Pioneer PDP-4270HD PureVision 42-Inch Plasma HDTV

by Pioneer

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14.8 x 46.2 x 33.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 83 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B000G81EYW
• Item model number: PDP-4270HD
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,537 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The 42-inch Pioneer PDP-4270HD plasma television delivers large, lifelike images right out of the box, thanks to the built-in ATSC (digital) tuner that can pick up over-air high-def channels with an optional antenna. You can also hook up an HDMI-capable cable or satellite set-top box and enjoy the highest standard of high-definition audio and video--with only a single cord connection. Nicely compact, it features a bottom mounted speaker design that makes it easy to fit into a home theater cabinet with a smaller footprint.

Pioneer's exclusive Crystal Emissive Layer is sandwiched between the plasma glass and the individual light cells. This advanced layer helps conduct energy more efficiently so that each cell can be charged and discharged three times faster than before. Pioneer's Advanced Continuous Emission IV (ACE IV) works in conjunction with the Crystal Emissive Layer in the glass to reduce the visual steps between levels of color, making color transitions smoother than ever before. It also offers both vertical and horizontal ribs that help keep the light focused and concentrated, and prevent it from bleeding into neighboring cells. This cell structure means a brighter, sharper, and more accurate image that consistently reminds you of the reasons you bought a plasma TV in the first place.

The PDP-4270HD features a 1024 x 768-pixel resolution (meaning that 1080p signals via the HDMI connection will be downscaled) and a wide 160-degree viewing angle. This Pioneer PureVision plasma TV uses Pure Drive II, 10-bit all-digital processing that maintains a digital path throughout signal processing. This streamlined Pure Drive process provides an optimal picture with virtually no video noise or loss of quality. Other video processing features include Dynamic Range Expansion (DRE) to further reduce video noise, Advanced Pure Cinema 3:3 pull-down for smooth, natural reproduction of film content, and color temperature adjustment.

This set includes the TV Guide On-Screen interactive program guide, split screen and picture-in-picture (PIP) capability, AV memory selection presets (standard, dynamic, movie, game, and user configurable), aspect ratio control, and V-Chip parental controls. The Home Gallery feature enables you to view photos using the integrated USB mass storage connection.

High-quality virtual surround sound can be experienced with just the speakers built into the sides of the TV. SRS TruSurround XT technology delivers an amazing, simulated 3D effect with clear dialog and powerful bass. It produces 10 watts of power per channel (for 20 watts total). This set offers the following connection options:

• Composite AV (RCA): 4 in (1 side), 1 out
• S-Video: 2 rear (1 rear with Audio)
• Component Video: 3 in (1 side)
• HDMI: 2 in
• RF: 2 in
• PC VGA: 1
• Digital audio output: 1 optical
• Subwoofer output: 1

Tech Talk
HDMI is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link any audio/video source (such as a set-top box, DVD player, or AV receiver) with your TV--all over a single cable. It provides up to a 5 GB per second bandwidth for transmitting pure digital video and audio signals with no degradation in the transfer. It can carry up to eight discrete audio channels, making it compatible with 7.1-channel surround sound systems. Signals are encrypted with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) to prevent recording. HDMI is fully backward-compatible with most DVI connections .

Component video (also called Y/Pb/Pr) features a three-jack video input, which provides separate connections for luminance (Y), blue color difference (PB) and red color difference (PR). This results in increased bandwidth for color information, resulting in a more accurate picture with clearer color reproduction and less bleeding than you would get with S-Video or composite (RCA yellow video plug) connections. You will need a separate RCA left/right audio cable for sound.

TruSurround XT audio adds three new audio enhancement technologies to produce an amazingly immersive sound experience.

• Dialog Clarity brings movie dialog into ÒfocusÓ during the playback of any surround-encoded material to make speech much clearer and crisper.
• TruBass creates incredible deep rich bass allowing a person to perceive significantly deeper, richer low bass tones that are far beyond the physical low frequency capabilities of the speaker itself.
• The SRS WOW feature widens the soundstage by processing standard two-channel stereo material as well as multi-channel encoded material for a dramatic improvement in the playback of any stereo audio over a two-speaker system.

