Pioneer Blu-ray players 2011 - BDP-140/BDP-440/BDP-LX55/BDP-53FD - Page 50

Yes, it is supporting bluray (Pioneer BDP-140 for sure). You can find them under DVD category.

Does anybody recognize this: when playing a (any!) multi-channel SACD on my bdp-lx55, using hdmi/bitstream, the right/surround speaker volume is extremely low. When I change settings to HDMI/PCM however, all levels are normal. This problem does not occur with other - borrowed - sacd player (pioneer dv-lx50, hdmi/bitstream); all is okay. So it looks like a problem with the dsd-decoder in the Pioneer.

Setup: BDP-LX55, connected to Pioneer SC-LX56 receiver via HDMI (single).

Any thoughts?

I got a 140 recently as it's going cheap. What I find so far:

1. the info display along the top while playing looks a bit like my Walmart Seiki. Not much details, no video and audio bit-rates and resolution like the 51FD and 320.

2. Toslink does output 2.0 PCM 88.2kHz from SACDs: unique feature of this group of players and the main reason I wanted to test this player. This makes it possible to use ext. DAC. For this feature alone I'll keep it.

3. I can't get it to output 50i or 50p from PAL and 1080i50 sources, tried all the output resolutions, even though in the set-up menu 576i and 576p are listed. It will only output 60i/p from 50i sources, unlike the 51FD and 320. To some people 50 to 60fps conversion might be useful but not to me at all. This means for me there's little point applying the Chinese fw for region hacking as I don't need other enhancements. Pity as I might get the 53FD but now not so sure.

4. The Cinema mode seems too dark.

5. Also there are thin white lines on the top and R edge one pixel thick in certain scenes in Das Boot, and these artefacts are not present in the 51FD. The lines almost disappear if I turn off CTI.

6. Turning down Edge Enhancement below 0 (0 is the mid-position) will not stick and reverts back to +10.

7. No problem so far with not recognising SACD or 2CH/MCH layer. As previously noted, no track number.

8. Overall start up and operation responses are quicker than the 51FD and 320.

9. Does not play region B coded BDs which the 51FD and 320 will with a certain routine (works in >90% of cases). A great + for the previous players but a great - for this one.

10. With some BD-J BDs (from EuroArts) the 51FD/320 will not display any disc info on the front or the GUI but it seems to work on this player.

Hi, I got a BDP-140 and it has the FW 1.03. I want to upgrade to the 1.17 but, it doesn't has cinavia? can anybody confirm it please?

Also, does anybody has links to download the previous FWs? (1.08, 1.10)

Thank you in advance

Regarding 1.17 I've see a translated page which says it is safe but I'm still looking for English confirmation. I've just ordered a 140 and come across some hacked firmware for a translated page looking for more info in English about it .. Skipped most of the 50 pages here so will skip back but if anyone would like to point out which page or website has this info, cheers

You can try: http://www.pioneerfaq.info/click/click.php?id=547 for V1.10

1.17 FW is safe (no cinavia), I tried with the girl with the dragon tattoo, colombiana and the adventures of tintin and no problems.

Hello everybody,

I hace recently bought the Pioneer BDP440 and AV receiver Pioneer LX55. Readind the LX55 manual, in AUTO SURROUND mode the AV should show the source signal mode on the display, but it only shows PCM. Do I nedd to set up something at the BDP440 or AV to have the source signal format shown?
thanks and regards
Pancho

Guys I saw a bargain on the LX55, same price of the 450, what you Guys think between the 450 and the LX55??? From what model u choose??
I think that LX55 was with several problems, are those already iron out with the latest firmware???
Even with all the possible bugs, is this a better option than the 450??

Hooray, my first post after being a long time lurker!

Anyway, I would like to bring attention to a review I´ve written for my blog: Review of the Pioneer BDP-140. It might be interesting for those people who plan to use it as a replacement for their CD player, aging DVD player, whatever...

Some interesting results.

About the SACD output:
1. DSD-PCM is only 20-bit, not 24-bit. The dynamic range in your test is consistent with 20-bit.
2. I think all last year's and this year's Pioneer BDPs output PCM 88.2kHz from SACDs to optical, so that's more than two players.
3. What's the jitter value?
4. It'd be nice to see how far the FR goes up to for a 88.2kHz PCM encoded to DSD signal to see if there's a digital filter cut-off. This alone may go a long way to explain why you feel SACD "sounds exactly like CD", rather than the actual decimation process.

Thank you very much for your information, this is exactly the reason why I posted this here so that I can correct any mistake I made and to gain new insights.

1. I did not use the digital output, I used the analogue output. And if the Pioneer decreases bit-depth to 20 Bit then a dynamic range of 101 dB is disappointing because 20 Bit theoretically allows 120 dB.
2. I will correct that information, thanks
3. Sadly I don´t know how to calculate it. I simply use Wavelab with a self created -6 dB sine at 11.025 Hz for 44.1 kHz-based samplerates and interpret them visually. As for the amount I took the level of audibility from NwAvGuy who states that -110 dB is a good value. I would think that the jitter value of the BDP-140 for CD playback is as small as 100-200 ps.
4. The frequency range for the measurments files generated by RMAA reaches up to 44.100 Hz, upon conversion to DSD it is reduced to 40.000 Hz, using a gentle low pass. BTW, I used this test signal on SACD also for the Pioneer DV-610 (the review before it) and that player really excels with SACDs regarding sound quality. On analogue playback both exhibit exactly the same aliasing cut-off (or in this case: noise cut-off).

My main goal for my review was that people who might consider using it with analogue connections can make a decision to purchase it or not, purely depending on its sound quality which for CD is excellent. Therefore I ignored digital output from S/PDIF and HDMI.

