Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player

Other products by Pioneer

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 16.5 x 4.9 inches ; 12.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 17 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B001A5NGZU
• Item model number: BDP-51FD
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,569 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Televisions & Video > Disc Players & Recorders > Blu-ray Disc Players

• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 29, 2008

Product Description

Manufacturer's Description -- July 20, 2008

Elevating the high definition experience in home theaters, Pioneer Electronics presents the BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Disc player with support of next generation high resolution audio and video formats that fulfill the emotional experience of high end entertainment.  Featuring picture-in-picture interactivity and a redesigned platform that significantly improves overall performance, this player works in tandem with Pioneer’s KURO displays and A/V receivers to provide film enthusiasts the most true-to-life reproduction of HD feature films.

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Connections

Terminals HDMI Output Component Video Output Composite Video Output S-Video Output 7.1-Channel Audio Output 2-Channel Audio Output Coaxial Digital Output Optical Digital Output SR Input

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Cinematic Picture Quality

Pioneer has continued to enhance high performance DVD playback with the inclusion of the proprietary and advanced PureCinema Deinterlacer, which essentially eliminates lines that can negatively affect the viewing experience.  DVDs can be scaled to a 1080p resolution for improved picture quality and compatibility with HDTVs.

Taking advantage of HDMI 1.3a technology, Pioneer brings film aficionados to the frontier of next generation entertainment with the most cutting edge video processing available.  The BDP-51FD supports 12-bit video digital-to-analog converter (DAC) providing exceptional analog video performance.  12-Bit Deep Color delivers an unprecedented range of hues and shades resulting in pristine, realistic imagery that was not possible with previous generations.  For early technology adopters, this player is a great investment that will continually meet the advancements of HD home entertainment technology.  

Pioneer’s 1080p / True 24 frames per second (fps) video output offers smooth performance of film-based Blu-ray Disc movies that greatly reduces image judder.  By preserving the feature film scene cadence in which Blu-ray Disc titles are authored and feature films are captured, viewers gain a natural, high quality movie viewing experience just as they would in the theater.

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Dynamic Audio Enhances Emotional Experience

Pioneer recognizes the vital importance that sound plays in creating an emotional home entertainment experience and for film aficionados who want to gain the full impact of high resolution movie soundtracks. 

he BDP-51FD is one of the industry’s first players to support all advanced audio formats, with the ability to decode Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus, DTS HD and DTS HD Master high-resolution audio formats, which also enables advanced connectivity that makes compatibility a minimal concern.  Consumers will hear the subtle nuances and deep bass in their favorite films to bring an unprecedented listening experience that transcends what was previously thought possible in home theater. 

Typically utilized by high end audio manufacturers and professional audio equipment, Pioneer selected professional quality Wolfson Digital Audio Converters (DACs) to ensure the highest level audio performance that sound engineers intended audiences to experience.  

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Robust Build Quality

The BDP-51FD features a supreme build construction and attention to detail to ensure unrivaled content performance.  The BDP-51FD defines premium performance with high quality parts, a center loading tray which helps reduce vibration as well as  dedicated audio and video boards for smooth operation and uninterrupted playback of discs.

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Pioneer Home Theater Synergy

Performing in concert with KURO displays and the upcoming Elite  A/V receivers (SC-05 or SC-07), Pioneer's Blu-ray Disc players complete the home entertainment experience, allowing consumers to immerse themselves in stunning HD content. 

Pioneer engineers developed unique performance settings to ensure subtle details, vivid colors and deep shadows are accurately reproduced when shown on KURO displays.  When selecting the "Pioneer PDP" in the video adjust mode, the player will output the appropriate signal to a connected KURO and deliver the best possible image possible for viewers.

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Consumer Convenience

Due to the exclusive chip set design and build quality Pioneer is now utilizing, significant strides in speed performance have been made with the new players to now rival the rapid playback rate consumers have come to experience when using their DVD players.  This platform greatly improves disc load, power on, power off and disc eject times.

