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29 of 32 found the following review helpful:
 Love this unit (update your firmware!) Nov 21, 2008
By C. Duncan
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!
19 of 20 found the following review helpful:
The power user's Blu-ray player of choice. Nov 25, 2008
By Ruined
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.
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Top Pick For the Dosh! Jan 29, 2009
By Kevin M. Hogan
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!
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Beware upgrading firmware May 18, 2010
By Craig J. Yeager
I have a pioneer Blu Ray player. It is now 1year 2 moths old and out of warranty. I updated the firmware to watch Avatar and now the machine will not work. I am told by Pioneer support that this is a common problem and can only be fixed by sending the machine back to have the firmware reinstalled by Pioneer. The cost is a minimum of $70 evaluation plus shipping. I cannot recommend this product that is at risk of being broken each time firm ware is updated.
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
 Great Player at a Great Price, But Buyer Beware.... Apr 23, 2009
By Spitfire IX
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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