Pioneer may be a well established name on the Blu-ray spinning circuit by now, but the company’s deal with Sharp last year to pool their BD resources means that the BDP-320 is likely to be one of the last pure Pioneer Blu-ray players off the production line.
End of an era: Pioneer’s BDP-320
The BDP-320 sits in the lower half of Pioneer’s six-strong Blu-ray player range. The feature spec rises fairly gradually from model to model though – the BDP-320 offers 48-bit Deep Colour over the basic BDP-120′s 36-bit, but step up to the BDP-LX5 and you’ll get the anti-jitter Precision Quartz Lock System. Otherwise, features and connections are very similar. A good-looking machine – slimline with a gloss black finish – it feels solidly constructed. While the higher end models might have a classier build on close inspection, the BDP-320 certainly doesn’t look cheap.
The back is home to a single HDMI v1.3 port, Ethernet, component, optical and composite digital audio outputs, and a remote control input for custom instals. The USB port is for additional memory storage beyond the 1GB already on board for BD-Live content. As yet, there’s no sign of Wi-Fi connectivity at this level from Pioneer, such as you’ll find in the similarly priced LG BD390 or Sony BDP-S560. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Pioneer makes great plasma TVs featuring the deep blacks and impressively high contrast that this technology offers. For years the company’s mantra was akin to ‘Plasma good, LCD bad’. So it was a surprise last year when Pioneer announced it would be making LCD screens. Like the plasma models, these screens are called Kuro. The word is Japanese for black and the brand is synonymous with high-contrast, high-priced, high-performance screens.
Black is black: Pioneer’s Kuro KRL-37V
The thinking behind LCD sets, Pioneer explained, was the opportunity to make smaller screens – a place where plasma cannot easily go. After all, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Pioneer plasma smaller than 50 inches, and not everyone has room for that or its 60in sibling. So, by utilising the high-contrast filter used on its plasma models, Pioneer claims this new Kuro range affords deeper blacks than previously seen on LCDs. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Installing a Blu-ray Disc recorder is the latest must-have upgrade for desktops, but because they remain thin on the ground, they maintain a price premium. Given the high storage capacity of the Blu-ray format, write speed is particularly important and we’re starting to see drives capable of 8x writing on 25GB and 50GB recordable media. Pioneer’s BDR-203BK appears to be waiting for the media to catch up.
Pioneer’s BDR-203BK: capable of 8x write speeds, if you can find the media
The BDR-203BK is the successor to Pioneer’s BDR-202 and much of the earlier drive’s look and feel is repeated here. This 5.25in internal drive has the same simple front panel, with powered tray, eject button, data LED and a hole for paper-clip-powered, emergency eject. There are also the same Sata data and power connections at the back, as before. Read the rest of this entry »
Review It’s not been easy for Pioneer of late, what with the painful withdrawal from the high-end plasma TV market that it had dominated with the Kuro, the best plasma family on the planet. However, life goes on and this spritely little Blu-ray Disc player should go some way to putting the spring back into Pioneer’s step.
It’ll also bring a level of performance to your living room not previously seen in a BD box at this price point.
The BDP-51FD feels well constructed and reassuringly sturdy sitting on its circular metal feet. Looks-wise, the player scores highly too, creating a dark and brooding presence in the stack with its black livery and little blue lights – just in case you forgot it was a Blu-ray player. Read the rest of this entry »
