Adam Turner10 October 2007, 9:32 PM
Pioneer 's PDP5000EX plasma was regarded by critics as the best high-definition TV in the world. Pioneer has now released its successor. It's better.
Pioneer 's PDP5000EX high-definition plasma TV was the benchmark for HDTV quality. Period. Watching a movie on the 50in 1920x1080p HDTV was as close as you could get to the cinema experience on a TV panel. Released 12 months ago, it was a TV for purists who might want to part with around $11,000 for one. When we showed one in our Labs to a Nine TV crew (who work, live and breathe TV) they were amazed by the quality of the picture. They could not stop watching and marvelling at it.
So with Pioneer releasing range of HDTV to succeed it, we had to have a look at the successors. This time, with the launch of its so-called Kuro plasma range, Pioneer has gone to great lengths to prove that there's more to a great high-definition picture than pure pixel count.
Pioneer's latest high definition plasma televisions come in two resolutions - 1366x768 pixels (available in 42 and 50 inch) and 1920x1080 (50 and 60 inch). If Pioneer's PDP5000EX was considered by many to be the best television money could buy, then, amazingly, the new Kuros seem even better.
The extra expense of plasma means the 1366x768 Kuros are about the same price as a high-end 1920x1080 LCD of the same size. As 1920x1080 is the native resolution of Blu-ray, HD DVD and HDTV, you'd think the 1920x1080 LCD would be superior. You'd be wrong. With Australian managing director Yasuo Sakuma and his team overseeing the Sydney launch, Pioneer unveiled its 8th generation high definition plasma televisions recently to Australian's home entertainment journalists. Pioneer pitted its 50 inch Kuro PDP508XDA (1366x768) plasma against a range of televisions including Sony's highly respected 46 inch Bravia KDL46X2000 LCD (1920x1080). Not surprisingly, plasma clearly outclassed LCD with blacker blacks, greater contrast and less motion blur.
What was a surprise was that the plasma looked just as sharp the LCD, even though the plasma was slightly bigger yet lower resolution. The room was full of Australia's most discerning eyes when it comes to high definition displays, sitting no further away than you would in your average lounge room, yet no one had picked that the plasmas were a lower resolution that the LCD before it was pointed out by the demonstrator. This alone speaks volumes.
Vendors always screen content that favours their televisions, so we tried the same tests in our lounge room with the same televisions. Watching the AFL grand final in high definition, the two televisions were inseparable in terms of motion blur - which says a lot for the Sony LCDs because we expected to plasma to come out ahead. Scrolling text, such as credits, created less blur on the plasma.
Even side by side with the Sony LCD, it's extremely hard to spot the Pioneer plasma as the lower resolution screen. While the plasma's colours are slightly more vivid, the trade off is slightly less detail than the LCD when looking at the bright red shirts of the umpires. Professional calibration would probably rectify this - a service Pioneer offers for free with every plasma, along with free delivery.
Other than sport, movies are the main reason to own a massive television. Switching to a high-def flick, the plasma's strengths shine through. Blu-ray playback is exquisite. The blacker blacks and greater contrast mean you see tiny details in the shadows that are lost on the LCD, while in terms of sharpness and detail the Pioneer is neck and neck with the higher resolution Sony LCD.
Of course for the next few years much of what you watch will still be in standard definition - either on free to air, pay TV or DVD. Unfortunately giant televisions also magnify any imperfections in the picture, but this is where Pioneer's onboard video processing came into play - with DVD and standard-def digital television noticeably sharper and more vivid on the plasma than the LCD. When it came to deinterlacing 576i and 1080i content, the plasma also came out slightly ahead.
The fact the Pioneer plasmas do such a good job with a shoddy picture is good news for those with pay TV, as Foxtel often looks worse than standard-def digital broadcasts and can look hideous when blown up on the big screen.
The Kuro plasmas come with built-in high definition televisions tuners, but the speakers are a separate units which attach to the bottom of the screen. With a thin black bezel and jet black finish, they are big and beautiful but they don't dominate the room. On the downside for neat freaks, that black bezel seems to attract a lot of dust.
Turning to the rear, the 50 inch Kuro PDP508XDA sports all the connections you could hope for - component (YPbPr), composite, s-video,>VGA and two HDMI inputs, plus stereo audio inputs for each video source. The only disappointment is, unlike the Sony Bravia, the HDMI ports don't have the corresponding stereo audio inputs you need if your picture is coming through a DVI cable (which doesn't carry audio). There are coax and optical digital outputs for running to a surround sound amplifier. Down the left hand side are more video inputs along with a USB port for running music and photo slideshows from a memory stick.
One key advantage Pioneer's plasmas have over most televisions is they will play content filmed at 24 frames per second (24Hz - the native frame rate of Blu-ray and HD DVD) without converting it. Most televisions either convert 24 fps content to 50 or 60 fps, or refuse to play it at all. The conversion process can create motion shudder as 24 doesn't divide exactly it 50 or 60. The sad truth is most Blu-ray and HD DVD players convert the signal to 50 or 60 fps before it even leaves the player, but there are a few 24 fps players out there.
So what does all this mean? For starters it means Pioneer are still making some of the world's best televisions. It also means if you've got the money to consider a high-end 42 or 50 inch 1920x1080 LCD, you'd be crazy not to add a 1366x768 Kuro plasma to your short list.
When it comes to televisions, the proof is in the viewing. When you're spending your hard earned money on the mother of all televisions, just remember pixels ain't everything.