My Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD Blu-ray Player Repair
DarqueKnight
Posts: 6,765
in Electronics
Introduction
In May 2017, my Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD blu-ray player stopped recognizing BR-R DL discs. All other disc types for which is was designed to play played fine. This problem was symptomatic of of the blu-ray laser failing. Although the player is 8 years old (purchased May 2009) the blu-ray laser only had approximately 150 hours of use. Some of the early BDP-09FDs had defective disc drives which were prone to premature failure.
A separate thread which discusses the drive failure problem in more detail is here:
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/177804/my-glorious-day-with-pioneer-customer-service/p1
The original drive (part # BDR-L04H-XA) was replaced with a drive (part # BDR-L04SH) sourced from a Chinese electronics supplier. Both drives are manufactured by Pioneer.
A service manual was found online and downloaded free of charge.
Figure 1. The BDP-09FD's service manual is very clear and detailed with many color photographs and step-by-step instructions for disassembly and re-assembly.
It's a pity that statement blu-ray players like the BDP-09FD, and its successor, the BDP-88FD, just aren't around today.
Procedure
A grounding wrist strap was worn to prevent damage to sensitive electronic parts. The unit's covers were removed and the wrist strap was connected to a grounded metal part of the chassis. The unit was turned on and then turned off. The power cord was then disconnected and the unit disassembled to gain access to the drive.
Figure 2. The exterior is aluminum over an inner steel shell on all six sides.
Figure 3. Inner steel shell.
Figure 4. Inner top cover off. There are ten circuit boards, including separate power supply boards for the digital and analog sections. The chassis is heavily cross-braced with extensive shielding of cables, boards, and the drive unit.
I removed 87 screws, 3 circuit boards, and 1 cross brace to access the drive unit. I also removed the front panel, but I later learned this was unnecessary.
Figure 5. Secondary analog power supply board and analog output board removed.
Figure 6. Shelf for upper circuit boards removed.
Figure 7. Finally arrived at the disc drive.
Figure 8. Disc drive removed.
Figure 9. The drive was covered with a thick steel plate for vibration damping. Electrical shielding was on the underside to shield the drive from the power cables that ran beneath it. The small circuit board at the rear is the power and SATA interface board.
Figure 10. Power and SATA board removed.
Figure 11. The layout.
Figure 12. Original drive with bottom cover removed exposing drive circuit board.
The drive unit is software locked to the player's hardware. In order for the player to fully recognize and operate the new drive, either the player must be sent to a service center to be reprogrammed for the new drive ($$$$$$$), or the circuit board must be taken out of the old drive and put into the new drive (10 minutes of time). This tricks the player into seeing the new drive as the original one.
The first three ribbon cables were easy to remove. The orange motor control ribbon cable near the upper left was wedged in tightly. I had to slow, slow, slowly wiggle the end of the cable out of its housing with a pair of tweezers. The other three cables used convenient snap down connectors.
Figure 13. Original drive circuit board removed and ready for transplanting in the new drive.
Figure 14. I augmented the drive's vibration damping with Dynamat Xtreme panels.
The '09's 2014 successor, the BDP-88FD, uses black rubbery vibration damping material its drive housing, inner chassis, and bottom chassis panel. The '09's bottom panel is coated with a black rubbery vibration damping material
Figure 15. Prior to reassembly, all of the player's disc types were tested to make sure they loaded and were read properly.
Figure 16. Testing the player's operational functions.
Figure 17. Since I had a spare small 1 amp, slow blow HiFi Tuning Supreme fuse on hand (that was taken out of a component that was sold) I decided to use it! This fuse replaced a HiFi Tuning Classic Gold fuse.
There is another 4 amp Classic Gold fuse in the circuit board below this one, but I am not in a hurry to replace it.
Figure 18. The aluminum side panels were treated with Dynamat Xtreme.
Figure 19. The top of the steel inner cover was treated with Dynamat Xtreme.
Figure 20. The transformer was treated with Dynamat Xtreme.
Figure 21. Ready for duty!
Disassembly took 45 minutes. Since I know my way around now, I could do it in 15 minutes. Testing and reassembly took 1 hour.
In May 2017, my Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD blu-ray player stopped recognizing BR-R DL discs. All other disc types for which is was designed to play played fine. This problem was symptomatic of of the blu-ray laser failing. Although the player is 8 years old (purchased May 2009) the blu-ray laser only had approximately 150 hours of use. Some of the early BDP-09FDs had defective disc drives which were prone to premature failure.
