Customer Reviews

Pioneer PDP-5070HD PureVision 50-Inch Plasma HDTV

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

My wife and I researched flat panel T.V.'s for several months before moving into our new house. The Pioneer PDP-5070 came out at the top of our list but was too expensive to consider at a B&M store. Then Amazon runs a sale for almost $1000 less...well we went for it, having never purchased something so expensive online. The T.V. arrived in 4 days using super-saver shipping (5 days early!) and was in perfect working order upon arrival. All I can say is WOW! Now that the TV is in our living room, it is simply breathtaking. Pioneer is certainly the most expensive brand, but it is absolutely worth it. The picture quality is stunning, and surpasses all of our expectations. Be sure to lookup the D-Nice settings thread on avsforum.com for the break-in settings, as these will dramatically improve the color depth and brightness levels on the panel as delivered.

We are very happy with our purchase, and with Amazon! What a great experience!

I purchased this Pioneer plasma for the family room and a 42" Panasonic -600U for the bedroom. The Panasonic was less expensive than the 42" Pioneer (4270) model. While we are very happy with the Panasonic (and it is not really fair to compare a 42" to a 50"), the Pionner exceeded all our expectations:

* Phenomenal display in every respect - colors, brightness, sharpness, real life "feel"

* The best looking display - all black frame is very nice

* Overall construction and components (at least that you can see), all seem really solid

* Removable speaker made mounting on wall even better (connected to Denon receiver for sound)

* Plenty of connection options. My laptop (Dell Latitude D610) likes the higher resolution on the 50" Pioneer much better than the Panasonic. However, neither plasma is that great for laptop display of things like spreadsheets - and neither has the connection for the PC in a convenient location. (Not that important to me and probably caused in part by video card in laptop?)

Our installer told us it was the best plasma display he has ever seen. We are extremely happy with it.

I researched several models including the Samsung, Philips, Panasonic, and LG. The Pioneer just topped the stats, but you paid at least 1G more. I wasn't sure how the actual performance would be, but the Pio surpassed all expectations (even on broadcasting regular channels...). Pio's TV Guide function works great, along with the way it picks up all channels (even HD) without a box is amazing! I highly recommend it if you have the extra cash, in the long run it's really worth the extra 1G.

Shipping
I had an awesome experience with Amazon's shipping - it's first class all the way and it's completely insured. They make sure you're happy when it arrives and unpack it too! Highly recommend it.

Thanks.

With absolutely no idea about plasma,LCD,"CRT" TV screens be they flat, curved,diagonal etc and equally no clue on costs - getting educated was easy thru Amazon's access to the best product base thru out the USA -technical info in laymans language was impressive. Additionally, comparison of brands by quality, price and supplier was surprisingly simple. You can see why the Pioneer PDP 50" is a little pricier than other brands;This is the "Porsche" of Plasma TVs - not only fine looking(best slim design with glossy black border)the qaulity of vision (clarity, definition, color, focus) is really absolutely breathtaking; movies come across better than the cinema screen; Sports and talk shows are like watching live. I cannot imagine how I did without it for so long.

I've been shopping for a flat panel LCD or Plasma for a long time and went to probably 20 or 30 stores and compared a zillion TVs in the 40" to 50" size before settling on this Pioneer. I was concerned about a couple things: the reflections from a plasma screen vs. no reflections from an LCD and the possibility of burn-in, even though salesmen and printed articles reassured that this was no longer a problem. The reflective screen has turned out to not be problem for my viewing room is not too bright on the wall opposite. I don't notice any distractions. The possibility of burn-in from watching program material that isn't 16:9 aspect ratio still concerns me, and thus I am frequently forced to watch in "wide" mode (stretched), even though I don't prefer that. Though salesman and articles said this is no longer a problem, Pioneer's instructions state that this is a distinct probability and recommend always stretching a program that isn't wide enough to begin with. OTOH, I have found that an increasingly percentage of channels broadcast in HD 16:9 so that is becoming less and less of an issue. It seems like a year ago there was 20% wide screen programs and today there may be 40%-50% ... at least in my area and the channels I watch. I figure we might be approaching 70%-80% soon.

Those were the concerns. Following are the things I like. I chose this Pioneer plasma over Panasonic plasma (cheaper), Vizio plasma (cheaper still), and Sony XBR lcd because the Pioneer had a better standard def picture than the others and a better hi-def picture than the Panasonic and Vizio. The Sony XBR and Pioneer were about tied for hi-def, with the Sony having more accurate greens and the Pioneer having richer colors and better blacks. The Pioneer's colors are so rich that I've turned them down somewhat. I changed the default "dynamic" color setting which was way to saturated to the "movie" color setting. This was also recommended by reviewers that calibrated the Pioneer plasma. I additionally turned the "advanced" manual color settings down a couple of notches for the initial month per recommendations to help avoid burn-in. Nonetheless, the colors are more dazzling than any flat panel I've seen and the picture is crisper than all other TVs, especially the Panasonic and Vizio models, except for the Sony XBRs.

The connectivity for this TV is also more complete than for any except the Pioneer Elite models (for $1000 more they include ethernet) and the Samsung highest-priced models. Very few TVs have a USB port to connect a camera or computer for photos. This does.

