[Joel]

Can we get some definitive information about the differences between these two pairs of plasmas? There's been a lot of bits and pieces floating about, but in looking at the various websites, other than a 3-year warranty vs 1-year for the 5002, and the need for the video card (with DVI) for the 503CMX to get a usable set of connections, I'm not sure I fully understand the differences (other than the obvious FCC Class A vs Class B situation).


Forum searches have been of only modest help, and much information is not confirmed. I've studied Pete Putnam's excellent review of the 503CMX vs the Panasonic but it's not really spot on to this issue.


And, just how bad is the IR or other interference on the industrial models? Reports vary.


One of the things that puzzles me is the notion that the 503CMX has 10-bit grayscale performance vs. 8-bit for the 1000HD (the so-called 832 shades vs 256 shades issue).


The 5001 is generally available over the Net, but the 5002 is not. Similarly, the 503CMX appears to have wider availability than the 1000HD, and both are priced somewhat better than their consumer cousins.


Anyhow, perhaps we can use this thread to catalog and verify differences among these pairs.


Inquiring minds want to know ...


Cheers

 

[doody]

the word on the street is that each PRO1000HD starts its life on the west coast as a 503CMX shipped in from Japan. the silly frame is added, but beyond that we just haven't been able to confirm a whole lot. there are no technical manuals available for the units. the user manuals that come with them are, shall we say, "lacking". i've been told i might see a tech manual by the end of the month for the PRO1000HD. even the guys in NJ at the pioneer commercial plasma division don't have any info on the 503CMX yet. never mind the sales reps on the PRO1000HD.


doody.

 

[reboot]

I will only comment on the 5001 5002 information.


The “USERS MANUAL†that came with my 5002 is distributed for all the following models


Pds5001w

Pds5001u

Pds5002w

Pds5002u


I wll try and get my scanner up and running and post specifications from the manual in pdf.


From this information, one can assume all these models have the same features and specifications. I don’t see any footnotes on the spec pages.


From the information I have gathered, the only difference is the color of the frame. 5002 is silver, 5001 is black. 5001 has 1 yr , 5002 has 3 yr . and FCC regulation differences.


I do experience IR interference with the dish 6000 remote only. Not sure if the 5001 would flood the room.. so none of my remotes would work?…don’t know. The IR interference strength is proportional to the brightness of the screen. You can get a tiny battery operated IR to RF converter to connect to the end of your master remote and feed all devices RF. Havnt hooked it up yet


I have had some contacts from dealers offering the 5001 for 9K. I would go for it! I would have rather had a black slim frame than a silver anyway


The internal video processor, scaling electronics and best picture quality made this display shine over the Panasonic at the CEDIA (In my eyes)

Nothing else came close.


reboot

 

[Free]

I have not experienced IR interference yet with my 503CMX.

 

[Joel]

I'd like to hear from those who bought the 5002 and 1000HD re why they went for those units vs. the 5001 and 503CMX, and paid the price delta. Was it the warranty? Dealer service? That lovely Pioneer Urushi frame?


Thanks in advance.


Cheers

 

[Compromise]

One difference that I can see is the price on the internet. The PRO1000 is 13K and the 503MX is 9995. Why?

 

[doody]

i am 95% sure that wholesale on the PRO1000HD is $9,600 or so.


i don't know wholesale on the 503CMX (i tried to weasel it out of a dealer), but he says it's a lot less than the PRO1000HD. he said that DELL is making money on them even with their 20% of deals, and they buy from the same supplier he does - he says he gets the same price as they do. so i'd find out the best price anybody got off of DELL and assume they were making no more than 10% on that price.


you can get the PRO1000HD for much less than $13K if you know the right weasels to weasel . it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that there are plenty of guys happy to make a quick and easy 15% return on capital.


i think pioneer is gouging a bit on the PRO1000HD. the glass -vs- plexi is undoubtedly not free - but it's not thousands of dollars. the warranty delta and on-site stuff is non-trivial - for all we know the underwriter on the insurance gouged them (hopefully not justifiably!).


my two pennies.


doody.

