Pioneer PDP-5070HD PureVision 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
by Pioneer
|
List Price: Category: Home Theater See more product details |
|---|
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Pioneer PDP-5070HD PureVision 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
Customer Review: Colorful, sharp, connections, and aesthetic ...
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been shopping for a flat panel LCD or Plasma for a long time and went to probably 20 or 30 stores and compared a zillion TVs in the 40" to 50" size before settling on this Pioneer. I was concerned about a couple things: the reflections from a plasma screen vs. no reflections from an LCD and the possibility of burn-in, even though salesmen and printed articles reassured that this was no longer a problem. The reflective screen has turned out to not be problem for my viewing room is not too bright on the wall opposite. I don't notice any distractions. The possibility of burn-in from watching program material that isn't 16:9 aspect ratio still concerns me, and thus I am frequently forced to watch in "wide" mode (stretched), even though I don't prefer that. Though salesman and articles said this is no longer a problem, Pioneer's instructions state that this is a distinct probability and recommend always stretching a program that isn't wide enough to begin with. OTOH, I have found that an increasingly percentage of channels broadcast in HD 16:9 so that is becoming less and less of an issue. It seems like a year ago there was 20% wide screen programs and today there may be 40%-50% ... at least in my area and the channels I watch. I figure we might be approaching 70%-80% soon.
Those were the concerns. Following are the things I like. I chose this Pioneer plasma over Panasonic plasma (cheaper), Vizio plasma (cheaper still), and Sony XBR lcd because the Pioneer had a better standard def picture than the others and a better hi-def picture than the Panasonic and Vizio. The Sony XBR and Pioneer were about tied for hi-def, with the Sony having more accurate greens and the Pioneer having richer colors and better blacks. The Pioneer's colors are so rich that I've turned them down somewhat. I changed the default "dynamic" color setting which was way to saturated to the "movie" color setting. This was also recommended by reviewers that calibrated the Pioneer plasma. I additionally turned the "advanced" manual color settings down a couple of notches for the initial month per recommendations to help avoid burn-in. Nonetheless, the colors are more dazzling than any flat panel I've seen and the picture is crisper than all other TVs, especially the Panasonic and Vizio models, except for the Sony XBRs.
The connectivity for this TV is also more complete than for any except the Pioneer Elite models (for $1000 more they include ethernet) and the Samsung highest-priced models. Very few TVs have a USB port to connect a camera or computer for photos. This does.
The side viewing angle is amazing. Frequently, I watch the picture from an adjacent room off to the side. There is no noticeable loss of color, brightness, or clarity when looking at it from perhaps 75-80 degrees off-axis.
All plasmas or LCDs could have a dead pixel. Pioneer says in their instructions that this could happen but states limiting criteria where this is normal and acceptable. There are NO dead pixels anywhere on my set. QC is stellar.
The remote control is simply OK. There are a million buttons and options, like on most, and the layout and ergonomics are average. I've seen worse and I've seen better.
Customer Review: the perfect vision
Summary: 5 Stars
Hi,
I bought this Pioneer disply unit for my hometheater screening.
i wont talk about how good is this unit as many readers covered that but i will talk about a question that many are asking allot, which is better, the Plasma or the LCD display unit?
Its a tricky question and since the questioner needs to know a quick answer its simply its .... hold on I wont say it now, you must read to the end.
History wise both formats date back to the sixties and even before that time since they where only theories on paper.
You know what's funny about the both formats? in all the since fiction movies they made from the twenties up to the mid eighties, there wasn't any flat screen shown in the space ships or command controls, instead, the CRT screen was the only display unit used. It seems that all science fiction writers didn't had a clear vision for the future display units. Even the great Star Wars movie portraying a very advance civilization had only CRT's.
Now back to our time and question.
Both formats have inn's and out's:-
1- The LCD is best suited for bright places, the plasma display is not, but then not all rooms are very let like the showroom's. Plasma will pass this argument.
2- The Plasma is the best display for moving action and sport channels, the LCD is getting there with new display units from Sharp and Sony.
3- The Plasma have that third dimension 3D look, the LCD totally lacks it.
4- The Plasma have the problem of an image burn in (the channel's logo) if you keep watching the same channel for many hours, the LCD has no problem at all, however many Plasma units come with image burn protection and you need to check out the model number in the net to find if it will do that.
5- The Plasma consume a little more electricity and generate more heat than the LCD panel.
6- Both units can display a very sharp and clear pictures, however the Plasma may have a slight notch over the LCD.
7- Many Plasma units are on sale now with prices lower than the LCD units.
Most LCD display units have a similar and sometime even better contrast than Plasma units, however that was only visible in the showrooms due to the high level of the brightness generated by the showroom's florescent lamps, which have a very negative display on the Plasma display units.
There are allot of other issues that makes the picture of each format Excel's above the other like pixel numbers, contrast level, display usage life and even dealers support, so try to check on those when buying a display unit.
If you watch movies allot, then get a Plasma unit.
If you watch allot of TV shows with resident logos, the buy a LCD unit.
Overall if you want the best out there, then buy the new Kuru plsma disply unit made by Pioneer as its best display ever made to date.
Regards
Riyadh
Customer Review: To Panasonic or to Pioneer, that was the question
Summary: 5 Stars
Quite a stuggle trying to pick between these two.
I chose the Pioneer based on reviews not only on Amazon's website but throughout the web. I really liked the detachable speaker because I want to incorporate the tv into my surround sound system. Hanging just the TV on the wall within a newly built bookcase, well, it just set the whole thing right. Almost looks like art. Let me say that the sound coming out of the speaker is something to be experienced. No, it won't make me change my mind about the incorporation but it really is something.
