Risk waiting to lose the best?

[Technics]

I'm becoming increasingly concerned/worried of the ever depleting stock of the Pioneer 428XD. Could you even give us a remote idea of when you will be getting the KRL37" LCD in for review??? Im sure we all know which one will give the better performance etc but follwing a purchase its always nice to have peace of mind that you have bought 'the best' - at least until next year...

Do i buy the 428, OR do i risk losing one waiting for something that just doesnt even begin to compare.....???

 

[Andy Clough]

Pioneer is hoping the new Kuro LCDs will be available in September, so unlikely we'll be testing one before our November issue (on sale Sept 18). Suspect stocks of 428XD will have run out by then. Dilemma, dilemma!

 

[Clare Newsome]

In the meantime, we do have a 42in TV shootout in our next issue, out 21st August... and look out for individual reviews online ahead of that.

 

[Technics]

Many thanks for the reply Andy, Clare. I think im just going to take the plunge, better the devil you know...

I'm a little sceptical of the whole carry on of switching to mainstream LCD to be honest. I know that you can get some cracking LCDs, and im not knocking them, but in my opinion it just seems like such a contradiction to what Pioneer have always promoted from the start. However, like most people i will be intrigued to see how they perform.

From what i gather the new LCDs are going to be of a similar price to the old plasma anyway (bar the 32"), suggesting much higher profit margins for Pioneer and in effect even less value for money for the consumer, considering the main reason behind the switch is supposedly because it is cheaper to manufacture LCD panels...

Aaaanyway, ahem, moving on...........Would anyone know any particular site/supplier that is offering a good deal at the moment on the 428XD and stand? The best i can seem to find from pricegrabber/price runner/kelkoo/laskys/digital direct is £1'499 inc del + the stand at £150....Any recommendations would be very much appreciated.

Many Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I take it the 428XD and the 4280XD are the same models?

Anyway, the 4280XD is on Laskys.com for £1199 inc delivery and desktop stand. Cheapest I've been able to find.

If they're not the same, what is the difference?

Good luck

 

[Anonymous]

look here http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/products/62/63/413/PDP-428XD/index.html

 

[Technics]

Thanks for the link hifi, ive tracked down a few places that still have some in stock but was after any supplier that was offering a particularly good deal etc...

Paulsmith: Thanks for the reply. The 428xd and the 4280xd are 2 different models. The 428xd being the more expensive version offering a slightly higher spec (should you need it) including....

ISF Calibration- The ISF C3 (Custom Calibration Configuration) feature allows your plasma panel to be optimised for your viewing environment. Via optional service, a trained professional can precisely calibrate your plasma panel with customised levels of contrast, tint, colour level and other parameters.

Multiscreen Options (PiP/PaP)...

I have already checked laskys and they do offer a very good deal on the 4280 but it is the 428 that i wanted.....the search goes on..

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:In the meantime, we do have a 42in TV shootout in our next issue, out 21st August... and look out for individual reviews online ahead of that.

Hi Clare,

Which TVs will be competing in the supertest?

 

[Technics]

Hi Andy, Clare.

Damn it. Damn it and er, damn it!! Ive lost the 428xd. I knew i would and its all your fault (lol). Ive been searching online and via that thing called a telephone tirelessly for the last 3 days and everywhere, and i mean everywhere is out of stock, -Bar 1 or 2 ex demo's @ a discounted rate that i really don't fancy very much. Oh, and 1 without the remote control 'but this doesnt matter, you can just change channel/volume manually on the tv'. :-/

There are however, plenty of 4280's left. Am i right in thinking that these both offer exactly the same performance, with the 428 just 'benefitting' from PIP & ISF calibration, and nothing else???

Regards

 

[Anonymous]

Everywhere is out of stock? Wow! Grab the 4280 then before it is sold out then! Or maybe you can consider the 50 inch model then?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Amazon either has stock of the 428XD or plans to have some shortly - well, I assume so, as it asked us yesterday to use an extract from our review of it....

 

[Clare Newsome]

seakingadvice:Clare Newsome:In the meantime, we do have a 42in TV shootout in our next issue, out 21st August... and look out for individual reviews online ahead of that.

Hi Clare,

Which TVs will be competing in the supertest?

It's not a Supertest - just a three-way test of three promising new 42in sets:

Philips 42PFL7603D , the super-skinny LG Scarlet LG6100 and the Toshiba 42XV505D

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

Technics:

There are however, plenty of 4280's left. Am i right in thinking that these both offer exactly the same performance, with the 428 just 'benefitting' from PIP & ISF calibration, and nothing else???

Yes that is the case. It's otherwise identical. The only other differences are the subwoofer out, USB slot and the slightly curved corners of the frame. I went for the 4280 as I didn't need those features. Also the 4280 comes with a pedestal stand which was handy for me as it would've cost me extra otherwise. I've had mine for over 7 months now and have absolutely no regrets. In fact, if anything, I've grown to love it more as time's gone on. I still haven't seen a set at that size that surpasses it.

