Official Pioneer Elite BDP-05FD & BDP-51FD Owners Thread / Vs 1.32 DTS-HD MA - Page 1010

I've looked at some of the posts in here, but not all of them. I have my Pio 51Fd connected via HDMI to my television. And I have the Television connected via Optical Digital out to my Reciever. My reciever is older and doesn't have any HDMI inputs or outputs.

I have andother DVD player, as well as my Sat receiver also connected to the TV via HDMI. Both the DVD player and the Satellite and also OTA TV send Dolby digital 5.1 out through the TV digital Optical out to my Receiver. But I can't get Dolby digitail 5.1 out from the Pio BDP 51. I do get PCM and ProLogic II , but not DD 5.1.

Is there a setting in the Pio i need to use?

Thanks
rick

^^^^^^^^^ If your receiver shows the number of channels being received as well as indicating PCM, then it sounds as if your 51 is taking care of the decoding. To check this.........

Did you do a full factory reset and re-input your settings after firmware update, highly recommended you do this, it has been known to cure all sorts of ill's.

You have not said if you are connected direct to a TV via HDMI or going HDMI to an AVR and then HDMI to the TV.

If you have an AVR it may well be that it is not your 05 but the AVR causing the problems, I had problems on a slightly older AVR with 7.1 Dolby Digital True HD and it turned out the AVR needed a firmware update and it was not my 05 at all.

As it is only the one BluRay it is unlikely to be a connection issue. Worth checking if you can get another BD player hooked up to your system and see if the crackle is still there. This will at least isolate the problem to the player or what the player is connected to.

I just installed the 1.73 update and it works flawlessly.

thanks. I tried this and i see that the HDMI audio out was greyed out, and wouldn't let me switch. after looking some more, I checked the options menu and found the HDMI audio out was set to Digital out. I changed it to HDMI and then went back and now I'm getting the receiver to see DD 5.1. I'm not sure how it will handle DTS yet.

Thanks again, your post helped me find my problem.

Thanks
rick

Been on 1.73 since it came out, never had any problems and still working fine. What surprises me is how long this update has been out (getting toward a year now) and the 05 is playing everything thrown at it. Newer BD players are needing regular updates every few months or so. I have noticed this that as the player gets older they seem to need less and less frequent updates. Noticed this with the Panasonic the 05 replaced and now the 05 does not seem to need updates so frequently, used to be about every 3 months or so. I wonder if there is message there somewhere.

Hello,

I am having trouble with my 51F. It is refusing to play any/all Blue Ray discs. The problem started after a power loss while in the middle of playing a BR disc. It will play regular discs, no problem. Did the power failure kill it's ability to read blue ray? It's on FW 1.73. Thanks for any responses.

Cheryl

I have a BDP-05FD and I keep getting a "no disc" indication when I try to install the firmware update disc. As instructed, I load the disc using the front panel controls, then it says CLOSE, then it says LOAD, then it says NO DISC. Has anyone else had this problem and is there any way to resolve it? All my BD and DVD discs play perfectly in it. I just can't get it to read the update! Thanks in advance for your help.

Mmm does sound a bit like the blue laser may have been damaged. It is possible it was just the firmware that got corrupted so one thing you can try is a factory reset and see if that cures the problem. Before you do that as shown below, make sure there is no disc in the player and make a note of all your personal preferred settings doing a factory reset will reload all the firmware to factory default.

Factory reset as follows

With the player powered up and no disc in the drive using the front panel buttons on the player (not the remote)

While pressing STOP, press and hold STANDBY/ON. The player will shut down and restart. Use Setup Navigator in the player setup menu to restore initial settings after reset. Then apply your own personal settings.

If that does not work then it is most likely the blue laser is defective. Repair is expensive if it is at all possible now.

Best of luck

PS if none of the above is successful you could try reinstalling the firmware followed by a factory reset. But before you do that remove the electrical supply from the player completely and leave it for about an hour to allow any effects from surges etc. from the sudden loss of power to leak away.
Edited by Rick R - 1/26/13 at 7:07am

Two possibilities here as far as I can see. Did you get the firmware disc from Pioneer or did you down load it and burn it yourself. If you down loaded it note that it needs to be burned as a disc image.

Have you tried an ordinary music CD and if so does that play OK, if it does not and shows NO DISC then every likelyhood the Red laser has gone defective. If it plays OK then thats good, there is something wrong with the firmware disc you are trying to load it is either damaged or dirty, check it for scratches, dust or finger marks and carefully clean it if necessary.

If you burned it yourself, then burn process was maybe not correct. There are so many different ways to burn an image these days with different operating systems and programs that I or others would need to know a little more about what you used to burn the firmware image file to disc to be able to assist further.

Note as I posted above that if the red laser is defective that a repair will be expensive and I am not sure if Pioneer still have the parts to affect the repair. Drives are available on the net but expensive and would probably need a third party service engineer to install it, it is not a simple case of just replacing the drive.

Rick,

Will give your advice a go and let you know if it works. I only paid $20.00 for this so if it's beyond repair do you reccomend a replacement.

