Pioneer Elite BDP-33FD upgrade crashed my unit

I received a message on my Pioneer Blu Ray player saying the firmware software needed to be updated. I started the firmware update via the Internet. After fifteen minutes of running, the unit said the firmware update failed. I re-booted everything (including the modem and router) and started again and received the same message. I downloaded the firmware update from the Internet and copied it to a flash drive. This also failed since the Blu Ray player does NOT accept more than one file on the flash drive. It seems there is a hidden folder on the flash drive. Pioneer Customer Support advised me to use a PNY Flash drive so I purchased one. It also failed for the same reason (hidden folder). I was unable to delete the hidden files from any of the 4 flash drives I used including the PNY flash drive.

I then copied the firmware software update to a DVD and inserted the DVD into the Blu Ray player. It stopped working after 45% of the install was completed.

I reported these problems to Pioneer Customer Support today. They suggested I return the two year old unit to their Support Center to determine the problem. The initial charge would be $80 plus the costs to repair the unit. I also discussed this with Best Buy Geek Squad (no charge) and they said it sounded like a software or hardware problem since the firmware upgrade methods did not work (Internet, Flash drive or DVD). The Geek Squad recommended I buy a new unit.

It makes no sense to repair my two year old Pioneer BDP-33FD so i purchased the Sony BDP-S790 for $250. It has more features than the Pioneer and I like it.

Has anyone else had problems with their Pioneer Elite BDP-33FD software firmware update?