A separate thread which discusses the drive failure problem in more detail is here:
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/177804/my-glorious-day-with-pioneer-customer-service/p1
The original drive (part # BDR-L04H-XA) was replaced with a drive (part # BDR-L04SH) sourced from a Chinese electronics supplier. Both drives are manufactured by Pioneer.
A service manual was found online and downloaded free of charge.
Figure 1. The BDP-09FD's service manual is very clear and detailed with many color photographs and step-by-step instructions for disassembly and re-assembly.
It's a pity that statement blu-ray players like the BDP-09FD, and its successor, the BDP-88FD, just aren't around today.
Procedure
A grounding wrist strap was worn to prevent damage to sensitive electronic parts. The unit's covers were removed and the wrist strap was connected to a grounded metal part of the chassis. The unit was turned on and then turned off. The power cord was then disconnected and the unit disassembled to gain access to the drive.
Figure 2. The exterior is aluminum over an inner steel shell on all six sides.
Figure 3. Inner steel shell.
Figure 4. Inner top cover off. There are ten circuit boards, including separate power supply boards for the digital and analog sections. The chassis is heavily cross-braced with extensive shielding of cables, boards, and the drive unit.
I removed 87 screws, 3 circuit boards, and 1 cross brace to access the drive unit. I also removed the front panel, but I later learned this was unnecessary.
Figure 5. Secondary analog power supply board and analog output board removed.
Figure 6. Shelf for upper circuit boards removed.
Figure 7. Finally arrived at the disc drive.
Figure 8. Disc drive removed.
Figure 9. The drive was covered with a thick steel plate for vibration damping. Electrical shielding was on the underside to shield the drive from the power cables that ran beneath it. The small circuit board at the rear is the power and SATA interface board.
Figure 10. Power and SATA board removed.
Figure 11. The layout.
Figure 12. Original drive with bottom cover removed exposing drive circuit board.
The drive unit is software locked to the player's hardware. In order for the player to fully recognize and operate the new drive, either the player must be sent to a service center to be reprogrammed for the new drive ($$$$$$$), or the circuit board must be taken out of the old drive and put into the new drive (10 minutes of time). This tricks the player into seeing the new drive as the original one.
The first three ribbon cables were easy to remove. The orange motor control ribbon cable near the upper left was wedged in tightly. I had to slow, slow, slowly wiggle the end of the cable out of its housing with a pair of tweezers. The other three cables used convenient snap down connectors.
Figure 13. Original drive circuit board removed and ready for transplanting in the new drive.
Figure 14. I augmented the drive's vibration damping with Dynamat Xtreme panels.
The '09's 2014 successor, the BDP-88FD, uses black rubbery vibration damping material its drive housing, inner chassis, and bottom chassis panel. The '09's bottom panel is coated with a black rubbery vibration damping material
Figure 15. Prior to reassembly, all of the player's disc types were tested to make sure they loaded and were read properly.
Figure 16. Testing the player's operational functions.
Figure 17. Since I had a spare small 1 amp, slow blow HiFi Tuning Supreme fuse on hand (that was taken out of a component that was sold) I decided to use it! This fuse replaced a HiFi Tuning Classic Gold fuse.
There is another 4 amp Classic Gold fuse in the circuit board below this one, but I am not in a hurry to replace it.
Figure 18. The aluminum side panels were treated with Dynamat Xtreme.
Figure 19. The top of the steel inner cover was treated with Dynamat Xtreme.
Figure 20. The transformer was treated with Dynamat Xtreme.
Figure 21. Ready for duty!
Disassembly took 45 minutes. Since I know my way around now, I could do it in 15 minutes. Testing and reassembly took 1 hour.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
Comments
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Results
Two channel music listening and movie viewing were done from the '09's HDMI output.
Figure 22. The pictures above are freeze frame shots of a scene from "The Italian Job" DVD. The picture on the right is with the original, failing drive and the picture on the right is with the new drive.
I did not do separate trials to determine the effects, if any, of the Dynamat Xtreme and the upgraded fuse. Upgraded fuses did provide improvements in audio performance as noted in my 2009 review of the '09.
Two channel music from the new drive had more image weight, tactile sensation, clarity, detail, and more depth. I just wanted all the player's functions to work again. I wasn't really looking for a performance improvement...but I got it in spades!
Figure 23. Now, I'm wondering if there is a compatible drive out there that would provide even higher performance. In the future, when I am more dedicated to video than I am now, I'll try to track it down.
