Customer Reviews

Pioneer PDP-5080HD 50-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me say I've gone and looked at LOTS of tvs, both in stores and at friends houses. This is the best HD image you can find. Why? Many reasons but chiefly color reproduction and its processing ability for creating smooth fluid images. It does hurt that it has the best blacks and available. This plus a blu-ray player with hdmi 1.3a for deep color creates an almost surreal image. When looking at TVs don't just look at resolution 720p vs 1080p (btw this tv is actually 768p). This set looks noticeably better than other 1080p sets on the market including the Sony LCoS and XBR LCD sets. It looks better than the most recent 77 Panasonic sets available. It accepts a 1080p image and processes it very well into its native resolution, better than most 1080p sets. Not to say that 1080p doesn't matter. If you're going to be 7 ft or closer to this set when viewing you may notice a resolution difference. In that case you may want to wait until September when this set's bigger 1080p brother comes out. If your going to be > 7 ft away save some cash and get this. It is simply amazing. OH yeah no more burn-in on this set, I've had it running video games and ESPN for hours and no burn in yet with the Orbiter feature on. I wish Amazon would drop their price since it is around 400 dollars cheaper elsewhere.

This review is for a Pioneer PDP-5080HD plasma television.

(Note, I really wanted to give it a 3.5-star rating.)

After a lot of research and foot-work, we decided to purchase the Pioneer PDP-5080HD plasma TV (our not-so-old Toshiba tube TV has died). At the end, we compared it to the Panasonic TH-50PZ700/750 and the Samsung HP-T5054/5064 plasma televisions. All of these TVs have 720p resolution except the Panasonic which is a true 1080p. (The Samsung 1080p version, FP-T5084, is already out but haven't seen it yet, and I was told that Pioneer will be coming out with their 50-inch 1080p version maybe in September or October here in Canada. Note, Pioneer already offers a 1080p in their PRO line.)

Last year's Samsung HP-S5073 (and maybe even this year's HP-T5064) has a super sharp picture. The detail is really awesome, and it must be seen in person. When you look at both the Pioneer and Samsung straight on, the images appear to be a little softer on the Pioneer and a little sharper on the Samsung. However, the Samsung falls short in the colors and dark scenes areas.

This year's 1080p Panasonic is a great improvement over their last year's model, the TH-50PX60/600 series. And if you are buying a TV for the next 5-10 years, a 1080p plasma TV definitely makes more sense.

However, overall, the Pioneer still came out on top in the following significant areas:
* Color of the picture (i.e., rich and deep colors)
* Sound (with new, improved 2 x 17 watt two-way speakers)
* Visible detail in black or scenes with dark shadows. (Samsung has real problems with this. With all three TVs at their default settings, for example, if a ladder is placed in a shaft/well, you cannot see the rungs going down on the Samsung, or even on the Panasonic, because it is dark in there. Or, for an another example, wrinkles on a dark suit. The Pioneer handles this detail much better than the others.)

I would strongly suggest that you wait for and see the 1080p models before purchasing a plasma TV, but if you can't wait, the Pioneer PDP-5080HD is an excellent plasma television with full of nice features, for the money.

(Another option is LG's 50PC5D 720p plasma TV which has a great picture and a ridiculously low price when compared to the Pioneer, but with much less features. Definitely take a look.)

The picture quality on the Pioneer is surprisingly good even with standard definition cable. Since the broadcast strength and program quality can vary throughout the day and by channel, the TV picture quality will also vary somewhat. But it is always good enough to watch (at least where I live).

