Pioneer KURO 50" Class 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV
Pioneer
- PDP-5020FD
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Reviews
(12)
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After doing countless hours of research on the best TVs, LCD or Plasma, Pioneer or Panasonic, I came to the conclusion that Pioneer Plasmas are the best. And then after reading countless reviews on how amazing this TV is I finally decided to get one. It was definitely a hefty price tag, but from what I read, it was well worth it. After watching a couple blu-ray movies from my PS3 and playing Oblivion it simply did not meet my expectations. Granted my expectations were extremely high after reading the reviews. I had upgraded from a 42" LG LCD and the difference was just not worth the price tag. It is definitely better. I love this TV but I guess i was just setting my expectations too high. I guess I simply wanted the images to pop out of the TV. And I don't know, maybe I'm doing something wrong. Maybe my settings are wrong, or the calibration, but it's just not what I thought it was gonne be. If you have the $3k-$4k to drop on a TV, by all means, drop it on this one. But if you
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I typed a huge review and I ran out of space. This really pissed me off - but I like this TV enough that I'm rewriting a shorter and different kind of review.
WHAT KIND OF GUY ARE YOU? I'm a guy that wants things done right! "Right" being the way I think it should be done, because I'm a guy that thinks I'm smarter than most other guys, even if I'm not. I'm a guy that's pissed off at Amazon because I wasn't allowed enough space to write my original massive super detailed review. I'm a guy that is irritated when I have to ask a waitress more than once for the same thing. I'm a guy that's pissed off when airlines charge for a second bag or for a beverage. I'm a guy that wants an iPhone more than anything but doesn't have one because I hate the way Apple is trying to force AT&T on me. I'm a guy that is planning to drop Comcast because they are planning to cap users internet usage even though I'll never come close to 250GB a month. I'm a guy that researches 20 different websites to find out
WHAT KIND OF GUY ARE YOU? I'm a guy that wants things done right! "Right" being the way I think it should be done, because I'm a guy that thinks I'm smarter than most other guys, even if I'm not. I'm a guy that's pissed off at Amazon because I wasn't allowed enough space to write my original massive super detailed review. I'm a guy that is irritated when I have to ask a waitress more than once for the same thing. I'm a guy that's pissed off when airlines charge for a second bag or for a beverage. I'm a guy that wants an iPhone more than anything but doesn't have one because I hate the way Apple is trying to force AT&T on me. I'm a guy that is planning to drop Comcast because they are planning to cap users internet usage even though I'll never come close to 250GB a month. I'm a guy that researches 20 different websites to find out
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I didn't know much about televisions when I bought this on the recommendation of a friend who has one. As somebody who doesn't know much about televisions I can't tell you much about the color saturation, refresh rates, black levels, contrast, or indeed many other technical topics. I can tell you, though, that the TV is a joy to watch. Super-clear picture, great color (once you take it out of "dynamic" mode and put it into "movie" mode), and even switched off it's very attractive in a black minimalistic kind of way.
Amazon delivered early, a pleasant surprise. The delivery firm was helpful and careful, and did everything I'd hope for in terms of getting the thing out of the box and mounting it on the stand.
Two small disappointments, neither a big deal:
1. The remote is pretty lame. The one with this TV is altogether fully-featured but otherwise dull and unimaginative. No attention to ergonomics or usability whatsoever. I know, I know, just like most remotes... but I'm a TiVo user so
Amazon delivered early, a pleasant surprise. The delivery firm was helpful and careful, and did everything I'd hope for in terms of getting the thing out of the box and mounting it on the stand.
Two small disappointments, neither a big deal:
1. The remote is pretty lame. The one with this TV is altogether fully-featured but otherwise dull and unimaginative. No attention to ergonomics or usability whatsoever. I know, I know, just like most remotes... but I'm a TiVo user so
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I purchased the 5020FD to replace my samsung 60 inch DLP. This TV is much better in everyway albeit smaller in size. You have to mount the speakers but that did not take long. The speaker quality by the way is great-- pioneer has been around since at least the 70's and they know how to make speakers. The picture is amazing-- needs some minor adjustments only. I have challenged the picture with my sony playstation 3, DVDs, and BluRays. There is no motion artifact which is troubling on LCDs. I was particularly pleased with bright whites on dark blacks-- rock concerts and movies like the Matrix and Harry Potter pixilate when lightning strikes or wands fight on LCDs but NOT on this plasma. I was very pleased with the price... currently $400-900 cheaper than best buy. 6ave delivered the TV promptly in 4 days. I am very pleased.
