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Pioneer BDP-320/BDP-23FD Owner's Thread - Page 4

post #91 of 6328
5/3/09 at 12:39pm
In the Pionner BDP-320 brochure, it shows that there's a little blue light on the standby/on button, but the actual unit does not have it. I wonder if pioneer decided to skip that at the last minute to save cost .

The 51FD also seem to show the blue-light on stanby button. Is it really there??
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post #92 of 6328
5/3/09 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ValjeanPhantom View Post

I know that in the SD DVD world, Pioneer's disc mechanisms are more durable than Oppo's. I've heard Oppos started to deteriorate as far as build and mechanics are concerned, yet Pioneer players have lasted for four years. To those of you who own the Oppo BDP-83 and the Pioneer BDP-51FD, BDP-320, or Elite BDP-23, are the Pioneers more rugged and built like a tank compared to the Oppo? I prefer my players built like a tank because that makes me feel a certain reassureance about their durability.

To some extent, I get a kick out of size being seen as tantamount to build quality. The 51FD is large and heavy. The Oppo is mediumish and heavy as well. The 320 is smaller than the Oppo, but runs much hotter.
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post #93 of 6328
5/3/09 at 1:51pm
Humor me here, and let me try and get a handle on how some of the scaling works. I'm kind of new to that stuff. But assuming you keep the player in source direct all the time, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of upscaling sd dvd content? Because with source direct it auto plays all sd dvds as 480/60i content. Wouldn't you wanna upscale that to 1080p?

On the other hand, if you DO do that, assuming it's old full screen 4:3 content, upscaling it AUTOMATICALLY stretches it out to fit a 16:9 tv.

It's very confusing to me how that works, and how to set it so that you can view the content in the way it was intended, but also with the best pq that you can get it to look at the same time.
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post #94 of 6328
5/3/09 at 2:39pm
mak....

"But assuming you keep the player in source direct all the time, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of upscaling sd dvd content?"

No. At least if I understand what you are asking. By having options you can either use the piece of equipment you know will do the best job, like a high end third party upscaler/upconvertor, or you are able to test which piece of video hardware you have in your chain, player-reciever-display, that will provide the best pq.

So no, having the ability to do source direct does not defeat the purpose of upscaling/upconverting. It instead allows you to fully explore the best possible end result.

The other thing is some folks WANT to see it in 4:3 etc., purist kinda thing....
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post #95 of 6328
5/3/09 at 3:03pm
I'm not saying it's pointless to have the option to do source direct, I guess what I meant was isn't it going to LOOK better upscaled into 1080p than it would if I left it on source direct and watched it at 480/60i?
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post #96 of 6328
5/3/09 at 5:05pm
Hello all, I'm interested in picking the 320 up sometime in July for my B-Day. I am not a movie buff like most of the people here, so i was wondering if upgrading from my current panasonic bd-30 to the pioneer 320 would be worth the expense. I have the Pioneer Elite 111 with the Pioneer Elite SC-05. What are your thoughts for someone who watches 2-3 Blu-Ray movies a week?

DJ
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post #97 of 6328
5/3/09 at 5:14pm
So no one actually has the 23FD yet, right??
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post #98 of 6328
5/3/09 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AIA_SMALZ_11 View Post

Hello all, I'm interested in picking the 320 up sometime in July for my B-Day. I am not a movie buff like most of the people here, so i was wondering if upgrading from my current panasonic bd-30 to the pioneer 320 would be worth the expense. I have the Pioneer Elite 111 with the Pioneer Elite SC-05. What are your thoughts for someone who watches 2-3 Blu-Ray movies a week?

DJ

320 would be a great player. 51FD might offer very similar performance for considerably less. Check out the Help me Choose a Player thread and you can get more opinions.

Any 320 owners get BD Live or internet access to work?
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post #99 of 6328
5/3/09 at 6:52pm
BD live worked on men in black for me yesterday, but it didn't work on twilight. took FOREVER on men in black, but it did work.
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post #100 of 6328
5/3/09 at 7:44pm
I just tried the bd live on madagascar 2 and it worked GREAT. very very fast. I think maybe that first time with men in black it took so long because it was the first time and maybe it had to format the storage or usb drive that i had plugged in, all the other bd live content i've tried since then has loaded very speedy.
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post #101 of 6328
5/4/09 at 2:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pfdjr1 View Post

So no one actually has the 23FD yet, right??


I have one on order from VE

CD
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post #102 of 6328
5/4/09 at 5:47am
Is the 320 quiet, does the drive mechanism make any noticeable noise? What about fan noise?

And for those that compared the 320 and the 51, are they the same on this front?
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post #103 of 6328
5/4/09 at 6:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sa View Post

Is the 320 quiet, does the drive mechanism make any noticeable noise? What about fan noise?

And for those that compared the 320 and the 51, are they the same on this front?