Reference
BDP-09FD Review:
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/84644/tweaking-home-theater-pt-3-the-pioneer-elite-bdp-09fd-blu-ray-playerProud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
Awesome, glad it worked out with a bit of a bonus.Pio Elete Pro 520
Panamax 5400-EX
Sunfire TGP 5
Micro Seiki DD-40 - Lyra-Dorian and Denon DL-160
PS Audio GCPH phono pre
Sunfire CG 200 X 5
Sunfire CG Sig 405 X 5
OPPO BDP-83 SE
SDA SRS 1.2TL Sonicaps and Mills
Ctr CS1000p
Sur - FX1000 x 4
SUB - SVS PB2-Plus
Workkout room:
Sony Bravia XBR- 32-Inch 1080p
Onkyo TX-DS898
GFA 555
Yamaha DVD-S1800BL/SACD
Ft - SDA 1C
Not being used:
RTi 38's -4
RT55i's - 2
RT25i's -2, using other 2 in shop
LSI 15's
CSi40
PSW 404 -
If I may ask Ray, what did the new drive set you back ?
Excellent detail in the removal and installation btw.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Nice work and analysis, as usual.
H9"Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul! -
If I may ask Ray, what did the new drive set you back ?
$66 inclusive of shipping, and two hours of installation labor.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
Nice work & well documented; thanks for sharing.
You might not want to think too hard about the value of the two hours of time you put into the job -- e.g., as a consultant, I know exactly what two hours of my time is worth
I'm - mostly - kidding, of course... there really truly is therapeutic value, for many of us, to be found in working on stuff, but the 'sweat equity' cost in DIY (building or repairs) is often not factored into the "fully loaded cost" of a project.
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It is odd how the contrast is improved on Donald's forehead with less washing of light, but the black of his coat is now showing a brown tinge. I guess that it could be a frame to frame difference. Nice breakdown Raife! I can see why the effort was spent keeping such a well built player in use. That thing is a beast!HT Optoma HD25 LV on 80" DIY Screen, Anthem MRX 300 Receiver, Pioneer Elite BDP 51FD Polk CS350LS, Polk SDA1C, Polk FX300, Polk RT55, Dual EBS Adire Shiva 320watt tuned to 17hz, ICs-DIY Twisted Prs, Speaker-Raymond Cable
2 Channel Thorens TD 318 Grado ZF1, SACD/CD Marantz 8260, Soundstream/Krell DAC1, Audio Mirror PP1, Odyssey Stratos, ADS L-1290, ICs-DIY Twisted , Speaker-Raymond Cable -
Nice write up....that's quite an impressive player looking under the hood.
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I have a BDP-09FD too. Mine still works great but I don't use it a whole lot anymore. Every now and then I do though. It was definitely worth repairing. No one today seems to make anything close to the awesome build quality.
After reading this thread I'm tempted to purchase a replacement drive like you did just to have one on hand. Can you PM me or post where you got it from?
These BluRay players were $2,200 new and are Cadillacs of the Elite line. The build quality is over the top (like the SC-09TX AVR was too).
I had to send mine back to Pioneer shortly after I bought it though. It was under warranty when the blue power indicator LED stopped working. I probably could have fixed it myself but didn't want to void the warranty so I shipped it to California for repair. Pioneer fixed it for free and paid for the shipping and all so I wasn't too upset. That was several years ago.
A couple years ago I saw an ad in an audio magazine from a guy who would convert the BDP-09FD to "region-free" and I was tempted to have the mod done but already had another BDP-33FD that had been converted so I didn't. -
Dennis Gardner wrote: »It is odd how the contrast is improved on Donald's forehead with less washing of light, but the black of his coat is now showing a brown tinge. I guess that it could be a frame to frame difference. Nice breakdown Raife! I can see why the effort was spent keeping such a well built player in use. That thing is a beast!
I think the washed out effect and overall lower detail is due to the DVD laser also beginning to fail.
Donald is wearing a dark blue jacket with a wide brown inner collar. Those pictures were taken under incandescent house lighting, so the colors aren't accurate. The camera produces a reddish tint under this lighting.
When watching the scene, my eyes see the jacket as blackish blue around the collar area and dark blue on the back. The screen shots below were taken from playing the movie on my PC using VLC media player.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
Gatecrasher wrote: »After reading this thread I'm tempted to purchase a replacement drive like you did just to have one on hand. Can you PM me or post where you got it from?
PM sent.