My LX55 with FW 3.18, why all BD lip unsynch. but no problem with DVD disk
Both Onkyo NR708 & SC-LX75 have the same problem, but no any issue with Oppo 95 and Sony S485 taht connected the same AVR and LCD TV (Samsung 55C8000)
Any suggestion?

Thank you
Edited by wutthilr - 11/15/12 at 5:36am

Hi Guys,

i received my 440 yesterday and quite happy so far. BUT: it plays 1080p mklvs from my network (Seagate NAS) - thats very good, but doesnt play another 720p mkv. Mediainfo only told me that the used muxer for the 720p mkv is older:

mkvmerge v2.9.8 ('C'est le bon') built on Aug 13 2009 12:49:06
libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

than the working 1080p mkv:

mkvmerge v4.9.1 ('Ich will') built on Jul 11 2011 21:28:54
libebml v1.2.1 + libmatroska v1.1.1

So now my question is: How can i get this eg 720p file to work? On another forum i red that i might consider changing the mkv from variable bit rate to constant bit rate. But that only referrs to audio or am i wrong? Which would be the suitable program for me to do so? mkvmerge? didnt find any option to change the bit rate method there.

Does the chinese cfw solve this issue anyway?

Thanks for your assistance!

Rufus

Hi,

i installed the chinese fw now. thought it works without activation for a while and then needs activation code. Unfortunatey something went wrong and i dont see anything anymore on my lcd front display. Everything else works but the display which is supposed to show track number etc doenst work anymore.

Now i cant flash back to older or other firmware. It always tells me that there is no valid file. Im using the same stick as i did for the chinese fw. Whats wrong here? Pls help!

regards

EDIT: after a lot of trial and error, everythings fine again. so pls disregard my last post.

One odd thing: The chines FW disables the track number shown on the VFD. or is it just me and my bdp-440?
Edited by Rufus77 - 11/15/12 at 9:03am

Can you share how do you get rid of the no valid file?

That's knowledge issue for the Chinese CFW without track number on the VFD.

I updated to the custom firmware for my 140 but I don't know how to change the region. Can anyone help me out?

I'm using 4.03 firmware. Tried playing Romper Stomper R2 and it says it's the wrong region.

Also I haven't been asked for any code. Is my firmware working, or do I need to do something else?

Can't play most .mkv or bd folders through DLNA. Do I need to hook up the hard drive directly to play .mkv files?

Thanks

Hello, I was offered a BDP-440 that the seller claims is mult-region free with hardware modification though. I personally don't like these kind of modifications and should I buy the device I would want to remove it, flash it with chinese CFW giving the same multi-region functionality. I have seen 2 types of such hardware modifications. Once where soldering is required, other with bus cable connections. Does anyone know what is usually used for BDP-440 to achieve this hardware mod ? If its a bus cable solution, then I can go for it. I can remove quickly and have a clean player (that would also qualify for warranty claim if needed). Anyone ?

Not sure if the chinese CFW even works for region free. I installed the one linked here and while it upgraded it's still not region free and still haven't been asked for any type of activation code which I already have from the russian site. I don't think anyone is reading this thread anymore. I'm gonna start PM some people and see if they can help.

If it's already modified then the warranty is void anyway. From what I've seen, it's just a cable solution. NO soldering required. I was gonna buy a chip for 100.00 but decided to do the chinese CFW but it doesn't seem to be working right now. I'm using 4.03, manbe u should try an earlier version.

If it's a cable solution as seen here then no problem, I can remove those myself. The 4.03 CFW should be region free, you need to go to "Intial Settings" and press 3 3 4 4 on your player's remote. The you should be able to change your region for DVD by pressing your remote's 0-6 (0 - meaning multizone). for BD pressing 1 for region A, 2 for B and 4 for region C.

3 3 4 4 dosn't work on non-activated CFW

OK, so I found out how to activate it. Region free now:D

However my DVD audio retail discs only playback static. A few DVD audio disc that I downloaded play fine, but retail discs only outputs static. Anyone here having issues with DVD audio discs? I tried changing from bitstream to PCM to reencode but it doesn't work.

I'm having major problems getting an activation code for the CFW on that russian site.. Can't seem to be able to PM anyone.. Can anyone who has been successful help me out.?

.
Edited by Richard Owen - 12/16/12 at 5:43am

Richard,

What's the model of yours? I think 4.03 should be the last version for this unlocker.

I'm on v4.03... I've had a surf around and there is a v4.04 out there somewhere but i can't find it.. It has a feature i need on it which is: iso's and BDMV's via SMB. This would let me stream iso's from my NAS.

There is also a v5.0 and 5.01 that also have this feature but this activator cant produce a code for it unfortunately.
Edited by Richard Owen - 12/16/12 at 5:43am

Well, I would be also very interested in CFW 4.04 for BDP-440 (if exists at all). I have lot of BD ISOs on my NAS and would like to stream them to my player, therefore it would be vital for me to get NFS/SMB access for this great player!

I am already speculating to buy CFW5.01 unlock, however I have no idea whom to contact to get it cheapest and the same time don't get scammed. I have found 2 pages on TaoBao here and here, both of them offering this so called "jailbreak" but the price is way different between these two.. Also me, being a non-chinese, having no bank account or credit card in China , I have no way to buy this, even though these listing would be legit...

Anyone tried this ??? If so please share some experience.

Thanks for the Links Sasovics..

The Chinese want $100 for the firmware.!! That's quite a lot... Looks like they are up to 5.05 as well..

Would love to get my hands on this version..

Mort..

What features does the cfw 5 firmware offer that the 4.03 doesn't?