P.S. I have had it unplugged for several days, but without any reset/reload and no difference. FWIW.

Cheryl

Charly,

Rick has the steps absolutely correct. Follow instructions re: power down and un-plug. Re-power and immediately go through "Factory Reset". Then do a re-install of FW 1.73 per printed instructions. His catch of disc format (CD-data) is important to the process.

Sadly, if you purchased at $20, I'd be not surprised if the unit's blu-laser head (did I get that right?) had been failing before you got it. The un-scheduled powerdown likely didn't help. Recommendations for replacement would very much depend on what you need. What gear do you have, what is most important to you (movies, BD, DVD, or audio, etc) and where you plan to go in the next year or so. There are good sub-$200 other brand units out there new, and really fine used from Panasonic, Pioneer (BD-51fd forever!!) and even refurb'd OPPOs at a not impossible cost. It all depends on what is important to your needs.

I'm hoping that Rick's advice pans out for you. Good luck.

Mkard

p.s. Really dumb question: have you run a good BD/DVD cleaner disk, or blown out (first step, IMHO) the unit? I have read of a few "miraculous" recovery stories, just due to a thorough cleaning. Search thread for "cleaning disassembly" and you might get a break. As you've read here in 1000+ pages, these players have virtues worth preserving when possible.
Edited by Mkard - 1/26/13 at 8:26pm

Charly,

Just a note.

If after clean-up you still don't have blu-ray, all is not lost. You still have a killer DVD player that upscales 480i (DVD video) to 1080p at a level that is almost un-matched by anything on the "consumer" market today. 10yr-old DVD pressings will rival Blu-ray in video presentation. And, for that $20, you will have a really elegant CD player that can output a stellar 2-ch analog direct to your amp/receiver for fantastic music play. Try it. Those 5yr-old Wolfsen DAC's are incredibly nice even by today's technology. You would have to spend 20 times what you did, on today's market, to get a DVD/CD player with the analog-out clarity and detail that you now have .

For blu-ray, you can spend $159 at Costco and get a Panasonic BDP-220 which will do nicely for BD's, and leave everything else to the Pio BD-51fd. Things have a way of working out.

Best of luck, regardless.

Mike

Yes give it a go Cheryl, I have to be honest I am not holding my breath but even worse situations have been recovered. My take on your situation is, it was playing bluray's fine before the power failure and not after. Mike (Mkard) in his posts has covered several options. The compressed air into the tray slot with it open or a bluray lens cleaner has helped others, but I believe from the way you describe what has happened, the power failure was the direct cause of your current problems. As it has had plenty of time unplugged from the electrical supply go ahead with a full reset and I think at this stage go straight for a reinstall of the firmware. I really hope this works for you but if not, as said in the other posts it is a killer DVD and CD player for $20.00 and on that basis I personally would keep it just for that.

I don't want to stun you into submission but a new drive, which is what is most likely would be required are advertised around $400.00 by third parties and then someone would need to install it (you would need to sort who first IMO before buying a drive) it needs a special disc and service remote to match the drive to the player. So expect a Pioneer repair, if they will/can do it, to cost similar. I don't know your circumstances but I would suggest it is probably impractical, it would be for me.

There are lots of other options out there and a lot depends on what your current setup is and how you were using your 51FD. If you are going straight to a TV with no audio system then most Panasonic/Sony/others new or used will probably fit the bill. If you have a full audio system as well then PM me with brief details (eg number of channels used, AVR model and speaker types) and I will do my best to provide some guidance.

Let us know how you get on
Edited by Rick R - 1/27/13 at 3:40am

Guys,

Thanks for all the info! I plan to tackle the situation this evening. At one time i had intentions of integrating the Piio w my Onkyo for a movie/audio system. I still need a speaker set. I am currently using a set of Sony UR360'S. If i cant get the Pio working I will give a shout out.

Cheryl

Guys,

Thanks for all the info! I plan to tackle the situation this evening. At one time i had intentions of integrating the Piio w my Onkyo for a movie/audio system. I still need a speaker set. I am currently using a set of Sony UR360'S. If i cant get the Pio working I will give a shout out.

Cheryl

Looks like i am giving up my Pioneer 51FD and soon my 05FD. Anyone want the 51FD for $50 and is in the Tampa FL area is welcome to come get it. Still works fine.

$50? Try selling on Amazon. I was just able to unload mine for $150+.

Well I've finally had a problem with my player. Had it since they came out and done regular firmware updates with never a problem. I removed the disk we'd watched the other night and inserted a new Netflix disk. She closed up, presented the "loading" on the TV and froze there for 10 minutes. I went to remove the disk and no-go. Not with the machine button nor the remote button. "Power on" is stuck in the display and returns after any button push with resulting "please wait" . First I tried to power down but the short power button push did nothing - would not shut it off. Then I tried the 5-10 second reboot. This shuts off the machine but it never comes back on until a normal push of the power on button. I went thru the motions of a complete reset but probably because there is a disk in it, there is no reaction at all. "Power On" remains in the display and it never shuts off. When I kill power completely and re-plug, I get the normal sound of what sounds like two faint beeps, then 7 seconds later I hear what appears to be a disk access noise for less than one second and that's the last sound.

