Pioneer BDP-51FD - thoughts

EndersShadow

So I picked up this player from Conradicles and its still on its way so I dont have it yet.

I was talking to DSkip about this and wanted some thoughts from others as well.

Right now I have a Sony BDP-1590 blu-ray player in my main system. It plays blu-rays but wont play DVD's:question:. Originally I was thinking about waiting to replace it with something like a Oppo 95 or even 105 so I had a universal player in my main system.

But with this player coming in I am thinking about using it downstairs instead of the BDP-1590. Besides the fact the Pioneer is a SUPER SLOW LOADING PLAYER, what other con's are there to this (i.e. the 1590 v 51FD)? They both do blu-rays, dvd's and CD's (neither does SACD or DVD-A I believe).

I know I am going to lose Pandora/Netflix which the Pioneer doesnt have, but I am pretty sure I can get those from either my TV or Xbox 360.

So would love thoughts on this.

Yes I realize I can just try it and find out, but was wanting some thoughts on it before I have to redo the entire wiring setup in my rack lol.

I also have a Denon 3910 which I could use for everything but blu-ray, but I want to simplify as much as possible lol...

Conradicles

Dan...what AVR or Pre will this be feeding in your downstairs system?

EndersShadow

Conradicles wrote: »

Dan...what AVR or Pre will this be feeding in your downstairs system?

Integra DTR 5.9.

jon s

Pioneer BDP-051FD has great picture quality, but like you said, it is very slow if not the slowest player. Loading a disc can take a couple of minutes. The biggest problem is that the Pioneer no longer loads the latest Fox titles because of the new Java coding on Blu-Ray discs. I cannot play titles such as "Life of Pi", "Skyfall", "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". The player just stops loading the disc. Unless Pioneer comes out with a firmware update, this will be an ongoing issue. It's been a year since Pioneer released a firmware update and from what I understand, they might not support this model anymore (along with the same generation BDP-05FD Elite and BDP-09FD Elite which also exhibit the same problems).

Compounding the issue, these players seem to be failing quite often now as the optical assembly are failing. Pioneer no longer has drive assemblies available. The drives are also not interchangeable. You cannot pull a drive from one BDP51 and put it in another. For some stupid reason, EACH individual drive is coded to each player. If a drive is swapped and and not re-flashed, the drive will simply not work.

How do I know all this? I have a couple of BDP05, BDP09 and BDP51s and they are all exhibiting issues now.

ambiophonics

Makes me think I made the right choice ordering the Sony S790 instead of pursuing some of these older models...

F1nut

The biggest problem is that the Pioneer no longer loads the latest Fox titles because of the new Java coding on Blu-Ray discs. I cannot play titles such as "Life of Pi", "Skyfall", "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". The player just stops loading the disc. Unless Pioneer comes out with a firmware update, this will be an ongoing issue.

Have you loaded the last update? Skyfall wouldn't play in my 05, loaded the update, plays perfectly. The load time got better too, but that never bothered me anyway as it was never a couple of minutes.

cnh

EndersShadow wrote: »

So I picked up this player from Conradicles and its still on its way so I dont have it yet.

I was talking to DSkip about this and wanted some thoughts from others as well.

Right now I have a Sony BDP-1590 blu-ray player in my main system. It plays blu-rays but wont play DVD's:question:. Originally I was thinking about waiting to replace it with something like a Oppo 95 or even 105 so I had a universal player in my main system.

But with this player coming in I am thinking about using it downstairs instead of the BDP-1590. Besides the fact the Pioneer is a SUPER SLOW LOADING PLAYER, what other con's are there to this (i.e. the 1590 v 51FD)? They both do blu-rays, dvd's and CD's (neither does SACD or DVD-A I believe).

I know I am going to lose Pandora/Netflix which the Pioneer doesnt have, but I am pretty sure I can get those from either my TV or Xbox 360.

So would love thoughts on this.

Yes I realize I can just try it and find out, but was wanting some thoughts on it before I have to redo the entire wiring setup in my rack lol.

I also have a Denon 3910 which I could use for everything but blu-ray, but I want to simplify as much as possible lol...

Isn't that a SAMSUNG player? Sony has no such numbering? Also, I've never seen a BDP that cannot play a DVD?

Regardless. The Pioneer plays all my DVDs fine. And what Blu-rays I've put into it--though none recently. It will also sound much "better" with CDs than that Samsung!

I don't understand why people keep saying these players "fail"! I've never had any problems with mine? Maybe I just don't USE it enough!

How often do those of you who have had failures use your machines? I'm curious! As these seem to be "solid" players, they have some heft, and decent assembly, certainly much better than those 4-5 lbs units everyone sells these days for less than 300?

cnh

EndersShadow

cnh wrote: »

Isn't that a SAMSUNG player? Sony has no such numbering? Also, I've never seen a BDP that cannot play play DVDs

cnh

It is a Samsung. And it's broke because it hasn't played DVDs for over a year. I called Samsung and was told to wait for a firmware update lol... Which I know is all kinds of wrong, but the spoke broken English and pissed me off so I gave up.

