43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
Kuro Companion
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...
Great Player at a Great Price, But Buyer Beware....
I bought this player after reading great reviews here and elsewhere. I received the unit on a Thursday, and that weekend, I watched 4 Blu-ray movies and was blown away by the picture and sound. the upconversion was incredible as well.
Then came Sunday. I ran over to Fry's for a Blu-ray sale, and picked up two Fox titles. Neither would play. I got a red...
This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
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.
UPDATE 06/22/2010: I have owned this player for a year now and have been very happy with it. Some people complain about load times for the new BD-live Java discs, I'm not in a hurry and it is still far faster than the first players about a minute. I noticed that if you leave a disc in, when you turn it on it takes longer to load and be ready than from a fresh start with no disc, so if you don't plan on resuming a movie,take the disc out.
There is a trend on Blu-Ray players I have noticed since I sell them, that they have all removed any quality video processing in them. Unless your TV or projector has great video processing this is an important feature. Most main stream players use the Sigma designs proprietary decoder chip which does make the player load faster, but it just inputs video info and spits it out, no processing or cleaning up video noise, mosquito noise etc that is inherant to even Blu-ray Movies, plus subpar upscale without processing. I bought another one of these for my bedroom, they have gotten cheap on E***Y and Amazon. It is a 1.1 profile player, so no BD-Live, but I have no use for BD-Live, I just want to watch the movie.
Even Pioneers newest bdp120 and bdp320 players have stripped the nice video processing features out to bring them to the pricepoint of the mainstream. This player has the high end features the elite models have as well. Again for me the 3 stage video processing "3 Different Noise Reduction Circuits: 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." Is a must have, they have top quality processing which is obvious in their TV's. I also use the top quality Audio processing, "Wolfson(tm) Audio DACs: Each DAC features a signal-to-noise ratio of 117db. Wolfson DACs provide top-notch audio performance from music and movie soundtracks." Because I use the analog outputs. You won't see these features in the mainstream players or even Pioneers newest non elite models.
If your not interested in BD-Live and can wait a minute for the disc to load, the rest of the quality features will out way the mainstream players offerings. I don't know about you but I just want to watch the Movie with good sound and picture, don't need BD-Live to play games or chat with people. This is still a top notch Player, get it while you still can. Cheap mainstream players will make Pioneer and the like leave you with the same offerings and save the best for the Elite, no pun intended. LOL Firmware is up to 1.65
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
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!
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
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.
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
I just bought my second BDP-51FD...both bought this month (Jan '09). Obviously, considering I bought two, it's a great player. For mass-market electronics, it's hard to beat Pioneer's quality. At this price level (over 50% off MSRP), this is an absolute no-brainer and a steal! So far, It's played BD's, DVD's, DVD-R's....anything I've thrown at it with aplomb. Works great with my entry-level Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTVin my master BR, and the second unit is for my new Pioneer Kuro (Pioneer PDP-5020FD 50-Inch 1080p KURO Plasma HDTVplasma (waiting for that BIG tax return, LOL) that's going over my livingroom fireplace.
Yes, I realize that ALL BD players are "interim" devices....they're still figuring out the format specs. as I type this. To make matters worse, the studios are constantly adding new features to BD releases which muddy the waters further. As such, they are still ironing out the firmware for this (and other's) player. I have yet to ck the firmware version for my players as I have had not compatability problems, but at least Pioneer actively works out and provides firmware updates FOC to it's purchasers. Yes, I realize that this is NOT a BD Profile 2.0 player, but for the money AND considering I own ZERO (nor am I likely to own) BD's with BD-Live content, I could really care less. I also realize that the CES was just a few weeks back and that Pioneer (amongst others) have already announced their new '09 players. While they won't be available for at least a few months, it remains to be seen whether they're better than this one. One thing's for sure, you won't see those on sale at/below 50% off MSRP anytime soon!
Build quality, component quality, aesthetics (WAF=Wife Acceptance Factor) are all very high here (LOL!) and, most importantly, picture quality & sound quality are excellent. The player is quiet, despite the cooling fan, and loading times are somewhat slow but reasonable....not industry-leading by any stretch. Remote is decent, but it has lots of buttons and it is not backlit. Lots of adjustability, more than I need, and I'm a audio/videophile nut and an anal Electrical Engineer.
Bottom Line:
I DARE you to find a BETTER player for the money, PERIOD. Get 'em while you can.