Now for the other struggle. . . where to purchase.
I found that you could not shop for just price. Without purchasing from an authorized dealer you will be giving up any factory warranty. Not a good prospect. There are quite a number of dealers out there. I found the reading of reviews for these dealers equally interesting. I really wanted to avoid spending a lot of money and then not be satisfied with either the delivery or the dealership.
Unfortunately (for Amazon) I did not purchase this item from them. I've bought many a product from Amazon and have always been totally satisified. After considerable research I found VisualApex. Great reviews and a better price from an authorized dealer. Ordered on Friday, delivered on Tuesday. Couldn't be more satisfied with both. And no added sales pressure for extended warranty or anything else.
Pany, I'm sure, sells more sets based on price alone. The reviews of both are within inches of each other and for good reason. but I wanted both price and an authorized, reputable dealer.
As for the set, well, just here at Amazon, how many plasmas have over forty reviewers and a five star rating?
I'm glad I spent the extra money for this Pioneer. I feel it's still the better tv.
UPDATE: After four months of ownership and discovering all of the material availabe for 1080 dpi, I really doubt that I can convey the satisfaction I get when viewing such hi def on this particular plasma. I've had the chance to view other plasmas (not Pioneer) also went back to the movie theater to see Transformers. I won't be going to the movies any more! All I did was complain how fuzzy the movie was. You cannot compare any other form of projection to the color and detail I get on this set. I enjoy watching golf (not playing it, just watching it). CBS uses and hypes their use of DLP technology for their golf broadcasts and deservedly so. (I don't think NBC Sports has any idea that Hi Definition is even available. It is tough trying to watch NBC's golf broadcasts after watching what CBS can do with theirs. Every blade of grass, every leaf on the trees every dimple! What else can I say, except to say it was worth every penny and I am extremely satisfied.
Customer Review: As good as 50" non-1080p plasmas get and now affordable
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought one of these last fall for $3500. They now sell for about a K-buck less. Fellow at Best Buy (who sell these) told me Pioneer was going to drop the model, but changed their mind because the 1080p model they introduced last fall is too big a price jump up and the picture is not really any better at normal viewing distances. One of the video review magazines who tested the 1080p model said the same thing - past about 3-4 feet from the screen, the difference is insignificant.
This is an excellent HD plasma. I have Charter cable fed through HDMI to the TV and good HD (National Geographic/Discovery) is breath-taking, Ordinar HD is excellent, ordinary non-HD digital is very good, the better analog is near-digital in appearance, and poor quality analog is - well pretty poor looking, but viewable.
I recently bought an up-converting Sony DVD player (refurb on Amazon for $71) and it kicks the level of DVD picture-qaulity which was already very good up to the point where it is essentially equal to broadcast HD quality and with agood, DVD better. Pioneer is justly famous for their scaling software and it shows in this set. Consumer reports keeps rating the Panasonic models higher than this Pioneer and I have no idea why they do that because if it was on the basis of picture qualityt alone the Poneer is a MUCH better set. I compared the heck out of them when shopping and frankly would have loved for the Panasonic 60/600 models to be as good or better as that would have saved me almost $100 at the time. They were not nearly as good and I hated seeing that fact with my own eyes in several stores.
The set is good looking, but the gloss black trim smudges easilly. It is heavy and a real power hog (a plasma trait). The screen gets warm on extended viewing (but not hot) as all plasmas do. Nice in the winter as it helps heat the room. The remote is simple, but effective and easy to use. The lack of back-lighting (vs. glow in the dark) is an embarrassment in a TV of this quality level. For shame, Pioneer.
Don't use the speakers, so no comment on them.
I like this thing a lot and if it drops below $2000 I will likely get a second one for the rec room. I will look at the semi-1080 Hitachi first, though, although it is getting mediocre user reviews.
Customer Review: Bad Luck with Amazon and Pioneer
Summary: 3 Stars
I hope this is useful to some and will help weigh in on any purchasing decisions being made from here or elsewhere. I love the PDP-5070hd monitor, it looks great and you can read about that in the other reviews and I for the most part agree with them. Unfortunately I had some serious issues with each TV I received from Amazon. The first TV stopped outputting the cable video signal after a few weeks of delivery and all I would get is audio. Just to make sure I didn't have a problem with cable I connected it back to my old CRT and it worked fine. I walked through the setup with Pioneer just to make sure I didn't make a silly mistakes but Pioneer confirmed that something was indeed wrong with the TV and would need maintenance. In a few weeks I received my replacement TV (same make/model) and this one would not even make it past the initial setup after turning it on, it would go to black screen and then the power light would blink on and off. Pioneer again confirmed that something was very wrong with the TV and again the newly received TV would need service. I'm currently waiting to here back from a manager from Amazon to see how they will handle this as I consider this a big inconvenience for the price I paid and would like them to step up and compensate me for the trouble all this has caused. Most likely I will ask for a full refund but I have to say at least customer service has been fairly helpful and well handled with some minor mistakes along the way such as Amazon not arranging for the old TV to be picked up by Eagle when they were to drop off the replacement TV, even though this was confirmed in an email from Amazon. I felt I had to follow up with both groups to make sure things went smoothly, but I expect that from most sales experiences. 3 stars, but I'm not sure if the problems are from Pioneer quality, shipping damage (the boxes all looked fine), or maybe Amazon sold me used TVs that were returned and never properly serviced (just speculating).