Pioneer Elite BDP-95FD Blu-ray Disc Player - Product Review and Rating

I found the audio performance of the BDP-95FD to be excellent, especially when used in conjunction with an HDMI 1.3a compatible home theater receiver. On-board decoding and bitstream output is provided for most surround sound formats, as well as undecoded bitstream output only via HDMI for DTS-HD Master Audio, which can be decoded by a receiver with built-in decoders for these formats.

Also, access to Uncompressed PCM audio is provided via both the analog multi-channel and HDMI outputs. If you use the Digital Optical or Digital Coaxial audio outputs, audio access is limited to standard Dolby Digital/DTS and Uncompressed PCM 2-Channel audio formats.

A complete, detailed, chart that explains what types of audio formats are available via the Analog, Digital Optical/Coaxial, and HDMI outputs is provided on Page 44 of the BDP-95FD User Manual.

In using all the available audio connection options, audio performance was top notch, given the capabilities of each type of audio connection. However, using the HDMI output connection was by far the most convenient and flexible option when used with the Onkyo RX-SR705 (7.1 Channels) receiver. Two impressive sountracks were from I Robot, which features DTS-HD Master Audio that was bitstreamed undecoded from the 95FD and decoded by the Onkyo receiver, and Shakira - Oral Fixation Tour, which features an Uncompressed PCM 5.1 Channel Soundtrack provided directly from the disc via the 95FD through the HDMI connection.

There was nothing to complain about regarding the audio performance of the 95FD. The only thing that can be confusing, is that although standard Dolby Digital/DTS audio formats can be bitstream by the digital optical/coaxial outputs for external decoding, and other formats can be decoded directly by the 95FD itself and passed in PCM form to a receiver via either multi-channel analog and HDMI output, decoding of DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks require a Home Theater Receiver with HDMI 1.3a inputs with associated audio decoding capability.

So, if you are looking for the best audio experience from your Blu-ray Discs, a new Home Theater Receiver may be in order, especially for any Discs that contain a DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack.

Home Media Gallery

One of the interesting features of the BDP-95FD is the Home Media Gallery. This feature allows the 95FD to function as a client in a wired home network for access to video, audio, and still image files. In other words, by adding the 95FD to your home network via its built-in Ethernet connection, you can access video, audio, and still image files stored on a PC or Media Server and watch them on your TV or listen to the audio files on your home theater audio system.

Setting up the Home Media Gallery is not difficult, once you understand the requirements. You can use a Media Server or a PC as the host for your network video, photo, and audio files. If you are using a PC, the main requirement is that you have Windows Media Player 11/Windows Media Connect software installed on the PC.

In addition, it is also important to have the BD-D95FD turned-on while setting up or adding to your network so that it can be identified by the host PC, and, in turn, the BDP-95FD will be able to identify the host PC.

For a closer look at the Home Media Gallery, check out my BDP-95FD Photo Profile.

What I Liked and Didn't Like

Amongst the things I liked about the BDP-95FD included:

1. Excellent Blu-ray Disc Video Playback.

2. Excellent audio performance.

3. Ethernet Connectivity for Direct Firmware downloads via the internet is easy.

4. Home networking capability works very well and is easy to use once setup.

5. HDMI1.3a connectivity

However, even though there was a lot to like about the BDP-95FD, there were some shortcomings:

1. Profile 1.0 specification - No Access to Web-enabled Disc Features when present.

2. Standard DVD upscaling quality could be better.

3. Home network setup may be tricky for novices.

4. No SACD or DVD-Audio playback.

5. Pricey.

Final Take

I found that the Pioneer Elite BDP-95FD delivers excellent Blu-ray high definition video quality via its HDMI and Component Video connection interfaces.

When compared the Blu-ray video performance of 95FD against two comparison Blu-ray disc players, the Blu-ray performance was top notch. On the other hand, the standard DVD upscaling performance of the 95FD was acceptable, but fell a little short when compared to two comparison upscaling DVD players, but was on par with the upscaling capability of two other Blu-ray Disc players, and also measured by the Silicon Optix HQV Benchmark DVD Test Disc.

The HDMI interface does pass audio signals for most audio formats, including both multi-channel PCM for Blu-ray Discs and 2-Channel PCM for audio CDs.

An added benefit is that the 95FD can send Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio signals in Bitstream form via HDMI, enabling decoding by Home Theater Receivers equipped with built-in decoders for those audio formats.

The 95FD also features direct firmware update capability via the internet (which bypasses the need for firmware update discs), and access to still, video, and audio files stored on a home network (referred to as Media Gallery). Both functions are accessed by a built-in Ethernet port on the 95FD.

However, a disappointment is that although the 95FD has direct internet access, it cannot access web-enabled content that is now starting to appear on some new Blu-ray Disc titles. In other words, the 95FD only adheres to Profile 1.0 specifications.

The BDP-95FD is well constructed and easy to use. Blu-ray Disc video and audio quality is excellent and the Media Gallery is a great bonus. Also, even though its standard DVD upscaling is not the best I have seen, it is about the same as the upscaling capability of the two comparison Blu-ray players. The included Dave Matthews Blu-ray Disc provides a great demo for both the visual and audio impact of the Blu-ray Disc format, with excellent detail and sound encoding. However, the BDP-95FD does have a high price tag: $999.

Taking everything into consideration, I give the Pioneer BDP-95FD a rating of 4 out of 5 Stars.