Pioneer BDP-320/BDP-23FD Owner's Thread - Page 202

I just went into the Menu of my 320 to make some adjustments in the setup but most of the menu is grayed out and won't let me access:

-Home Media Gallery (grayed out): This Function Cannot Be Used Now
-Initial Setup (grayed out): This Function Cannot Be Used Now
-Update Information: Please visit our website for information regarding software updates to this player by accessing the URL below.
www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA
Current Software Version: 3.72

I checked the website and the Drivers/Firmware Updates page and I have the latest version of 3.72

What am I missing? How can I assess the menus for making adjustments?

You can't access these items in the middle of a disc. You have to press STOP twice, I think, or maybe take out the disc and close the drawer.

You're right, I did have a disk in and when I STOPPED it the "Initial Setup" came back on so I could access it. I think I have to have a homemade disk in in order to access the "Home Media Gallery" menu. I'll try making one of those soon.

Did anyone have any trouble with Get Him to the Greek? It might just be the disc I got from Netflix but the loading icon from Universal appears and then no menu...

FW version 3.72

Discs from both Blockbuster and NetFlix will have random playability issues on the 23FD. It has something to do with the lame firmware and the sub-par quality of the mass-mailed discs provided by these two companies. I've not had a single issue with store-bought Bluray discs on my 23FD but way too many incompatibilities with mailed discs to list. 3.72 is the last update from Pioneer in a very long time and it appears they are simply neglecting this unit now. So much for the "Elite" moniker. Looks like Oppo is the only way out now.

I bought an OPPO BDP 83 shortly after I bought the Pioneer 320. So I moved the 320 to my second tv and now I have boxed it up and stuck it on the shelf with my other expensive players that have been ignored by the manufacturer after they released the next model.
OPPO is still updating the 83 almost two years since it was replaced by the 93.

Looks like Pioneer is proving you wrong... A 3.73 firmware was made available this week on the European site (http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/support/so...X52/index.html). It will probably take a little while before it's on the U.S. site, as usual, but it should get there. I haven't checked if it's available for download through the player. Change history only says the usual, "Enhances stability of BD-ROM/DVD-Video playback".

Dan.

Pioneer has released several updates for the 320/23 since they were discontinued. They also continue to support their first BD player.

Last year pioneer repaired my Laser Disc player for $40. Talk about legacy support.

They may not trumpet it but I think their support is above average.

Your experience may be the exception as it is definately not the rule. You may want to visit the 51FD/05FD and the 09FD thread to get some other perspectives concerning this above average support.

It's an obsolete model in the sense that Pioneer doesn't provide as many updates to allow it to cope with new BLURAY discs as current models get. So I would recommend looking at a newer model. Sony, Samsung, Panasonic all make excellent players for a lot less money than this Pioneer model.

I have a Pioneer 320, and it will not play a number of BDs that work fine in my Samsung player.

???? Why would Pioneer issue out updates, just to issue out updates? Are you having a specific problem with your player? Are you trying to play junk NetFlix discs? I have ~800 BD's and they all play fine on my 23FD. What BD's are you having a problem playing?


And as much as I love my 23FD, if I were in the market now for a new BD player, I would buy an Oppo 93 or 95. That being said, I wouldn't trade my 23FD and especially my 09FD for ANY other player on the market.

I actually thought Pioneer did a great job of repairing the drive on my 09FD. Pretty quick service. As for their firmware updates, I think they are pretty quick to release updates for problem titles. However, I haven't had an issues playing ANY BD's since Pioneer released their last update. And that's how it should be.

Enjoy your player. I like mine, too. But there have been 5 or 6 BDs in the last few months where the Pioneer dial never got beyond LOAD, while they played fine on my Samsung BD-C6500 player. I didn't keep a list, and my lack if a list doesn't mean I'm making this up.

I would like to know which ones did not play. I rent BD discs regularly from redbox and my 320 has never failed to play a disc that was properly cleaned. Just rented Tintin and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy today, I expect them to play...

I don't remember, sorry... I will post here the next time a disc won't play in the Pioneer yet plays fine in another machine. I get BDs either from Netflix (which are often different in content than the commercial discs) or the local libary (these are the same ones available in stores).

I did watch the Netflix Tintin on my Samsung player--don't remember if I tried it in the 320 first. I don't see any real difference in the PQ or SQ between these two machines (I bought the Samsung primarily to stream Netflix). They have some different feature sets, of course. The 320 loads more slowly, but once it's going it will let me skip more previews and other pre-movie junk (interpol warnings and the like), and it responds faster than the Samsung to fast-forward and chapter-skip commands.

My experience is factual. No harshness intended, but my recommendation to look elsewhere is based on that issue. I like the player in every other way, except for the lack of a backlight on the remote.

I presently own 2 320s and a BDP-51 and there is absolutely no reason to purchase a 320, 23FD, 51FD or a 05FD in the year 2012 unless you are nostaligic, can buy any of the aformentioned for less than $125.00 (depending on model) or need a backup for spare parts.

Thanks for letting us know. I downloaded this update, burned it to disc as per instructions, and installed it on my US-spec 320. Installation went fine, player works fine. What specific discs it was aimed at, I don't know, of course...

It has been reported by some owners (I had this issue with my 51; less so with my 320) that Pioneer BD players can be a bit fussy with less than perfect rentals/used BDs (even if they appear perfect to the naked eye). Given what you've stated my guess is this is the nature of your problem, not that Pioneer neglects updating players for new BD releases.

Crossing my fingers that it will fix this:

If the discs appear fine to the naked eye, how can it be determined that the problem is the condition of the disc and not the software on it?

Based on my own experience and reports from other owners.

When I've run across a problematic BD (from Netflix), the replacement would play fine. This tells me the issue was a "bad disc" that was tripping up the player's BD error correction and not the content/software on it. Also, I've only had an issue with a couple of new BDs. In both cases it was a known issue and Pioneer released a fix soon after.

For reference, I bought my 51 in August 2008 and replaced it with the 320 in March 2010 (the 320 is still my only BD player).

As I mentioned, my 51 was very sensitive to less than perfect BDs (10-15% of rentals had some sort of issue such as stuttering, freezing, etc.) and led me to finally replace it with the 320 (reported to have better error correction). My 320 has been far more reliable with rental BDs. That said, some owners here report that their Pioneer player's BD error correction isn't quite a good as some players from other manufacturers.

Does setting the 320/23FD bd players to "Source Direct" reduce the odds of Pioneer players having problems playing discs since the bd player isn't doing the processing and it's just passing it straight through?

I don't see how this would make a difference, since the problems are not caused by the actual media content but either by scratchy discs or java programming or some odd thing about menu structure.

+1

Do any of you wash your problem discs with your hands, hand soap and water? Recommended.

Soap will film them up. I usually take a Kleenex dipped in cool water and dampen the surface, then dry the disc radially with a soft towel.

I clean every rental, whether it looks like it needs it or not, with some lense cleaner and a microfiber cloth (this was recommended on page 1, post #7 of the 51/05 thread).