 

[Technics]

Yep. In fact tell a lie seaking, electricshop have about 10 in stock priced at £1'599 + the stand at £150 + express delivery at £30......which makes me think do i really want to pay £1'780 (over £1199 for the 4280 inc free del and stand) for what is essentially the benefit of having Picture In Picture capability and ISF Calibration - (which you have to pay an additional £350 approx for and engineer to come out anyway!)

So not convinced i would really get £580 worth of use out of the PIP mode!

Would love the new 50"... but the dear wife wouldnt. - Too big.

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

Wow £1199 is a really good price. Mine cost me £1350 back in December so it seems to have held its price quite well.

 

[Technics]

Thanks Fuzzy,

Wasn't aware of those additional features. They each could prove useful...but not enough to warrant the aforementioned additional cash, in my opinion.

Just checked a major supplier of the 4280 that had plenty yesterday - now sold out! Gulp...

 

[Technics]

Thanks Clare,

Spoken with Amazon/zebraestore who had 1 left in stock, albeit without a remote - sold yesterday! With no new orders placed due to discontinuation....

Is it me or is it getting warm in here.....panicking, me? never...Gulp..

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

I wouldn't panic too much mate. Keeping looking and snap up a 4280 if you can. Otherwise, there's always the second-hand market. A lot of people, like myself, managed to get the Pioneer 5 year warranty at the turn of the year and I've a few people selling to upgrade to the new LX sets on the classifieds on other forums. If you spot a decent deal from someone who is local to you, it could well be worth a look.

 

[Technics]

Wow. Only just managed to buy the 4280 including free del @ £1250 from onebetterbuy.com it only took me 3 pages worth of google searches to actually track down what appears to be the last 4 - now make it 3 left in the country.........all other suppliers that i tried bar this one have completely ran out of stock, although 99.9% of websites still haven't been updated to this effect.

I remember a certain discussion on here a while back about the 'best' HDMI lead. I am well aware that this is down to interpretation and preference hence I really dont want to open up a can of worms, but i want to get the absolute very best picture possible from my ps3 source, to 4280xd. I will also be adding sky hd subscription within the next week...

Bearing this in mind would anyone mind suggesting HDMI leads and any other cabling requirements that i would need - all of equal capability/performance - that will ensure that there is no 'weak link' within my setup. I will not be buying a surround sound setup yet. Cost is not an issue although naturally i dont want to go overboard where i dont need to....

Any replies would be most appreciated,

Many Thanks.

Many Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:

seakingadvice:Clare Newsome:In the meantime, we do have a 42in TV shootout in our next issue, out 21st August... and look out for individual reviews online ahead of that.
Hi Clare, Which TVs will be competing in the supertest?

It's not a Supertest - just a three-way test of three promising new 42in sets:

Philips 42PFL7603D , the super-skinny LG Scarlet LG6100 and the Toshiba 42XV505D

Hi Clare

Apart from the possible obvious answer that Panasonic never sent you one, why have you not reviewed the Panasonic TH-42/50 PZ800? There are reviews for the 80, 81 and 85 in various sizes but not the 800...

 

[professorhat]

Technics:Bearing this in mind would anyone mind suggesting HDMI leads and any other cabling requirements that i would need
Given by your post, you've seen all the cable arguments that persist, I'll just let you know I use the Chord HDMI 1.3a Silver Plus between my PS3 and TV and am very happy with it. As always, buy from somewhere with money back guarantee etc. etc.

 

[Technics]

Thanks Prof,

You have confirmed what i was already thinking. Don't suppose you could recommend a particularly good supplier of cables etc that i can contact, am a bit 'searched out' after tracking down my panel for last 4 or so days...

 

[professorhat]

No worries, I bought mine (and many other cables since) from hificables.co.uk. Never had a single issue with them.

 

[Technics]

They seem very competitive and free delivery is always nice. Am i right in thinking that the 1.3a and the 1.3 silver anniversary are the same product? Presumably i would need 2 seperate meter lengths (as tv on stand with other bits below) - PS3 to tv ......&.......SKY HD to tv?

Obviously i want to ensure that i am future proofed, pixel proofed and hd sound'ed' proofed for the fore seeable future (wow thats a lot of proof's prof!) so can this cable carry all of the many hd sound capabilities that my ps3 has to offer?? - As I willl be installing a full surround set up early next year and want to take advantage of this...

I really do appreciate the advice/replies so thanks again...

 

[professorhat]

Sorry, I called it the 1.3a by mistake, it's this one I was talking about.
You will need two, though for the Sky HD, I'd be tempted to go for a cheaper one, perhaps the QED HDMI-P since Sky HD is never going to provide you with 1080p HD audio broadcasts (at least if it ever did, I think you'd need a new box first before you could get them anyway). I don't have Sky though so if any one who does thinks I'm wrong, feel free to speak up!
The Chord will cover you for the all things the 1.3 spec covers including transport of HD audio, lip synch, deep colour etc. and any other things the PS3 (or any other Blu-Ray player available at the moment) might support in the future.