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Let me start by letting you know that buying from Amazon really is the best experience. My experience goes beyond just the tv. My first tv arrived and when the delivery guys did the set up and turned on the power there was no picture. I simply refused the delivery, contacted Amazon, and a week later got a new tv delivered that works great. There was no questions, no extra charges, just great service.
As for the tv its self, it is the best I've ever seen. The blacks are as dark as you can imagine. When a movie fades to black in between scenes and you normally can still see the black bars on the top of the bottom, it doesn't happen with this tv. Everything goes completely black and you don't see a difference. In fact in dark scenes the black melds so well with the black bars you can't tell where the movie part begins and ends. As for the rest of the picture quality it is just as outstanding. I tried out a Harry Potter movie on blu ray and it was incredible. I could see stuff that
As for the tv its self, it is the best I've ever seen. The blacks are as dark as you can imagine. When a movie fades to black in between scenes and you normally can still see the black bars on the top of the bottom, it doesn't happen with this tv. Everything goes completely black and you don't see a difference. In fact in dark scenes the black melds so well with the black bars you can't tell where the movie part begins and ends. As for the rest of the picture quality it is just as outstanding. I tried out a Harry Potter movie on blu ray and it was incredible. I could see stuff that
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I have been researching HDTVs for what seems like forever, until this month when I finally pulled the trigger. You cannot go wrong with this TV. This is my first HDTV, but I consider myself fairly tech savvy and somewhat of an audiophile. That said I don't have any history with HDTVs so can't compare this TV with anything I've owned in the past, but rather friends' TVs or in store comparisons.
The negatives on this TV are as some may have already discovered; an inability to more finely calibrate this TV yourself, unlike the 5080 of last year or the Elites. That was kind of a downer given how much you pay for it. On the flip side, if you have it calibrated, I believe the professional can adjust these settings. Not 100% sure yet, but I may give that a shot at some point. Why would you want to adjust these settings at all from the way they come out of the box? Well, according to a few reviews, as well as the CNET review, Reds and Greens are not 100% accurate. This may be difficult
The negatives on this TV are as some may have already discovered; an inability to more finely calibrate this TV yourself, unlike the 5080 of last year or the Elites. That was kind of a downer given how much you pay for it. On the flip side, if you have it calibrated, I believe the professional can adjust these settings. Not 100% sure yet, but I may give that a shot at some point. Why would you want to adjust these settings at all from the way they come out of the box? Well, according to a few reviews, as well as the CNET review, Reds and Greens are not 100% accurate. This may be difficult
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I just recently purchased the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020 from Amazon and I couldn't have been happier. I ordered the TV on a Monday evening and I had the TV in my house on the Thursday of the same week. It was less than 72 hours from clicking the mouse to clicking the remote on the TV, which I find amazing. The TV was delivered by Eagle/CEVA and the delivery guys were very helpful in getting the TV into my 2nd floor bedroom.
I chose the 5020 Kuro after an exhaustive search of what TV would be the best for my room. I read many websites and AV forums and found the only thing people could agree on is that the Pioneer Kuro's have the best black levels out there period. Sure the Kuro is a little more expensive than sets from Panasonic or Samsung but over the life span of the TV the difference in price is minimal. So I say go with the best and don't look back.
I chose the 5020 Kuro after an exhaustive search of what TV would be the best for my room. I read many websites and AV forums and found the only thing people could agree on is that the Pioneer Kuro's have the best black levels out there period. Sure the Kuro is a little more expensive than sets from Panasonic or Samsung but over the life span of the TV the difference in price is minimal. So I say go with the best and don't look back.
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Here is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.....according to my observations and general tests. I ordered this Pioneer plasma tv from Amazon on July 16th and promplty received it via CEVA trucking on July 18th. As soon as the delivery guys opened up the packaging and, to my immediate delight, I noticed that this plasma set comes with the stand pre-installed. At this time, I do not have any intentions of putting this plasma set on the wall; for those of you who want to install it on the wall please keep this in mind as you will now have to take the plasma stand off - screws and all. The manual states that all PDP-5020 sets have the stand pre-installed.
*This plasma set is replacing a Samsung 56 inch DLP**
Let the fun times begin: After turning on this set, it was apparent that this Pioneer PDP-5020 is the real deal. The black level is so deep and dark that I was left speechless for quite a few minutes. I tuned in to Cinemax HD and watched The Heartbreak Kid for 10 minutes.....WOW,WOW,WOW!
*This plasma set is replacing a Samsung 56 inch DLP**
Let the fun times begin: After turning on this set, it was apparent that this Pioneer PDP-5020 is the real deal. The black level is so deep and dark that I was left speechless for quite a few minutes. I tuned in to Cinemax HD and watched The Heartbreak Kid for 10 minutes.....WOW,WOW,WOW!