With a continued focus on unifying the appearance and enhancing the operation of its home theater products, Pioneer has integrated the same graphic user interface found on its KURO displays and new Elite receivers.    Through the player, users can customize their viewing experience via the Video Adjust menu, which provides a series of image modifications (LCD, PDP, Pioneer PDP, projector and professional) to optimize the picture displayed on a connected HDTV.  Pioneer takes image quality a step further with the exclusive Picture Control Suite, which is comprised of an additional 13 video adjustments that allow viewers to fine tune small picture details of a film and deliver an experience that best suits a user’s viewing preferences.

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Key Features

• Spectacular 1080p Picture Quality: The BDP-51FD provides up to 1920 x 1080p resolution for an unrivaled picture quality. And with True24FPS, now see your movies as the director intended.
• Single-Wire Connection: One HDMI 1.3a digital connection is all you need from the BDP-51FD to output both HD audio and video signals to your HDMI-capable A/V receiver or HD flat panel. Compared to typical connections, the HDMI interface replaces multiple cords without degradation in signal quality between components. HDMI 1.3a also provides 12-bit deep color support, improving subtle gradations between colors.
• HDMI Control: Master your home theater universe. The BDP-51FD supports HDMI Control, which allows you to seamlessly control all your HDMI Control-equipped Pioneer A/V equipment with a single remote.
• Wolfson Audio DACs: Each DAC features a signal-to-noise ratio of 117db. Wolfson DACs provide top-notch audio performance from music and movie soundtracks.
• Exclusive Jitter Reduction Circuit: Utilizing a Pioneer developed IC, this circuit digitally reshapes the waveform of the audio clock to greatly reduce jitter for all content.
• Frequency Control Circuit: By tuning the low-pass filter, waveform distortion of the coaxial digital output is greatly reduced for improved audio performance.
• Picture Control Suite: 13 different video adjustments (Progressive Motion, PureCinema, YNR, CNR, BNR, MNR, Detail, White Level, Black Level, Black Setup, Gamma Correction, Hue, and Chroma Level)
• 3D Noise Reduction: based on pixel-per-pixel basis to reduce Gaussian Noise without blurring the image.
• Block and Mosquito Noise Reduction: to enhance poorly created content.
• BonusView Support: Independent High-Definition simultaneous video streams. Watch your Blu-ray disc movies while watching the bonus features at the same time. (Picture-in-Picture)
• 7.1 Channel Analog Audio Outputs: for compatibility with non-HDMI equipped receivers and preamps.
• Internal Audio Decoders: The BDP-51FD features internal decoding of all advanced audio formats including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD High Resolution, and DTS-HD Master. The BDP‑51FD also provides bitstream audio over the HDMI jack of all of the above formats.
• Easy Operation and Setup: New Advanced HD GUIs for easy navigation.
• Latest Generation PureCinema Deinterlacer
• Multi-Format Compatibilty: The BDP-51FD is compatible with BD‑ROM, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD-Video, DVD-R (Video Mode) / RW (Video Mode), and CD media.
  

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Specifications

Feature	Pioneer BDP-51FD
BonusView	Yes
HDMI 1.3a	Yes, 12-bit Deep Color
Advanced Audio Bitstream	Yes, All Formats
Advanced Audio Decoding	Dolby Digital Plus/Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD/DTS HD Master*
Wolfson Professional Audio DACs	Yes x 4
High Quality Video DACs	148.5Mhz 12-Bit
Jitter-free HDMI Audio with PQLS	Yes
Picture Control Suite	Yes
7.1 Channel Analog Output	Yes
Gold Plated Connectors	No
Aluminum Front Panel	No
Capacitance Touch Key Buttons	No
New Graphic User Interface	Yes
Warranty	1 Year