What's in the Box
Plasma TV, tabletop stand, remote control (with batteries), cleaning cloth, printed operating instructions

Product Description

Pioneer PDP-4270HD PureVision 42" Plasma HDTV

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

186 of 188 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Absolute Best Flat Screen TV, November 23, 2006

By 

Jason S. (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pioneer PDP-4270HD PureVision 42-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

This is my first review on Amazon, usually I don't see any point in writing any. But because no one has reviewed this awesome TV, and because I spent over a week dedicated to going to stores all over town (Best Buy 5 times, Ken Kranes 3 times, and several other stores multiple times) I feel I know what I'm talking about - at least more than when I began looking. I also have jet lag and can't sleep so learn well, young Jedi.

First off, don't get sucked into the hype of LCD's like I almost did. If you look at this Pioneer TV then go back to a top of the line LCD like the Sony XBR3, you will realize the picture quality of LCD is a total joke.

Also don't get sucked into the contrast ratio game. Ie this TV has 10,000:1 or that one has 7000:1. All the paper statistics on a TV are worthless. You gotta go and see it. I almost bought the new Sharp Aquos LCD. From what I read about the contrast and colors it sounded amazing, in fact I almost bought it sigh unseen, but when I finally saw it in the store it looked like garbage.

Looking back, I totally got sucked into the LCD trap and was so close to buying the 46" Sony XBR3 (their top of the line LCD), but something told me to hold off before I blew $3700 and take one last look at all my other options including plasma.

I walked into Best Buy and found myself totally captivated by a movie on a flat panel TV. It felt like I was really at a movie theater - the picture quality was amazing. I asked the salesman about it - he said it was last year's plasma. The whole world of plasma was opened up to me. And I'm so glad it did, because the plama picture quality is the best out there. A salesman explained to me that plasmas have phosperous (or some element that sounds like that) that LCD's can never have, and that is what makes for their superior color. Whether that phospherous line is true or not, either way it was clear to my eye that higher end plasmas looked so much better than any LCD out there.

I've had the Pioneer 4270 plasma set up in my living room for over a month now and I couldnt be happier with it. It's 5 times better than the top of the line Sony LCD and $1500 cheaper - price was not a factor for me - I just wanted the best flatscreen.

Word of warning: it is a plasma TV and they are subject to burn in. So if you are planning on using it for video games, as a computer monitor, or have kids that may leave the DVD player menu screen on the TV for days this might not be the best choice. (Video games often have static score boxes, etc which never move and could burn into your screen.) That aside:

Here's some reasons why I think it's the best flat panel TV out there:

1. Picture quality is awesome. By picture quality I mean the colors are awesome.
-Artifacts are little bits of snow or bits of the picture that don't form completely on the screen. Look at a small bit of the screen andyou will see may see it doesn't look accurate. It's caused by a TV's processor not being able to handle the signal. On the Pioneer the artifacts are not even noticible. Once you see the pioneer picture you will see how aparent artifacts are in other televisions.
-The Pioneer handles fast paced movement across the screne great. If you look at some of the lower end LCD's you will see someone appear kinda jumpy as they move around on the screen.
-The blacks on the Pioneer are still not as defined as a a conventional picture tube television, but still they are as good as any other plasma/LCD as far as I could tell. You can wait till they improve the technology years from now, or enjoy a new TV now. I found it not a big issue at all.

2. The sound is great and has great volume. For watching TV I couldn't expect better sound. the speakers on the TV are hidden really well so you hardly even know there are speakers in the TV. The speakers are in the bottom of the TV and are removable.

3. Multiple HDMI inputs. You really need more than one, unless you plan on blowing an extra $600 on an HDMI switching stereo receiver. I have my HD direct TV in one HDMI input, and my Sony HDMI DVD player in the other input. And I think I have a 3rd HDMI input I can use as well, say for a video game system, etc.

