Pioneer’s launching more fun stuff today, including a pair of Blu-ray players for its home theater line. The Elite BDP-05FD and Pioneer BDP-51FD are both next-gen players with features that look great on paper, including HDMI 1.3, dedicated video and audio processors, and 1080p upconverting of regular DVDs. I have a 720p upconverting Pioneer player and it actually looks quite good.
The main difference between the two, besides the different branding, is the 51FD has gold plated connectors, a more sleek front, and capacitive touch buttons instead of mechanical.
The 51FD should retail for $799 while the 05FD should go for about $599 when they hit this summer. Don’t forget, the line is called BonusView! That’s a bonus!