
EXCLUSIVE: First Review of the Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 Blu-ray Player
Update Tuesday December 12, 2006: Sony Issues A Statement On The Source Of Its BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player  (It appears at the end of this review)
The Elite BDP-HD1 Blu-ray player, Pioneer’s first and the industry’s most advanced to date, just arrived along with the Elite PRO-FHD1` 50†1080p Plasma monitor, which served as the review display. The BDP-HD1 incorporates a number of exclusive Blu-ray player firsts, including an Ethernet jack for downloading future firmware updates and a built-in Home Media Gallery that when interfaced with your home network allows PC-stored content playback on your HDTV.
Unlike the Sony BDP-S1’s unusual reflective blue faceplate, the Elite sports the line’s traditional piano black gloss finish. Like the Sony, Pioneer locates the transport controls on the front panel (play, stop etc.), duplicating all major remote functions underneath a pull down doorâ€â€a convenience feature the Sony lacks. The Sony and the Pioneer share identical rear panels save for the presence of the Pioneer’s RJ-45 Ethernet jack and the Sony’s fan vent.ÂÂ
 Commencing set-up made clear that there were more similarities between the BDP-HD1 and Sony’s BDP-S1 than just the rear panel, as the two share identical on-screen instruction graphics, looks, placement and some fonts. The open drawer revealed the two players use the same disc drive as well, leading me to ask a Pioneer representative who builds its player. I was assured that Pioneer builds its player, including the drive, which makes it clear that Pioneer also builds Sony’s player.
With 1080p/24 frame output previously selected via the BDP-HD1’s set-up procedure, boot-up time from “off†to playback of a previously inserted Blu-ray disc was 1 minute 25 seconds. With the player “on,†start time was, like the Sony, 34 seconds.
 Feature for feature and function for function, the Pioneer and the Sony were identical with the exception of the Pioneer’s Home Media Player, which permits the BDP-HD1 to access and play PC content streamed over a home network, including standard and high definition video files (Mpeg 1, Mpeg 2 and Windows Media Video HD/VC-1). In addition, the BDP-HD1 can access and deliver PC music content (.wma, .mp3 and .wav files) to your audio system, as well as photos in the JPEG, PNG or GIF formats. Time constraints prevented the HD Guru from sampling the Home Media system at this time. Watch for an updated blog entry.
Pioneer’s BDP-HD1 and Sony’s BDP-S1 can play the same DVD formats (see the list in the Sony BDP-S1 review) though, according to a Pioneer spokesperson, the BDP-HD1 also plays BD-R/RE recordable discs, something Sony’s player currently cannot.
Audio format playback capabilities are identical as well, meaning the Pioneer, like the Sony, will not play CDs. However, while Pioneer’s manual clearly states that the BDP-HD plays back DTS’s lossless DTS-HD format as standard compressed DTS, and does likewise with Dolby TruHD and Dolby Digital Plus (playing them back as compressed Dolby Digital), Sony’s BDP-S1 manual woefully fails to say so.I compared the Pioneer and Sony players (each set for 1080p/24 fps output) connected via HDMI inputs to Pioneer’s PRO-FHD1 set to SMPTE standard using a Sencore 403 signal generator also set to 1080p/24.
SMPTE color bars found within the “Easter egg†on the “Talladega Nights†Blu-ray disc (accessed from the disc menu by pressing top menu on the remote control followed by 7669 + enter) allowed adjustment of both players’ video controls (white level, black level, color and hue) to SMPTE standards as well. Once so adjusted, both players will pass “blacker than black†signals.
