Home audio & video: Sony LCD or Pioneer Plasma?

YES

in some ways the panasonic TH-42PZ800u is better then the pioneer, but pioneer is still king of black level.

I with you, I would have a very hard time picking between the two models, but I would have to go with the cheaper one this time.

good luck
gabe

4280 vs...

First and foremost, to ascertain accurate colors, black levels must be deep. My first question would be wether you plan on having the set calibrated. If so, my choice would be with the Pioneer, as its color accuracy and contrast are unmatched when ISF calibrated.

This is not to say that the Panasonic and Samsung models are not good, rather it is to say that the Pioneer PDP-4280HD is better. The Samsungs have improved greatly in the department of brightness and overall contrast, but gray-scaling is still far off from what a plasma should be. The Panasonics have always been excellent plasmas, a "poor-man's Pioneer", as many call it. They are right in this statement. The Pioneers will always outdo the Panasonics with this in mind.

I have seen all sets in question up close, before and after calibration. I can faithfully say the Pioneers attributes are far more favorable than the others, and, what little downfalls it has are negligible compared to the others.

The ELITE has few differences that mark itself different. The front gold lettering, ISF modes (easier for the installer to calibrate), PRO mode (useless if calibrated), a black, backlit remote (handy) as opposed to the silver glow-in-the-dark remote, and Pioneer's two year warranty (as opposed to one for the 4280). At retail pricing, I hardly find this worth an extra $700 or so. But in this market and considering the set's age, you may be able to find it for a significantly lower price. You ask me, I would go for the 4280 unless the ELITE is within around $200 of the 4280's pricepoint.

I implore you to see the reason why I like Pioneers so much by investing in one.

Settings

corppsych:

Since the PDP-5080HD, PDP-5010FD and PDP-5020FD are not utilizing the same panels or GUI settings, there are different settings for the 5010 and 5020. As far as I remember, you have a 5010, right? I am working furiously on settings for the Pioneer PDP-5020FD and hope to have them soon. I will post them as soon as I have them.

The settings for the 5010 are prepped and go as follows:
Please note these are the break-in settings, to set the TV for after the first 500hrs, simply utilize those in perenthesis (e.g. contrast 30 (40)).

Menu - Picture
A/V Selection: Movie
Contrast: 30 (40)
Brightness: 0
Color: -10 (-2)
Sharpness: -13


Pro Adjust
Pure Cinema: Film mode: Advance, Text Optomization: on

Picture Detail: DRE Picture: Off (High), Black Level: Off (On), ACL: Off (On), Enhancer Mode: 1, Gamma: 1 (3)

Color Detail: Color Temp: Low, CTI: Off (On)

Noise Managment: 3DNR: High, Field NR: Off


Menu - Power Control
Power Saving: Mode 2 (Off)
No Signal Off: Enable
No Operation Off: Enable


Menu - Option
Auto-Size: Wide
Orbiter: Mode 2
Room Light Sensor: On

hours

Unfortunately, the only way to access the set's biological time clock is via the service menus. It is something that can be found out (how to get into the service menus), however I advise strongly against doing so without professional assistance. TV menus are not like they used to be, and pressing the wrong button at the wrong time can lead to certain death (of the television, of course).

Sorry I could not have been more help,
-N.

5020

Because different rooms have different lighting envionments, there is no one way to calibrate a TV from the factory. The color theme of the room the set is in makes a difference. How could Pioneer forsee where their sets will ultimately go?

Pioneer des have an "Optimum" Mode, which utilizes the light sensor to adjust the brightness and contrast of the set, however it hs no effect on the white balance of the set, much more important for accurate colors and greyscaling.

Since one now has to go into the user menu for such adjustments as white balance and greyscale adjustments, I am creating user menu-settings tat will help make up for the fact that the exact fine-tune adjustments aren't available.

It shouldn't take me much longer to develop exact settings, mind you, te settings will be for a pitch black room with white walls.

Coming Soon

-N.

ISF

An ISF calibartion will always acheive better results than PURE mode provided the set has been calibrated correctly.

Although I typically recommend a professional be hired to do the calibration, it is simple to DIY, so long as you can afford the $15K or so in equipment. If not, stick with a professional. A professional will be likely toturn off all processing functions (like Black level enhancers, etc.). The pro does this because generally, processing modes add noise to the picture. With the Pioneers, I might consider otherwise, just because they do such a great job (what you might want to do is fool around with the set in your environment for a few hours to see what kind of effects the different processing modes have on the picture.

When the pro arrives to calibrate, let him know if there are any modes that you would like him/her to utilize when performing the calibration. This will give the truest colors possible with the processing modes.

As the pro calibrates the set, he/she will "unlock" the ISF day/night/auto modes for use. These modes will have to be calibrated for each input you are using on the set and will have to be recalibrated should you switch component configuration or move the set to a different lighting environment.

Best Buy charges about $300 to get it done. Most installers should be around there price-wise.

Good luck.

-N.

(NT) Its really up to you.