing, is really hard to make a difference in-between Pioneer and Sony. So my message as stated, steer away while you can... Maybe in the future they will do a better job and win again confidence...

I had a S550 and I returned it and got the 51FD, why? B/C Sony has removed the Frame by Frame button/feature, very dumb in my opinion. I've tried both and as far as picture quality and upconversion is concerned, they both are excellent. 51FD doesn't have internal decoding of DTS-HD MA, but my receiver does, so no big deal for me. 51FD doesn't have an ethernet port, again I don't mind, I am not a fan of downloading stuff from the Net, I just like to watch BD movies. I tried that with the S550 and didn't care for it. I burn CDs for the f/wupgrade.

I've had the 51FD over two months and have watched at least 50 movies (both BD and DVD) and never had any problems . I am using the f/w version 1.25a.

Finally, I am not sure what you're talking about regarding Pioneer removing f/m upgrades from their site? Here is the link:

http://pioneerusa.com/PUSA/Support/H....Support?tab=B

--------------------------
Pioneer PDP-5050HD
Sony STR-DA5300ES
Pioneer BDP-51FD
Sony BDP-S300

[SatinKzo]

I think the firmware on the website comment comes from Pioneer sometimes has updates over weekends that for some reason, removie navigation links to the firmware, but if you have a direct link to the page, it's fine.

I am really looking at one of the pioneer (51fd now that prices are dropping) or one of the new models for another player in my house, especially for the upconversion.

[cbm1965]

Originally Posted by SatinKzo

I think the firmware on the website comment comes from Pioneer sometimes has updates over weekends that for some reason, removie navigation links to the firmware, but if you have a direct link to the page, it's fine.

I am really looking at one of the pioneer (51fd now that prices are dropping) or one of the new models for another player in my house, especially for the upconversion.

You should get it. It now down to the $350 range. Myself I spent an extra hundred and bought the Denon 2500btci. Picture was a little more detail then the Pioneer Elite.

[SatinKzo]

Originally Posted by cbm1965

You should get it. It now down to the $350 range. Myself I spent an extra hundred and bought the Denon 2500btci. Picture was a little more detail then the Pioneer Elite.

Heck, I see it for $280 shipped online.