Source material consisted of synched duplicates of “The Fifth Element†and “Memento.†Switching back and forth between the players with either disc and viewed at a two-foot distance from the plasma display produced identical images in terms of color reproduction, sharpness and other commonly used video criteriaâ€â€hardly surprising since the two machines are for all intents and purposes identical. The images looked fantastic on both players. ÂÂ
The Pioneer’s updatability via the internet is a big plus. All other current players require you to wait for it to arrive via mail. While looks are subjective, the HD Guru prefers the Pioneer’s more conventional appearance. Add the Home Media capability and two-year warranty (double that of competitors) and for many buyers, the $500 price premium ($1500 retail compared to Sony’s $1000) will be well worth the added expenditure. The Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 earns the top ♥♥♥♥ HD Guru rating.ÂÂ
12/12/06 A Sony spokesperson has emailed the HD Guru the following statement: “At this early stage of Blu-ray player development there are only very few technology suppliers capable of offering components that could be used in the construction of the BDP-S1. It stands to reason that we have sourced key components from similar vendors, however, the design and development of the BDP-S1 was done by Sony.” ÂÂ
Copyright 2006 HD Guru (SM) All rights reserved    ÂÂ
ÂÂGreg Tarr
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I HAVE A MITSUBISHI 1081 SERIES AND I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU CAN GIVE ME INFORMATION ON HOW TO GET A BETTER PICTURE I HAVE A PS2 CONECTED TO IT AS WELL AS A VCR,DVD PLAYER,AND DIRECTV WHEN I GOT IT I WAS EXPECTING TO SEE CLEAR PICTURE AND ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS GOOD I HAVE YET TO SEE ANY DIFFERENCE FROM A REGULAR SDTV IF YOU HAVE ANY HELP FOR ME I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT
Good luck getting the Home Media Gallery to work. I have the 1140HD Plasma with the same feature and I have yet to get it working after a solid month of trying. I’ll be checking back to this blog from time to time in hope you have some info for me on how to get it running.
According to a source famiier with the Home Media Gallery, the system’s funtionality is very dependent the capabliity(s) of your PC ( the meida server) . It was suggested that you temporarily deactivate your firewall and virus protection to test the system as one may be interfering with the operation of the HMG.
The HD GURU
I have a Sony PS3 hooked up to the Pioneer Elite Pro FHD-1. Picture looks fantastic… but I don’t have any other blu-ray player to compare too.
Considering that the Playstation 3 is the fastest selling Blue-Ray player, could you post a detailed review? I can see that several of your readers would be interested in this. Thanks!
I am waiting for Sony to send me a sample for testing. It should arrive soon.
The HD Guru
> design and development of the BDP-S1
> was done by Sony
Gimme a break. Pioneer didn’t design Sony’s hardware but they wrote the firmware for both players and they both use the Sigma asic. They even wrote a graphics engine which could substitute Sony’s graphics without rewriting the BD runtime. Those guys deserve more credit.
Appreciate the attention home networking got considering the amount of work that went into that over the last 6 years. But is home networking going to be enough to compensate for the harvest performance?
Harvest performance on Pioneer vs. PS3 is pretty aweful. Next time, don’t use SQL.
dear hdguru,
after buying an hd dlp tv and blu-ray disc player, what is the best home theatre system to complete the dream room and what are the best wires or cables? thanks for your time
I just completed a direct comparions of a PS3 and the Sony BDP-S1 player with the Fifth Element playing side by side. I found the Video on the BDP-S1 a little better, but the Audio on the BDP-S1 is noticibly superior to the PS3 in terms of seperation and clairitiy of surround processsing.
My two cents…. I like to Sony over the Pioneer Unit.
I was wondering if the DVD pictures coming out of SONY PS3 are as good as the Sony BDP-S1 DVD players? It is my understanding that the Sony PS3 also uses Blue-ray technology. If your answer is in the affirmative then perhaps PS3 may be a better value as one can run HD DVDs and and also play neat games. I know that PS3 are currently in short supply.
Thank you.
Rob
Do either of the new BD players you reviewed (Sony or Pioneer) have HDMI 1.3 audio outputs? If not, when will see a BD player capable of outputting a compressed DTS-HD MA and DD TrueHD bitstream? Would the back panel on a player like that have two HDMI outputs, one for video, and another for audio?
HDMI carries uncompressed digital video and audio. You can connect the HDMI output to an HDMI equipped surround sound receiver and it will process handle the audio functions and then foward the digital stream out to your HDTV.
The HD Guru
First Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 Blu-ray Review (Verdict: Identical to Sony?)
If you read the Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray player review , you’d have a good idea of what the Pioneer BDP-HD1