Pioneer Elite BDP-LX500

[gkolb]

^^ Sony will NOT support HDR10+ because it’s a Samsung initiative.

Besides, with Fox sold to Disney, no major studio appears to support 10+ content.

[Waboman]

[HDTV1080P]

According to the Pioneer website the UDP-LX500 is no longer in production and has been discontinued for the United States market. The UDP-LX500 only appears in the achieved and out of production section of the Pioneer website. It is a two year old player that came out in 2018.

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/P...ayers.Archived

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/P...yers/UDP-LX500

Also it is my understanding (but needs to be verified) that for all worldwide markets both the UDP-LX500 and UDP-LX800 are out of production. In theory by December 2020 or fourth quarter of 2021 Pioneer maybe will release a replacement 4K Blu-ray player. The 2016 OPPO UDP-203 and the 2017 OPPO UDP-205 were the best 4K Blu-ray players every made to play all optical discs including SACD/DVD-Audio discs. When the OPPO went out of production in January 2018, the best option in a 4K Blu-ray player was the Pioneer models with tone mapping and SACD/DVD-Audio support. Since Pioneer is not currently making standalone 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players, the best 4K Blu-ray player for SACD/DVD-Audio playback is the Sony UBP-X1100ES for only $499, which is at least half the price of the Pioneer UDP-LX500. However the Sony does not have tone mapping and only manual Dolby Vision HDR support.

Pioneer promised a HDR10+ firmware update for the Spring of 2019 for the UDP-LX800 and UDP-LX500, however the last official firmware update was December 17th 2019 for the region A UDP-LX500 model. Maybe a firmware update for HDR10+ might come late 2020 or sometime in 2021. It is not good for customer relations to announce a firmware update and not delivering on that update.

Quote

“Pioneer has announced that it will issue a firmware update in Spring 2019 that will bring HDR10+ compatibility to its award-winning 4K Universal Disc Players, the UDP-LX800 and UDP-LX500. HDR10+ better realizes the dynamic luminance potential of Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and looks like being the preferred standard for watching high dynamic range video.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markspa.../#713f95a22787

[clifford finch]

Originally Posted by hdtv1080p

according to the pioneer website the udp-lx500 is no longer in production and has been discontinued for the united states market. The udp-lx500 only appears in the achieved and out of production section of the pioneer website. It is a two year old player that came out in 2018.

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/p...ayers.archived

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/p...yers/udp-lx500

also it is my understanding (but needs to be verified) that for all worldwide markets both the udp-lx500 and udp-lx800 are out of production. In theory by december 2020 or fourth quarter of 2021 pioneer maybe will release a replacement 4k blu-ray player. The 2016 oppo udp-203 and the 2017 oppo udp-205 were the best 4k blu-ray players every made to play all optical discs including sacd/dvd-audio discs. When the oppo went out of production in january 2018, the best option in a 4k blu-ray player was the pioneer models with tone mapping and sacd/dvd-audio support. Since pioneer is not currently making standalone 4k ultra hd blu-ray players, the best 4k blu-ray player for sacd/dvd-audio playback is the sony ubp-x1100es for only $499, which is at least half the price of the pioneer udp-lx500. However the sony does not have tone mapping and only manual dolby vision hdr support.

Pioneer promised a hdr10+ firmware update for the spring of 2019 for the udp-lx800 and udp-lx500, however the last official firmware update was december 17th 2019 for the region a udp-lx500 model. Maybe a firmware update for hdr10+ might come late 2020 or sometime in 2021. It is not good for customer relations to announce a firmware update and not delivering on that update.

Quote

“pioneer has announced that it will issue a firmware update in spring 2019 that will bring hdr10+ compatibility to its award-winning 4k universal disc players, the udp-lx800 and udp-lx500. Hdr10+ better realizes the dynamic luminance potential of ultra hd blu-ray discs and looks like being the preferred standard for watching high dynamic range video.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markspa.../#713f95a22787

i miss oppo

[Misioon_Odisea]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

According to the Pioneer website the UDP-LX500 is no longer in production and has been discontinued for the United States market. The UDP-LX500 only appears in the achieved and out of production section of the Pioneer website. It is a two year old player that came out in 2018.

If only more high-end options for a player remained... So the final one left is Panasonic's DP-UB9000? Darn, I wish anything new gets announced for next year or soon. I will never subscribe to any film streaming service, ever.

[RalphoR]

The LX500 is one helluva 4k player. It's a shame that Pioneer isn't following it up with a newer model (as far as we know).

[danny24]

The BDP-LX500 about to have inflated second hand Oppo prices since it's discontinued. I did try and purchase one from some bidding site at a fixed price but they cancelled my order and refunded me (it wasn't eBay). The supplier cancelled. I wish that would have went through I love Pioneer players and Plasma's. I have the BDP-88FD though (just 4K upscaling, no UHD) but such a well built monster of a spinner. Anyway I almost owned an LX500 but the vendor cancelled it for whatever reason. It sucks it's discontinued.