Update (2/1/09):
I ck'ed the firmware version of both players (i.e., v.1.08B). The current version listed on the AVS Forum (as well as Pioneer's website) is v.1.21. It was super simple to upgrade the firmware. Instructions are on both sites. All you have to do is go to Pioneer's site and it has simple instructions on how to download the firmware and burn it to a cd-r/rw or dvd-r/rw. Then, it's just a matter of loading the disc into the player tray and the machine does the rest.
Prices have really tumbled recently. This would be my only problem with this unit, LOL!
Update (2/10/08):
I have run across my first glitchy BD. Utilizing the BonusView extra on the new (2007) Rambo [Blu-ray]causes lock-ups when you try to scan or chapter search. Pioneer just released another FW update (v.1.25a). Hopefully, this will address the small issues I experienced with this particular BD. In addition, this disc does offer a BD Live extra, a first for me, As above, this player NOT BD Live compatible. Participation in a (yet another) blog or playing a multi-user internet game doesn't turn me on, so this is (still) a non-issue for me. FWIW, If you like Rambo, Action, or Stallone flix, you'll enjoy this disc....TONS of extras as well. EDIT: The new FW flash fixed the Bonus-View issues I've experienced with the Rambo disc...Kudo's to Pioneer!
P.S., A new Pioneer Kuro 50" PDP is on order from Amazon and on it's way! It'll be tough to appreciably beat this combo PQ-wise at any price, and impossible to beat anywhere near the price. Get 'em BOTH while you can!
EDIT: Kuro is here and it is awesome! The BDP-51 was excellent with the 42" Panny, but the synergism exhibited with the Kuro plasma has to be seen to be believed. This is absolutely an edge-of-the-art reference-level system (video-wise, at least) and all for near-budget level prices! Get 'em BOTH while you still can!
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
The Blu-ray playback is beautiful but what really sold it for me was the upconverting of my old DVDs. Star Wars Episode III was almost as good as a 1080 source. The first scene where the movie is mostly CG I could understand it might be easier for the hardware to upconvert, but even the skin tones of the actors were vivid and Blu-ray-esque. My old Matrix DVD was a big dissapointment when played on my old JVC upconverting DVD player and on my 65 inch DLP but when I put it in the Pioneer that disappointment was long gone. I did have lip sync problems on Matrix Reloaded for some reason (latest firmware was installed on my unit) but Matrix Revolutions was flawless. I had been dissappointed with my old DVD collection when watching them on my 1080p big screen but now I can enjoy them all over again! Start up and load times are not the best when compared to the PS3 and Panasonic units but it is far better than my friends Sony Blu-ray from last year and the eye candy that this unit can put out whether Blu-ray or DVD makes it worth every penny.
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
I purchased this Blu-ray player to match my new 50" Pioneer Kuro 5020 TV. I was overly impressed with the combination. This is my first plasma and first blu-ray player, but they blew away my expectations. I have watched CARS and Polar Express in Blu-Ray on this and they are perfect. I also put in an old standard DVD of the Godfather to see how bad the grainy movie would appear on a large plasma display. It did a great job of upconverting the picture. It appeared to elimiate the grainy look that you get when viewing it on a normal tube tv, I can only assume that the BDP-51 is the reason for the better picture quality conversion and not just the tv I am viewing it on. I would definitely recommend this product. The only drawback is that it is not BD-Live for those of you who want to play on the internet while watching your movies (not me).
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
After doing some research, I decided that a BD Profile 2.0 player wasn't something that I needed or even wanted, so I starting looking for the best Profile 1.1 deal I could find. I decided on the Pioneer...just a few months ago this unit was selling for $600, $300 to my door was the price range I was looking for and got. So far its everything thats its cracked up to be, particularily after upgrading the firmware to 1.25a. Plays everything I've thrown into it, picture quality is incredible plus does a very nice job on audio CDs. If you have an older A/V receiver, it has analog connections so you don't have to miss out on the new codecs. I highly recommend this unit.
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
I bought this player after reading great reviews here and elsewhere. I received the unit on a Thursday, and that weekend, I watched 4 Blu-ray movies and was blown away by the picture and sound. the upconversion was incredible as well.
Then came Sunday. I ran over to Fry's for a Blu-ray sale, and picked up two Fox titles. Neither would play. I got a red screen (now known as the Red Screen of Death) when I loaded the discs that said my firmware was not up to date. This was not true, as I had updated to the latest firmware. I wondered if I had defective discs or a defective player.