So no more Samsung stuff for me as a result.

mantis

Players are tuff anymore. It's not the good ole days like when the 3910 was new. It was easy back then. Today and just a few years ago with Bu ray ,Updates , Updates , Updates. It's constant and very annoying IMO.
Buying a player is slightly Disappointing today , they don't really build them like the 51fd anymore. That was the last of the great build quality from Pioneer and Pioneer Elite in the 05. I really wish they retained or bettered their players , but they didn't , they got worse and worse.
Owning the 51 I believe is a good thing. Its built well and performs. Keep it updated and I believe you'll enjoy it.
if you want simple , then you should consider a Oppo , Cambridge Audio , Denon or Marantz player. They are all in one players that play everything.

EndersShadow

mantis wrote: »

Players are tuff anymore. It's not the good ole days like when the 3910 was new. It was easy back then. Today and just a few years ago with Bu ray ,Updates , Updates , Updates. It's constant and very annoying IMO.
Buying a player is slightly Disappointing today , they don't really build them like the 51fd anymore. That was the last of the great build quality from Pioneer and Pioneer Elite in the 05. I really wish they retained or bettered their players , but they didn't , they got worse and worse.
Owning the 51 I believe is a good thing. Its built well and performs. Keep it updated and I believe you'll enjoy it.
if you want simple , then you should consider a Oppo , Cambridge Audio , Denon or Marantz player. They are all in one players that play everything.

Well its good that I have a Denon 3910 and a Pio BDP-51FD then lol.

I think the Pio will be better than the crappy Samsung BDP-1590 I have now that wont play DVD's lol.

Either way I have a good lineup of DAC's to run through my 2 channel.......

jon s

F1nut wrote: »

Have you loaded the last update? Skyfall wouldn't play in my 05, loaded the update, plays perfectly. The load time got better too, but that never bothered me anyway as it was never a couple of minutes.

I do have the latest firmware loaded in all my players... They still don't work. There are numerous postings on this at AVS.

F1nut

Try loading it again. Both of my 05's play Skyfall without issue.

jon s

still don't work....

F1nut

Sorry to hear that, perhaps a call to Pioneer might help. I believe they will send you a factory update disc for the asking.

jon s

I already have the latest update on all my players... I think it's time for newer updates but from what my dealer said, Pioneer no longer supported these models....

cnh

What's the deal with "all" the "updates" on these? I've done most of them and I can't see why there is always ONE more to do!

Why can't manufacturers of BR disks just let us play the MAIN movie without the "need" for updates? Certainly, we've been able to do that with the previous format for years! I have an old Philips player that plays EVERYTHING, EVERYTIME on its ORIGINAL firmware (DVDs, that is).

Do we really need to interact with the movie every "freaking" second that its on? Or are we actually going to watch it?

It's like we're trying to turn watching a movie into a GAMING experience. Each has its place. If this trend continues, ART will be watered down to the point where any viewer can remake whatever he/she is watching....as if everyone of us is an Autuer?

I guaranty you, that "we" are NOT!

cnh

gce

This was my first bd player and it served me well. As everyone knows this machine is slow loading and very sensitive. Because it's outdated and glitchy I moved on. I have the 51 sitting in the closet and really don't know what I'm going to do with it. Maybe hook it up in the bedroom.

cnh

Use it as a CDP or CD transport. It's still great for that! And I sometimes use mine for that! My main player is the Sony ES below but that is also getting long in the tooth. They "seem" to still be updating it, though?

cnh

EndersShadow

cnh wrote: »

Use it as a CDP or CD transport. It's still great for that! And I sometimes use mine for that! My main player is the Sony ES below but that is also getting long in the tooth. They "seem" to still be updating it, though?

cnh

Yeah in my main system I will be using it with HDMI so it will be a transport. I will probably also be upgrading in the next 2 years to a Pioneer Elite AVR of some sort (like the SC-67, or even the SC-68) and it will match looks wise which will make the wife happy.

DSkip wrote: »

Like I told Dan, I highly suggest adding some dynamat inside these units if you use them as a source. I'd imagine it helped overall performance, but most notably, great gains were added in detail for redbooks.

Yup, adding it to my list of things to add dynamat to when I finally get around to buying some (port tube on the LSi's, CDP, all RTA drivers, etc).

Skip you wouldnt have pics of where you put it by any chance? If not can ya take some to help a brother out?

gce

cnh wrote: »

Use it as a CDP or CD transport. It's still great for that! cnh

The only problem with that is that I've ripped all my CD's to Flac and don't really spin them anymore. I do spin SACD's but the 51 is useless for that.

F1nut

jon s wrote: »

I already have the latest update on all my players... I think it's time for newer updates but from what my dealer said, Pioneer no longer supported these models....

Here's the number for Pioneer Customer Support, 1-800-421-1404. Call them and see what they have to say.

EndersShadow

gce wrote: »

The only problem with that is that I've ripped all my CD's to Flac and don't really spin them anymore. I do spin SACD's but the 51 is useless for that.

So sell it in the Flea Market and use that money to buy more CD's

gce

EndersShadow wrote: »

So sell it in the Flea Market and use that money to buy more CD's

Now there's a plan! LOL