May 12, 2008

Pioneer's BDP-51FD And BDP-05FD Blu-ray Players Unimpressive In Features And Price

Pioneer_Blu-ray_Disc_Player_BDP-51FD_FRONT_300_540x274.jpg Pioneer's announced a couple of new Blu-ray players to go along with the new KURO plasmas, projector and monitors--and for once you'll have to pay less than a grand to get your hands on one. The BDP-51FD is a Profile 1.1 model with 24 frames/second Blu-ray playback, Dolby True HD decoding and DTS-HD Master Audio with a future firmware update, 7.1 analog outputs and Wolfson digital audio converters. It'll also output both Dolby True HD and DTS-HD in bit stream format. It'll be available sometime this summer for $600, less than a grand but still a little pricey given the specs.
Pioneer_Elite_Blu-ray_Disc_Player_BDP-05FD_FRONT_REMOTE_300_540x274.jpg
The Elite BDP-05FD is supposedly the "higher-end" of the two models but really doesn't offer much more in terms of its features. Extra features include gold-plated connectors, an aluminum front panel, touch-sensitive buttons, and a 2 year warranty. And that'll cost you an extra $200, because the BDP-05FD will have an $800 sticker when it hits stores this summer. $200 for a better looking Blu-ray player? I don't see any specs that would have any influence on Blu-ray playback quality. Take a look at the pics and tell me if you'd pay the extra $200!

Via CNET