I called Pioneer, and they were familiar with the problem. They said I could either return the player or send it in to them to have its hardware adjusted. Even though they admit that the problem is theirs, they were adamant that THEY WOULD NOT PAY THE SHIPPING. So, I returned it. Apparently, there are quite a few of these units that will not play Fox titles. It has something to do with the BD+ copy protection on fox discs. Most, though not all of the players are made in Malaysia. I assume that the positive reviews are for older units from Japan.
--EDIT--Since writing this review, Pioneer has come out with a news announcement about the player. Anyone thinking of getting one should visit Pioneer's website. If your player is in a certain range of serial #s, it will be one of the ones affected. I went to a store with a printout of the serial #s, and found one that is free of the problem. So, now I can play all my discs, with awesome sound and video and with great SD DVD upscaling. I highly recommend this player, but beware of the potential problems with some units.
I was unable to change my 3-star review. I would now rate it 4, considering the hassle I went through to get a working player. A working unit is a 5-star product.
---Edit Again---
I ended up returning the second player. It had a problem playing rental discs. The Panasonic BD60 that I bought as a replacement was able to play those same discs with no problem. The video and audio of the Pioneer are stellar, but there are lots of poorly made versions out there of this player. As of now, I would not recommend it.
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
Was concerned from reading all the other reviews that I would have difficulty with this since I am not overly techno literate. But I was able to copy the necessary upgrades to a disk and upgrade the unit when it arrived. Everything went just like the instructions and the picture and sound quality are excellent. Have only one actual BluRay disk but other DVDs look like BluRay on this unit. Same unit in Best Buy, highly recommended by their sales person was over twice as much. Thanks for making it available at such a great price. Delivery was on time too.
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This review is from: Pioneer BDP-51FD BonusView Blu-ray Player (Electronics)
I purchased the Pio51 through Amazon and it arrived about 10 days ago. So far I am quite pleased with both the audio and video performance. I'm using the player in a 2.1 system (Dali Euphonia MS-4) with an older Denon receiver (AVR-3805) that does not have HDMI, so I'm running HDMI directly to our Sony 60" SXRD display. I have the Pio51 connected to the Denon via high-quality analog interconnects in order to take advantage of the Pio51's superior Wolfson DAC processing. I still have quite a bit of tweaking and tuning to do within the Pio51 to optimize the audio, but so far I am quite impressed with its performance. Hopefully Pioneer will deliver DTS-MA processing through an update, which would round out the Pio51's ability to process and decode all of the latest audio codecs, though that "promise" has apparently experienced several delays.
Additionally, the video performance is quite impressive, though I'm unable to take full advantage of its capabilities because our display's native resolution is 1080p but it can only allow 1080i input even over HDMI. However, the picture is still stunning and incredibly detailed and smooth. I have not had a chance to A/B the Pio51 against our PS3 in our basement HT via our Sony Pearl front projector w/ 110" screen (which will really indicate what the Pio51 is capable of). SD-DVD discs also look excellent on the Pio51 thanks to its upconversion processing, but I have not compared it to our Denon 3910 in terms of picture quality nor have I had enough of an opportunity to critically evaluate the picture quality on its own with SD-DVD.
The Pio51, despite the affordable price tag, is nearly on par with my Denon 3910 (msrp $1100) in terms of tweakability and fine tuning for both audio and video and sports a host of convenience and performance features that will benefit entry-level and advanced users alike. Additionally, the Pioneer offers a multitude of both analog and digital connections that many other players in this price range are lacking, so users can determine what configurations work best with their specific setups.
My only complaints with the Pio51 so far are with regards to its very slow power on and disc loading times, which hover around 30+ seconds each. I don't understand why it is so incredibly slow, but it seems like a fairly big step backwards and may be a deterrent to those new to the Blu-Ray format. However, Pioneer has been providing updates on their website that consumers can download, burn to disc, and install on their players and the updates are also available directly through Pioneer's customer service. The updates (there have been several since the release of the Pio51) have addressed the speed issue, but it is still very slow. The latest update version (as of this review) is 1.25a, though my player shipped with version 1.08b (from 6Ave). Downloading, burning, and updating the player was relatively simple, though burning the .ISO file can be a bit confusing for a novice. If you're not sure how to burn the update disc, I'd recommend contacting Pioneer directly and have them mail the disc directly to you.
Pioneer seems to be providing quality support and updates for the Pio51, which is always reassuring, and hopefully future updates will continue to improve the all-around performance of this impressive player.
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