Pioneer 428xd & Panasonic 42PZ70 - 1024x768 res v 1080p and *games* (x360 + PS3)

[christotten]

I'm torn between two TV's at the moment, the Pioneer 428xd "Kuro" and the Panasonic TH-42PZ70, both on the face of it seem like excellent TV's and both are within my budget.

However I have a dilema, I know that "resolution is not everything" and fully appreciate what everyone has to say about the Pioneer's lower res not meaning much, but, if you're a games player like myself and watch sky-sd/sky-hd (eventually) exclusively does the fact that the Pioneer has a lower *horizontal resolution* make any difference - should it influence my choice in terms of game playing?

The Panny 42PZ70 as you know is a full HD 1080p set, so I presume when fed a signal from a PS3/XBox 360 it will have a "easier" (note I stayed away from "better"!) time of it,but will the picture of the game running actually benefit? What does the Pioneer do when it can't display the extra pixels sent out by either console? Are they just "lost". I know the arguments currently are that "1080p is lost on everything other than 50" and above or projectors" but what will the lower horizontal resolution mean for us gamers? Will the Kuro do games the same justice as the Panny, is it that big a difference? (note I've only seen the Panny, not the Pioneer which seems very hard to find "in the flesh")

If this is a concern, is the Panasonic a "good enough" choice? It certainly seems to be well respected, so for games/Sky/Sky-HD is it still worth going for the Pioneer? The little devil on my shoulder also says that the £400-£500 saved could buy me a pretty nice receiver also.... (it is tempting)

. Any gamers out there care to comment on their Kuro's/Panny's?

Thanks folks for all the help to date, just reading these forums along with the reviews has made the job of choosing this TV replacement *slightly* easier...!

Regards,

Chris

 

[Anonymous]

SOMEONE ANSWER THIS MANS QUESTION....I WANNA KNOW TOOOO...thanx

 

[Anonymous]

Me too

i have a similar post comparing Pioneer 428/Panasonic 42PZ + Sony 40W3000

 

[Anonymous]

The Panny 42PZ70

 

[Anonymous]

the pioneer looks better in the shop. but doesnt mean all that much if the sources were different

 

[Anonymous]

Will games look better on the Panasonic???

 

[Anonymous]

I'm going to sit on the fence and say it depends... but hear me out...

If you sit close enough when gaming then the increase in resolution will almost certainly produce a more detailed and sharper image. For a bit of interesting background information on viewing distances and resolutions I recommend the following:

http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/

If your viewing distance is under about 9 feet (and you have good eye sight!) then you would probably begin to notice the higher resolution more.

 

[Anonymous]

Just got the panasonic 42pz70 this has to be the set for the serious gamer DO NOT LOOK ANY WHERE ELSE THE GAMERS HEAVEN HAS ARRIVED

 

[christotten]

I noticed that www.hdtvtest.co.uk now has the first two pages of the Panasonic 42PZ70 review completed. Looking forward to Vincent's full review to see what it's like after calibration

 

[LeeBishop]

i bought a 42pz not so long ago and i absolutly love it, i borrowed a friends ps3 just to see what it will be like with games and it is amazing, i was playing virtual fighter and ive got to say it did look good, obviously i cant compare it to a pioneer as i have never seen one but i can say that i am very happy with the pz,

 

[Anonymous]

im still trying to find out this answer. the best place i know is john lewis if you want to compare foryour self . the pioneer will be a 4280 not 428 though. if i can go down there i will let you now what i find out. the pioneer does look great with sd though.

 

[Alantiggger]

This ''PZ70'' how is it with footy pictures mate ?

 

[christotten]

I think it will be the 4280 if anything that I'll go for, I just don't like the idea of shelling out an additional £200 for a *stand*, seems like a bit of a rip off to me. The 4280 doesn't have the light sensor, PIP or calibration but from reviews it's just as good as the 428, can someone confirm this?

 

[christotten]

...and just to clarify, that's *if* I plump for the Pioneer, I've not made my mind up yet, waiting for the hdtvtest of the Pana PZ70, especially with respect to SD broadcasts which are still important to me.

 

[christotten]

Folks if anyone still cares I thought I'd update on this. I ended up going for the 4280xd, partly because I believed that people were correct on the whole 720p versus 1080p debate for 42" screens.

I can report back that the 4280xd is an truly wonderful bit of kit. I though that no flat panel would replace my Philips CRT, but I was prooved wrong. Even my wife who's not into these things likes the picture, it's just very sharp and clear and this is *SD* pictures I'm talking about, certainly much better than Samsung LCD's I've seen. When I (eventually) got the XBox 360 working through component at 720p (a struggle, I couldn't get Input 2 (component) to recognise it at first until I read the manual) I was stunned, completely stunned by the quality of the picture, it's sharp, clear, dark where it should be, and above all *smooth* it pans quickly, and looks 3d. I can't recommend this tellie enough, you will *not* be disappointed believe me, I'm 100% happy that I went for the Kuro over the PZ70B, it's just lovely to see inky blackness with logos (e.g. THX) appearing from nowhere.

I've yet to try HD video sources, and have not "tuned" the TV in *any* way at all, it's very impressive. It's also worth mentioning that the sound is very good also, good bass for a tellie, but some empressive sounding SRS effects compared to my old CRT. It's just great - very happy customer (just got the thing today!).

I'll keep you up to date, but would honestly recommend this TV to anyone. Happy to take any questions on it because I know from experience that the dilemas buying one of these flat panel, CRT replacements can be daunting.

Regards,
CT

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Chris, I just wanna say that after reading all the messages to your subject 'Pioneer 428xd & Pana 42pz70'. I found it very very interesting and extremely helpfull in me making up my mind on my next TV, as yes, I am looking to replace my ancient CRT with a flat screen at the moment.

I was going through (still am actually) the debate of wether to go for the "undisputed!, all awards winning!, heavy weight!, pound for pound!, best TV in the world...(but with one slight flaw in it's impeccable record, not Full-HD.. )or shall i opt for a full-HD set like the sony kdl or Pana's pz70. So you asked wether the 4280xd is better than the 428, what's your conclusion on that matter now? oh, I've seen a 4280xd on display at my local shop and boy o boy, it does live upto the hype doesn't it? brilliant tv, really is.

I'm really glad you're more than satisfied with your new telly, but ( be honest ) don't you have a niggling voice/fact at the back of your head saying you won't be getting the most out of ..say a Blu-ray disc or any other full-HD material, where are those missing pixels!? lol <dee doo dee doo 'themetune from the twilight zone'>

Mark