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Blown away by my new Pio PDP 5045!

2691 Views 28 Replies 14 Participants Last post by chelentano, Mar 2, 2005

jzeidner

Discussion Starter · Feb 25, 2005

Just installed it yesterday with ease (hung on wall), literally turned it on and was absolutely floored by the picture quality...right out of the box! Will do some tweaking today with help from a pro but cable analog was better than I expected, digital cable was great and HD was, well...truly jaw droppingly stunning on this Pio. Highly recommended. After a month of deliberation (and hours of research on this site and others - thanks to all!), I could not be happier with my choice! Can't wait for this day to pass so the family can enjoy our first Movie Night tonight...I can smell the popcorn already!

Some other details on my new system along with the Pio 5045 (hung 42" from floor over a simple cherry wood 3 door console cabinet...HK AVS 335, Jamo A340 surround speakers (unbelievable price/quality performers over name brands), a basic Sony 5 CD carousel, a middle range Toshiba DVD player, Sci Atl Digital HD box and of course my old Sony cassette deck for my college archive of scratchy party mix tapes! I plan to upgrade the DVD player to progressive scan soon (tapped at the moment $$!). All tied into a uni infared remote. Pretty sweet for a regulary guy like me.

For me it came down to Panny and Pio consumer 50's. In the end, this site and gut instinct steered me to Pio and I know it was the right call for me(not a knock on Panny). I also had an amazing buying experience with Beyond Plasma, one of the few auth online Pio dealers. Great price, excellent communication and perfect transaction top to bottom.

Maybe I just got lucky, but I did my homework, sifted through the confusion (not a techie at all), measured the risk and pulled the trigger on a major hi tech purchase and couldn't be happier!

Thanks again to all of you who unknowingly helped me on this site. Let me know if I can help anyone in any way.

Best...JZ

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1 - 20 of 29 Posts

Mike52

· #2 · Feb 25, 2005

Congratulations. May you enjoy for many, many years.

jzeidner

Discussion Starter · #3 · Feb 25, 2005

thanks...as you can tell, I'm absolutely giddy about the whole experience! Kinda pathetic, I know...but what can I say?

TheSkeptiks

· #4 · Feb 25, 2005

You might want to just keep that Toshiba DVD player.

I have the Pioneer 4340. After reading many reviews and testing myself, I discovered that the Pioneer Processor is SOOOO good that you will get the best picture feeding the plasma an interlaced signal, not a progressive signal. Let the Pioneer do the work, not the DVD player.

I have a Denon DVD-2910. I was using a 480p signal. Picture looked good. I changed the DVD player to 480i and the picture became AMAZING!

I have not tried the upconversion capabilities via HDMI yet with my DVD player, but for now the DVD pic is awesome via Component/480i.

Just a thought. Might save you a little cash.

AccuView

· #5 · Feb 25, 2005

jzeidner,

You don't own one until we see some pictures.

TheSkeptiks

Hmmm...I haven't played extensively with the combinations but I need to. I have the 5045/Denon 2910 combo too. I am currently feeding the panel upconverted 1080i from the 2910 over HDMI.

jzeidner

Discussion Starter · #6 · Feb 25, 2005

HA!! Pics on the way...JZ

TheSkeptiks

· #7 · Feb 25, 2005

AccuView...

I will be buying an HDMI cable to try it out. Just waiting until I move into my new place (next weekend).

But yes, the 480i picture is MUCH better compared to the 480p picture with the Denon 2910/Pioneer plasma combo.

4 different reviews of the Pioneer all said the same thing as well. That is what tempted me to try it out. Got rid of the slight "clay face" I had also.

Mit07

· #8 · Feb 25, 2005

Congrats!

Any buzz on your 5045?

AccuView

· #9 · Feb 25, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by Mit07
Congrats!

Any buzz on your 5045?

Nothing perceptible. You have to put your ears next to the back of the panel to hear it.

jzeidner

Discussion Starter · #10 · Feb 25, 2005

Likewise...no noticeable buzz (yet) at all unless you literally get your ear on it against the wall. Only been used for 12-15 hours so far though....I've heard the PDP xx45's are less susceptable to buzzing than the Elite model peers due to the thicker or extra layers of glass...something like that.

That's in part why I chose the 5045 over waiting for the 5050 because it is said to be more like the Elite design and therefore potentially more likely to buzz.

I'm no expert though...not even close.

