[jojo strabuck]

I have come across some excellent deals on all three. When purchasing one over the other, what were some of the weaknesses, strengths that you noticed in all of them ?


thanks for the info...

 

[scottb4u]

I cannot believe that with all the great plasma experts on this board, that nobody has an opinion about these choices!


I have narrowed my choices to the same two: pio 4340 or hit 42hdt50...

 

[BigLitl69]

Scott, I have the exact same two choices, the Pio 4340HD vs the Hitachi 42HDT50...had been leaning toward the Pioneer, because of a few more features (ATSC tuner, 3:3 pulldown), and the fact that the Pio prices keep falling...many online vendors now have it for around $4450 plus shipping....had been leaning toward the Hitachi before that, based on seeing it in person numerous times and being "wow"ed, and I really like the looks and set-up of the tv....however, its been like pulling teeth to get a vendor to sell the Hitachi for less....I did find ONE vendor that will sell it, delivered, for $4999, but thats IT...and, its not nearly as available to online vendors.....I also would be anxious to hear others' views on these plasmas...

 

[ekdo]

Pioneer is the best value for the money. Just watchout for the green tint (fixable) on the Pioneer. Fujitsu is the best.

 

[BigLitl69]

thx ekdo....btw, is the green tint easily fixable to a relative novice like me?...in other words, easy to follow instructions somewhere?

 

[jojo strabuck]

what were some of the downsides to each that you are seeing. I've heard about build quality issues with the pioneer and the green tint. I haven't heard much on the Hitachi and i've heard some screen door issues with Fujitsu.....I'm going to get mine calibrated , which ever one i get....

 

[BigLitl69]

i think calibration is prob the key to the kingdom on both...the only "negative" i can say about the Hitachi besides higher price, is, when seeing it display NTSC cable, the picture doesnt seem very good; I know NTSC isnt the same as HDTV, but, I have a Sony 65XBR2, and the picture using "standard" signals seems good, vs average on the Hitachi,; of course, this was on a Sears display setup, and could have been a crappy feed...but, I have seen it like this in 2 diff stores...the Pioneer coverts ALL signals to 748P, so its "cable" picture is superior....also, supposedly the reds on the Hitachi almost look orange...although I dont agree with that...have u found any better prices/deals on the Hitachi?...

 

[BigLitl69]

oh, forgot to mention, Pioneer's "official" word about their warranty is that if you buy from any online vendor, your one yr warranty wont be valid....i specifically called Pioneer and asked, and they reiterated that there are NO authorized Pioneer internet resellers, EXCEPT Crutchfield, which doesnt even have that plasma...so that is one potential negative vs the Hitachi

 

[jojo strabuck]

Thanks for the info, helpfull. The best price I could come up with on the Hitachi 42hdt55 with 32 foot cord and wall bracket was $5,700.00 before taxes...

 

[ekdo]

Quote:

Originally posted by BigLitl69 thx ekdo....btw, is the green tint easily fixable to a relative novice like me?...in other words, easy to follow instructions somewhere?

It's fixable. Just need to spend some more $ on calibration. I was ready to pull the trigger on the Pioneer 5040 but the green goblin got me. The sales person tried to move me to the Pioneer Elite, saying it was user fixable. The picture was superb on the Elite on SD and the stretch modes were the best compared to the Hitachi and Panasonic but the green tint was still there. But I was not interested as for the price of the Elite I rather buy the Fujitsu . And I did not like the thick piano black frame. The speaker integration looked like S***. JMO. So that puts me on hold till the Fujitsu price drops or I decide to go for the smaller 42".

 

[chasin]

Quote:

Originally posted by BigLitl69 i think calibration is prob the key to the kingdom on both...the only "negative" i can say about the Hitachi besides higher price, is, when seeing it display NTSC cable, the picture doesnt seem very good; I know NTSC isnt the same as HDTV, but, I have a Sony 65XBR2, and the picture using "standard" signals seems good, vs average on the Hitachi,; of course, this was on a Sears display setup, and could have been a crappy feed...but, I have seen it like this in 2 diff stores...the Pioneer coverts ALL signals to 748P, so its "cable" picture is superior....also, supposedly the reds on the Hitachi almost look orange...although I dont agree with that...have u found any better prices/deals on the Hitachi?...

The Hitachi has one of the best NTSC pictures I've seen on a plasma. Don't judge it by what you've seen at Sears. And no orangey reds on my 42HDT55.

 

[HRTraveler]

I love my 42HDT50 for DVD, SD and HD viewing. I purchased mine at HHGregg for 20% off MSRP.


I don't hear a lot of talk about the Virtual HD feature that converts all signals to 1080P, but when viewing quality DVD's the picture is awesome.

 

[hollywood53]

Just a thought, I read in one of the forums in regard to pioneer warranty if purchased online, those people were listing it @ registration as a gift, purchase place unknown. maybe someone who has registered could tell you if that option definetely exists.


tom

 

[deekz]

Does anyone know how these "unauthorized" internet vendors obtain these Pioneer plasmas? I have always wondered about this...where do they get the units? From Pioneer directly or from another authorized vendor? If the latter, is there that much mark-up that they can make a business out of this.


Has anybody bought the Pioneer online and relied on a 3rd party extended warranty?


Would appreciate your thoughts as I am very interested in buying the Pioneer online to save a few clams but am wary of the potential difficulties in dealing with repair/replacement issues with a 3rd party warranty if anything goes wrong with the unit down the road.


Thanks.

 

[woodgab]

"...about the Hitachi besides higher price, is, when seeing it display NTSC cable, the picture doesnt seem very good"


The 42hdt50 is an ALIS (1024X1024) display. Alis is known to suffer poor video performance. I don't know if its safe to expand that to all SD, but have witnessed the, otherwise beautiful, Sony KE42XS910 produce awful PQ when showing what must have been an OTA/Cable SD signal that, I think, was also stretched. The image was fuzzy and generally blown away by neighboring CRT's. I think its got great punch and bet think the orange can be dialed out, but would still be sure to check the stretch modes and SD as the possible achililes heel.


4340. Getting cheaper. "Green cast" is overblown, IMO. I'd ask the folks so preoccupied with it if they've thought of replacing all the light bulbs in their homes for tungsten/halogen to get rid of that "Yellow cast". Your eyes adjust within different ambient lighting. If the Pio is judged within this cast, its arguably supreme. If you can't go there, have faith it can be taken out, or the Green Goblin has you.


Chris