Pioneer BDP-51FD - Blu-ray disc player - Upscaling

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!

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.

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!