The OFFICIAL Pioneer PRO-FHD1 Elite 50'' 1080p Plasma - OWNERS THREAD - Page 2

We will probably get more people commenting on the 1080/24 input signal once the new Pioneer Blu Ray is out and if the new Toshiba 2nd Gen does it as well.

does the sony bdp-s1 player output 24p or just the pio is expected to do so in addition to some future promised update to the ps3?

is the buzz associated with plasmas coming from an internal amp, power supply,etc.. or is it just the nature of the gas display(like the hum that comes from flourosent lights) ??

it is supposed to, and early reviews on the sony thead indicates it improves picture quality, but I do not think it has been tested on the FHD1.

For the money which is retail 1500 and street a lower price the VSX is a great companion to the FHD1. I could spend more on a reciever but I also kept in the back of my mind the pioneer BR player which is about 500 bucks more than the sony. Think about it the what a " triple play" and so far the performance is outstanding in sound repoduction and build quality. Good price and good results and my highest recommendation unless you want to spend triple or more

Blade,

Do you think Pioneer will launch a new receiver at CES this year. Is HDMI 1.3 a big deal now? Can your receiver process it? I am not sure what the full potential is for the Pioneer VSX 84 but I do agree it is really good value for money. I might not be able to wait until Pioneer launches a new receiver. By the way when did the 84 come out?

I just picked up a Sony BDP-S1 yesterday and have only tried one disc (Enemy of the State), but I can confirm that the 1080p/24 output from the Sony definitely works with the FHD1. You first have to go into the Sony's video setup menu and set "24p output" to ON. The, you press the "Video Format" button on the remote to cycle the output format to either "Auto" or "Direct." With a disc with 1080p/24 content, which should be virtually any of them, the "Auto" setting works fine to give you 1080p/24 output.

Having only watched the one Blu-ray movie with the Sony BDP-S1 and the FHD1, I can't make any definitive judgements, but it did appear to be slightly "smoother" with 1080p/24. I'll play around with it some more and post my thoughts.

With respect to the Pioneer Elite Blu-ray player, my local Tweeter gave me a rough expected date of 12/29/06. I put down a deposit and plan on comparing it to the Sony and then returning the one I like less.

Sorry for all of the player talk, but I thought some might be interested in knowing that the 1080p/24 output works seamlessly with the FHD1.

One final note - I had my FHD1 calibrated by Jeff Meier (umr) this past Tuesday, and it looks phenomenal. The calibration was very professionally done, and Jeff was very good to take the time to explain to me each step that he was taking and why, which was very informative and interesting. Highly recommended.

If you wait for a 1.3 receiver you will also have to wait for a 1.3 hdmi BR player. I would guess that the pioneer receiver would be top of the line and cost about 4K, think about that, heck the 84txi and the pioneer BR player and save 1000 dollars plus sales tax on that. I dont think so and there has been no conformation that the 1.3 will produce "that much better picture" not $2500 worth for sure. If the final pioneer player kicks ass do it now, enjoy it now..there is a lot blue ray software coming out. If you want an interesting take on the format wars go to the digitialbits.com and look at the 12/8 daily column, its the most balanced acessment I have ever read about the "state of the art" of the format wars, but one message shines thru
"there is going be a "lot" of new releases to enjoy and HDead-Dvd is not going out without a fight. Its time get on board and enjoy the ride. You know you have a SURE thing with the elite 84txi and probably the pioneer elite BR player at fair price point for Elite. The 84 came out about the same time as the FHD1 this summer. we own the top of the food chain with the Fhd1( if you own it you know it) get the best to go with it and enjoy it this month

ATTENTION ALL FHD1 OWNERS AND POTENTIAL OWNERS

The worlds first review of the Pioneer BR player and the FHD1 is ONLINE. it got 4 out of 4 stars. Go to HDGURU.com the review was just posted today....guys this is the real thing...I am getting excited..this is what we bought the FHD1 for...get ready to get your doors blow OFF....what do you think??????


LET THE PARTY BEGIN

Well, he did say that the Pioneer BDP-HD1 and the Sony BDP-S1 had identical picture quality, which is not surprising since Pioneer makes both. The Pioneer does have the ethernet connection and the Home Media Gallery feature that are lacking on the Sony. As I posted earlier, I got the Sony yesterday, and I have also made a deposit on the Pioneer at Tweeter. Since I got the Sony at Best Buy, I have until January 24th to return it, so I am planning on getting the Pioneer and comparing it side by side with the Sony. In any event, it seems they both match up very well with the FHD1.