Some other Pioneer features you may appreciate:
* Two-tuner PIP and split-screen (neither the Panasonic nor the Samsung has it). The Pioneer's PIP actually works for every available Inputs. (For example, in the Samsung, the 1-tuner PIP feed can only be via HDMI if your main picture comes off analog cable.) However, even Pioneer's PIP is not the "traditional" two-tuner PIP found in older tube TV's. You can feed signal through any of the 7 Inputs plus Antenna A and B to the Pioneer, but the signal to the PIP sub-picture cannot come from the same Input line as the main picture. And, you cannot change the channel for the PIP or split-screen sub-picture! However, you can change the sub-picture channel if the Input is, for example, your VCR player and you use the VCR's remote control or another remote programmed to operate the VCR player.
* You get incredibly bright white and deep black colors. It's truly amazing! The white letters in the closed caption are so white they almost look harsh and distracting. (Note, you can change the close caption font/color only if you have digital cable.)
* TV Guide On Screen system (free with the TV). This is a really excellent feature and it is very easy to set up for your location. Works with your antenna or cable without cable box. Complete TV Guide information in detail, with program descriptions, for the next 8 days! And, while you are browsing or searching the TV Guide schedule, your current TV channel is displayed (with sound) in the top left corner of your screen.
* It has four HDMI inputs (Inputs 4-7) in the back of the TV. Furthermore, Inputs 4 & 5 also accept analog audio signals (Left and Right) from your HDMI equipment, if needed.
* It has a fully functioning USB input to watch, for example, your vacation slideshow, etc. (I have not tried this feature yet.) Other TVs may only allow the USB input to upgrade your TV's software.
* The Pioneer has the lightest weight of all three (but the LG 50PC5D might be even lighter).
* The Pioneer has a single-pane screen (no "double" image when looking up-close from an angle).

When connecting a DVD player to the Pioneer plasma, you will get a nice and very clear picture even if your DVD player is an older, interlaced scan type connected via a component video cable. However, with a newer, upconverting DVD player connected using an HDMI cable, the picture has a much deeper and brilliant color. It is definitely worth the investment! (With some of the latest DVD movies, enhanced for 16:9 widescreen TVs, the upconverted images displayed can be breathtaking.)

Some problems with the Pioneer PDP-5080HD:
* If you have standard definition (SD) cable, you will be constantly struggling with the "stretching" choices trying to decide which one is best suited for the show you are currently watching (until you settle in with one or you may just have to subscribe to High Definition cable). (Note, this applies to ALL 16:9 aspect TVs connected to SD cable.)
* The piano-black frame and stand get real dusty/dirty about a day after you cleaned it. (Surprisingly, when watching a show, you won't even notice or see the shiny black finish on, or reflection in, the frame, so it is not distracting. And, another good news, the screen itself does not seem to attract or show much dust.)
* The print/font in the paper User Manual is very pale (other than the bold headings) and you may have trouble reading it (but, an on-line version is available from Pioneer's website).
* When you change the channels, an approximately 7 inch x 20 inch information band (called the Channel Banner in the User Manual) appears on the lower left corner of the screen. It is very pretty and colorful, and contains information on current time, input (Ant. A or Ant. B), station name, channel number, channel logo, show start/stop time, show name, ratings, etc. At first you will find this interesting and informative, but after a while it becomes intrusive (it covers up too much of the screen and remains on the screen too long). Fortunately, if you press the INFO (or RETURN) button on the Remote Control, this channel banner quickly disappears. You can display this channel banner anytime by pressing the INFO button - pressing the INFO button again causes the banner to disappear at once.
* When switching channels, the channel number format on the screen, for example for channel 5, is displayed as 00005.000. Confusing to read. Would have been better to only display significant digits.
* No button to change the PIP or split-screen sub-picture (Pioneer took away this button a couple of years ago). One of the very few TVs in the market that has the excellent two-tuner PIP (you can feed the same cable with a splitter into Ant A and Ant B), but can't change the PIP channel! It makes the PIP feature useless in the traditional sense. (It still has a limited use if you are doing PC work and want to watch TV at the same time, or if you connect a VCR or recordable DVD with a cable feed, etc.)
* Some of the buttons are tiny and hidden under a compartment on the Remote Control. (The button to display the PIP or split-screen picture is one of those tiny, hidden buttons.)
* When switching to and from the TV Guide On Screen, you'll see a black screen for quite a long time (but at least the sound of the current channel stays on). This "black screen" syndrome will also happen, to some extent, when switching on or off the PIP mode.
* Not all available channels are listed in the TV Guide On Screen.
* When the TV is on, the large plasma display generates quite a bit of heat. You will even feel the heat radiating from the screen when you walk in the front of it (at about a foot or so from it) and, in a smaller room, this attribute will even keep the room temperature somewhat elevated in that room. (I am not kidding.) This is not peculiar just to the Pioneer, and I believe, all large display plasma TVs have this characteristic.
* We are experiencing interference/static from the plasma TV with our infra-red cordless headphones (no effect on the TV itself). It doesn't matter where we re-position the transmitting base station, we always hear, to some extent, crackle in the earphones. Not only that, but the static we hear can vary with the change of scenes on the display! Very strange. (We never had any problems with these headphones when connected to our old, tube TV. Note, you can use corded headphones plugged into the phone-jack at the left side of the TV - no problems at all with the sound here.)
* You will find quite a bit of warning throughout the User Manual about protecting your Pioneer TV from burn-in, after-image retention, or uneven plasma wear. So, this issue must still be very relevant, so be careful. I don't know how effective the Orbiter feature is (automatically shifts the image little by little), especially when you have side/top/bottom bars displayed on the screen for extended periods (uneven wear?). (We only had the TV for a short time, so I cannot comment on the "burn-in" issue.)