Originally Posted by RalphoR

The LX500 is one helluva 4k player. It's a shame that Pioneer isn't following it up with a newer model (as far as we know).

No guarantee they will make anymore UHD players for the USA market, all you can do is hope they do.

If they don't make anymore it means these players like Oppo, Panasonic, Pioneer will sell for inflated second hand prices. Demand is there but maybe not enough for manufacturers. I hope they keep making newer models.

Originally Posted by clifford finch

i miss oppo

It's hard not to. They made some of the best spinners. The prices were the best value out there but some people took it for granted and complained about their prices. Not me.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by danny24

It's hard not to. They made some of the best spinners. The prices were the best value out there but some people took it for granted and complained about their prices. Not me.

IMO, the Oppo 203 was way under priced compared to many other similar items that I have purchased. Example, 1985 Pioneer LaserDisc CLD-900 - $1100 ($2657 in 2020) ● 1985 Sony Beta Hi-F SL-HF900 - $1050 ($2536 in 2020) ● 1997 Sony DVP-S7000 DVD player - $1000 ($1619 in 2020) ● 2006 Panasonic DMP-BD10 Blu-ray player - $1050 ($1354 in 2020).

I knew that I should have purchased a 2nd Oppo UDP-203 but did not. Just hope mine last a very long time. I do have a Sony UBP-1000 that I use to spin BD disc as well.

[BijouMan]

According to their Australian site, the UDP-LX800 (a larger model with a high-end DAC system not available in the U.S.) will be available in February 2021. I hope this means the UDP-LX500 will be either re-released or replaced with a successor (if they do, I hope they figure out how to stick a Wi-Fi module on the back, which Panasonic has already done on their high-end machine, and I hope they don't get rid of DVD-Audio support like Yamaha did with their last line of Blu-ray players.) in the U.S. With CES coming up, we may just see something new. The company can't really do much in the way of production or customer service right now because of the ongoing crisis, so I hope they don't end up losing so much that they end up going out of business. What is ironic is that you can still get their Ultra HD Blu-ray drives for computers, but I don't know if you'll even be able to watch Ultra HD Blu-rays on your computer in the future (see this thread: 4K UHD Blu-ray Playback on PC Desktop is officially dead in 2021?).

[Paul.R.S]

Originally Posted by BijouMan

Also, if any of you have any DVD-Audio DualDiscs, do they play as DVD-Audio on this machine? The manuals for a lot of their previous DVD-Audio-capable models says "DVD-Audio content will not play" in the DualDisc section, while the manual for this machine doesn't. (Maybe that was just a misprint in the manuals for those previous models, I don't know, you'll have to test that out if you have one of those.)

I'd wager they'll play fine. That verbiage was probably in the manual as a "CYA"/disclaimer since technically UMG's Duals that have DVD-A-encoded content are not DVD-Audio discs. It's not unlike some slot-loading car disc players had disclaimers in the manual advising against playing Duals (as they might get jammed since the disc is technically not a CD either).

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

According to the Pioneer website the UDP-LX500 is no longer in production and has been discontinued for the United States market. The UDP-LX500 only appears in the achieved and out of production section of the Pioneer website. It is a two year old player that came out in 2018.

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/P...ayers.Archived

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/P...yers/UDP-LX500

Also it is my understanding (but needs to be verified) that for all worldwide markets both the UDP-LX500 and UDP-LX800 are out of production. In theory by December 2020 or fourth quarter of 2021 Pioneer maybe will release a replacement 4K Blu-ray player. The 2016 OPPO UDP-203 and the 2017 OPPO UDP-205 were the best 4K Blu-ray players every made to play all optical discs including SACD/DVD-Audio discs. When the OPPO went out of production in January 2018, the best option in a 4K Blu-ray player was the Pioneer models with tone mapping and SACD/DVD-Audio support. Since Pioneer is not currently making standalone 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players, the best 4K Blu-ray player for SACD/DVD-Audio playback is the Sony UBP-X1100ES for only $499, which is at least half the price of the Pioneer UDP-LX500. However the Sony does not have tone mapping and only manual Dolby Vision HDR support.

Pioneer promised a HDR10+ firmware update for the Spring of 2019 for the UDP-LX800 and UDP-LX500, however the last official firmware update was December 17th 2019 for the region A UDP-LX500 model. Maybe a firmware update for HDR10+ might come late 2020 or sometime in 2021. It is not good for customer relations to announce a firmware update and not delivering on that update.

Quote

“Pioneer has announced that it will issue a firmware update in Spring 2019 that will bring HDR10+ compatibility to its award-winning 4K Universal Disc Players, the UDP-LX800 and UDP-LX500. HDR10+ better realizes the dynamic luminance potential of Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and looks like being the preferred standard for watching high dynamic range video.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markspa.../#713f95a22787

Shame they discontinued it. The the UDP-LX500 is beautiful I love mine. At least there is now confirmation.

