Pioneer 3d Bluray/DVD Player BDP-170K Review

Pioneer 3D Bluray/DVD Player BDP-170K is it Worth for Your Money?

 

 

Technical specs derived from Pioneer website:

Play DVD-Video, VCD, CD, and USB:
• AVCHD, SACD
• BD-ROM, BD-R/-RE
• CD-RW, DTS-CD
• DVD-RW, DL/-RW (Video mode, VR mode)
• DVD+R/+RW, DL/+RW (Video mode)

File formats:
• AVI, DivX, FLV, MP4, WMV and 3GP movie files
• MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, Monkey's Audio, and FLAC music files
• JPEG, GIF, MPO, and PNG image files

HD Audio
Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio

Terminal
• 1 x HDMI
• 1 x Ethernet
• 1 x Digital Coaxial output
• 2 x USB (Front & Rear)
• 2ch Analogue Audio out

Blu-ray Profile
Blu-ray 3D

Dimensions (W x H x D) 435 x 58 x 250 mm 

Weight 2 kg

 

 

Review:

When it comes to picture quality, the video processor and 36-bit Deep Colour compatibility ensure a detailed and vibrant image. 1080p upscaling will let you play your existing DVDs in near HD quality. The BDP170 is also compatible with 3D discs, making it the ideal match for your 3D TV. Stream Smoother Link provides improved picture quality from streamed videos, such as those from YouTube.

On the audio front, Pioneer's typical attention to detail ensures a smooth yet powerful sound. Should you playback compressed music formats, such as MP3, WMA or AAC then you can benefit from Pioneer's Sound Retriever Link. This restores dynamics to make your music sound more three dimensional.

New to this year's BDP170 is View Scan with Audio. This lets you scan through the contents of the Blu-ray disc at 1.5x real time but with comprehendible audio. It makes finding particular sections on the disc a much easier task.

The BDP-170 also comes with built-in Wi-Fi and the option of Wi-Fi Direct. The latter of these allows you to connect to a suitable device, such as a smartphone or tablet, and stream content directly - no wi-fi home hub required. Miracast allows you to stream whatever video is playing on your smartphone, tablet or PC to the TV, via the Blu-ray player, wirelessly (Miracast requires a Wi-Fi network and Miracast certified smartphone. Smartphone firmware update may be required). Smart functionality includes YouTube and Picasa apps. You can also stream content from your PC or media server via DLNA. What's more, all this is easy to control via Pioneer's unique Apple/Android control app, iControlAV5. Finally, you'll also find twin USB sockets, with one mounted at the front for ease of connection to a media device, should you require a fixed connection.

In addition to the usual Blu-ray, DVD and CD discs, the BDP-170 also plays SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc). This format is capable of some of the highest quality audio possible and a vital part of many audiophiles' music collections. Combined with the ability to play a massive range of other formats, including DivX HD and MKV, the BDP170 is one of the most flexible Blu-ray players in its class.

 

Pro:

Excellent video quality
Excellent audio playback with 192 kHz/24-bit D/A Converter
Onboard DTS-HD Master Audio 
Play SACD 

 

Con:

No 4K video output

 

Conclusion:

With so many bases covered, the Pioneer BDP170 has the ability to be the only disc player you'll ever need at low price of $180.Recommended!