 

[Walter Kircher]

Hi,


I want to add the differences between the two European 503HDE/MXE versions. The HDE is the EU consumer version.


Look also here:


MXE has video electronics with 832 grey-shades from pioneer and the consumer HDE model - 256 grey-shades - gets its video electronics from Sharp.


Greetings, Walter

 

[Walter Kircher]

Look also here :

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...threadid=48049

 

[Pete Putman]

I have had both the PDP-503 and PRO-1000HD in for extensive testing.


The only significant difference is that the PRO-1000HD had better black levels in video mode (.4 to .5 nits), much lower than the .6 to .7 nits seen in RGB mode on the PDP-503.


The menus are identical on both panels. Ditto the service menu for adjusting drive and bias. The 503 has three-step noise reduction and three cinema quality modes - so does the PRO-1000HD.


The removable video card on the PDP-503 I tested (see the review Glass Menangerie on my web site at www.projectorexpert.com/pages/01plasma.htm ) had the optional component video card as a pull-out. On the PRO-1000HD, it was screwed in, but still removable.


The fact is; Japanese manufacturers do not want to incur substantial costs by making different Pro AV and consumer versions of a given display product. Many of the projectors and monitors I test these days have both Class A and Class B certification already, which should tell you where their mindset lies.


Sony has been showing essentially their entire line-up of Pro AV projectors at Cedia Expo the past few years. Why not? A sales is a sale.


And you are perfectly entitled to buy a PDP-503 from a Pro AV dealer and have him "install it" (ie hook it up at your home) and use it as a consumer item. Lots of people buy Pro AV gear for home use this way.


Pete

 

[chewitt]

I just ordered a 503 from Dell. They insisted that the model is PDP-503MX (no C). Can anyone confirm that there is no "MX" and that I must be getting the CMX that everyone here has been discussing.


Thanks

 

[doody]

one of the differences b/w the units is the warranty.


the 503CMX is one year and the PRO5000HD is two years.


both are on-site support. though i can't confirm that the PRO is two years on-site or only in the first year.


fwiw.


hardly justifies the price difference.


doody.

 

[Alexander]

Quote:

Originally posted by chewitt I just ordered a 503 from Dell. They insisted that the model is PDP-503MX (no C). Can anyone confirm that there is no "MX" and that I must be getting the CMX that everyone here has been discussing.

I ordered one from Dell, and a 503CMX arrived.


Pete, have you tested a production 503? Is the black level difference caused by the acrylic vs. glass screen, or is it the different coating on the glass one that causes the difference?


I agree that the warranty difference doesn't justify the price, but sigificantly better blacks might. It's fine for overall bright images, but dark scenes aren't the best. I like the relatively low reflectivity of my 503, though, and I'm under the impression that the glass is much more reflective.


Alex

 

[Pete Putman]

Black levels in RGB mode on the PRO-1000HD were comparable to the PDP-503.


Black levels in video mode were lower than the PDP-503. I doubt it's the outer glass.


The grayscale false contour test revealed essentially the same results on both panels.


Pete

 

[erehm]

Wouldn't the glass on the Pro1000HD more scratch resistant?

 

[Joel]

Yes, the glass will be more scratch resistant, but the acrylic will be more resistant to breakage. Also, the acrylic will be less sensitive to glare (depending on the optical coating used on the glass). That was the general experience when comparing the 505HD and 502MX in the last generation. From Pete's review, it does not appear that there is much optical difference between the two. I have no idea what causes the slight difference in black levels in video mode; perhaps the cards are slightly different? Who knows.


Cheers

 

[jlm]

an anti-reflection coating on the glass would up the contrast ratio by eliminating unwanted spill light into the shadow areas; same for optical lenses on cameras.

 

[sdf777]

I notice much less glare on the Pro1000 than on my old Sony 32" Trinitron TV.

 

[Free]

Less glare on my 503 than on my Panny 42 which has glass. One of the factors influencing me to go with the 503 was slightly reduced glare due to the acrylic screen.

 

[analog8]

I'm confused - what color is the 503CMX? Silver or grey? It looks grey to me in the brochure but someone said it was silver here.