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Has anyone used the pioneer BDP-51FD? When I read the reviews they seem favorable other than the price. Now the price has dropped to $350, so I am considering this as a bedroom Blu-Ray player. I have a 50" Pioneer Kuro in that room. The audio runs through the tv since my wife refuses to let me add any more audio equipment in the bedroom.
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I've read elsewhere that this one had some issues, but overall it is a pretty good player. I expect the issues have been corrected with firmware updates. If you do a Google search on it and type in " problems" you may come up with some discussions on it. -
I had searched for reviews and the main complaints was slow load times and no LAN connection. I don't see me ever using the LAN connection. I will use it to watch movies and I never use extra features. Most of the reviews spend time praising or criticizing 20 features I will never use. I am maining concerned with video and audio quality. I am just curious if someone has personal experience with this unit.Comment
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I like the 51 and, when/if Pioneer ever updates it to include dts MA decoding, it would be a winner.
KalKal Rubinson
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"Music in the Round"
Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile
http://forum.stereophile.com/category/music-roundComment
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having owned pioneer previously in the lx70a(95hd) I think they make particualrly good BD and DVD players. I think you'll find pio have overcome with updates most of the initial issues. some minor irritations perhaps still there. but nothing I beleive to be hung up about.
the good news with pioneer is they have a forum presence and hence an ear close to the ground so tend to be extremely responsive to what the customer wants
the LAN connection which my previous lx70a(95HD) had was pretty useless I never used it for the media gallery function and a friend who bought the player off me has told me your better off burning a disc and playing it on the player than trying to use its media features, so not missing anythign there. I dont ever recall anyone using the LAN connection for updates. And since the 51 is not a bd live player it has no use for a LAN connection anyways. I have the sony 5000es myself and I havent connected over lan myself, like yourself dont really get that much into extra features.
I agree with kal once it gets updated to internally decode dts-hdma it should be quite sought after. keeping in mind if you have a avr/avp you can bitstream too the 51 will currently be able to enjoy all formats avaialble on blu-ray right now
as an aside keep in mind pioneer is bringing out a new range in april,
they are more slim line in looks, cheaper and perhaps more upto date and maybe worth waiting for
"Technology is a drug. We can't get enough of it."Comment
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i wonder if this will drive the price of the current 05fd down...Samsung UN60C6300 | Primare SP32 | Primare A30.7 | Oppo BDP-103 | PS Audio Quintet | AppleTV | ELAC 247 Black Edition | ELAC CC 241 Black Edition | B&W DM 600 S3 | SVS PC 13 Ultra | Straight Wire Virtuoso | Harmonic Technology Pro 9's | Black Sands Power CordsComment
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I like the look of the new players. This might work out perfectly. With getting a blu-ray player for the living room I will also need one for the bedroom. So maybe this will drive down the current prices for the current models and I can get a 320 in April. The only thing missing on the 120 that I want is the coax audio.Comment
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I bought one in November 2008.Originally posted by Pookie007
Video PQ and Audio analog output are astounding! Totally satisfied!
All claimed problems have been corrected since version 1.08 firmware update and we're at 1.25a!
A good place to have references on this specific model is here:
Check post #7 by "Ruined". This guy did a huge job for helping people on this Pioneer models.
Don't forget to update your firmware at times, here:
LukeComment
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I agree!
I have the Elite 05 and it is great...just needs firmware! It is a little slow to load, but as Luke mentions, Audio & Video quality are superb.Comment
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And I repeat...don't forget to update firmware!
As the update link I gave on post #8.
And for those who want to know how to update, here is a link for this...extensive but simple!
Enjoy!
LukeComment
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I use the 51 in a bedroom setup but into an Outlaw RR22150 Stereo receiver. Since all people seem to care and talk about is load times and DTS MA, it overshadows the issues you will face. LONG layer pauses on some DVDs. We are talking 2-3 secs. The Pioneer people that occasionally post over at AVS will not even acknowledge it or that they are at least trying to improve that.
There is also some odd CD track skip behavior though I doubt you will be playing CDs (excellent analog CD sound). Pretty sensitive to and scratches or smudges on all kinds of discs, more than other BD players.
Other than that it is pretty solid so far with compatibility but if I was you I would pick up a Panasonic BD60 for cheap and be done with it.Comment
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The DTS MA firmware has been released. I've been using the 51 for about 5 months now. As long as you don't mind slow load times and a slow SD DVD layer change, this is a nice player. I'll trade speed for it's virtues. Keep in mind, all the BR players have some sort of issues. I'll stick with this one for a while until the format in general makes some progress.Originally posted by Kal RubinsonComment
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What is the issue of slow SD DVD layer changes? I don't understand.
I'm looking at the 51 or the 05 as a universal player for CD, DVD upscaling and maybe some BD.
SteveComment
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When a DVD laser changes its focus from the upper to the lower layer (or is it lower to upper?) of data on the disc as it is playing a movie, it can pause momentarily which to the watcher can be interpreted as a freeze in the playback. Some players are better at it than others. Some are almost unnoticable in a change, some just take a moment, but some can be so slow that it can really be annoying. Hope this helps.Originally posted by BW4me.
David - Trigger-happy HTGuide AdminComment
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Originally posted by Pookie007That will be really important for people running the audio through their TV! :>)Originally posted by Kal Rubinson
What you DON'T say may be held against you...Comment
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If I read correctly, I believe pioneer has done this.Originally posted by Kal Rubinson
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okay, hi! welcome! :later:
CHRIS
Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
- PleasantvilleComment
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