Product Description

Experience Blu-ray content in a whole new way. Open your eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities. A world unlike anything youve ever known. Where watching movies and entertainment at home will never feel the same again. And everything you see, hear and feel is more thrilling than you ever thought possible. Brace yourself for the wonders of spectacular 1080p resolution and for unrivaled image quality. A world where True24FPS ensures every movie you watch is now viewed just as the director intended. Set your sights on a single-wire connection so technologically advanced now one HDMI® digital connection is all you need to output both HD audio and video signals to your HDMI capable A/V receiver or HD flat panel. Get ready for a world where pictures and music come together in a brand new way on a Blu-ray Disc Player with HDMI control, powered from a single remote. Delivering 3 different noise reduction circuits, 7.1 channel analog audio outputs and internal audio output, this Blu-ray Disc Player brings added dimension and more stunning detail to everything you see, hear and feel. Its a world where years of technological innovation make everything youve ever seen or heard before ordinary and mundane by comparison. Where WolfsonTM Audio DACs  featuring a signal-to-noise ratio of 117db provide the purest, most pristine music and movie soundtrack performance available. And an exclusive Jitter Reduction Circuit utilizes Pioneer-developed IC to digitally reshape the waveform of the audio clock. Empowering the Pioneer BDP-51FD with a stunningly impressive ability to reduce jitter in every piece of content you see or hear. All of which create a home theater experience...so unbelievably thrilling, it will move you in ways you never knew possible. Ultimately, its a world so completely different, so beyond extraordinary...it will change the way you look, listen and feel about watching movies at home, forever.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kuro Companion, October 25, 2008

By	Shawn Sombret "Audiophile" (Spokane, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pros: I have owned 6 blu-ray players before this one from brands like Sony and LG, all great players, but this one right out of the box shines quality, Only player I have seen to upscale to 12 bit deep color, loads fast, responds to menus well, quiet operation, will pass all HD audio bit stream and decodes HD audio, some people complain when there is no backlight on the remote, its nice but I'm not a remote critic, if it does its job then good enough. Works seemless with the picture on a Pioneer Kuro plasma, a must have.

Cons: firmware came as 1.00, it won't let me play The Matrix on Blu-Ray, but Pioneer responded the next day, they will send me the 1.08 update, so be prepared to update.

Other Thoughts: Movie makers keep messing around with the JAVA for NEW features, they need to settle down so our players don't need an update every 3 months when a new movie comes out on disc.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love this unit (update your firmware!), November 20, 2008

By	C. Duncan (Southeastern USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I got this unit from Amazon at almost 1/3 off the MSRP; at that price I almost feel guilty. This is among the higher-quality BluRay players with regard to picture and audio quality. So far I've watched about a half dozen movies on it and I couldn't possibly love it more. My A/V receiver predates HDMI, so I needed a player with multichannel audio outputs. This unit has high-quality Wolfson DACs that really produce outstanding sound.

Perhaps the most important thing to be said about this player (any current player, for that matter), is you must *update your firmware*! As of this writing the current firmware version is 1.17 (my unit arrived with version 1.02 installed) and it fixes a ton of bugs present in earlier versions. Current firmware and instructions for installation can be easily found on the Pioneer USA website with a little patience. Still missing currently is the ability of this unit to decode DTS Master Audio, but it is promised in an any-day-now firmware upgrade; there are few BluRay units that shipped with DTS MA decoding ability, so Pioneer isn't particularly far behind any other manufacturer in this regard.

One thing to note is this player is a Profile 1.1 player and NOT a Profile 2.0 player, meaning it does not support BluRay Live content that is downloadable from the internet. Personally, I could not care less. There is very little BluRay Live content out there now that is worthwhile, and the BR Live processing and downloading is often mentioned as a performance drag on units that support it. Picture and audio quality are what mattered to me, and this unit delivers in spades.

EDIT 06/09/09: Editing to update info. As of 06/04/09, Firmware 1.32 does indeed enable in-player decoding of DTS Master Audio. It sounds outstanding!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The power user's Blu-ray player of choice., November 24, 2008

By	Ruined (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

The Pioneer BDP-51FD is one of the most well built Blu-ray players under $500 you will find in the market. And, with its latest v1.17 firmware virtually all of the bugs have been squashed plus DVD upconversion is now superior even to high end chipsets like Silicon Optix Reon. Pretty amazing what big strides this player has made in a short period of time.

The Wolfsen DACs provide outstanding analog audio and the many A/V tweaks such as the Source Direct feature will keep tweakheads happy for a long time to come.

While this player is not as user-friendly as some of the competition, once you've delved into all of its settings you will find that you can maximize A/V quality in a way not possible with other players.

Highly recommended for the moderately experienced (or expert) home theater enthusiast!! Nothing else in this pricerange comes close.