Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-ray Player (December 2008 Home Theater magazine Review info)

[HDTV1080P]

On page 86 and 87 of the December 2008 Home Theater magazine there is a professional review on the Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-ray Player. The Pioneer BDP-51FD has excellent picture and sound quality but it is only a profile 1.1 player. According to the review the menu navigation is unacceptable and the way the player operates in speed is frustrating. Hopefully Pioneer will fix these issues with future BLU-RAY players that come to market. Pioneer is known for having the best Plasma screens in terms of picture quality with correct 1080P/24 refresh rates compared to any other company. When it comes to BLU-RAY players according to several reviews nothing beats the Panasonic DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55 in overall quality.

QUOTE
"As mentioned before, this player's operability is pretty frustrating. This applies to Blu-ray and DVD playback equally.DVD load times were quite excessive, and menu navigation were unacceptable. Once I had a disc playing the BDP-51FD did deliver the goods, with great-looking HD video and audio support."
"The BDP-51FD is a Profile 1.1 player that supports Bonus View features but lacks a LAN connection and BD-Live support. At $599, I was a bit surprised that it lacks BD-LIVE or an upgrade path to BD-LIVE, but the rest of the feature set is pretty impressive."

http://hometheatermag.com/discplayer...yer/index.html

[Zman2k2]

I agree pretty much with everything there. The menus are a little frustrating at times, and the load time isn't where I feel it should be. Not being profile 2.0 wasn't a big thing for me though. But the picture, OH THE PICTURE! One of the best pictures I've seen from a player so far. Now to match it up with my next purchase.....................eventually.*sigh*
TV that I want.

[jon s]

From what I have heard (and seen), firmware 1.12 (which is still being tested) resolves all of the following issues:
1. power up times increased from v1.02
2. menu response much faster
3. playback issues with Universal titles resolved
4. Lip synching issues resolved
5. scanning videos and pressing play will start at the correct position (it used to overshoot)

The latest firmware is supposed to be released shortly (but I have heard that before). DTS HD Master decoding will not be enabled in the next firmware update.

And yes... the picture and audio quality of the Pioneer is top notch... better than what I have seen on the Denon and Sonys.

[HD Man]

I have had this player since August and concur that the picture quality is outstanding!! The picture quality will match up against almost any player out there.

Firmware updates will hopefully address many of the issues mentioned in the review, but I knew the player was profile 1.1 when I made the purchase, and didn't really care if it was BD-Live ready or not. I just wanted the best picture quality and the best audio quality. When the rumored Jan 09 DTS-HDMA upgrade comes through, this player will do everything I want it to do.

I may eventually purchase a 2.0 profile player, but right now those features don't interest me at all.

[HDTV1080P]

The original magazine article is now available online for reading
http://hometheatermag.com/discplayers/pioneer_bdp-51fd_blu-ray_player/index.html

[MoPe]

Originally Posted by jon s

From what I have heard (and seen), firmware 1.12 (which is still being tested) resolves all of the following issues:
1. power up times increased from v1.02
2. menu response much faster
3. playback issues with Universal titles resolved
4. Lip synching issues resolved
5. scanning videos and pressing play will start at the correct position (it used to overshoot)

The latest firmware is supposed to be released shortly (but I have heard that before). DTS HD Master decoding will not be enabled in the next firmware update.

And yes... the picture and audio quality of the Pioneer is top notch... better than what I have seen on the Denon and Sonys.

FW 1.17 is already out and has been for months. Load times are improved and SD upconversion is supposed to be the best on any current BR player.

The PQ and AQ is still the best out there.

[didihala]

Originally Posted by HD Man

I have had this player since August and concur that the picture quality is outstanding!! The picture quality will match up against almost any player out there.

Firmware updates will hopefully address many of the issues mentioned in the review, but I knew the player was profile 1.1 when I made the purchase, and didn't really care if it was BD-Live ready or not. I just wanted the best picture quality and the best audio quality. When the rumored Jan 09 DTS-HDMA upgrade comes through, this player will do everything I want it to do.

I may eventually purchase a 2.0 profile player, but right now those features don't interest me at all.

"When the rumored Jan 09 DTS-HDMA upgrade comes through..."

Is this (DTS-HDMA internall decoding I assume?) technically possible with a F/W upgrade? I have heard otherwise. Can anyone confirm?

TIA
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