4. It looks spectacular even when it's turned off. Just sitting in my living room - it looks amazing. I had it sitting on my coffee table while I figured the best way to mount it. It looks great with the stand it comes with. Clean, simple, smooth lines.
-It is a bit heavy, about 60 something pounds without the stand. I needed it set up in the corner of my room, and yet still mount it on the wall. I looked at some articulating wall mounts as an option, but thought it might be a little risky especially since the wall is not really that sturdy. I opted to get an amazing looking pole stand called, "Premier Mounts PSD-VT Vu Terra Home Theater Stand."

5. I didn't have to read the manual to start watching TV. It's so simple to get going right out of the box. Some stores may try get you to pay for someone to come to your house to set this up for you. Total rip off. Just plug the power cord into the wall, plug the HDMI cord into the TV, hit the master power switch and it's done! Note- there is a master power button hidden on the bottom of the TV which you need to push to turn the TV on. Then you can use the remote to turn it on/off at will. I know I freaked out at first thinking the TV was broken because it wouldn't turn on at first.

6. The black piano finish border is very pretty and the black border helps to focus your vision to the screen. The Sony XBR2 has a silver border and I felt my eye wanting to look at the border rather than the picture. I read some reveiwers of other TV's complain about the shiny finish to TV's. The border on the Pioneer is reflective but - I never notice it while i'm watching TV, even in my white, sun-drenched living room.

7. Brightness: I have never once been watching this Pioneer and thought to myself: I wish it was brighter, even when I watch it on a sunny day here in Los Angeles. LCD's may have a brighter picture, but what good is it if the quality of that picture sucks.

8. Watching movies is a dream. It feels like you're really watching a movie in a theater! I find myself wanting to watch more movies now at home. The 42" screen and the quality of the picture and the processing power of the TV really make it feel like a movie.

9. The 42" size is perfect for my living room. I watch it from about 12 feet away. Any larger of a screen and it would totally dominate my very spacious living room. Coming from my 25" CRT tv, it feels so strange for my eye to move around this 42" screen looking at different parts of the action... Even my dog sits on the couch and often stares at the TV.

10. The price is amazing. I got mine in October, 2006 for about $2200 delivered. It was a pretty comon consensus among the salesman I talked to that Fujitsu and Pioneer made the best Plasmas. One salesman told me that Fujitsu made the best plasma TV (it costs $4000). The same day a Magnolia salesman told me Fujitsu sold inferioir products. I didnt see any difference in quality between this and the $4000 premier plasmas like the Fujitsu. In fact one salesman told me Fujitsu took over the Pioneer TV plant. To back this up the batteries that came with my remote were labeled "Fujitsu." I didnt see any difference between this and the Fujitsu.

Some extra things:
Once you upgrade to a sweet flat panel TV your other components begin to look like antique relics. So I just tossed the old garbage and bought everything new.

Here's what I got to go along with this TV:
1. Premier Mounts PSD-VT Vu Terra Home Theater Stand. The poles are silver and look very cool and spacey. I didn't put the front plates on so I coould show off the silver poles. The two poles are hollow and you can run the cables through them. The instruction stronly urge a 2nd person to help lift the TV onto the stand.
2. Mirage Nanosat 5.1 speaker system. (This is absolutely stunning and it's black and silver speakers perfectly match the TV's Black finish and silver highlights. It's got a really powerful subwoofer and the speakers mount easily on the walls and have a sweet removable swivel on each of them so you don't need to mess with special mounts and it mounts right up against the wall. The sound is awesome. I paid $600 and I'm so glad I didn't get sucked into the Bose hype. Plus with Bose speakers you can't connect them directly to your reciever, you have to run them through their subwoofer. Also Bose won't play one of their cube speakers by itself at their store = suspicious!
3. Sony DVPNS75H Single Disc DVD Player - it has the best reviews of any $100 price range DVD player. It's worked great for me. It's HDMI and simple to use. Only drawback is my old dvd player could scan at 8X speed, this one can only get up to 2X as far as I know. It has chapter skip so not a big problem. I'm very happy with it.
4. I bought a pretty new 5.1 yamaha receiver off of craigslist for around $60. With optical outputs from the DVD and HD Direct TV receiver who needs a HDMi receiver for $600? I would never hear any sound difference between optical and HDMI. Plus I don't want to have to turn the receiver on just to watch TV.
5. UNIVERSAL REMOTE MX-650 Omega Remote Control: it replaced my 4 remotes for all my equipment and looks pretty pimped. Without the universal it would be a pain to swich the DVD player on, the TV on, setting the TV input to DVD, etc. I push one button on the universal remote and the macro button turns everything on and set to the right input. It's digital screen lets you customize individual buttons. If you are not slightly tech savy don't plan on... Read more ›

