Pioneer PDP-LX5090

[Babur72]

Hi Guys,

I thought i'd bite the bullet & belatedly begin shopping around for one of those new-fangled Plasma TV's.Had a fairly shortish demo. with the well specified Pioneer PDP-LX5090 - amongst a number of others.Though,i couldn't help feeling that Plasma screen performance using standard definition content - particularly when viewed at less than 3.5m - images don't seem quite as crisp,movement doesn't appear quite as fluid & colours or shadow don't look quite so natural as my 4 year old 32" Toshiba CRT...Admittedly,when the Pioneer was fed with high definition content,there appeared to be less of a disparity.

But,i have to ask is it just me & my deteriorating eyesight?

Are there any other well specified 42" to 50" Plasma screens to rival CRT performance which you think i should also be considering?

Thanks.

BABUR.

 

[Andy Clough]

The standard of SD broadcast material can vary enormously from one station to the next, with some channels looking decidedly poor, particularly when viewed on a large screen such as the Pioneer. But that's more the fault of the broadcaster than the TV. Remember, many SD programmes are broadcast at lower bitrates than are ideal for big screens such as this.

That said, Pioneer makes some of the best screens in the business and you'd be hard pushed to find a better screen at this size, which is why it's one of our current 2008 Best Buys. It's important not to sit too close, though, as otherwise those blemishes will be more noticeable. I'd say 3.5m is about the right distance for a 50in.

 

[Sorreltiger]

You have been looking at the best SD picture available, I'm afraid. ÿThe Pioneer won't be bettered by any other screen. ÿIf you only want to watch 'ordinary' TV, I'd stick with your old CRT set, to be honest. ÿI often think that there must be thousands of disappointed folk who got their lovely new TV home and then discovered that the picture was terrible compared with their old one. ÿIt reminds me of the Emperor's New Clothes. ÿHowever, if you go down the HD route (either via Sky or Freesat), you'll unlock a whole new world of wonders. ÿIt does help (not money-wise, though) if you watch a lot of sport too! ÿIn the last two weeks, the best picture quality anywhere has been the coverage of Heineken Cup rugby! ÿSimply awesome IMHO.

 

[Anonymous]

Also bear in mind that the even the same SD channel when output from different tuners can look very different. For example, with my Sony 40w2000 the built-in tuner showing BBC2 looks pretty dire - smeary and soft - but when output by my HDD/DVD recorder the picture is much better. (I've found snooker to be the best comparison material - lots of green with small specks of fast-moving colour.)

The best SD picture quality I've found is from Sky HD ironically - in fact on my 40in TV you'd sometimes be hard pressed to notice the difference between the higher bitrate SD channels like BBC1 and their HD equivalent when the same programme is showing. I used to have the ex-NTL cable TV service and that was almost as bad at SD output as the built-in TV tuner.

 

[Anonymous]

The fact that you have gone from a tiny 32" (which is too small to highlight flaws in the signal) to a 50" plasma (which is the best TV around at the moment IMHO but will highlight a poor SD signal) might have something to do with it.

 

[Babur72]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the prompt responses lads(?).Especially your thoughts Master Clough.

Yeah Oy mate! I did keep the aspect that i was viewing a screen more than half as big as mine in mind whilst watching the Pioneer set being put through it's paces.Even so,i found the screen's Std. Def. broadcast TV performance particularly disappointing when told it had been hooked-up to a SkyHD box.

But,even with good quality Std. Def. DVD's,i was still left slightly underwhelmed by the Plasma display's relative lack of fluidity during fast moving scenes & barely natural representation of colour & shade in comparison to my 4 yr. old Toshiba CRT.Less of a difference when Std. Def. discs were upscaled to 1080i/p using Panasonic's DMP-BD50 player & Denon AVR-4308 receiver.And negligible when using Blue Ray discs.

I'd be very surprised if the Pioneer's performance had been detrimentally affected in any way by the disc-player/receiver combination.

Just out of interest.How many pixels would a decent 32" CRT screen be comprised of? Also begs the question,how the performance of a similarly sized & specified Full-HD CRT screen(if they exist) would compare to the best Full-HD Plasmas?

Yeah Sorreltiger.Totally agree that Sky's Sports & their High Def. sports coverage has been a real boon.I remember going to the watch England-Brazil friendly at the New Wembley stadium,in June last year.I saw the same game broadcast on SkyHD at my brother-in-laws' a few weeks later & it dawned on me that a SkyHD box would have saved me the hassle of travelling up to Wembley & back,the £95- a throw admission price,have the best view in the house & still feel just as much of the atmosphere as i did when i was there...I didn't half feel like a right Plonker!

As i'll..ahem,we'll probably be seated only around 3.5m's from the display,d'you reckon i'd be better off trying a 42" Plasma? Any recommendations for a quality 42" Full-HD,24fps,2/3 HDMI-1.3a input,wall-mountable Plasma screen?

Thanks again guys.

BABUR.