As general consumers, we should not have to worry about burn-ins, image retentions, or uneven wear in today's televisions, irrespective of whether we buy a Plasma or an LCD television. Why are we forced to put up with an overly bright/harsh, unnatural LCD picture with a very limited optimum viewing angle just to avoid the burn-in, etc., problems? Somehow, modern technology will just have to overcome this flaw and find a more satisfactory solution (other than shifting, "stretching," or otherwise distorting the image).

UPDATE on February 6, 2008:
Everything written above is still valid. The picture is still beautiful and the sound is great. And we have not had burn-in problems (we are quite careful to not watch static images for long - maybe even too careful, which takes away from enjoying and remaining longer on some of the channels). Also, there are way too many overly bright DOGs (Digital On-screen Graphics) displayed during TV shows now days!
However, we have noticed one additional problem:
When we are watching a channel, say Channel 10, and we want to go to, say Channel 28, so we press the 2 and then 8 buttons on the Remote, although this command shows up on the screen in the Channel Banner (i.e., information band), the TV itself remains on Channel 10. Then we immediately repeat the same command and this time it works fine, and the TV screen switches to the desired channel. It doesn't matter which channel we are currently watching or which channel number we want to go to, this problem happens about 1 out of 10 times. This problem has been happening since the beginning, but we did not know it was a problem until it has been going on for a while (at first we thought that we just did not press the buttons properly).

You get what you pay for. Regular 50" are abt two thousand, pioneers are abt three. Is it worth the price? In my opinion yes.

Here are my $.02
- Minimalistic styling
- Excellent black levels, puts any other TV(including CRTs, to shame)
- per input picture settings
- 4 HDMI imputs!! (trust me, 2 just ain't enough)
- low power consumption(abt 395 watts), low for its size.
- It uses a thin glass technology, so the reflections are singular compared to the double reflection that you get on other plasma screens. Note that it has a anti-reflective coating like others as well.
- 60Hz/72Hz refresh rate, so blu-ray or hd-dvd at 24 frames will be displayed pristine at 24x3=72. No 3:2 pulldown required.
- grabs the TV guide from the antenna, over the air.
- PC input
- orbiter technology so burn-in probably will never happen.
- superior sound with sub-woofer output
- removable speakers if needed

There's a reason why every review(including mine!), consistently rates it excellent.

Anyone who's done any research on hi-def TVs will know that Pioneer makes the best TV in the world (and they price it accordingly). For those who can afford it, this set will make you very happy. Even this 720p set will put 1080p sets from other manufacturers to shame. For most people, a 720p set is a much better value and you will not be able to tell the difference between 1080p and 720p. The only true 1080p content available is Blu-ray or HD DVD and you will still be hard-pressed to see the difference between a movie on a 720p set vs. 1080p. The quality of the TV and its video circuitry is much more important. In fact, SD content will look better on a 720p set vs. 1080p set because the video processor will not have to do as much to "stretch" a SD image over fewer pixels. The reality is that most people will still watch a lot of SD content on their TV for the next 3 to 5 years.

I saw this TV in a "shootout" against other manufacturers and it was no comparison. If you want the best, get this TV and enjoy!

I purchased this television after looking at several televisions online as well as in-store at a local best buy - by far this set had the best picture, the blackest blacks, great colors. I love the nice clean look of the set as well. The speakers provide very nice sounds. High-Def channels look amazing.