I sent an email to Pioneer customer service asking them if there is another drive equivalent to, and interchangeable with, the original BDR-L04H-XA drive and the replacement BDR-L04SH.
I hope they don't get mad at me again.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
Thanks man. I belong to Alibaba and have bought stuff off there before but was curious what vendor you used for this item. I submitted an RFQ and will see how many reply.
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mhardy6647 wrote: »... there really truly is therapeutic value, for many of us, to be found in working on stuff, but the 'sweat equity' cost in DIY (building or repairs) is often not factored into the "fully loaded cost" of a project.
The real therapeutic value will come when I rip all my video discs to digital files and banish spinners from my home theater system forever. It will be great to have my video collection at my fingertips...similar to the way my totally ripped music disc collection is at my fingertips...and portable all over the house. A video server containing my entire collection can fit in the space currently occupied by the blu-ray player.
Mechanical disc drives are from the Devil.Post edited by DarqueKnight onProud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
LOL....someone has the "digital" bug.
I hear ya Ray, the convenience factor is just too hard to ignore. Plus as you said, the mechanical aspects. To tell the truth, I was surprised you didn't jump all in on the digital side when the Pioneer's drive went south.HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
LOL....someone has the "digital" bug.
I hear ya Ray, the convenience factor is just too hard to ignore. Plus as you said, the mechanical aspects. To tell the truth, I was surprised you didn't jump all in on the digital side when the Pioneer's drive went south.
He wasn't as "dedicated to audio" as he is now (one week later). Right @DarqueKnight 
e "....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
He needed to fix it to send all to cyberspace.
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He needed to fix it to send all to cyberspace.
Is that permitted by the terms of the contents' EULA?
(Just to be clear: I am kidding... just channeling that Pioneer Customer Service stormtrooper, you know?)
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Nice work as always sir.
Some advice from someone who is at approximately 2700 ripped blu-rays and counting...
If you go with a consumer grade "server", even top of the line from someone like Kaleidescape (gone or going defunct), bear in mind that even the fast consumer grade processor/RAM/storage (SSDs are still not cost effective for large quantities of content storage) will get handily handed their bottoms when it comes to ripping a disk. My current HTPC is a top of the line quad core Intel i7 with hyper threading, 32GB of RAM, SSD for apps/OS and a hybrid SSHD for data staging (before copying off to network storage). And I thought it was ripping BDs just fine...until I tried the same task on one of my Dell servers (dual hex core Xeons, 72GB of RAM, RAID1 SSDs for OS and apps, RAID5 storage array)...I discovered that I can rip 4-6 BDs on the server (added a second BD-RW drive) in the time it takes the HTPC to rip one...
"Some people find it easier to be conceited rather than correct."
"Unwad those panties and have a good time man. We're all here to help each other, no matter how it might appear." DSkip -
I have a massive digital library but still need the BluRay/CD player. I don't use it as often as I used to but still use it every now and then.
I've gotten two responses to the Alibaba RFQ. It looks like they are both from the same company DarqueKnight got his from but as he mentioned, they are all saying the drives they have for sale are all good "used" ones. The price quoted is $35 + $23 for shipping.
I wish I could find a new one. -
To tell the truth, I was surprised you didn't jump all in on the digital side when the Pioneer's drive went south.
One reason I have put this off is because I am not looking forward to months of ripping.
The other reason is that the convenience factor is not as important as it is with music. I listen to music for a few hours a day compared to watching movies a few hours a week, and sometimes a few hours a month. My music listening is mostly via custom playlists drawn from multiple discs, which is impossible with a disc player. The closest I could come to that is making "compilation" CDs. The task of going to the movie rack, picking out a disc, and inserting in the player is not that big of an inconvenience. If I was a binge movie watcher, there would be more of an incentive.Gatecrasher wrote: »I've gotten two responses to the Alibaba RFQ. It looks like they are both from the same company DarqueKnight got his from but as he mentioned, they are all saying the drives they have for sale are all good "used" ones. The price quoted is $35 + $23 for shipping.
I wish I could find a new one.
They show up every now and then...similar to the way that SDAs in pristine condition with original shipping boxes and original receipt show up every now and then.
A few years ago when the guys at AVS forum were replacing their drives, they probably depleted the stocks of some vendors.
New Drives are still being manufactured, but Pioneer maintains an iron grip on the supply. Neither they nor their dealers and service centers will sell parts to a customer. Even something as simple as replacing a blown fuse, they expect you to pack up your player and ship it to a service center.
