Pioneer woes!

Quote:


Although the Pioneer Elite is an awesome TV, I can't justify spending that much money. I rarely watch television as it is, and my viewing habits lean more towards DVD viewing much of the time. I did consider the Sony LCD, but Costco only carries the 32" version. I purchased the 37" Phillips today, and I'll chime in once I calibrate the television, and purchase an HDMI DVD player (..which I'm doing tomorrow). Does the HDMI up-convert really make that much difference?



Quote:


The actual set is beautiful. What I don't like about it is its propensity to retain images. So much in fact that it would irritate me while watching movies. It doesn't take very long for it to retain an image either (...20-30 seconds of viewing a screensaver, settings menu, etc.). I thought it was just an issue with one unit, but I returned it for another unit, and experienced the same issue. It isn't very feature packed IMHO, but it seems to have adequate connections in the rear of the TV (...in the opinion of a newbie). If you can deal with its retention issue, you may like the TV. For me, I'm a bit too anal, especially when I'm spending $2500.00. The picture is good on the Pio, but I wish it had a few of the features found on the upper models.

Quote:
Dude... you should have bought a Panasonic... In the meantime... turn your brightness & contrast settings down to eliminate the after image retention problems.
Quote:
Both are low end up converting DVD players... the Forum favorite is the Oppo OPDV971H which is value priced at $200.

Quote:
Yes, especially when that image color/text color is the normal white/light blue of most settings menus. To test it again, I popped in Bad Boys 2. I let the initial menu of the DVD remain on-screen for 30 seconds or so. I then stopped the DVD, and you could see the image retained. This attribute irritated the hell out of me, and for a Plasma/LCD TV newbie, this was very discouraging for me. It had already taken me years to finally decide to convert over to plasma, but my experiences aren't what I expected them to be.


Quote:


Thanks for your insight. I did lower the brightness/contrast (...very much so on the 2nd unit after perusing this site because of the dissatisfaction with the first unit), and it still retains images.

Quote:
1. How many hours do you have on your set?

2. Could you please list you exact picture settings?

I almost made the error of purchasing the exact TV plasma you are refering to, because that was my budget and I thought it looked great in Costco.


Someone on here did extensive research and called and spoke to some pioneer engineers several times. What was reported was that the models that are being sold and distributed at Costco had nowhere near the advanced technology, that the PDP4360HD and the Elite offered.


So I was in a dilema, such as you. I elected to try an authorized internet distributor (TVA and or Coza Inc.) and got the PDP4360 delivered, no taxes for a few hundres dollars more. I justfified it over the Costco version. It is simply a better set, worth the additiional cost. that is just my opinion, and you may want to give those two companies a call, the are forum sponsors as well.


Also, CNET just did a review and gave the PDP4360 an 8 out of 10. Its a very very nice plasma and not as expensive as the Elite.


Chris

I'm an owner of the older model 4340 Pioneer plasma.


NO image retention at all. Sounds like your Contrast and Brightness were turned up way too high. Did you take it out of the "TORCH" mode? Called Dynamic on the Pioneer. The below setting are pretty much the same for all my inputs. HD, SD, DVD and Xbox360 (some slight changes but only by a notch or two)


My setting are:

Standard

Contrast: 33

Brightness: +2 or +3 (depending on sourse)

Color: -8

Tint 0

Sharpness: -1

PureCinema: Standard

Color Temp. Medium

MpegNR: On

DNR: LOW

CTI: OFF

DRE: OFF


Try it out.

Quote:


Honestly, I love the Philips. I was disappointed at first after watching Spiderman 2 with a 4 year old Sony DVD player (480i). Once I purchased the up-converting Sony DVP-NS70H from Circuit City (and a $55 Acoustic Research HDMI cable from Best Buy), I fell absolutely in love with this television. Between the TV and the DVD player, there are plenty of picture adjustability options (..at least in the opinion of a newbie). I can't say the same for the Costco Pioneer. Now only if I could find the 42" version for a couple hundred dollars cheaper.


Did I mention how much I love this television? I'll also mention that the black levels on this Philips television are pretty darn good for an LCD.

Quote:
On the first unit, it was definitely in Dynamic mode. On the second unit (and after perusing this site for hours with the intent on informing myself), I made sure to turn down the contrast/brightness. The image retention was still apparent. Allow me to also state that I didn't notice this level of image retention on non-Costco model Pioneers.

Quote:
Your comments are interesting because when I was shopping for a plasma (I needed a 50" screen so I never considered an LCD) I noticed a thirty-something inch set that really stood out from the surrounding models; that set was a Phillips LCD. It looked better than the equivalent Sony and Sharp which were also on display. I have no idea exactly what models I was comparing or how they were adjusted because, like I said, I wasn't in the market. Still, it stuck in my mind. Good luck with it!

Quote:


A relative has an upper echelon Pioneer plasma, and I haven't noticed an image retention issues.



As far as the Costco model, it is true that the image retention does go away (be it via a full screen video source, or using the white screen function for a specified amount of time), but the fact that it would retain the images quickly discouraged me from keeping the unit. Maybe I'm just a bit too anal, but the retention really irked me, especially since I haven't noticed such retention on other plasmas owned by friends/family. I am glad to hear that you're having a great experience w/ your Pioneer. I wish I could share in your sentiment. It really is a nice looking set.