You have the unique ability to "really judge" the true difference between the players since your FHD1 has been ISF calibrated. Bring the Pioneer and put it in the 1080p/24 and do some tests with dics. If you have a friend with the same disc put it in both. Of course the Elite comes with a better warrarnty than the sony so that is worth a litttle bit extra on the price. Do you have or own "kingdom of Heaven" which is considered one of the best BR transfers, its on a 50 GB disc, let us KNOW

PS you might want to call Jeff to see is he has any suggestions on what the BR output should be to maximize its use on the FHD1

I dont have to say it, do you wanna know why?................


........If you OWN it then you KNOW it. ....

I just bought the Kingdom of Heaven disc this afternoon but have not looked at it yet. My plan is to get a Netflix version of the same disc to do the Sony/Pioneer comparison as you suggest. That is also a great suggestion about asking Jeff Meier what, if any, tweaks to make to the Sony or Pioneer players' video output controls.

All other things being equal, I would just as soon have the Pioneer player, but if I can't tell any difference in playback quality, I will at least think about sticking with the Sony and then getting a 2nd generation Pioneer whenever they come out. Knowing me though, I'm betting on the Pioneer BDP-HD1.

Not sure if I am posting this right (I'm new here) but here goes...

Technically, I'm probably not an owner but... I put in an order 6 months ago and, when it finally came time to pull the trigger, it was just after the articles came out about viewing distance and folks seeing no difference at 7 feet out. Well, I certainly disagreed with that but my room puts me about 14 feet out. So, they delivered the Elite 60" instead and boy, it's a really big TV... They are coming to swap the FHD-1 back in tomorrow. To properly evaluate do I really need a Blue Ray Player also - I suppose so. I'm so confused. Opinions anyone???

Thanks!

PS Got a slew of new HT gear with the TV and the system sounds great (Linn Classik Movie and Sonus Faber Domus Speakers).

I've posted the new settings in my thread. There's a lot of them as they are now split into "Day" and "Night" settings. I didn't know which ones to post so take your pick.

Breguet, you have some really nice gear. I'm sure you will enjoy it. Rather than rehash the many debates over size versus resolution, just use your eyes. There are many criteria with which to judge a TV. If you like one over the other, go for it.

As for what to use to evaluate, an HD-DVD player or Blu-ray player will give you a really good source, but a high quality OTA HD or HD cable signal will look very good on your set. Try something from OTA HD or HD cable in 1080i without a lot of motion (like some of the Discovery HD Theater programs). They can look very good as well.

Breguet,

You won't be dissappointed. I have had my FHD1 for about 2 weeks now and it is helluva screen. I just love it. I have been breaking it in viewing Discovery HD and a few other HD channels and it is simply stunning. I understand people wanting big screens but to me a 50" is plenty big.

Also I think a HD DVD player or Blu Ray will really make this set shine. I would love to buy into both but may have to settle for one. My wife doesn't like the idea of buying both formats financially that is

Thanks folks - I think I'll have them bring the BDP-S1 by tomorrow to help in the evaluation. I'll report back my impressions.

It is funny about the 60" - it's really wonderful in a dark room watching something you are excited about watching (less exciting with my wife channel surfing) but when it is off during the day, visually it's like Darth Vader is sitting on my mantel.

Your observation is spot on. Hahaha I was amazed when I saw a 60" screen next to a 50". The size difference is huge. I have it in a living room so a 60" would have looked clunky.

Hello FHD1 owners,

I've been a registered "lurker" for quite some time and have decided to pull the trigger on an FHD1 after much research on several plasmas. However, the Pioneer website says there are no dealers within 100 miles of my home, and that seems to be true as I have not seen one locally. I could buy one online buy I understand that Pioneer would not honor the warrantee in that case.

What do you guys suggest? Could one of the box stores that carries the other Pioneer video (non-Elite) products order one for me?

Thanks!
.....Terry

What power settings do most of you have your FHD1's on? Mine is on Save2 as I am breaking it in at the moment. After the 200hrs have people changed the setting to standard or save1? I'm curious because DNice seems to recommend it after the break in period. When I change mine to Standard I can hear the panel buzz alot louder. The buzz is greatly reduced on the Save1 and Save2 settings. Does anyone else notice this?

Just saw King Kong in HD tonight. Bad movie....fantastic image on my FHD1.

Check out the HD Guru review of the BDP-HD1 connected to the PRO-FHD1 at

www.hdguru.com

umr (jeff) is great; he calibrated my qualia 006 and my audio system in my main media room (he does a fantastic job on audio as well!)...i plan on having him do the same for my fhd1 sometime after the holidays whenever he makes his way back to the northeast.

it would be great if you could post your final calibrated settings? did umr make service menu adjustments? gamma? interested in knowing how much tweaking was necessary ... umr gives you a pre and post report...how was the pre-calibration performance vs the post calibration?

sorry for all the questions...thanks in advance if you can answer and post your settings (we could put those settings in the first post for others to try on their sets...obviously settings vary from set to set, setting to setting so these settings don't replace an actual calibration, but they are a good starting point and a good stop-gap until one can actually get their set calibrated )

Here is the data for that display. They all vary to some extent.