How do I manually open the door to get the disk out? I'm hoping there's a physical problem with the disk. It's been a perfect machine till now. I'm on 1.70 or 1.71 IIRC and have been for probably 6 months or more so no recent firmware update. No power failures, no new equipment or connections, nothing has changed.

EDIT: found the August 2012 series of posts with something similar. Tried to power on using the eject button. Powered up but no door open after 5 minutes. Looks like I have to open the case to get at the manual opener?
Edited by bvh - 1/27/13 at 7:51pm

You might try writing the update to a DVD instead of a CD. My pio no longer plays CDs but still plays some DVDs. I've had to put the last two updated on DVDs in order to get the player to read them and update.

Rick

Looks from your edit as though you have it sorted. Yes you will have to open the case, in case you have not found it there is a post here http://www.avsforum.com/t/1054927/official-pioneer-elite-bdp-05fd-bdp-51fd-owners-thread-vs-1-32-dts-hd-ma/30210#post_22761899 on how to open the tray manually. Every indication from what you have described is you have a faulty disc which has caused the player to freeze, I have seen this before and experienced it twice myself. Once you have that disc out I suspect you will find your player is fine.

Thank you Rick! Looks like it's this mornings project. Is it a "disk software" issue or a physical disk defect/warping etc causing the issue? Maybe it's interesting timing that our new streaming box for Netflix will be here today!

EDIT: Yep, a tiny crack from the spindle hole outward about a half inch long visible from the data side only and I insert these usually in the dark.. Lucky that I looked at the next disk to go in. Had a much larger crack. Postal Service!
Edited by bvh - 1/28/13 at 8:29am

Glad you got it sorted, I am guessing from your comments the player is OK, yes? If so that is really great. Faulty discs can come in a variety of disguises physical damage as you have found, sometimes a small fault in the reproduction process or if the wrong content is on the disc and it is accidently inserted in the player, sometimes in this case it will display data disc and do nothing else sometimes the player just freezes and nothing seems to work. As you are probably aware these players are very sensitive to any kind of BD disc error and less than pristine discs often won't play, cleaning sometimes resolve it. Netflix discs have a reputation on this thread for causing problems with the 51FD/05 and many of the mature members have given up with rentals altogether. I personally don't rent and have only had a couple of problems one of my own causing. Hope I am not tempting fate here.

Yes, player is fine. There sure isn't much "stuff" inside the box, is there! I have a dozen or so .040" lathe micro boring bars that worked perfect. Ultra rigid and about 4" long. Opened the door right up.

Hey there!

I have followed the advice you gave and went through all the steps carefully and repeatedly and the Pio reports that it "cannot play disk" on the screen and "unknownd disc" on the front panel. This is with a BD that it had previously played. It makes the "seeking" noise 20 plus times before it flashes the messages. Does this sound like the blue laser is toast?

Cheryl

Ok, new wrinkle... I unplugged the Pio, did another reset and now it is playing what I call the "plain jane" blue ray discs. The ones you find for 10.00 dollars or less. It still will not play a Disney disc. It has gotten to late to pursue this anymore tonight, but I was wondering... can you revert to an older firmware? It's all very odd.

Cheryl

Unfortunately reversion is possible but it is not an end-user option. I think some have done it but it requires a service manual and external equipment. So the answer for you and me is "no".

After reading some of the repair issues people reported in the BDP-09FD Owners Thread, I was advised to look at the BDP-05FD/51FD or the Oppo BDP-95. I saw on eBay someone selling the 05FD near me, so thinking about trying it out first if possible. The current bid is $50, but they usually end up selling for $150ish when the auctions end. I currently have a Pioneer Elite DV-37 DVD player that I've had no issues since buying it in 2001, the same time I got a Panasonic 36" Tube HDTV. Since this HDTV can do HD 1080i over Component, that is why I need a Blu-Ray player that supports playing BD discs over Component at 1080i. I contacted Pioneer and was told the 51/05/09FD all support this, and the Oppo 95 does as well, but would run $750 used.

Just wondering if anyone thinks the 05FD would be good for my use, or still look at the Oppo 95 instead at 3x the price.

Cheryl,

Check your PM's particularly the last one marked IMPORTANT I think you might be in luck

The 05 would be OK but these players are getting old in the tooth, I have one myself which is still running fine despite being a slow as mollasses but a glance through this thread even this page will reveal that they are prone to laser problems, not too much of a risk I suppose for $50. But do you really need an Oppo 95, the main reason most people purchase such a machine is for the added high quality analog audio stage. Unless you have specific reason for that specific feature to all intents and purposes the Oppo93 in every other respect is identical and can be had at much less cost (still much more than the 05 but more flexible, more tolerant of dirty discs and much faster). IMHO Unless you have a high end audiophile system and bat like hearing you are unlikey to notice any difference between the analog outputs of the 95 to the 93 and I find my 93 as good as if not better than the 05 for audio both HDMI and analog. What you might find if you have bat like hearing and some owners complain about is the cooling fan noise from the Oppo95 the 93 does not have one. Hope this helps