I began my quest looking at panny plasmas, then I was set on sammy lcds, then after seeing and not liking the AMP (motion control) feature on the sammy lcd I thought about sony lcd, Finally the sales-kid at Magnolia showed me a pioneer 5010 in my price range, and I have to say without knowing anything about it, it looked really nice. Compared to the pannys it seemed like there was much less "fuzziness" or "noise" in the picture, and the black detail was great. I'm curious, because this is an older model, am I loosing anything by going with the 5010 vs 5020? Thanks.

I have a Kuro 5010, I've had it for about 6 months now. I'm sure that there are better sets on the market but the 5010 is amazing. Some friends of mine own Samsung plasmas and a couple of models of Sharp aquos lcd and I think the 5010 is noticeably better.

Of course there are issues with the 5010 (price, energy consumption, lifespan before burning out) but the 5010 is an amazing display.

The 5010 is still in the top 5 percent of tvs on the market today, in my opinion. Still has fantastic black levels, processing, motion resolution, viewing angle etc. etc. It suffers a bit in color accuracy, although the 5020 is not actually better in this regard.

Every year tvs do make some market improvement, and the new sets are generally the only way to go . But there may be an exception here. In an early review of a high-end samsung lcd this year - one of the first of the current generation of hdtvs - the reviewer still preferred the much 'older' non-1080p 5080. Keep in mind when all the new plasmas came out, they were rated even higher than the lcd and seemingly about tied with the 5080. So since the 5010 is superior to the 5080, it is not a stretch to think that it would be rated higher than practically everything else. Except the new kuros, which were clearly said to be better.

So, the 5020 is an across the board improvement, however the difference is nowhere near as drastic as the difference between the 5010 and the non-kuro previous generation. If you can find good value on a 5010, do not hesitate to purchase it.

I agree with the above poster as well except for the comment about the set burning out - that is 100 percent false. Plasma tv's do not burn out. They have a rating of 60,000 hours before brightness fades to half of its original level. This is the same rating as most LCDs. Keep in mind that you will likely never, ever reach 60,000 hours. That is something like 15-20 years of normal viewing, and you will in all likelyhood purchase a new set or have the thing clunk out by then. Think of the sets of the late 80s/early 90s. Not looking so good and that's what would be at half-brightness right now.

I'd like to revive this thread as I am now contemplating a Pioneer 5010FD purchase instead of my original choices, PZ85/800 or the 5020.

Pricing has the 5010 roughly $300 more than the 50PZ800U and $500 less than the 5020. Are the 9G improvements over 8G worth $500 when money is a factor? I will be replacing a 6 year old 42" Fuji EDTV, so I feel like any of the three will be a HUGE improvement, so ponying up for the most expensive might not be worth it.

why not do something like waiting until after CES to see what the future holds for pioneer, and you might see a price drop as people clear out to make room for the '09 models.

why not do something like waiting until after CES to see what the future holds for pioneer, and you might see a price drop as people clear out to make room for the '09 models.Pioneer 2009 models aren't due until late Q3 2009. I'm not sure why anyone would want to wait that long to save a few hundred dollars.

Exactly D-nice and from there it will no longer be 100% pioneer in house production, insted it will use Panasonic glass panel.

I've had my 5010 for about 8 months, give or take, and I've never seen anything close to it. It's been ISF-calibrated. To be fair, I haven't seen a calibrated 9G Pioneer, but with the more limited calibration controls of the xx20 series, I personally would take the 5010 over the 5020 if you plan to have it calibrated. If you don't, the improved black level of the 5020 may make it a better buy than the 5010.

I'm wanting to go to 60" in the next couple of months, and at this point am really only considering the Pioneer Elite 151 as a replacement. The 6010 would be nice, but they're difficult to find, and again the 6020 doesn't seem to allow the level of calibration that I'm wanting.

I'm still going back and forth regarding the 6020 vs. the 151, and am waiting back to hear from my calibrator regarding the differences he sees when calibrating the two. D-Nice may disagree with some of what I've said here, and I would definitely defer to his experience with all the sets mentioned.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

We've had our 5010 for a year now. I did not do any break-in, just used the d-nice reference settings and avoided letterboxes and scroll bars for a couple of weeks. The set is fully broken in and I have to say this panel looks better now than when we first received it. My wife and I watched Dark Knight on Blue Ray last night and the picture quality was nothing short of jaw dropping, literally film quality picture in our living room. The PQ from Time Warner cable HD and SD thru component inputs is also excellent. I could not be more pleased with this set and we always get compliments from visitors on the picture, really!
It does run hot and we do hear the famous buzzing now and then but on the whole we are extremely satisfied with this purchase. I also recommend the reference settings from D-nice, saved the expense of having this set calibrated. Bottom line an excellent plasma and I can't imagine the 5020 could be that huge an improvement.

I just had my 5010 calibrated by Jeff from Accucal this morning and I thought the picture was good before but now :D it's fantastic. If you can get one at a decent price you can't go wrong it still a great tv; then spend a few hundred on a decent cal and you will be in plasma heavan.

I just had my 5010 calibrated by Jeff from Accucal this morning and I thought the picture was good before but now :D it's fantastic. If you can get one at a decent price you can't go wrong it still a great tv; then spend a few hundred on a decent cal and you will be in plasma heavan.

Congrats! There are still some new units around on specials so its definitely a good option price wise compared to the 5020's

I am looking to purchase my first HDTV, decided on a 50" plasma, and am really drawn to the look of the Pioneers. The Elites are too expensive for my budget, so I'm weighing the closeout pricing on a 5010 against about $200-250 more for a 5020. I am unable to find any 8G locally to compare so have to go off reviews and opinions.

Does it really come down to darker blacks vs extra flexibility? For an "enthusiast" (vs videophile) are Pioneer's default settings per picture mode likely going to be "good enough" trade-offs, such that the blacks are really the key factor?

I recall reading something about a slight change in build quality between the 8g and 9g. What exactly changed, and does it really matter?

Thanks for your help,
Phil

Since I realize this is soon to be a two year old model, and still has a great following, I myself am thinking of buying the 5010. I would however like to know if this model has 1.3 HDMI or any of the x.v. color or Deep Color technology, or is this something one has to go to the 5020 to obtain.
Thanks in advance.

Mark

Yes the 8gs have hdmi 1.3 (4 ins) and deep color support. These are truly great sets that still beat most current sets in pq.