Best...JZ

peebee

· #11 · Feb 25, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by TheSkeptiks
You might want to just keep that Toshiba DVD player.

I agree. My interlaced Sony DVD looks great on my PDP-1120HD which is about the same TV as yours. Save your money for Bluray!!!

Jithtproject

· #12 · Feb 25, 2005

Congratulations. Need some pictures though! Enjoy.

JForge

· #13 · Feb 27, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by TheSkeptiks
But yes, the 480i picture is MUCH better compared to the 480p picture with the Denon 2910/Pioneer plasma combo.

4 different reviews of the Pioneer all said the same thing as well. That is what tempted me to try it out.

. . great tip! I've a Sony 5 disk progressive DVD player which has always been set on 'progressive'. I never even tried to set it to 'interlace'. I just assumed (there's that word again) that progressive was better.

But after your suggestion, I tried it a few minutes ago, and I can hardly believe the difference. I tried it on my favorite DVD, "Attack of the Clones" and the difference between the two modes is something just short of spectacular.

I use my 'favorite' scenes; starting at #45, the 'light sword' fights. Before I viewed it, I used the "THX Optimizer" in the OPTION menu. The levels needed to be reset: brightness went from +2 to -6 and a few other settings moved; the SHARPNESS went down one notch along with the color to -11. Absolutely amazing!

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<div class="post-sig post-sig-limit shazam usersig-click"><div class="reparse-sig-lineheight"><p><span>Regards . . . Jim</span></p><span></span><p><span>------------------------------------------------------</span></p><span></span><p><span>GT30 "</span><strong>Custom</strong><span>" Settings: </span><a href="http://www.controlcal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6392&postcount=1" target="_blank">http://www.controlcal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6392</a></p><span></span><p><span>GT30 "</span><strong>THX</strong><span>" Settings: </span><a href="http://www.controlcal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6393" target="_blank">http://www.controlcal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6393</a><br><span>GT30 "</span><strong>Vivid</strong><span>" Settings: </span><a href="http://www.controlcal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6402" target="_blank">http://www.controlcal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6402</a><br><br><br><span> </span></p><span></span><p><span></span></p></div></div>

SONALIS

· #14 · Feb 27, 2005

Sorry for asking how are the Black levels on your new toy?How does it compare to the Panny?

matwags

· #15 · Feb 27, 2005

JZ,

I just looked at the 5051 at a store today. While the colors and brightness were awesome. I noticed a lot of jagginess. It was a HDTV loop that included a concert, football and a sitcom on HDTV. Maybe there was something that needed to be tweaked.

It doesn't sound like this is an issue for you. Or is it?

Matt

jzeidner

Discussion Starter · #16 · Feb 27, 2005

Black levels are quite satisfactory for me on the 5045 (although I'm told Panny's are typically better). I'm watching NASCAR in HD and surround sound right now for the first time on my set and can't believe the realism...stunning sights and sounds!! I'm still high on my new system!

As for "jagginess", none I can see on the 5045 except maybe a bit when I'm too close to it (within 3 ft of it). It's outstandingly clear from 4 ft out all the way back to my main seated viewing distance of 14 ft.

chelentano

· #17 · Feb 28, 2005

jzeidner, glad you happy with your TV. How is the standard definition picture quality of digital non-HD cable (or satellite) channels? Specially in the Wide stretch mode?

matwags

· #18 · Feb 28, 2005

JZ,

I stand corrected. I went to another BB and saw the 5051 in action and it looked awesome. No jagginess. Must have been the input.

Matt

jzeidner

Discussion Starter · #19 · Feb 28, 2005

Chelentano...standard analog channels via cable are just OK (somewhat fuzzy, not as good as a tube TV), stretch mode seems distorted to me too since I've only been watching for a week but I'm getting used to it. This is all within my expectations going into it so I'm not troubled by it. I'm watching the networks on the HD channels now and even when they're not broadcasting in HD (none prime time), it is far better than the analog channel. The digital cable channels are excellent (not HD quality but still great).

Hope that helps...JZ

By the way, the Academy Awards in HD was pretty amazing. The colors and clarity were over the top. Anyone else notice? Yes, I realize I must seem like a newborn seeing things for the first time...but man, it really is that much better!

chelentano

· #20 · Mar 1, 2005

Thanks, jzeidner, it helps.

"The digital cable channels are excellent"

Is it excellent in 4:3 mode or in Wide mode or both?

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