Pioneer Software Updates
Lorin Cupples
HI, new to this forum and was hoping for some help/advice with an upgrade problem on my Pioneer Elite N50. I recently resurrected the player/streamer from my closet and have been enjoying the streaming functionality of the N50 in my sound system. I went to upgrade the firmware and the Pioneer site does not support the player anymore and the most recent upgrade options have been removed from their site. I would like to know if there are any legitimate sites that archive firmware/software for discontinued products? Alternatively, are there any members who have a copy of the firmware for the N50 that they could share with me. Thanks for your consideration.
Dear Cebolla, it was definitely not up to date. However, thanks to your contribution to another forum that I discovered last night, I was able to download the last firmware update from the Japanese Pioneer site. Problem solved.
Just in case someone else comes across this thread, I should give the link to the relevant page on the Pioneer Japan site anyway (if required, Google translate works pretty well on the page at providing an English version of it):
BTW, how do you intend using the N-50? My recommendation would be to use it with the Logitech Media Server (with the UPnP/DLNA Bridge LMS plugin suitably enabled & configured for the N-50) to both control the N-50 and provide it with music (supports internet radio & online music services such as Qobuz, Deezer, Spotify, etc, as well as your own music files).
The main thing is that you must use a FAT 16 or FAT 32 formatted USB stick and transfer to the USB stick's root folder the .bcd file from your computer (that has previously been extracted on your computer from the downloaded firmware .zip file). Also, the USB stick mustn't contain any other files or folders on it.
I no longer use the N-50, but when I did it was via LMS as I recommended earlier and it outputted to a Pioneer A-70 amp. I never considered getting the optional Pioneer AS-BT200 Bluetooth adapter as I had no need for it. Unless you must use Bluetooth, I don't think it's worth the investment anyway, as it only supports the lowest quality A2DP Bluetooth audio.
Thank you Cebolla, however still no luck. My usb stick is formatted, to FAT 32, there is no listed root directory or folder since the usb drive is not partitioned, i understand that when i add the .bcd file it becomes the root. I tried both the 1.020.bcd and the 1.038 files downloaded from the zip, they are both tiny files, like 9.3 mb, and the N-50 still says "file not found." What am i doing wrong? Thank you.
Finally bought a new usb d rive and got it to work for 1.038 update. Is it correct that this last update includes the changes in the prior ones, specifically 1.020, or should i have installed 1.020 before doing 1.038? What happems of you add 1020 after 1038? Thanks again for your help.
The Google translated version of the 'Notes on updates' from the Japanese Pioneer site page, that I originally linked to, make nothing of updating directly to firmware version 1.038 from a lower version (other than if the lower version is 1.020 or lower, there will be the minor inconvenience of N-50's user settings being set to their factory defaults) and therefore it would be totally normal to do do:
So the implication is that the latest firmware update will include all of the relevant changes from the previous versions, not to mention that the same webpage doesn't supply you with any firmware other than the latest version. It's quite straight forward to test - just see if some obvious in between changes mentioned in the Change log on the same webpage has occurred, eg from version 1.020 :
Thanks again. Learning so much on this site. Being an analog dinosaur and new to this digital world, i dont yet own any music in those lossless or gapless hi res formats. What is the quickest idiot-proof way to download or access such files to road test this player? Guessing i need to try a free month of spotify premium or quobuzz?
Pioneer Fire Protection District is fully committed to providing accessible facilities, elements and channels of communication to all members of the public. As part of this commitment, Pioneer Fire Protection District has a policy of providing an accessible website compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and commercial screen reading software. All features of the website are coded to allow individuals with vision and other impairments to understand and use the website to the same degree as someone without disabilities. We welcome feedback and can often resolve issues in a timely manner if they arise.
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In addition to testing with users with a wide range of disabilities and coding our website to WCAG standards, Pioneer Fire Protection District regularly scans its website to ensure ongoing compliance, and makes timely changes to any inaccessible changes, if any are found.
Please note that this site may link out to third-party websites, such as state or federal agencies, that do not have accessible content. This site may also include documents provided by third parties included in our agenda packets, for example. While we cannot control the accessibility of content provided by third parties, we are happy to assist any member of the public with reading and accessing content on our site.
It is recommended the target drive is the only drive connected when updating.
This program is known to display some errors when using Windows 98SE with multiple drives attached.
However this will not affect the update process.
This firmware utility is not proper for updating OEM drive.
For users of OEM drive, please contact each PC maker for assistance when updating.
important notice
Please make sure to read the file readme.txt on the firmware update process.
Installing the improper firmware may render the drive inoperable.
Pioneer will not take responsibility for drive failures due to improper firmware updates or acts of nature that cause a power failure during the update process.
important notice
Please make sure to read the file dvdutil.chm on the firmware update process.
Installing the improper firmware may render the drive inoperable.
Pioneer will not take responsibility for drive failures due to improper firmware updates or acts of nature that cause a power failure during the update process.
About Region Codes
Region Codes are part of the DVD Standard.
There is a Region number located within one or all of the components required for DVD-VIDEO playback.
The Region number defines the region of the DVD-ROM drive and its playback hardware/software. DVD-VIDEO discs may also contain a Region number in the shape of a world globe. Unless the Region number on both the DVD-VIDEO disc and DVD-ROM drive and its playback components match, playback is not possible. When the word "ALL" is located in the world globe on a DVD-VIDEO disc, that particular DVD-VIDEO disc can be played on all DVD-ROM drives and its playback components, regardless of its region.
All Pioneer 10X DVD-ROM drives now conform to the RPC mode 2 standard,as set down by the DVD Forum as mandatory for all manufacturers of DVD-ROM drives produced after January 1st 2000.
RPC Phase 1- RPC code management is handled by the DVD Video decoder inside a PC system.
RPC Phase 2-RPC code management is handled by either the DVD-ROM drive or both DVD-ROM drive and DVD-Video decoder inside a PC system.
The Ocean Observatories Initiative Facilities Board (OOIFB), sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and in partnership with KnowInnovations, facilitated two community workshops, called Innovations Labs, that resulted in the decision to relocate the Pioneer Array to the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB). The second Lab included community input on measurements that would be desirable for the relocated array. More than 40 instruments or measurement types were discussed. This was reduced to about a dozen high-priority recommendations based on consensus among the Innovations Lab sub-groups. After considering applicability to the science themes, technical readiness level, operational feasibility, and budget impacts the OOI Program was able to implement the majority of the high-priority recommendations.
Among the goals for the relocation process was to optimize the use of existing inventory, and it was possible to do so while addressing several of the instrumentation recommendations. In some cases, new procurements were required, although it should be noted that one of these procurements was needed to replace an obsolete core sensor. A summary of the instrumentation updates for the proposed Pioneer MAB relocation in these two categories is provided below.
The OOI deploys a set of core instruments across all the Arrays. Reconfiguration of the Pioneer Array elements, along with some inventory available from the decommissioned southern hemisphere arrays, meant that some instrumentation could be repurposed for the Pioneer MAB Array without requiring new purchases. Five instrumentation changes were made using this approach:
Several of the high-priority recommendations from the Innovations Labs that were deemed feasible for implementation required instrumentation that was not part of the OOI core. In this case, a formal procurement process is required (the process for replacing an obsolete sensor is similar). Four measurements required new instrument procurements: Near-surface velocity, phytoplankton imagery, particle size, and seafloor pressure. The procurement process for these instruments was initiated in November 2022.
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