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Eye Opening Experience that I was blind to, January 21, 2007

By 

Pankaj Chawla "Techno-Geek" (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pioneer PDP-4270HD PureVision 42-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

Hello
My quest for buying a new large flat panel HDTV has been in progress for a year. In past I bought Sony's XBR1 40" (was the largest at the time) LCD TV. However, when I brought it home, there was something in it that did not please me. I couldn't nail exactly what it was. Maybe it was my expectations from it that it would blow me away (paid $3,400 for it at them time). BTW, I have a home theatre system in my basement fully loaded with top of the line DLP projector, B&W nautilus speakers, DEnon, upconverting etc. So needless to say, I was used to seeing good quality home theatre experience already. I was wanting a better TV than my 27" Sony CRT in my living room. Again, something bothered me about the LCD XBR that I purchased - it kept tiring my eyes and I found myself trying to focus on the picture. My living room isn't that big about 15x14 ft. So I returned it to the store.

Six months later, I was back in the market and was impressed with Sony Blue Ray and new XBR2 demonstration playing in the stores. It didn't like the Silver but was happy to discover the XBR3 option which is black. I loved the styling on the TV as well - after all it should look turned off as well.

Now comes the negotiations and purchasing. Yesterday as I was negotiating at Ultimate Electronics on the price on Sony XBR3 I ran into a movie playing on new 1080p Pioneer plasma that absolutely captivated me. I never seriously considered Plasma was not an option for me. I had ruled it out because it had glass on it. Also, I have always bought nothing but Sony TVs - Sony stopped making Plasmas so I automatically thought of LCD as the technology of future. Later I find out that Sony had neither LCD or Plasma plants and chose one to invest in unlike Samsung who makes both.

The whole new world suddenly opened up to me. I am a technologist at heart and got pretty excited by the new "discovery :-)" of plasma TVs. I spent the next 4 hours doing side by side comparison of Pioneer 50 inch 720p (1080p models were out of my budget) and Sony XBR3 (1080p). The salesman was kind enough to sit with me and make this happen. My comparison included side by side playing of Blu Ray DVDs, 1080i HD signals and regular DVD player.

I suddenly realized why I wasn't satisfied with my previous XBR experiences. There are MAJOR differences between the two technologies.

Here is what I noted:

1. The artifacts on SONY XBR LCD seem very prominent and unavoidable.

2. LCD pictures seemed blurry to me. I think its due to how it renders its image - despite 1080p the edges seemed "fat" and artificially generated.

3. Motion based video was aweful on LCD due to refresh problems - yes, the refresh rates are getting faster but there still major issues with this technology. It leaves ever so slight trail of objects as they move. It is there only for a milliseconds but human eye is very powerful and doesn't miss much. This gave it a sense of blurriness that cannot be missed. At times you also see jaggedness in edges but I think that's due its digital processing circuitry.

