Award For Most Amazing Hi-Def Images I've Seen Goes To...

.....The new Pioneer PDP-615PRO 61" Plasma.


Wow!


I stood there glued to the spot in front of this thing today watching the familiar Hi-Def loops from our local provider. I've seen High Def on some very nice Front Projectors, on most of the plasmas and top consumer direct views, on most of the top LCDs, LCD/DLP/CRT Rear Projection Sets etc. But for me this was the finest HD experience I've had.


I'd mentioned in my Pioneer 5th gen "report" thread that this panel looked promising, but I'd only seen it an hour after it was set up. At that point it looked a little washed out. Judging from today they must have calibrated it or switched to an alternate picture setting because it looked like a new beast. The colors were punchy and rich, yet natural and not exaggerated.

(Although I saw room for further tweaking). The image was creamy smooth - very little noise - and very impressive in clarity. The black levels looked surprisingly good as well.


I compared the image to the various Pioneer plasmas (43"/50" PDP and 4th gen Pro models on display), as well as to all the tube sets, LCDs, DLPs etc. All playing the same feed. The Pioneer 61" just swamped them all in almost every parameter. Despite it's size it looked at least as sharp as the Pioneer 50" model and actually richer in color, with deeper black levels. I'm guessing this must be attributed to the fact the 61" model is based on the 61" NEC model. NEC has often been the plasma brand with some of the better black levels in the industry, not quite as deep as Panasonic but better than Pioneer etc. This really appeared to be the case (as best I could ascertain under the conditions). It really was richer and deeper looking than the 50" panel on that count. And if you've seen the Pioneer 50" models you can imagine the impact a 61" image that is just as sharp but richer and deeper might have. Jaw dropping.


I also found the colors on the display to look more natural than the all-Pioneer-manufactured models (I know, Pioneer bought NEC, but..), rich but not over the top. NEC is known for just that type of color reproduction - color has been one of NEC's strong suits for years. It's hard to know how much of the NEC character I was seeing, vs what Pioneer has brought into the electronics/software of this panel. I believe MarkRubin has the big NEC so it would be interesting for him to see the Pioneer's take on it, to see what if anything Pioneer has brought to the table vs what Mark sees at home.


First there were the loops of CSI and all the Prime Time dramas in Hi-Def.

Looking at shots of actors in the streets of NY (I think it was NY) was like looking through a big store window onto the streets of that city. The image looked solid, smooth, clear - I could read signs down the street, cars in foreground and background passing by was like looking down a city street.


The film-based material was really clear, but still looked appropriately film-like, just missing that last bit of clarity in terms of ultimate realism in some shots.


Then the footage of Thailand came on, shot on Hi-Def cameras. OMG. The clarity and you-are-there realism took another leap. Even under store lighting the dimensionality and realism of color was mind-blowing - the vivid costumes, jewelry and exotic settings jumped off the screen. Sumptuously clear and believably dimensional, as when the camera circled dancing Thai girls. The close-ups were incredible - like you could barely ask for more in an image, in terms of any parameter you want to talk about. I only wished I could have seen the images in lower lighting, which would likely result in even more apparent detail and dimensionality.

And I wish I could see what it does with DVDs. Maybe some day. It looked surprisingly good with SD last time I saw it.


While I usually see pluses and minuses between each display in a store, I found nothing held a candle to the experience and sheer sensuous images that big panel produced.


It has always seemed to me that plasma, at it's best, has the potential for the purest, most natural viewing experience. It doesn't suffer the see-through, reflected image effect of front projected images, nor the beamy, uneven brightness and rear-projected look of RPTVs, nor the size limitations and geometry issues of direct views, nor the uneven brightness and shifting luminance of LCDs. While each of those technologies have certain strengths over plasma, each of those signature effects are, I find, a noticeable departure from the experience of seeing real-life objects.


Plasma, while not the strongest perhaps in any one category, has that combination of life-like clarity, perfect geometry, perfectly even illumination from any angle, natural light quality...on balance plasma removes more of the artificial, electronic signatures to an image than any other display type.


I admit I'm stalking some of these giant plasmas. Whenever I watch movies on a front projection system I come home with image-size lust.

My 42" plasma is pretty much the perfect size for it's room and I keep wondering where else I could one day put a projection system. But I don't necessarily have "image quality lust" with the projectors because, as I said, there's something very addictive and special and "alive" about plasma images. So these giant plasmas, which offer a cinematic size with that plasma-thang quality are as seductive as heck. I can't wait to see Panasonic's mega 65" plasma.


Over 'n out.