 

Summary Report.pdf 29.6611328125k . file

 

Final Colors.pdf 5.8984375k . file

 

Initial Colors.pdf 5.904296875k . file

I am not a pro-fhd1 owner, only a lowly 1140 , but wanted to chime in to those of you looking at new HT receivers. I have been running an Arcam AVR350 for about a month now and could not be happier. 2 channel audio is extremely important to me as well as HT performance. Of everything i've heard, the Arcam line is the best sounding HT receiver in the 2 channel area that i have heard. It's specs aren't as glamorous as some of the other HT amps at 100 wpc, but Arcam rates their amps differently than others and believe me, there is a lot more at peak output than 100 wpc. I upgraded from a high-end marantz receiver and the performance in 2 channel and HT is simply outstanding. Arcam will have fewer processing modes than many other receivers, but they put their r&d money into improvements to audio performance instead of having ludicrous numbers of DSP settings. The AVR350 brings down several technological improvements that Arcam uses in their $4500 av9 pre-amp/processor.

The avr350 has hdmi video switching only, it does not extract audio from HDMI. However, i do not use the hdmi switching with the 1140, i run hdmi directly to the panel. while i did not do any a/b testing, i believe that any additional switching could possibly lead to signal degradation, and the increase in convenience just isn't all that important to me (plus, it's a big pain if you like to watch tv while listening to music, which i do often). just connect your stb/sat receiver/dvd player via coax or optical cable and run HDMI directly to the panel. as far as switching goes, i have a harmony 880 universal remote that gets everything set up right, so hdmi switching just isn't all that important, imo.

a really nice feature of the arcam receivers (and i believe some other receivers have this as well), is the ability to bi-amp the front L and R if you are not using channels 6 and 7 in a 7 channel surround set up. I have a 5.1 channel surround set-up, so this works out extremely well. if your mains are bi-wirable, this will give you a very big increase in accuracy and detail in your 2 channel listening. I am running B&W 804's as my mains and this has brought so much more out of them. additionally, i think the bass management in the arcam is outstanding. it feeds the sub the proper amount of information and i find the low-end response to be very natural, detailed and precise.

hope this helps.

-damon

BenDover - all of the adjustments to my set were made from the user-accessible menu. The service menu was not accessed.

I don't have any problem with sharing my parameter settings if Jeff Meier is OK with that, but since he gets paid for his services, I think that should be up to him whether or not they should be posted. Hope you understand.

Glad to answer any other questions anyone may have.

Super work J,

I was initially concerned about the Standard power setting rather than Save 1 or 2 after 200 hrs. My panel probably like most had a larger buzz on the Standard setting. I think its because I have alot of hard surfaces around the screen which makes the buzz a little more noticeable.

I will be making the proper adjustments to the new break in settings tonight. I have had about 15 hrs on the panel so far.

Just came back from Tweeter and looked at the Pioneer VSX-84 and the Pio Blu Ray player. They are both really nice. Tweeter said their shipment of Blu Ray players are coming in on the 29th of Dec. They already have 25 orders.

Any of you thinking of ordering the player? I think I am leaning towards getting it. It is hard as I was also considering the Toshiba XA2. What do you guys think? I like the HD titles more but the Pioneer I know will be a nice player.

Just watched more HD content on my cable box last night and it was brillant. I saw King Kong, Chronicles of Narnia and a bit of Lord of the Rings. I am constantly impressed with the FHD1.

Damon thanks for your detailed post. I have no doubt the Arcam is a great machine. I have owned Arcam since the early 90's and they make really nice stuff. As for myself since I went over budget for my FHD1 so the Pioneer VSX fits my budget a little more than the arcam. Isn't the Arcam over 2k? I'm not really sure.

yeah, msrp is 2500. so it's a bit pricey. while i haven't listened to the new elite receivers, i have read and heard positive comments on them. I'm sure it will do a fantastic job for you.

bear in mind, however, if you use HDMI switching, you may run into issues with SD dvd's being run on the same input as HDTV. DNice recommends different settings for sd dvd players (whether upconverting or not) versus settings used for HDTV. if you are using HDMI switching, i would think you need to have one of your av selections set up for when you are viewing sd dvd's versus when you are viewing HD content. if you have a universal remote, you may be able to set it up to take care of this for you, but i think the different colorspaces in hd programming will not be optimal for sd dvd's when using hdmi switching.

-damon