Pioneer BDP-430 3D Blu-ray player
Pioneer BDP-430 review: Pioneer's first 3D Blu-ray player is a solid performer with no real surprises
Pros
- Plays both 2D and 3D Blu-ray discs perfectly, reasonably quick start-up times
Cons
- Not as diverse a range of online services as LG or Samsung Blu-ray players
Bottom Line
Pioneer's BDP-430 Blu-ray player is a solid unit. It's can play 3D Blu-ray movies and is also able to connect to the Net and watch YouTube videos and access BD-Live content. It's not as versatile as the feature-packed Samsung BD-C6900 or Sony BDPS-470, but what it does, it does well.
-
Price
$ 499.00 (AUD)
The Pioneer BDP-430 is a Blu-ray disc player that can play 3D movies as well as normal 2D content with aplomb, and YouTube access will be offered via a future firmware update. Sadly its Internet-based features are limited when compared to media powerhouses like the Samsung BD-C6900 and Sony BDP-S470.
Pioneer BDP-430: Design and features
The Pioneer BDP-430 is a satin black that should look good alongside a plasma or LCD television, and its screen is bright and can easily be seen from across a room.
The Pioneer BDP-430 supports BD-Live, as do most other Blu-ray players on the market. Once you've plugged it into your home network via Ethernet (a wireless adapter is also available), you can plug in a USB memory key and access the interactive features of Blu-ray discs. Also set to be available via a future firmware update is YouTube access — making it easy to call up a video clip or two if the Blu-ray movie you're watching is getting boring.
The Pioneer BDP-430 doesn't have the same comprehensive set of online features as players you find on Blu-ray players from competing brands like Sony, Samsung and LG. All of these manufacturers have much more diverse and well-established online features like video-on-demand streaming via BigPond Movies or application libraries, so if you're looking for a multipurpose media player they may be a better choice.
Pioneer BDP-430: Start-up speed, performance and reliability
The Pioneer BDP-430 takes around 30 seconds to hit a Blu-ray movie's root menu from a cold start, but if you're just changing discs this figure can fall to around 15 seconds. Navigating menus is easy; the remote is clearly laid out and has buttons for every conceivable feature you'd need to access. It can also control simple functions like power, volume, input and channel for the television that's connected to the Blu-ray player through HDMI. The same is true for any Pioneer A/V receiver that you've got connected.
We did our testing with a Panasonic TH-L37D25A, but also gave 3D a quick run on the Sharp LC52LE820X 3D LED TV. The picture quality of the Pioneer BDP-430 looked no worse or better than we've seen from every other Blu-ray player — if there are differences in the signal processing or in the quality of the components, you won't see it with an everyday plasma or LED television.
Pioneer BDP-430: Conclusion
The Pioneer BDP-430 Blu-ray player is a competent player. It's not especially versatile or packed with features, but it does a good job when it comes to playing Blu-ray movies.
Become a fan of PC World Australia on Facebook
Follow PC World Australia on Twitter: @PCWorldAu
Stay up to date with the latest news, reviews and features. Sign up to PC World’s newsletters
Brand Post
Most Popular Reviews
- 1 Dell U3223QE review: A winning debut for an IPS Black monitor
- 2 HP Spectre x360 16 review: The right 2-in-1 at the wrong time
- 3 Acer K242HYL review: An affordable monitor for any occasion
- 4 GeForce Now review: You bring the games, Nvidia streams the hardware
- 5 Asus ProArt PA279CV monitor review: The go-to for content creators on a budget
Latest News Articles
- You can now rock out to Apple Music on Roku devices
- Complete guide to the new AirPods Pro 2
- Apple Music adds DJ mixes in spatial audio
- Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+ will be free for the first 12 weeks of the season
- Apple TV+ makes history at wild Oscars ceremony
Resources
Macworld
What's new, plus best mac-related tips
and tricks
Business Centre
The latest business news, reviews, features and whitepapers
Videos
Watch our video news and reviews from around the world
Guides
Comprehensive buying guides, features, and step-by-step articles
PCW Evaluation Team
Pedro Peixoto
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Set up is effortless.
Cate Bacon
Aruba Instant On AP11D
The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.
Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti
Aruba Instant On AP11D
Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.
Tom Pope
Dynabook Portégé X30L-G
Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.
Tom Sellers
MSI P65
This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.
Lolita Wang
MSI GT76
It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.
Featured Content
- Which Lenovo Laptop Should I Buy?
- Every TV in Samsung's 2022 line-up: OLED, Neo QLED and more!
- Top 10 best Android and Apple phones for under $600
- Everything you need to know about Smart TVs
- What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
- Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?