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Pioneer PDP-428XD
by tastydooyoo
Lets not get too embroiled in the historical reasons for Pioneer exiting the plasma market, but if you look closely you will see a company basing it's long term strategical planning on an ever increasing loss of ground to Panasonic and a very clever insight in to the future of flat screen TV's.
When considering this ... particular brand and even model of plasma it's important to remember that, just prior to the announcement that Pioneer had decided to pull the plug on plasma manufacture, they had invested billions of dollars in creating the worlds best plasma sets - the Kuro range. It's not that Pioneer were making poor screens, in fact totally the opposite, they just couldnt catch rivals such as Panasonic, they were losing vast amounts of cash and plasma was becoming a dirty word in the consumer world.
All this makes for an interesting recipe resulting in the emergence of the 8th and 9th gen Kuro screens.
I own this 428XD and frankly I am still astounded at the picture quality and detail even 3 years on. So, when in standby it's not the most stylish looking with it's 90 degree sharp corners but switch on and you get an immediate indication of what this screen was designed to do.
Starting with SD signals (that's standard definition, non HD signals) the screen looks detailed, sharp, rich yet natural colours and no motion pixilation even at the quickest of movements or picture panning, in fact you would almost think you were viewing HD. This is what sold me in the first instance, that and the black levels. Speaking of which the contrast ratio on this panel boasts a claimed contrast ratio of 16000:1 - a huge 80 per cent improvement over anything Pioneer had managed before, the result is such a natural and well balanced picture it's simply a joy to watch.
The plasma has three HDMI inputs. These are no ordinary HDMI inputs, they're compatible both with the 'CEC' industry standard, and with the 1080p/24fps 'pure' HD movie format used to encode the vast majority of films to HD disc. Plus there are all the usual connections associated with a TV digital tuner; a D-Sub PC port; a subwoofer line-out; a digital audio output; an RS-232 port; and a USB 2.0 input for viewing digital stills in glorious high definition via Pioneer's Home Gallery software. This is all on top, of course, of basic TV stalwarts like SCARTs, S-Video inputs, component etc.
Perhaps the biggest surprise about the 428XD is that it is not a full HD screen - indeed, its 1,024 x 768 native resolution entails some rescaling of an HD source. Yet the processing engine driving the TV is so accomplished that HD pictures actually tend to look cleaner and sharper than with many full HD TVs - especially models that use LCD rather than plasma technology. I run mine at 720p and friends are still amazed at the performance compared to most screens around even now.
In summary if you get a chance to pick up a decent one of these then dont hesitate, they are superb screens even 3 years on. Dont be put off by all that plasma burn rubbish either - sure if you leave a static screen on for 24 hours you will see a burn but with Pioneers latter technology even that sort of burn would fade out over time. The plasmas also have around the same running life as an LCD screen.
As you can tell, I love this set - get one if you can!
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Pioneer PDP-427XD
by Scotty9
I purchased this TV a few years ago after looking around for an entire year deciding on a model. I managed to get a private trial of this tv at Sound and Vision. I'd recommended trying like this before buying to anyone!
The 42'' screen of this tv is more than big enough for all but the biggest of rooms. It sits well as a focal ... point in an average sized room. The tv has a multitude of different inputs allowing you to connect external devices such as dvd players and games consoles. There are 2 HDMI inputs, 3 scart inputs and connectivity for digital cameras.
The screen itself is one of the best quality plasma screens I have seen, it produces an incredibly sharp image along with great colour depth. One gripe about this is the temperature it gets to, the back of the screen heats up to a rediculous level. The is a problem with all plasma screens though due to the technology used. If you are watching tv in the winter you certainly don't need your radiators on!
A problem with this plasma screen compared to a normal television is the fact is uses so much more electricity, in fact our electricity bills have soared since we got this tv!
The tv has the ability to be both wall mounted or placed on a stand to be placed on a table top. However, you have to buy a further item - either a mounting kit for the wall or the stand for the table tops. We bought the stand at a rip off £150! It really is just a money making scheme by Pioneer in my opinion. However, don't let this detract from the quality of this screen.
The only let down is that is doesn't support full HD but this doesn't affect me as I only have standard digital input, not high definition.
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Pioneer PDP-LX5090
by creamer
Bought the Pioneer PDP-LX5090 in December 2008 after many years wanting to upgrade to a plasma from our 28" Bang & Olufsen TV.
Managed to get the TV on a special offer that was for one weekend only from an online retailer that was posted all over the net in December and the offer was too good to be missed. Picked up ... the TV with the PDK-TS33A stand and PDP-S63 undermount speakers for £1795. Today the price is £2249!!! So you can understand why so many, including myself, decided to buy it that weekend. (Please note that when you buy the TV it is supplied as a standalone panel, so undermount or sidemount speakers and pedestal stand or wall mount accessories have to be purchased separately should you require them).
So if you know anything about Plasma TVs, then you know that Pioneer stand out head and shoulders above the rest. This is part of Pioneer's ninth-generation (9G) plasma range, and has a true HD resolution of 1920x1080. This is the the last plasma range that will be made by Pioneer themselves as they have agreed an outsourcing deal with Panasonic who will be making future generations of Pioneer plasmas.
When I saw this TV in a showroom in town, I was blown away by how much better it was than any other offering from any of the other manufacturers like Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, LG etc. The picture quality is so extraordinary, you really have to see it believe it. The colours are astounding, simply in a different league to other flat screens out there, thanks to Pioneer's KURO technology (KURO is black in Japanese). The blacks on this TV are deeper than on any other TV out there, which means that the TV produces the most vivid & purest colours, and the sharpest of details. In contrast to the blacks the TV also produces the some of the purest whites. Trust me and visit a showroom and compare it to any other TV, and you'll see the difference with your own eyes. Hooked up to Sky HD, watching TV has never been so enjoyable. Even when not using HD the picture quality is superb. Watching programs recently like the BBC's 'Nature's Great Events' was amazing.
The TV is beautifully built, and looks the part with its minimalistic high-gloss black bezel which gives it that premium-feel. The recessed hand grips embedded on the back of TV were very useful for lifting the TV when installing it. On installation I thought the TV wasn't working as it wouldn't turn on, but after a quick call to the retailer, I found the master power button on the right bottom rear of the panel!!! Pity the instruction manual doesn't point this out clearly!!!
The TV has 3 HDMI inputs, 3 Scarts and all the other inputs and outputs you'd expect from a flat screen TV as well as a USB port that allows the viewing of JPEG photos. There are six picture 'presets' which you can manually adjust as wll as a host of other settings that you may wish to tinker with to obtain optimum picture quality. The remote control is also well made with a great layout, a good weight in the hand, and a nice brushed black metallic finish.
All in all, this TV is just a pleasure to own. If you want the best Flat Screen TV out there, look nowhere else than the 9th Gen Pioneer Kuro plasmas. No other flat panels out there can come close to the image quality provided by these plasmas. It might be more expensive than other models, but if you are looking for a plasma of 50" or more, save up and just pay the extra, because it is worth it. You'll end up thinking you've got a bargain!!
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