I've thought about trying to find out the location of the factory, and then offering a few bucks for them to sell me some units out the back door.
I recall years ago reading about about consumers ordering parts from Pioneer to do simple replacement repairs. I wondered what happened to make them change their policy?Some advice from someone who is at approximately 2700 ripped blu-rays and counting...
I appreciate that advice and I will be PM'ing you for more insights.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
LOL....someone has the "digital" bug.
I don't just have the bug, I have full blown "digititalphilia nirvana" .mhardy6647 wrote: »
Eventually, the studios are going to have to come to terms with the fact that physical media is dead, just not buried yet, and they are going to have to come to terms with the fact that any encryption scheme they come up with is going to be broken.
Fortunately for them, most consumers are only interested in making copies for storage on their computers and entertainment servers. We do not want to cheat the studios out of their rightful return on their multimillion dollar investments in film production. If the studios don't make money, the studios will close and there won't be any new video entertainment.
Of course, piracy is a issue, but it is no more of an issue in film and music production than it is in any valuable product. Yes, the studios don't get money from pirated merchandise, but they weren't going to get money from those "consumers" anyway. A person interested in pirated/counterfeit goods isn't/wasn't going to buy the real thing anyway. If they aren't already doing it, the studios should just build the cost of their piracy losses into the price of their merchandise, just like auto insurers do for uninsured motorists and just like retailers do for shoplifters.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
DarqueKnight wrote: »I recall years ago reading about about consumers ordering parts from Pioneer to do simple replacement repairs. I wondered what happened to make them change their policy?
$$$$
isn't it always ? HT SYSTEM-
Sony 850c 4k
Pioneer elite vhx 21
Sony 4k BRP
SVS SB-2000
Polk Sig. 20's
Polk FX500 surrounds
Cables-
Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable
Kitchen
Sonos zp90
Grant Fidelity tube dac
B&k 1420
lsi 9's -
Awesome thread. DIY threads are always my favorites here in the forum. When I was a kid, I'd always take things apart to see how they worked, but always seemed to have a few extra screws leftover after putting things back together. I like your use of pictures, it certainly would help seeing how everything fits together during reassembly. Is there anything inside electronics that you should avoid putting Dynamat on due to overheating? I recently put some inside my computer's tower, but was scared to apply it directly to the hard drive because I didn't know if the higher heat it might cause would shorten it's lifespan. I obviously know not to cover ventilation holes.
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My father had drawers full of leftover hardware from repairs.
I think they put those extra screws and whatnot in electronic components to give us practice in our unscrewing.
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Awesome thread. DIY threads are always my favorites here in the forum. When I was a kid, I'd always take things apart to see how they worked, but always seemed to have a few extra screws leftover after putting things back together.
When I am taking things apart, I draw an outline of the parts on sheets of paper with the locations of specific screws and the name of the part the screws attach to, then I lay the screws on the outline. This assures that every screw is accounted for and every screw goes back where it came from. I keep track of small parts the same way.
For this repair, I removed 87 screws, so there was no way I was going to commit that to memory.Is there anything inside electronics that you should avoid putting Dynamat on due to overheating?
Since Dynamat has an electrically conductive metal foil backing, my main concern is not placing it in a position that might cause a short. As long as you are not restricting air flow there shouldn't be a problem.
I use enough Dynamat to deaden metal cases, but I do not totally cover the inside of a case, chassis, or top cover. I also lay a digital thermometer on the case and measure the idle and working temperatures of the component before and after Dynamat application. I have not yet encountered a situation of Dynamat increasing the surface temperature of a component. The top cover of the BDP-09FD was 95 degrees F at idle and 99 degrees F after an hour of operation, before and after Dynamat application. Also, the BDP-09FD is fan cooled.I recently put some inside my computer's tower, but was scared to apply it directly to the hard drive because I didn't know if the higher heat it might cause would shorten it's lifespan. I obviously know not to cover ventilation holes.
A computer hard drive should have a temperature sensor that turns on a nearby fan when the drive reaches a certain temperature, so, if there is any surface temperature increase due to the Dynamat, it should be taken care of by the fan. It would be a good idea to ask the drive manufacturer if adding vibration damping material directly to the drive case is OK.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
DarqueKnight wrote: »When I am taking things apart, I draw an outline of the parts on sheets of paper with the locations of specific screws and the name of the part the screws attach to, then I lay the screws on the outline. This assures that every screw is accounted for and every screw goes back where it came from. I keep track of small parts the same way.
guess I'm not the only one who does that
Good to know i'm in good company.
