Screen Size & Pioneer 5090 v Sony 46 4500 (Z&W)

[admin_exported]

I have been evaluating the Sony 46 4500 (W&Z) against the Pioneer 5090. I already own a Sony 40" W2000 and feal that a bigger screen is needed to appreciate HD material. After reading several reports of problems with the Sony and the general positive review comments of the Pioneer 5090 over the Sony's, the 5090 seems to be the one to go for (I suspect the Z series will also have the similar problems to the W).

However, is this 50" screen going to be to big?  The viewing distance to screen will be about 275 cm. According to the What Hifi guide, this is ok for HD, but maybe a little close for SD (3.3m recommended minimum). As this is a general guide, it does not take into account better kit. I have a Sky HD box and along with my current sony 40" LCD, this seems to do an amazing job of upscaling and cleaning SD TV, even sitting 1/2 the distance away, the display still looks fine.

I downloaded the Pioneer manual and it mentions 2.5m - 3.5m as being normal viewing distance (in the user information section covering dead pixels), so I was wondering what distances everyone else has and/or what they find acceptable for the Pioneer (especially for SD TV via a sky HD box).

Sorry for rambling on, but 2.4K is a lot of money and I want to make sure it is money well spent! 

Thanks 

Damian 

 

[Andy Clough]

Hi Damian

To some degree it can boil down to personal preference. I sit exactly 3m from my Sony Bravia 40in LCD and when I first got it, I thought maybe the screen was a bit too big, even at that distance. But now I'm used to it and it's fine.

I think with a 50in screen at 2.75m you more likely to notice the imperfections on poorer-quality SD broadcasts (hello, ITV) but it should be OK for HD material.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Big fans of the latest Sonys as we are, we're even bigger fans of the Pioneer - the 'Z' Sonys look even better than the 'W' range, but for a premium large-screen set, i'd still opt for the 5090. It's got a superb scaler, so handles SD better than most Full HD sets, and is blisteringly good with native HD via Sky HD and Blu-ray.

In short (literally!), if you've got superb-quality kit than you can sit closer. I sit less than 3m from an 80in screen (filled by a Full HD projector picture), but all my content is being upscaled by the excellent scaler in the Onkyo 906 receiver....

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply.ÿ

ÿI used to notice imperfections on older sky boxes thru my 40" and even on my old 32", but the Sky HD box seems to improve SD broadcasts (I noticed this when I tried my old SD sky box). Most SD material I watch tends to be from the BBC, cant recall the last thing I watched on ITV, I must be getting old.....;-)ÿ

I have a PS3 and that makes an amazing job ofÿupscalingÿDVD's and playback of Blu-ray seems waisted on the 40" screen, unless sitting closer. Hence the bigger screen.ÿ

ÿDamianÿ

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[drummerman]

Hello Damouk

I just purchased a 5090 after looking at many different sets. Whilst it is very good you really need a viewing distance of around 2.5 - 3 meters on non HD content. Upscaling is second to none of what I've seen, especially considering the size but is of course program dependant. No dead pixels and if you follow pioneer owner's forums, it's not something that features very often though it does of course happen.

Without elaborating anymore on the good aspects, I'm sure you've read enough about them, one thing you will certainly notice is a slight lack of brightness compared to your LCD. It is a completely different picture. Only you can decide which one you prefer but I certainly thought it is worth the extra.

Hope this helps

 

[Anonymous]

'you really need a viewing distance of around 2.5 - 3 meters on non HD content'

My viewing distance is 2.75, so thats spot on.

Thanks

Damian