This BD player is a real quality product.
The finish is in the stylish glossy black, which matches the other Pioneer products in this range.
It is quite large, so not for those looking for skinny products to stick under the TV (12.4cm x 42cm x 36cm).
One thing about this player is, it isn’t BD Live capable, personally I choose it after Live was common place, and because I knew I wasn’t interested in Live, or Bonus View material etc... (even though it does have Bonus View), I wan’t to watch a film and that’s it, so if you can live without that option then it’s a worthy option to choose.
It’s Kuro link enabled, which means you can control it from the TV remote, if you have a Kuro TV.
On the plus side is the build quality and the components used inside it which provide a stunning picture detail and colour depth (36bit)
It supports AVCHD, DivX, MP3, WMA files, and via the latest update, it does now support DTS-HD Master Audio via bitstream to suitable amp.
Considering the price this was, if you can still find it on sale, and they are out there, then it is a bargain (still expensive) but a real bargain, if you can find it, you won’t be dissapointed if you get it.
If you live under the misconception that all DVD/BD players are the same, and it’s the TV/Cables that make a difference, then it’s time to put that idea out of your head and go and see the difference a quality product makes to the viewing experience.
One thing to note about this player is the boot up time is slow, you can’t even start to eject the tray until it has booted, this take about 60-90 secs (not sure exactly how long – I tend to walk away for a few minutes), and then the disc loading time isn’t fast either, but again like with the Live function, if you can live with it, then the wait is worth it, after all for me the real gains are in the picture and sound quality for the 1-2 hours I’m sat watching the film, not the time saved loading, or the minutes wasted afterwards looking at stuff of no real interest to me.
Product reviews by 'BigDK'
Have been using this TV for about 6 months now.
Expensive item, but I still find justifying the price easy to do, every time I watch a good BluRay on it, I still find myself amazed at the picture quality, the clarity and the colour reproduction.
Comparing it to friend 1080P TVs, they still look sharp with HD material, but this just looks deep and takes the watching experience to another level.
The undermount sound bar is good quality and perfect for general use, but for films you really want a dedicated surround sound system to finish the experience off.
The anologue tuner is good quality providing a more than aceptable picture even at this size, the digital tuner is also good quality with none of the problems apparent on my cheaper TVs showing up, such as major pixelation on scene changes and fast action shots.
The casing is a stylish glossy black, with no frills to distract the viewing, even the power led on the left can be dimmed so it doesn’t distract you.
Having mastered the menu system within a few days, it’s easy to navigate changes required for different playback material.
If you can still get one and have the funds, then do it whist you can, the difference from lesser TVs needs to be seen to be believed, it really is in another class.
Good strong case, but very heavy.
Side door at back is a pain to fit back on when cables are routed through the cable management system at rear.
HDD area is poorly designed keeping heat trapped, should have had fans in the area and front mesh would have helped.
On the plus side, it is massive inside making it easy to work with.
A nice case to mod as well.
Why Oh Why did it take so long to find this software??
Whatever player you're using at the moment, bin it and use this.
Clean front end, easy to use, low system use and above all real high quality playback.
Very impressive equalizer built in and a number of plug-ins available on line as well.
Get the most from your PC sound system, use Foobar 2000
