Clare / Andrew - Pioneer 32v

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Hello Clare / Andrew. I was a little bit disappointed when I bought the latest issue of WHF and found that the 32" group test did not include the Pioneer 32v. Could you tell me if and when this tv will be reviewed? Also, now that the four-star Pioneer 37v is available for significantly less than it's original steep asking price (from about £1600 down to £1150), is there a possibility that it could gain a star and receive full five-star status?

Also, I have been told by someone that the Pioneer 37v has problems with motion handling. Is this true? And, if money was no object, would you consider the Pioneer 37v to be one of the best lcd tvs available? And how would you place it compared to models such as the Panasonic 37LZD800 or the Sony 40V4500 if, again, money was no object?

Thanks...

 

[Andrew Everard]

We'll test the 32v when we get one from Pioneer; so far a review sample hasn't been forthcoming.

As for the rest of your question, I'll have to refer those points to the review team next week.

 

[Anonymous]

Thankyou very much. I'll look forward to that. I won't be getting paid for a while so I have time to wait and choose the best tv for me.

 

[Andrew Everard]

our review:On pure performance terms, you'd be hard-pressed choosing between the Pioneer and our award-winning Sony KDL-40W4500, even with its extra three inches.

But this TV's main stumbling block is its price tag. £1500 is a massive ask, especially when you consider the calibre of TVs you can buy for half the price.

Our testing didn't reveal any motion handling problems, and given the presence in the market of very good TVs at this size for much less, and the likes of the Sony 40in W4000 (and especially W4500) for around the same money as the Pioneer's discount price, that fifth star still might not be forthcoming.

Then there's the Sony 40V4000 for a good chunk less, and rivals from the likes of Panasonic...Ummm and the 40Z4500, prices of which should start tumbling soon the way the TV market works.

But why so worried about the fifth star? Go have a look for yourself, and if you prefer the Pioneer at this price to Panasonics and Sony sets around the same money, buy it - you'll be getting a very fine TV for your money.

There are no absolutes in this business - the set you like most is the one to buy.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers again Andrew. Sorry to further interrogate you on a Sunday evening of all times, but how does the Sony 40Z4500 that you mention compare to the Pioneer 37v in terms of performance - high-def and also Freeview?

For the record, the things that most impressed me with the Pioneer 32v / 37v sets were their performance with Blu-ray - in particular the shop had Speed Racer playing and the picture was fantastic; the image was incredibly sharp with near perfect line / edge definition, and the colours were stunning and super-bright. The image seemed to have a really luxurious feel to it, partly due to the glossy nature of the screen. Anyway, the picture was among the most perfect I have seen, and I thought it was definitely up there with the Kuro plasmas. In fact, I think I prefered the Kuro lcds to the plasmas because of those super-bright colours.

The Kuro lcd's pictures also seem quite warm for lcd, especially compared to the images you get with Sony's high-end lcds which I find can be quite cool and slightly unnatural, although I have always appreciated Sony lcd's pictures for being just a change from plasma.

Anyway, you can probably tell i'm very impressed with the Pioneer lcds high-def performance. What also impresses me about the Pioneer lcds is their standard-def performance - in particular, with Freeview, which was also being shown on the 37v in the shop. Sky Sports News was on and the picture really struck me as being a big improvement over other sets' Freeview performance, such as Sony or Panasonic whose Freeview images can be pretty horrible with all sorts of picture noise and unnatural-ness, and frankly awful edge / line definition. In contrast the Pioneer's Freeview images were unusually clean and sharp with very smooth line definition - for example the Sky Sports News graphics' lines, including diagonal lines, were extremely smooth and free of jagged edges (especially the diagonal lines which usually look very jagged on most sets). Obviously, the Freeview images were nothing amazing, but were actually acceptable which is something I haven't previously experienced!

Does anyone else have opinions on the Pioneer lcd sets? Please let me know....