The 320 is quiet. It makes a solid clunk when the drive door closes. When the disc is loading you can hear the drive tracking/reading if there are no other noises in the room. Once the disc is playing I haven't noticed any noise from the unit. Mine is on a shelf with a reciever and it gets pretty warm. Yet, I haven't heard the fan.

It is much quieter than the Panasonic and Sony DVD players that I have had. This is my first BDP so I cannot make any claims versus other BDPs.
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post #104 of 6328
5/4/09 at 9:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gearguy77 View Post

Mine is on a shelf with a reciever and it gets pretty warm. Yet, I haven't heard the fan.

I hope you don't have it on top of a receiver. That would cause it to get far hotter than the unit should be.
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post #105 of 6328
5/4/09 at 9:04am
gearguy77,

Sounds good, thanks.
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post #106 of 6328
5/4/09 at 9:16am
I do have it on top of the reciever. The shelf is open on the front and I will be installing an AVR controlled exhaust fan directly behind the BDP that should bring the temps down.

I don't have many options but I guess it may make more sense to put the reciever on top of the BDP. The 320 is build solid, but I'm wary of putting anything on top of it. What is normal practice?
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post #107 of 6328
5/4/09 at 9:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by gearguy77 View Post

I do have it on top of the reciever. The shelf is open on the front and I will be installing an AVR controlled exhaust fan directly behind the BDP that should bring the temps down.

I don't have many options but I guess it may make more sense to put the reciever on top of the BDP. The 320 is build solid, but I'm wary of putting anything on top of it. What is normal practice?

Normally I put players under the cable box. The problem with a player on top of a receiver is that you block off cooling on the receiver causing it to get hotter and the player will get hotter than it normally would as well.

My receiver is too large to fit in my A/V rack so I place it on top of the rack. Now depending on your receiver the rack has to be pretty strong, my receiver weighs 68 lbs.
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post #108 of 6328
5/4/09 at 11:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ValjeanPhantom View Post

I know that in the SD DVD world, Pioneer's disc mechanisms are more durable than Oppo's. I've heard Oppos started to deteriorate as far as build and mechanics are concerned, yet Pioneer players have lasted for four years. To those of you who own the Oppo BDP-83 and the Pioneer BDP-51FD, BDP-320, or Elite BDP-23, are the Pioneers more rugged and built like a tank compared to the Oppo? I prefer my players built like a tank because that makes me feel a certain reassureance about their durability.

I own the OPPO(83) and a 51 and they are both built well. The 83 is
about half as tall but the weight is every bit as much as the Pioneer.

The OPPO reminds me of my Toshiba XA2, which was built exceptionally
well.
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post #109 of 6328
5/4/09 at 4:35pm
So still no one got a chance to connect the BDP-320 to a 9G kuro yet?! If the handshake between the 2 units proves to be amazing then ill pull the trigger on the pioneer.

The fact that the pioneer is running hot is not a good sign. I am not that concerned with the loading time. Life span of the unit due to heat might be an issue.
My concern was that i would have to pay 599 for the oppo when its available to the general public on the 18th. however, i was informed today by the good people at oppo that the price will be 499. in that respect the 100 dollar difference is well worth it.
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post #110 of 6328
5/4/09 at 5:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pharmd View Post

So still no one got a chance to connect the BDP-320 to a 9G kuro yet?! If the handshake between the 2 units proves to be amazing then ill pull the trigger on the pioneer.

The fact that the pioneer is running hot is not a good sign. I am not that concerned with the loading time. Life span of the unit due to heat might be an issue.
My concern was that i would have to pay 599 for the oppo when its available to the general public on the 18th. however, i was informed today by the good people at oppo that the price will be 499. in that respect the 100 dollar difference is well worth it.

I suspect this magical "kuro link" PQ enhancement is nothing more than the "Pioneer PDP" video adjust setting thats already available on the 51FD. When I setup my 51 over the weekend, out of the box it automatically selected this picture mode when connecting to my 5020. Just a guess, but I don't think its anything too exciting.
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post #111 of 6328
5/4/09 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pharmd View Post

So still no one got a chance to connect the BDP-320 to a 9G kuro yet?! If the handshake between the 2 units proves to be amazing then ill pull the trigger on the pioneer.
.

I'm using the BDP-320 with a PDP-5020FD. This is my first BDP.

I'm not sure if it is amazing, but my 320 and 5020 play very well together. I have not noticed any handshake issues with the two connected via HDMI. I haven't seen any delays, video blanking or strange images as I've seen on other set-ups.

The Kuro link took care of all the initial settings except Source Direct. The Kuro's deinterlacing is better than the 320 so Source Direct is nice to have.

I did have to readjust the picture settings on the 5020, but this was expected.

I really like the HDMI control. It is great to hit play on the 320 and have the TV turn and the correct input set. It can all be done from the front panel, so no remotes or family training required.
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post #112 of 6328
5/4/09 at 5:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by gearguy77 View Post

I'm using the BDP-320 with a PDP-5020FD. This is my first BDP.