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I could not be more satisfied with this television. Last year I bought a 42" Vizio LCD for gaming because it was the only 42" I could find under $1000. However, after upgrading my home theater audio with a new receiver/speakers and buying a PS3 to watch Blu-ray movies, I really discovered what a sour piece of hardware my screen was. When you've spent the cash for a new player and bought a bunch of your favorite movies in Blu-ray format, the last thing you want to see is unnatural looking skin tones, lack of detail in dark and bright scenes, and awful video processing and motion blur!
I got fed up and decided to do my homework this time and prepare to spend what it takes to get a true quality display. I read several critical reviews and message boards which directed my attention to the Kuro line of Pioneer plasmas. I finally got a chance to see one at a local A/V store and absolutely fell in love. They had SportsCenter on in HD, doing an interview with Coach K from Duke, and the black backdrop
I got fed up and decided to do my homework this time and prepare to spend what it takes to get a true quality display. I read several critical reviews and message boards which directed my attention to the Kuro line of Pioneer plasmas. I finally got a chance to see one at a local A/V store and absolutely fell in love. They had SportsCenter on in HD, doing an interview with Coach K from Duke, and the black backdrop
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This review is coming from somebody who has owned every top-of-the line plasma/lcd HD TV in the past 6 years, including the LED backlit $14,000 Sony Qualia 005. I have owned the PDP-5020fd for exactly 1 week now, and I am in video heaven. I haven't done any major calibrations yet (want to wait at least 100hrs before doing that), but the out-of-the-box video quality is unbelievable. The black levels undoubtedly set a new bench mark, without sacrificing on overall picture quality in terms of contrast, brightness and color fidelity which are all outstanding. I thought my Qualia 005 was amazing, but this Pioneer is something else. I also compared the Pioneer against the latest Panasonic offerings, but there is just no competition. Worth every extra penny if you are a videophile - especially if you like watching movies in a pitch dark environment. You have to strain your eyes to see the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen - something that has always, always bugged my eyes all these
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I just plugged it in an hour ago - amazing. I'm upgrading from a 3-year-old 720p NEC 50" plasma. What a difference. My source is Dish HD via HDMI, and PS3. I bought it without even seeing one in person, and I was not disappointed. I haven't tweaked it one bit, just went through the different picture modes. I started with the Herbie Hancock special I had from DISH - black grand piano and white sheet music - the details in the black were as good as I've seen ever, (over 30 years as TV producer/director). The whites got a bit blown out in Dynamic Mode, but switching to Game mode looked incredible. I can't wait to fiddle with it tomorrow. Other impressions:
* No burn in that I can see - freezing on menu for a couple of minutes - nothing...
* Very minimal screen reflections
* With room light on - it truly is black when there is no picture on.
* In a blacked-out room you can see that it's on, (but I haven't tweaked it yet)
* I sat 4 feet away from BlueRay Ratatouille and thought
* No burn in that I can see - freezing on menu for a couple of minutes - nothing...
* Very minimal screen reflections
* With room light on - it truly is black when there is no picture on.
* In a blacked-out room you can see that it's on, (but I haven't tweaked it yet)
* I sat 4 feet away from BlueRay Ratatouille and thought
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Just got my 5020 last week and this is the best TV that I have seen. I did a lot of research at high end stores and the side by side comparisons with the older 5010 model vs. any other tv (lcd or plasma) wasn't even close. I was looking at the newest Samsung plasmas and LCD's (Toc) but the black levels on the Pioneer really made a big difference. I even asked my 10 year old son to pick the tv with the best picture and he chose the Pioneer. I really wanted to buy the Samsung LCD (Toc) but couldn't get myself to do it knowing the Pioneer's picture was better. I think I would have regretted it later.
The 5020 is thinner than the 5010 and has the newest HDMI 1.3a inputs. I hooked this TV to a brand new Onkyo 606 which is HDMI 1.3a compliant, Time Warner DVR, and a PS3. All I needed was 3 HDMI cables for the entire system.
This TV has the best black levels i have seen which makes the colors really pop and gives more depth to the picture. The TV makes the high def content more 3 dimensional.
The 5020 is thinner than the 5010 and has the newest HDMI 1.3a inputs. I hooked this TV to a brand new Onkyo 606 which is HDMI 1.3a compliant, Time Warner DVR, and a PS3. All I needed was 3 HDMI cables for the entire system.
This TV has the best black levels i have seen which makes the colors really pop and gives more depth to the picture. The TV makes the high def content more 3 dimensional.
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