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KRP-500M or Pioneer PRO 111FD?

23K views 99 replies 43 participants last post by  jrhunkler 
#1 ·
Im on the market for a new HDTV, and after countless articles and forum threads, I think I have finally decided to get a Pioneer plasma. To be honest I wasnt even thinking about getting a plasma when I first looked because I heard all the horror stories about burn in and image retention. However, after some research I found that this is largely a thing of the past (let me know if this isnt true, lol)


Well anyways I seem to be stuck between the two 50 inch models, the KRP-500M and PRO 111FD. Besides the obvious diffrences in build, are there any differences in picture quality? is one supposed to be "better" than the other? It should be noted that I dont really care about slimness since I dont plan on mounting it.


2 things that I also would like to know about plasmas. First, why the heck is the 60 inch elite $2 grand more? I understand if it was $1k more, but I refuse to pay an extra $2k for 10 inches. Anybody know if I could get the 60 inch around $4k? Also, some readers mentioned a "break in" DVD where the picture is white or whatever. Does this DVD come with the plasmas or do I have to hunt that down?


Thanks!
 
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#80 ·
Well I should have my hands on a 500M by Saturday afternoon. Before the 111 gets bedroom duty (a little weird sounding, I know) I will have them set up side by side for a bit. I will end the debate . . . at least in my head.
 
#81 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by VidPro /forum/post/17177077


Well I should have my hands on a 500M by Saturday afternoon. Before the 111 gets bedroom duty (a little weird sounding, I know) I will have them set up side by side for a bit. I will end the debate . . . at least in my head.

Just throw in a movie with plenty of dark scenes (i.e. Watchmen) and it should become pretty obvious.
 
#84 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zues /forum/post/17177308


You sure the 500m did not have blotches that are usually very apparent on a new kuro compared to a broken in 111 that might be the difference?

Both sets were ramped up to 150 hours within a few days for calibration purposes (I'm impatient). Neither were afflicted by the "blotching" phenomenon.


The MLL of the 500M is noticeably superior in dim lighting or complete darkness. I noticed exactly the same thing at the AV store down the road when they had a 500M set up in a room next to a 151 and 141.
 
#85 ·
So pioneer uses different tech in the m series that they kept 'secret', and did not advertise a improvement? Is this improvement stated in any literature? We know pioneer touted 5times better blacks in the 9g's vs the 8g's, but said nothing on the m series?
 
#87 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zues /forum/post/17177437


So pioneer uses different tech in the m series that they kept 'secret', and did not advertise a improvement? Is this improvement stated in any literature? We know pioneer touted 5times better blacks in the 9g's vs the 8g's, but said nothing on the m series?

I believe D-Nice confirmed that some of the 10g tech found it's way into the M's and 101's, since they were the last models to roll out.


It was out there for a while before anyone thought to do a side-by-side comparison. I believe it was elite-home who first brought it to everyone's attention.
 
#89 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by 5150Joker /forum/post/17021625


Like I said, it depends on the source. If it's a 1080i/p source, the blacks are completely dark and match the bezel. If it's an older 480i source, the blacks sometimes do not melt into the bezel and look a bit lighter. BD titles always have full blacks that match the bezel. Here's a 1080p picture I took using output from my PC:





At the time I took this picture, the TV wasn't even calibrated so it looks even better now. It was taken using an old camera so in reality it looks quite nicer in person.

To further the speculation . . .


I've been looking for this post by you. If I were to pop that up my my 500M (As it stands right now) now way would the surrounding blackness be . . . well . . . bezel black. So we are talking a completely darkened room?
 
#92 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by kuro123 /forum/post/17580132


I can get a open box 111fd without TV stand for $1800. Should I buy it or KRP-500m? Your advice is appreciated.

I was in the same predicament as you. BB had a open box but it was a demo 111fd, looked great but was on over a year for 12+ hours a day. No point in paying that whne you can get a 500m new with stand for the same price
 
#93 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marty1781 /forum/post/17018742


The cable box is the tuner, so your setup would work just fine with the 500M. You would need a tuner in the tv, for example, if you wanted to watch tv without the use of a cablebox. The 500M does not have an internal tuner so you will always need to use some sort of external OTA, satellite, or cable tuner (like a cablebox) in order to watch television with it.

Pardon my ignorance,but does the 500m have a connection for coax? I do not have a cable box per say in the house. Our coax is brought in from the street

where the "cable box" is(underground utilities). I.e., we don't have a cable box on top of the tv that the cable company provides. This is how I currently get my cable. I have tried checking Pioneers website for a detailed back view of the 500m, but was unsuccessful. Based on the other responses, I know I would need to get a tuner and speakers. Debating this unit before they become extinct! TIA.
 
#94 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by CuppyCat /forum/post/17581823


Pardon my ignorance,but does the 500m have a connection for coax? I do not have a cable box per say in the house. Our coax is brought in from the street

where the "cable box" is(underground utilities). I.e., we don't have a cable box on top of the tv that the cable company provides. This is how I currently get my cable. I have tried checking Pioneers website for a detailed back view of the 500m, but was unsuccessful. Based on the other responses, I know I would need to get a tuner and speakers. Debating this unit before they become extinct! TIA.

Nope, a coax connection would indicate the presence of a tuner and since the 500M does not have a tuner, it therefore does not have a coax connection. You are able to plug the cable via coax directly into your current tv and watch tv now because your current tv has a tuner but again, the 500M does not have a tuner/coax connection. Without a builtin tuner, you need an external tuner such as a Tivo or a cable box from your cable company to do the work of tuning in the channel and then pass it along to the monitor/500M.
 
#96 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfereeno /forum/post/17588274


Does the 500M have powered speaker outputs?


I've seen some places selling the 500 with the side pioneer speaker add ons. Can the set drive these without a seperate reciever?


Thanks!

Yes. The Pioneer KRP-500M has stereo speaker outputs, rated at 9W@6ohms per channel. You're not limited to using the matching Pioneer side speakers, either. Until I get around to buying a surround sound setup, I'm using these in the meantime. They sound better than any of the built-in speakers on any of my previous TVs.

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-PCB3BK-10...9027115&sr=8-1
 
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