I'm not sure if it is amazing, but my 320 and 5020 play very well together. I have not noticed any handshake issues with the two connected via HDMI. I haven't seen any delays, video blanking or strange images as I've seen on other set-ups.

The Kuro link took care of all the initial settings except Source Direct. The Kuro's deinterlacing is better than the 320 so Source Direct is nice to have.

I did have to readjust the picture settings on the 5020, but this was expected.

I really like the HDMI control. It is great to hit play on the 320 and have the TV turn and the correct input set. It can all be done from the front panel, so no remotes or family training required.

Yah it plays real nice on my kuro as well. The one thing that is a little frustrating is that there isn't a mute button on the 320 remote, just the standard volume up and down. It'd be nice to have a few more control options on the 320 remote for those of us with a pioneer pdp as well. Like the ability to change the screen setting between full/wide/4:3/dot by dot. But other than that I can't complain.
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post #113 of 6328
5/4/09 at 7:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by winston9332 View Post

Right now the value proposition of this for $400 and the 51 for $270 is leaning 51FD, which might prove superior in DAC quality and better build quality judging from early heat from my unit. Having DTS HD MA decoding is nice though...

But doesn't the BDP-51FD do that, too?
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post #114 of 6328
5/4/09 at 7:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy Batty View Post

But doesn't the BDP-51FD do that, too?

BDP 51FD does not currently decode DTS HD MA. Pioneer has said for about nine months firmware will bring this ability, but those promises have been delayed nearly 7 months. Latest estimate is now mid May. Hopefully, this latest estimate (moved from Mar to Apr and now to May) will be accurate.
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post #115 of 6328
5/4/09 at 7:31pm
Thread Starter 
The 320 is a high quality player that offers excellent BD performance and very good SD DVD upscaling. It is a slick design with a current featureset. Its weak points are limited to disappointingly slow load times and no gimmicky features (ie netflix streaming).

I am less so disappointed with this player, but moreso unimpressed. I see little reason why one would opt for this $400 player over a $275 51FD that offers nearly identical performance save DTS HD MA decoding and Profile 2.0, which appear to be tempered by lesser analogue audio decoding and smaller frame that seems to run warm.

In an ever competitive landscape, there are increasinly better and better players available. Differentiation in BD PQ at 1080P 24fps and AQ bitstreaming or decoded to LPCM is miniscule (minus tweaking). To me, it's largely a proposition of value and added gimmicky features like Netflix or Pandora streaming.

With a $400 street price, I think most folks looking for value, should opt for the 51FD. You will get identical load times (all be they painfully slow) and identical BD and SD DVD PQ (very good). I am rather impartial if not indifferent to BD Live, but do like the convenience of firmware upgrades via ethernet. In this regard, the 320 does offer some value, but frankly this feature set is becoming rapidly a "given" in BD players and is readily available in players flirting with $200 street values.

For those of us who are seeking high quality SD DVD upscaling, speedy load times, and tweak-full settings, my humblest of humble opinions is to get in line and spend the extra $100 for the oppo. $500 is a hell of a lot for a player whose featureset could become obsolete quickly in this rapidly developing media (3D, etc), but you really do get a heck of a lot more for the extra $100.

Once again, I am neither unhappy nor disappointed with this player; it is a great machine and offers very good upscaling and BD playback. That said, I do not think it excels in its value relative to the market or offers top notch quality.
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post #116 of 6328
5/4/09 at 7:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by winston9332 View Post

BDP 51FD does not currently decode DTS HD MA. Pioneer has said for about nine months firmware will bring this ability, but those promises have been delayed nearly 7 months. Latest estimate is now mid May. Hopefully, this latest estimate (moved from Mar to Apr and now to May) will be accurate.

Thank you, winston.

I was aware of that, but I could swear I had seen it included in the 51FD features' list on some brochure from Pioneer, so it got me confused. My mistake.
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post #117 of 6328
5/4/09 at 7:48pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy Batty View Post

Thank you, winston.

I was aware of that, but I could swear I had seen it included in the 51FD features' list on some brochure from Pioneer, so it got me confused. My mistake.

You probably did, but there was probably an asterisk and fine print mentioning something like "via future firmware." Unfortunately, that was almost a year and a new model ago.
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post #118 of 6328
5/4/09 at 9:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by winston9332 View Post

BDP 51FD does not currently decode DTS HD MA.

But, can it send the DTS HD MA audio track as bitstream thru HDMI so that an AVR or Pre/Pro can decode it?
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post #119 of 6328
5/4/09 at 10:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samaritano View Post

But, can it send the DTS HD MA audio track as bitstream thru HDMI so that an AVR or Pre/Pro can decode it?

Absolutely.
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post #120 of 6328
5/4/09 at 10:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samaritano View Post

But, can it send the DTS HD MA audio track as bitstream thru HDMI so that an AVR or Pre/Pro can decode it?

yes sir.
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