I've been know to also bag and tag on smaller projects.
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DK, thanks for the reply. The diagram/outline for the screws is an excellent idea.
My desktop PC has a plastic sliding door in the front that hides/exposes a couple usb ports and 50% of the time when it was closed it had a very faint rattle due to the vibration. Very faint, but to me it was like a jackhammer to the brain. After opening it up, I had no doubt that the vibration was coming from the hard drive (screwed to frame just behind front panel), the four fans didn't seem to be generating any noticeable vibration. Luckily the Dynamat I added to the frame was enough to stop the rattle. Skip turned me on to that stuff. Good stuff!
I am a little perplexed that someone with the screen name DarqueKnight used The Italian Job as a reference movie. Good movie, but fully expected a Batman movie!
Great thread! -
When I take stuff apart I use my digital camera and take tons of pictures throughout the disassembly process. This is especially useful for longer-term projects like my other hobby of restoring pinball machines. I find my self always referring back to the pictures at least one point during the re-assembly process no matter how many times I do it.
I don't like ending-up with left-over screws.
I am extremely hesitant to try and repair equipment like the BDP-09FD while it is still relatively new but now that it is like 8 years old I would feel a little more comfortable about ripping it apart. DarqueKnight's post helps raise the confidence level too.
I'd also want to have a nice big clean table like DarqueKnight used to lay it all out on.
I did find a place in China that sells supposedly new drives for $200. I don't know if I trust it or not though. -
The plot thickens.....
This is the response I received to my question asking about specs on the original BDR-L04H-XA drive and the replacement BDR-L04SH drive:
Hmmmm...Pioneer's parts department has no record of part number BDR-L04SH. There are three global region codes for blu-ray discs, therefore I am assuming that the drive for each region was the same, but with a different part number. Hence Pioneer's U.S. parts department having no record of the BDR-L04SH part.
Internally and externally, the BDR-L04H-XA and BDR-L04SH look identical, and of course they both function the same since I was able to take the drive circuit board out of the BDR-L04H-XA and put it into the BDR-L04SH. The only physical difference between the two was that the BDR-L04H-XA weighed 2.1 pounds and the BDR-L04SH weighed exactly 2 pounds.
While doing my repair, I was curious about what would happen if I replaced the drive without switching the internal drive circuit board. The results were as follows:
1. All my commercially produced blu-rays, which are Blu-ray region A/1 discs, played fine.
2. All my recordable single layer and dual layer BD-R discs played fine.
3. All my region-free DVD discs played fine.
4. None of my commercially produced DVDs, which are all DVD region 1 discs, played.
The reason why blu-rays worked and DVDs didn't is due to the fact that region coding for blu-rays is coded into the player's firmware. Region coding for DVDs is coded into the drive's firmware.
I have found yet another drive for the BDP-09FD, the BDR-L04XA. There is one on eBay right now for $240 (total delivered price). I also found this drive at Yoycart.com at a price of $191.65 (total delivered price $224.07). A vendor on Alibaba.com offered this drive at $196.50 (total delivered price). In contrast, the BDR-L04SH drive cost $66. I have attached copies of the eBay ad and the item page from Yoycart for the recently discovered BDR-L04XA drive.
Pioneer's Michigan service center refused to quote a price for the BDR-L04H-XA drive. I assume this policy is in place to prevent comparison shopping of repair services. However, I was successful in finding an authorized service center that quoted their charges for this repair:
Round trip shipping costs of $100 would have to be added to the estimate above.
I asked this service center if I could just buy the part and this was the reply:
I told the service center that I didn't mind assuming the risk for the repair. My only concern was that the part would be new. This was the reply:
I prefer replacing original parts with the same part, but I decided not to take a chance on Pioneer sending me one of the new old stock 2008 drives with the bad laser assemblies.
Yoycart is showing that they have 213 of the BDR-L04XA drives available. I decided to take one for the team and order one from the Alibaba.com vendor. I am curious to see if there is any performance difference. The vendor says the BDR-L04XA is new old stock manufactured in 2014.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
That's some good info there DarqueKnight.
One of the things I am wondering about though is if the Chinese replacement drives also have the same issues with the laser assembly that the OEM units do?
I mean you probably won't be able to tell unless the one you bought eventually fails and that could be a few years from now if it ever does.
I'm half-tempted to buy a replacement from Pioneer for $170.
Either choice seems to have some amount of uncertainty. It's a tough call.
