Panasonic TH42Z85B -vs- Pioneer PDP4280XD

[admin_exported]

Hi There,

I'm set on a 42" plasma, and favour one of these two machines. I suppose I''ll be watching plenty of SD for the moment; a mixture of freeview and DVDs. I have a good sony pvr with upscaling. I'll be sitting about 3m away, which I am aware is about the limit of nearness for a 42", but I'm keen on plasma.

Obviously the pioneer is upwards of £300 more, and the picture will in some ways be better, but I have some questions. I'm keen to understand which will look better with SD. I have seen them both in the same shop, and tried to compare, but as we know from this forum it is tricky to compare in shops, especially with the newness of the sets and the brightness of the conditions.

Also, the pioneer is only HD ready. Of course, almost everything I'll be watching, at present, is not 1080p anyway, including Freesat, once it gets going. So the question is, once I go Blueray, will I regret the pioneer? Or will the prowess of the Pioneer shine through even with full HD content?

On the one hand I feel that the Pioneer is the better choice, but as things move towards 1080 in, say 5 years time, would I get more out of the panny?

I'm sure I'll be happy with either, but the choice seems complex. I'm also sure there will be a number of people weighing these two up at the moment, particularly since a full HD Pioneer at 42" isn't going to be made.

What are people's views on this?

 

[PJPro]

I had the same dilemma. I went for the Kuro and am not disappointed. Picked mine up for £1100 from JL (price match and no box) complete with 5 year guarantee. I sit around 2.5 to 3m away.
As far as SD/DVD.....the Kuro should be better every time. The upscaler in the telly is second to none (happy to be corrected on this)
You are right to point out that transmitted HD is 720p/1080i. The Kuro should produce better results with this resolution.
So, the only issue is BlueRay. I have not done exhaustive tests, but I understand that the HD issue is a non issue. You'll stuggle to see the difference at the distance you describe, although a recent panel of judges in the mag seemed to contradict this.
Only my view, but I would go with the Kuro. It will be interesting to see what others recommend, especially members of the WHFSV team.

 

[Anonymous]

You make a good case. How did you do the JL pricematch? I know they're tightening up at the moment? I think I'd like to follow in your footsteps.

Still keen for other's opinions too though....

 

[PJPro]

Found a price on empire direct (romford). Went to the shop. Allowed them to sell me the telly I wanted. Asked the sales assistant for a price match. They gave it to me there and then. Took about 5 minutes. Southampton Branch.
I actually wanted the 50 inch but the models ED and JL were selling were different, so they wouldn't do it.

 

[Anonymous]

As PJPro said, for standard definition and 720p signals the Pioneer takes it in my opinion.

1080p, you might notice a difference at that distance, you might not. For me I'd struggle to notice the difference at that distance most of the time. The Pioneer can accept a 1080p signal and scale it down to fit it's screen, so 1080p signals will work, just scaled down.

If it were my money I'd probably go for the Pioneer, but the Panasonic is a great set too and I'd probably take so long trying to decide they'd both be discontinued by the time I got round to purchasing. I'm pretty sure you'll be very happy with either set though.

 

[Andy Clough]

If you want the Pioneer you'd better hurry, as we hear stocks are fast running out and as we reported here, there'll be no 42in Pioneer screens (plasma or otherwise) in the new model line-up.

 

[Matt_B]

I've just ordered one, my wife wasn't impressed when I came back from JL this morning without still making a descision so she's just made it for me and ordered a Pioneer 4280. I now owe the wife £1200....

 

[Anonymous]

Empire direct no longer offer it at that price. I'm struggling to find it online for that price at a place which also has a shop. Any ideas?

Also, how big is the box? Will it fit in an old style 306? Or do JL offer a delivery service from their branches?

 

[PJPro]

You'll need to get it delivered. Don't do this yourself.

 

[Alsone]

As Andy says, don't wait around!

The box is huge around from memory its around 4-4.5 feet high by about 5-6 feet long and about a 1 foot deep - you shouldn't lay plasmas down BTW as it can cause cell damage.

Know nothing about JL as a retailer.

Beware dead pixels with Pioneer as in my experience their customer services won't want to know. In that respect it pays to go to a good retailer whos prepared to exchange it themselves if theres a pixel fault.

As for upscaling, SD tv doesn't look great on any large panel although in fairness digital looks a lot better than analogue.

 

[Matt_B]

JL will deliver from their stores.

I reckon ED will match their offer price from yesterday - phone and ask, or did you definately want to get it from JL?

 

[Anonymous]

Richer Sounds have some Pioneers in stock @ £1295. My local JL (Nottingham) were a bit sniffy about price matching (they have it on for £1495) and I had to fill in a form and wait to see if they would price match even though the Richer Sounds Store was only just up the road. As they are selling out fast I got one from Richer Sounds there and then - still think it's a good price for what was a 2 grand TV not so long ago.

Having got the beast set up I'm very pleased with the purchase as I watch mostly freeview (and, as already pointed out, HD broadcasts aren't the full 1080p if I went freesat) plus considering my film collection is DVD I saw little point chasing numbers by getting a 1080p set.

 

[Matt_B]

Atrac - the voucher code is working again -- Pioneer 4280 from offer of the day

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for all the help. Now the proud owner of the Pioneer, and I have to say that I'm gobsmacked. Of course, I'd seen it in the shop, but that's no substitute for setting it up, darkening the blinds and putting on a DVD. Just breathtaking.

Next questions now relate to setting up. I'll put them in a new thread and leave this one for the age old pioneer - vs - panasonic discussion. But I have absolutely no regrets about the Pioneer now sitting downstairs.

thanks for the help.

 

[Anonymous]

What finally made you decide on the Pioneer over the Panasonic?

 

[Anonymous]

I think I wanted to be assured at the performance at SD level. Basically, it came down to which I would regret not buying more. I just felt that if I didn't get the Pioneer I'd always wonder whether I should have done so. And I have to say that now I've got the Pioneer, I'm just not thinking about what could have been with the panasonic: I've definitely got the one for me.

 

[Anonymous]

I brought the Pioneer PDP4280XD from Dixons , had dead pixel , i finally got the tv swapped but now there are some scratches on the front plus the plug was missing (grr)

Well as they have no stock left i have to make do or have a refund but im happy as i got it for under a £1000 in the end.

this was to me getting the free dvd system with it and selling it for £170 plus i got £80 from Dixons , so im happy i guess.

For some reason my replacement does not seem to be as good as picture as my old one , not sure why?

I think this is still the best TV around though and beats all previous LCD tvs i have tried so i would recommend this tv to anyone , try to get one now before its to late

 

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I have the Panasonic TH42PZB85BA,all i can say is i sit usually about 1.2 to 1.5 meters away and the picture is fine...Mainly used on my XBOX 360 via hdmi and PC via PC link....Occasional square pixel marks...But what do you expect watching an upscaled picture or am I sitting too close

Overall...Adjust the sound settings and it is a 9/10 screen...Until you look at the power consumption

 

[ear]

dangercat are you blind?