4. The whole XBR watching experience seemed artificially extra bright causing eyes to tire and take a break. I think LCD has back light panels that are probably the source of this. I felt I was forcing myself to watch it even though the material was an documentary on bahamas. When I was watched the same material on Pioneer, I felt like I was actually there - Bahamas seemed very inviting and full of pleasure.

I started to research more on plasma and found its main drawback is the potential of burn-in where the pixels remember the picture if you display it for a long time (1 - 2 hours). However, there are numerous articles on internet on how this isn't much of a problem anymore and the burn in problem in plasmas now match that of traditional tube TV. I never worried about my tube TV so I figured my type of usage will not affect plasma as long as I follow directions during the "break in " period of first 2 months.

I bought the 42 inch version - I am glad I did since it looks pretty big in my living room. Cost wasn't a factor in my decision. Pioneer 42 was about 1200 dollars cheaper despite the fact that I was getting a GREAT deal on Sony 46 XBR3 at 3,300. Both were in stock.

The Pioneer looks absolutely stunning so far in my house both in picture quality and looks. Its piano black finish is very modern but classic. My upconverting DVD player makes regular DVDs look stunning. Can't wait to get Blu Ray when it gets a little cheaper, until then Samsung upconverting DVD player works pretty good. Sound from this television is much better than I have ever experienced on Sonys through years. I have never purchased a Pioneer before but beginning to become a fan of it.

Good luck with your purchases.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Plasmas Money Can Buy, February 16, 2007

By 

Daniel McKinnon "Dan" (Tewksbury, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Pioneer PDP-4270HD PureVision 42-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

If you are in the market for a flat screen TV, make sure that you don't buy on a whim and you take your time. Go out and sample what the market has to offer with your eyes and don't focus on labels or brand names. Let your sight and opinion do the shopping for you and then look at labels and product history afterwards. If you follow these instructions and just focus on the best flat screen television you can find, there is one word that will stand above the rest:

PIONEER.

When I first went shopping for a new television for the first time in 8 years, I knew that I wanted a plasma because of the better display of black levels versus LCDs (both technologies have their pros and cons). I enjoy watching TV most in the dark and I also like dark visuals more than bright ones (probably ones of the reasons why I love 'Batman Begins' so much). With the prices having dropped so much in the past year I felt like I would seriously be upgrading our main monitor in the near future and I did exactly as I instructed, just looking and taking in the picture on all the different models that are available to consumers today and after looking and looking and looking there was only one Plasma that truly stood out from the rest. Pioneer has been making commercial Plasmas longer than most anyone else and they have proprietary technology that produces the most gorgeous picture possible. Whether the signal is 1080i, 720p, HD-DVD/Bluray, or standard DVDs, when you put it on a Pioneer plasma the picture is like watching TV again for the first time. Blacks are perfect, colors are exceptional, it truly is a joy to watch nearly anything on this piece of equipment.

With standard programming, the best bet is to just set the Plasma to the setting 'USER FULL' and just get used to widescreen as fast as possible. The picture doesn't look nearly as good as the HD level content, but it's still more than acceptable and doesn't ruin the experience.

Overall engineering of this Plasma is exceptional as well. The bezel on this is produced with a black glossy finish that simply looks exquisite, a perfect complement to nearly any decor.

The remote that comes with this unit isn't too bad but most people that buy something of this quality will probably use a universal remote anyhow. The remote isn't going to win any awards but it's nowhere near the hideous quality of the remotes that Panasonic ships with their televisions.

PROS: picture quality, black levels, casing, menus, overall quality

CONS: none

Some issues from other users have been related to a slight buzz emanating from the TV and while this is present, if you have the television on with any volume at all you won't hear it.

For LCD buyers, if you are looking for a TV that does bright colors better and something that is more energy efficient (Plasmas are hungry when it comes to power) you probably can look elsewhere, but if you enjoy movies and want a picture that is incredible no matter what the viewing angle or height, there simply is no match for a Pioneer plasma, the Rolls Royce of high end televisions on the market.

Yes, I LOVE my Pioneer Plasma, simply the best television money can buy.

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION