Published on05/ 7/08
Pioneer clearly doesn't give two hoots about releasing only new products at roadshows and conventions such as CES, but instead does things at its own pace. To each his own, I guess. What we have today are the Pioneer BDP-51FD and Elite BDP-05FD Blu-ray players that will hit retail stores this summer. It is able to decode virtually every next-gen multi-channel lossless codec (DTS-HD with firmware update) or bitstream any of them to your AVR. Pioneer also lays claim to the speed crown with these, as you get a 15-second eject from off times as well as 22-second disc load times. They're still more expensive then the Sony PS3 though, with the BDP-51FD and Elite BDP-05FD retailing for $599 and $799, respectively.