The side viewing angle is amazing. Frequently, I watch the picture from an adjacent room off to the side. There is no noticeable loss of color, brightness, or clarity when looking at it from perhaps 75-80 degrees off-axis.

All plasmas or LCDs could have a dead pixel. Pioneer says in their instructions that this could happen but states limiting criteria where this is normal and acceptable. There are NO dead pixels anywhere on my set. QC is stellar.

The remote control is simply OK. There are a million buttons and options, like on most, and the layout and ergonomics are average. I've seen worse and I've seen better.

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

First off, I need to let everyone know that I ended up buying this TV at a local store and not from Amazon. I'm writing this review because I used reviews on Amamzon to help me make my buying decision and am appreciative of the reviews from other buyers during my research.

Bottom line is, as one other reviewer stated, you get what you pay for. I took my three small children into a local electronics store and, while standing in front of a wall of TVs (both plasma and LCD), asked them to pick the TV with the best picture. Not surprisingly, they all picked the Pioneer. Anyone who has kids will tell you that they REALLY say what they think.

TV has the best picture by far. There's no comparison to the LCD TVs either. Don't let anyone try to tell you about LCD longevity or picture quality. I can easily see pixelation in fast moving images when I was checking out the 1080P LCDs. There's also alot of talk concerning plasma burn-in issues. This may have been an issue in the past but I've had no problems at all. During the first 100 to 200 hours of viewing, just go to user-defined settings and dial down the brightness and contrast. Also, go with power set to "save2" and avoid stationary logos as much as possible. After this break-in period, you put the settings to whatever you like.

Absolutely five stars.

Purchased through Amazon not a reseller just in case something went wrong or I needed warranty service. Also, used AMEX and doubled the warranty to two years at no additional charge. Product arrived early in time for me to watch the Patriots agonizing loss in purfect clarity! Delivered to my living room set on the corner case and the trash taken away. I have nothing bad to say about this TV! Its really great - clear - fast - smooth easy to set up I use a cable card and the TV guide program is cool. . A few words about recievers though. Make sure you get one that has HDMI uplink if not (like my bottom of the line Elite Pio) you have to continually hit input to find the TV picture (drag for the wife). Lastly (this is important!) Amazon has a 30 day price gaurantee - If the AMAZON price goes down within 30 days of order they refund you the difference - for me that's been $260! You have to call customer service in order to get the savings though - just FYI

This is the first review I have ever written.

First of all, I was struggling with having such a large, expensive and seemingly fragile purchase shipped to my home versus driving my truck to the local store and picking it up myself. The cost difference between Amazon and the local electronics stores was just compelling enough to bite my fingernails for a week waiting to see the result. At delivery, the packaging looked like it had just come from Pioneer, perfect with barely any scuffs on the cardboard. A credit to the transportation companies used by Amazon. I really was not sure what to expect, so I had planned on not signing the form until I had removed the packaging to verify the unit had no signs of damage. The final delivery company, Eagle, brought the unit inside my home, unboxed it, and verified the unit was in perfect condition - it was quite impressive, and took all the burden off of me to force the issue. Overall, my biggest fear (shipping) of buying from Amazon is now gone.

Second, the TV is incredible. Go see one for yourself among all the other TVs available, and see where your eyes gravitate to. This unit is more expensive than the most popular Panasonic units, but quite worth it.

Hope this was helpful. I'm off to buy more stuff at Amazon.

I bought one of these last fall for $3500. They now sell for about a K-buck less. Fellow at Best Buy (who sell these) told me Pioneer was going to drop the model, but changed their mind because the 1080p model they introduced last fall is too big a price jump up and the picture is not really any better at normal viewing distances. One of the video review magazines who tested the 1080p model said the same thing - past about 3-4 feet from the screen, the difference is insignificant.

This is an excellent HD plasma. I have Charter cable fed through HDMI to the TV and good HD (National Geographic/Discovery) is breath-taking, Ordinar HD is excellent, ordinary non-HD digital is very good, the better analog is near-digital in appearance, and poor quality analog is - well pretty poor looking, but viewable.

I recently bought an up-converting Sony DVD player (refurb on Amazon for $71) and it kicks the level of DVD picture-qaulity which was already very good up to the point where it is essentially equal to broadcast HD quality and with agood, DVD better. Pioneer is justly famous for their scaling software and it shows in this set. Consumer reports keeps rating the Panasonic models higher than this Pioneer and I have no idea why they do that because if it was on the basis of picture qualityt alone the Poneer is a MUCH better set. I compared the heck out of them when shopping and frankly would have loved for the Panasonic 60/600 models to be as good or better as that would have saved me almost $100 at the time. They were not nearly as good and I hated seeing that fact with my own eyes in several stores.

The set is good looking, but the gloss black trim smudges easilly. It is heavy and a real power hog (a plasma trait). The screen gets warm on extended viewing (but not hot) as all plasmas do. Nice in the winter as it helps heat the room. The remote is simple, but effective and easy to use. The lack of back-lighting (vs. glow in the dark) is an embarrassment in a TV of this quality level. For shame, Pioneer.

Don't use the speakers, so no comment on them.

I like this thing a lot and if it drops below $2000 I will likely get a second one for the rec room. I will look at the semi-1080 Hitachi first, though, although it is getting mediocre user reviews.