PIONEER PDP-4270XD problems

[admin_exported]

i bought a PIONEER PDP-4270XD plasma tv about months ago and am really disappointed with it. i used to own a regular CTR LOEWE PLANUS and the picture quality of it way surpasses the supposedly superior plasma. firstly the colours on the plasma are really artificually bright - yes, i have tried adjusting all the relevant controls and reducing the brightness etc - there's just something 'untrue' about them, a bit like when you brighten a digital photograph in photoshop. about a month ago i switched it on and the picture had gone very dark. comet sent round an 'engineer' who basically turned up the contrast to +45 (not sure where it was set before - it's the only control parameter which doesn't have a + or - but starts from 0) and the brightness to +10 then and claimed that these tv's occasionally re-set themsleves to factory settings... which sounds unlikely unless the people at pioneer like their tv screens unwatchably dark. i did write to pioneer for their advice over this fault and received no reply....hmmmm. the biggest problem i have had with it though however is picture shudder or trails left by images. this is particularly noticable on skintones where dramatic lighting is used i.e. one side of a face is very brightly lit and the other almost in darkness. the darker side leaves a strange trailing effect almost as if the screen simply cannot cope with the subtle nuances of the changing light. it's headache-inducingly bad (quite literally). the worst example i've come across so far is when watching 'the illusionist' with ed norton and paul giamatti - due to the way it was lit and shot large parts of it were basically completely unwatchable due to the problems described above. i should add that my cables, whilst not being of the stupidly expensive variety are of reasonable quality and, having worked in the music recording industry for over 25 years, i know how much twaddle is written about posh cables... suffice to say i'm 99% sure that the're not the problem here. my dvd player is also a decent one. anyone any thoughts please?

 

[Anonymous]

Out of curiosity..........did you buy it solely on the strength of all these 5 * Star Reviews Pioneer's are getting/have got.......or did you actually audition the TV properly, albeit I do recognise the fact that this is easier said than done. The shops in their infinite wisdom wish us all to part with our hard earned pennies on the basis of hooking every TV in the shop up to same 'loop' of connections, cables, aerials/dishes etc and then have the audacity to try and sell you something saying that it will either be fantastic with Freeview and the like if you should buy it, even though a particular display may in fact not even be displaying the format you're interested in.

I apologise if I come across as being somehat cynical in this respect, but it really gets my goat!

I'm still putting off my purchase even though I am interested in either a Panasonic TH42PX70 or Samsung 50PSQ97 -both Plasmas, which I've seen and auditioned with normal SKY and FREEVIEW and in which in my most humble opinion are both better than the 4270XD though the latest Pioneer's are indeed something quite special but mega bucks more.

 

[Anonymous]

Agree with some of your points Tallyho, although really not sure what they have to do with the original posters query...?

Anyhows, i've been running the 427XD now for about a month and have not experience the darkness that is described above. I have my contrast levels set at just over 40, 43 maybe. i ran it in set in mid 30's to be on the safe side. I'd push Pioneer on this one if it's happening regularly - how many times has the problem occured?

maybe getting someone on the end of a phone would be more benficial??

 

[Anonymous]

The point was that many seem to rely solely on the Reviews. There is no question that the What Hi Fi Reviews are superbly articulated but they also give a subjective view of the Product being reviewed.So...did the above go out and buy the Pioneer purely on the strength of Spec and Review or did they actually get to see and hear the TV in action?

So often people get carried away by what others think is great, only to realise later that they have made a mistake. What is often one person's Nectar...is another person's poison.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there, maybe I can help.

I bought the Pioneer PDP4270XD back just before Christmas and love it. Although I have to admit it wasn't really big enough, so my parents now have it and I have a new 50 inch Samsung. Watch out for the irritating moire effect from reflections on the sammy's screen.

Ok, had no trouble at all with the Pioneer. But I did have to make a large number of alterations from the factory settings on lots of counts in order for it to look right. When I get back down to the folks I'll make a note of the settings and try and let you know on here.

I'd recon you have some re-configuring to do. These screens need to be set up right or they look dreadful and do aweful things to the picture. The Pioneer is a fab screen so persevere.

Chin up!

 

[Anonymous]

I used a setup/utilities disk, dvd platimum somehting or other. made a huge difference to the settings it came with.

not a bad idea to make note of those settings i suppose in case i do lose them. took me 2/3 hours to setup picture /sound settings on screen and amp.

 

[Anonymous]

Ive got a pioneer 505 xde. "standard" settings are far too bright and unnatural. not suprised to hear about pioneer customer service though they have been of no use to me either. I tend to use "movie" setting (im not sure if this is the same on your set) which is much more natural than standard. "dynamic" is a joke. have a good fiddle bob and you will be surprised and use one of those dvds if you need. cant explain the motion issues though. some DVDs have a screen set up facility (I think the star wars ones do) already but they will not be as good as the the dvd mentioned above. I personally feel a lot of flat screens are far too bright. the spotty 16 year old in currys will not agree with you though.......

 

[Anonymous]

This is very odd , I have the Tv and use it to watch normal Sky and it looks Great , You're find on some Tv programs that the picture will look poor , but this is down to the way the Tv Prodution was filmed , wait for something like Tv Adverts and your see how good this Tv really is , You get some really nice Colours come out the Tv , Also to get the best watch some HD Content, Your see how good it is then ,

Also i have my Contrast on 40 , Factory setting and i find it looks great , You should get your plasma Replaced if your not happy with it , but i rate this Plasma 10 / 10 Easy