Pioneer BDP-320/BDP-23FD Owner's Thread - Page 139

Originally Posted by bakerwi

Fellow forum members,

If any of you have the DVD Men of Honor can you check to see if there is a substantial layer change on your BDP-320 or 23FD. The layer change is at the 57:58 mark. I've observed a 1½ to 2 second layer change that was repeatable.


Willie

Originally Posted by mrjktcvs

Just got my 23FD delivered yesterday from Vann's. I scrounged around looking for an extra network cable but couldn't find one long enough, so I went to Best Buy. They had an open box unit available for about $100 more than what I paid...LOL. I updated the firmware from 3.25 to 3.65

The first thing I did was load it with the Casino Royale DVD, and selected the 1080p output. Simultaneously, I put the Casino Royale BD in my 51FD. These are connected to a Pio SC-07 via HDMI, which feeds my Kuro 5010 (8th gen).

Watching the opening credits was a real eye opener. The text on the DVD was extremely blocky and blotchy - the same effect as compressing a JPEG file too much. Meanwhile, the text coming from the blu-ray was flawless.

They can claim what great upscaling they have until they are blue in the face, but if the source material isn't any good, it won't help. I much prefer to watch MGM HD, HDNET movies, TCM HD, etc. I think I'm just going to toss my DVD collection, as it greatly adds to the dust level in my living room. People that buy a player for its up scaling capability I feel are misguided. After awhile, it won't matter anymore.

Originally Posted by mrjktcvs

The first thing I did was load it with the Casino Royale DVD, and selected the 1080p output. Simultaneously, I put the Casino Royale BD in my 51FD. These are connected to a Pio SC-07 via HDMI, which feeds my Kuro 5010 (8th gen).

Watching the opening credits was a real eye opener. The text on the DVD was extremely blocky and blotchy - the same effect as compressing a JPEG file too much. Meanwhile, the text coming from the blu-ray was flawless.

They can claim what great upscaling they have until they are blue in the face, but if the source material isn't any good, it won't help. I much prefer to watch MGM HD, HDNET movies, TCM HD, etc. I think I'm just going to toss my DVD collection, as it greatly adds to the dust level in my living room. People that buy a player for its upscaling capability I feel are misguided. After awhile, it won't matter anymore.

Originally Posted by TheFactor

I was really surprised how good Tombstone looked on Dvd when either my Pio 6020 kuro did the upscaling or my 320. It looked very close to bluray quality on the close ups .

Originally Posted by mrjktcvs

Just got my 23FD delivered yesterday from Vann's. I scrounged around looking for an extra network cable but couldn't find one long enough, so I went to Best Buy. They had an open box unit available for about $100 more than what I paid...LOL. I updated the firmware from 3.25 to 3.65

The first thing I did was load it with the Casino Royale DVD, and selected the 1080p output. Simultaneously, I put the Casino Royale BD in my 51FD. These are connected to a Pio SC-07 via HDMI, which feeds my Kuro 5010 (8th gen).

Watching the opening credits was a real eye opener. The text on the DVD was extremely blocky and blotchy - the same effect as compressing a JPEG file too much. Meanwhile, the text coming from the blu-ray was flawless.

They can claim what great upscaling they have until they are blue in the face, but if the source material isn't any good, it won't help. I much prefer to watch MGM HD, HDNET movies, TCM HD, etc. I think I'm just going to toss my DVD collection, as it greatly adds to the dust level in my living room. People that buy a player for its upscaling capability I feel are misguided. After awhile, it won't matter anymore.

Originally Posted by bakerwi

mrjktcvs,

You are right that the video is only as good as the source material, but that applies to blu-ray also. Garbage in garbage out. No amount of video processing can help a poorly mastered blu-ray or DVD. A well mastered DVD playing through any of my players into my Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD looks outstanding. In some instances the PQ is scarily good. I'm not saying it is blu-ray quality, but it looks damn good compared to its blu-ray counterpart. I've seen my share of crappy blu-ray transfers where a well mastered DVD looked better.

Also, the deinterlacing and upscaling capabilities were apart of my buying decision. I own a substantial number of DVDs some of which will never find its way to blu-ray so I want to squeeze every bit of video quality I can out of them. A competent transport that deinterlaces and upscales at a high level has allowed me to thoroughly enjoy my DVD collection.
Just my $.02.


Willie

Originally Posted by winston9332

There is a pretty wide range of picture quality amongst dvd transfers. I can think of some good dvd transfers that look as good as crumby bd transfers.

Originally Posted by CCONKLIN1

Still very happy with the 320 (especially for the price). Plays all the blu ray media I throw at it and is very quiet as well in the bedroom. I also just realized I have never ever played a DVD through it to watch. (other than testing for my own edification and clarification) Ever since I bought a media player that handles ISO I never use standard DVD anymore! With the prices of Hard drives so low, I took all of my DVD's and converted them to ISO format and play them back via HDMI 480i and then let my Reon or ABT scale them to 1080p. The added benefit is that I don't have layer changes anymore and extended editions that span multiple discs can be combined to one big ISO. Another added benefit is that I don't have to worry about the original DVD's getting all scratched up!
Just tossing this out there for those with larger DVD collections that may want to keep their discs in pristine condition and make it a bit more convenient to play them!
Best,
Chris

Originally Posted by winston9332

There is a pretty wide range of picture quality amongst dvd transfers. I can think of some good dvd transfers that look as good as crumby bd transfers.

Originally Posted by tubeheadel34

there is an increasingly sad sentiment where some people write off dvd just because it is lower resolution. You usually hear things such as "i am never watching dvd's again - only bluray, or i got rid of my dvd collection." i am baffled by this because if i was forced to choose, i would rather have my 20 ingmar bergman films which are only on dvd than any bluray transfers at this point in time. Only the "seventh seal" is currently on bluray. Does this mean i should stop watching the other 19 sd movies? I would encourage anyone who falls into this trap to learn to love film, rather than the format. Watch the film, not the format. There are many many films which will not see a bd release for many years, why deny yourself just because of a format? Ingmar bergman is arguably the greatest director in the history of film, producing film of startling beauty and existentialist truth, but this fact is of little interest to those who are entertained by popcorn films such as pirates of the caribean part 98, or iron man etc etc. Love film, not the format...

Originally Posted by tubeheadel34

there is an increasingly sad sentiment where some people write off dvd just because it is lower resolution. You usually hear things such as "i am never watching dvd's again - only bluray, or i got rid of my dvd collection." i am baffled by this because if i was forced to choose, i would rather have my 20 ingmar bergman films which are only on dvd than any bluray transfers at this point in time. Only the "seventh seal" is currently on bluray. Does this mean i should stop watching the other 19 sd movies? I would encourage anyone who falls into this trap to learn to love film, rather than the format. Watch the film, not the format. There are many many films which will not see a bd release for many years, why deny yourself just because of a format? Ingmar bergman is arguably the greatest director in the history of film, producing film of startling beauty and existentialist truth, but this fact is of little interest to those who are entertained by popcorn films such as pirates of the caribean part 98, or iron man etc etc. Love film, not the format...

Originally Posted by dsskid

I agree, and to those who want to dispose of their DVD collections, please PM me and I'll be happy to take them off your hands.

Originally Posted by tubeheadel34

there is an increasingly sad sentiment where some people write off dvd just because it is lower resolution. You usually hear things such as "i am never watching dvd's again - only bluray, or i got rid of my dvd collection." i am baffled by this because if i was forced to choose, i would rather have my 20 ingmar bergman films which are only on dvd than any bluray transfers at this point in time. Only the "seventh seal" is currently on bluray. Does this mean i should stop watching the other 19 sd movies? i would encourage anyone who falls into this trap to learn to love film, rather than the format. Watch the film, not the format. there are many many films which will not see a bd release for many years, why deny yourself just because of a format? Ingmar bergman is arguably the greatest director in the history of film, producing film of startling beauty and existentialist truth, but this fact is of little interest to those who are entertained by popcorn films such as pirates of the caribean part 98, or iron man etc etc. Love film, not the format...

Originally Posted by tubeheadEL34

There is an increasingly sad sentiment where some people write off dvd just because it is lower resolution. You usually hear things such as "I am never watching dvd's again - only bluray, or I got rid of my dvd collection." I am baffled by this because if I was forced to choose, I would rather have my 20 Ingmar Bergman films which are only on DVD than any bluray transfers at this point in time. Only the "seventh seal" is currently on bluray. does this mean I should stop watching the other 19 SD movies? I would encourage anyone who falls into this trap to learn to love film, rather than the format. Watch the film, not the format. There are many many films which will not see a BD release for many years, why deny yourself just because of a format? Ingmar Bergman is arguably the greatest director in the history of film, producing film of startling beauty and existentialist truth, but this fact is of little interest to those who are entertained by popcorn films such as pirates of the caribean part 98, or iron man etc etc. Love film, not the format...

Originally Posted by mrjktcvs

They can claim what great upscaling they have until they are blue in the face, but if the source material isn't any good, it won't help. I much prefer to watch MGM HD, HDNET movies, TCM HD, etc. I think I'm just going to toss my DVD collection, as it greatly adds to the dust level in my living room. People that buy a player for its upscaling capability I feel are misguided. After awhile, it won't matter anymore.

Originally Posted by mrjktcvs

I think I mentioned that I watch some channels like MGM and Turner Classic Movies, and also have rental subscriptions. I don't feel like I need to own every movie I ever liked. The limitations of the media do affect my enjoyment of movies, otherwise, what's the point of going to a theater and watching it on the big screen? I bought a copy of 1941, and the transfer is quite possibly the worst ever produced by a major studio. There is no reason for me to ever watch it again -- I can wait for it to come in again over the cable.

Originally Posted by CCONKLIN1

Still very happy with the 320 (especially for the price). Plays all the blu ray media I throw at it and is very quiet as well in the bedroom. I also just realized I have never ever played a DVD through it to watch. (other than testing for my own edification and clarification) Ever since I bought a media player that handles ISO I never use standard DVD anymore! With the prices of Hard drives so low, I took all of my DVD's and converted them to ISO format and play them back via HDMI 480i and then let my Reon or ABT scale them to 1080p. The added benefit is that I don't have layer changes anymore and extended editions that span multiple discs can be combined to one big ISO. Another added benefit is that I don't have to worry about the original DVD's getting all scratched up!
Just tossing this out there for those with larger DVD collections that may want to keep their discs in pristine condition and make it a bit more convenient to play them!
Best,
Chris

Originally Posted by MD Boy


Mike T, thank you so much for your response and help! You the Man

Just changed the audio to, 'Auto' and now instead of PCM, I have, DTS-HD Mstr showing on the receiver. I'm guessing that's the better choice over PCM? Still trying to figure all of it out - sorry for being a Noob.

Zero clue how to calibrate my display. I have it currently set to PPDP but I'll switch it to Professional so hopefully that'll give the BD's a little more color?
I'll keep tweaking the settings to hopefully get it the way I want it.

Thanks again for your help!

Michael

Originally Posted by Page14

Thanks for sharing this, Chris. I'm not familiar with the ISO format and curious to know if you still have access to all the special features on a DVD (such as audio commentary) when converting everything to ISO. ???

Thanks ... Bob

Originally Posted by CCONKLIN1

Yep! Everything the disc has, you have access to! Or, you can choose to strip out languages you don't need!
Will drop you a pm along with willie later....
Chris