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by BijouMan

Like I said, hopefully they will release a new line of players and the HDR10+ update for UDP-LX500 and UDP-LX800 owners. The crisis should be over soon.

First if they are exiting the market don't expect an update to HDR10+. Second I hope they will as BTTF Trilogy is listed as having it.

[danny24]

Originally Posted by BijouMan

Pioneer never explicitly said that they are exiting the disc player market, unlike OPPO Digital. It’s only because of the ongoing crisis that is inhibiting production, development and customer service (Pioneer is a rather small company catering to high-end users). The UDP-LX500 was effectively Pioneer’s response to OPPO Digital’s discontinuation and I even hear it uses the same MediaTek chipset from the last OPPO models. They even used higher-quality components than OPPO Digital ever used (I love the disc tray sound!) The market can’t afford to lose this class of universal player, so they need to release a new lineup of players. They probably will soon as the crisis will end soon and the company will get back to business again. By the way, the Back to the Future Trilogy will have both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision encoded on the same disc.

Pioneer has a chance to be Oppo like in the USA market by offering two quality UHD players every few years. One for regular users and one for audiophiles. I wish the LX800 entered the USA market it's so well built like the 88FD model. Hoping Pioneer continues to make UHD players and future models are more universal and better (exfat support for USB would be good, USB3 inputs please).

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

IMO, the Oppo 203 was way under priced compared to many other similar items that I have purchased. Example, 1985 Pioneer LaserDisc CLD-900 - $1100 ($2657 in 2020) ● 1985 Sony Beta Hi-F SL-HF900 - $1050 ($2536 in 2020) ● 1997 Sony DVP-S7000 DVD player - $1000 ($1619 in 2020) ● 2006 Panasonic DMP-BD10 Blu-ray player - $1050 ($1354 in 2020).

I knew that I should have purchased a 2nd Oppo UDP-203 but did not. Just hope mine last a very long time. I do have a Sony UBP-1000 that I use to spin BD disc as well.

I think Oppo still fixes players but you have to pay a flat rate fee I think of $100 and shipping to them maybe since they are no longer in warranty. So if your 203 has issues it can still be fixed. The Sony UBP-1000ES is a good spinner, no DV just HDR but it's still very good.

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by BijouMan

According to their Australian site, the UDP-LX800 (a larger model with a high-end DAC system not available in the U.S.) will be available in February 2021. I hope this means the UDP-LX500 will be either re-released or replaced with a successor (if they do, I hope they figure out how to stick a Wi-Fi module on the back, which Panasonic has already done on their high-end machine, and I hope they don't get rid of DVD-Audio support like Yamaha did with their last line of Blu-ray players.) in the U.S. With CES coming up, we may just see something new. The company can't really do much in the way of production or customer service right now because of the ongoing crisis, so I hope they don't end up losing so much that they end up going out of business. What is ironic is that you can still get their Ultra HD Blu-ray drives for computers, but I don't know if you'll even be able to watch Ultra HD Blu-rays on your computer in the future (see this thread: 4K UHD Blu-ray Playback on PC Desktop is officially dead in 2021?).

Well with the LX-500 gone the best player on the market is now this Panasonic UB 900

[BijouMan]

Originally Posted by Waboman

HDR10+ is not dead. It will always be relevant because although Dolby Vision is more popular, some filmmakers don't want to pay Dolby's licensing fees, so they will encode their discs in HDR10+ to achieve a higher level of picture quality than the basic HDR10.

[BijouMan]

Have any of you had freezing issues with the James Bond 4K Ultra HD discs? Someone on another forum is having freezing issues with all four of them.

[chip75]

Is it still breaking news?

[Waboman]

Originally Posted by chip75

Is it still breaking news?

HDR10+ was never breaking news. Was dead on arrival. Oh, do you mean Pioneer? Yeah, they're dead too.

[HDTV1080P]

While companies like OPPO Digital INC have left the consumer electronics home theater industry, Pioneer Electronics is still making home theater equipment like 4K Ultra HD BD-ROM drives for computers, A/V receivers, and they might have a new standalone 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player coming in late 2020 or sometime in 2021.

The only company currently making Blu-ray players that play SACD/DVD Audio discs is the two latest 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray models from Sony. While they are not as good of players as the Pioneer, the Sony's do cost around 50-70% less in price.

[HDTV1080P]

Back in 2008 and early 2009 before Pioneer stopped making plasma displays, the last generation of Pioneer Elite Signature series plasmas were engineered in Japan and assembled in the USA using high quality hand inspected parts from around the world. Modern Pioneer A/V receivers and Blu-ray players are engineered in Japan and a automated robotic factory in China using very high quality parts assembles those products.

So maybe things will get back to normal in 2021, at least I hope so.