I am finding it is best to sit at least 8-10 feet from the set to see the best, antying closer and you may see some slight grainiess. The stand is very nice, I choose not to mount mine on the wall.

I highly recommend this set, I did find the set online at beach camera for about $500 less than amazon though.

My brother bought this TV back in late November 2007. It is easy to unpack and set up. Picture is excellent and the built it speakers which detach are very good. I have a 42" Pioneer Plasma of the previous generation to the Kuro which I like a lot (which is why I recommend he get a Pioneer). With the price drop this is an unbelievable buy. You won't be disappointed!

I recently purchased the Pioneer 5080HD with Amazon. It arrived in perfect condition. And after hooking it up to Direct TV all I can say is "Wow". literally the HDTV just knocks your socks off. I can not imagine the picture being better. I had looked at the Panasonic but am so glad I went with the Pioneer. The 50" screen at first looked huge, but now I am so glad I went with this size as opposed to the 42". This product is a winner.

After reviewing the posts on Amazon for a variety of HDTVs, it confirmed the overwhelming number of choices to make (LCD v. Plasma, 720 v. 1080, etc.). Ultimately, I relied in part on the overwhelmingly positive reviews here of the Pioneer 5080HD. In addition, I read the Consumer Reports ratings, which gave this product very high marks. The remaining issue was where to buy -- Amazon or a big box retailer in my vicinity? Again, I was impressed with the positive comments about Amazon's white glove service and decided to give it a chance. Amazon's price was excellent and I could not be happier with this set, which arrived several days ahead of schedule. The delivery was as promised (unpacked, checked for operation, and packing materials removed). I am using an inside HDTV antenna (RCA) and I get incredible local reception without cable or satellite. Also, I bought a Pioneer 400V-K DVD player, hooked it up using an HD cable, and wow!! Regardless of whether other sets are comparable or in any way superior, this set is simply an outstanding picture for a solid value...I cannot imagine needing 1080p or spending more money for anything else. I have seen numerous reviews of this product by experts that all consistently rate this product as outstanding. In addition, those reviews all confirm that this picture is superior to pretty much everything out there even in 1080p. Bottom line: Pioneer simply has an incredible picture and great features, so don't get too hung up on specs.

My son bought this TV months ago right before the upgraded 1080 hit BestBuy stores. He paid $3,400 for it. I just bought it at BestBuy this week for $2,199. I have never gone crazy over any electronic gadget until my son got this TV. I already have a Samsung DLP 42" TV I paid $3K for in 2004. I really liked my TV until my son got this Pioneer Plasma. Now I am so spoiled and I cannot get his TV out of my mind. It's mind blowing. Watching everything/anything is enjoyable on it -- the grandkids playing games; movies that are boring as heck (Pirates of the Caribean 3) but visually mesmerizing on this TV. So, wait until you see Planet Earth on this TV in your own home. You'll never be the same. Again, I'm grandparent age. I don't go crazy over electronic devices --until this! Mine is on its way.

I know others reporting here did alot of research before putting the money into this - as did I. Believe me, I've been comparing LCD's vs Plasmas etc, for well over a year and this is absolutely the hands-down best for the money if not the best for any money (the only better quality would be pioneers much higher priced elite/pro version at 1080P). LCD's - Sorry, the highest priced SONY's look really good until you watch some high speed motion (Sports, etc.) and still see those embarrassing jaggies/artifacts all over the place. I would be embarrassed to settle for that yet unsolved DEFECT with all LCD's (no - the 120Hz models still suck). And about 1080P - its about the same as paying for Premium gas for a low compression car - If you prefer to sit less than 3 feet from the television, then maybe its worth it. Otherwise, your eyes cant discern the difference vs. 768P and its a complete waste of money. Purchased this directly from [...] with some reservations about such a big-ticket purchase getting damaged in transit etc. I received it within a week in perfect shape and the free-shipping even included an unpack, inspect, and remove packing. I will never hesitate again to buy similar items from Amazon in the future. No buyers remorse here - still love my Pio. Icing on the cake - - Pioneer reduced the price as did Amazon. Amazon refunded my account $[...] (30 day price guarantee) with a simple phone call. Final cost $[...].