Pioneer KURO 50" Class 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV

Great choice for videophiles that aren't video-nuts!

0

Helpful

Pioneer KURO 50" Class 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV

I looked for around 6 months for a new HDTV to replace a Sony XBR1 40" I've had for several years. After spending way to much time reading CNETs reviews, I settled upon this TV.

The performance is excellent. It certainly has better image quality than my Sony LCD, both when watching movies (due to the excellent contrast), and when watching fast moving basketball, in which my sony LCD would occasionally have motion artifacts. I think much of the LCD motion artifact thing has gone away with high end LCDs these days.

If you are a video nut that wants to change every aspect of the settings, you need to get the elite model, which is basically the same TV, but with all the settings opened up. You only get basic settings with this model. However, it has a mode that I personally like called "Optimum", where the TVs sensors detect what type of picture is being displayed along with the ambient room conditions and adjust accordingly. So far I've left it on that and it has been great. I have

...

also played with "Movie" mode, in which you get about 50% of the controls on the picture that a typical high end TV might have.

Aesthetically, this TV looks perfect. The plain back bezel that is very small for this size of TV is exactly what I was looking for. Some of the Sony's for the past 4 years and most of the LGs and Samsungs have just got too much going on. I want a perfect picture and a minimal "TV". In addition, this TV is very thin for a 50" plasma, it is only 3.7" thick. My 40" LCD was 5.5" and the new sony XBR8 LED backlit LCD is almost 6" I believe.

In a store I compared this TV to the Samsung A950 series (LED backlit LCD) and the Sony XBR6, both 46" models. The Pioneer was cheaper and just looked better hands down. I went back on 3 occasions to confirm this was the case.

Some people will discuss buzzing with this particular unit. From what I have found out, all plasmas buzz. On this unit, if you put your head behind the tv, you can hear some electronic buzz. If you put your head in front of the TV, you can not hear anything, even with the TV muted. If you move your head about 5' back from the TV and have the TV muted, a slight buzzing becomes audible. If you turn on any volume whatsoever, you can not detect the buzzing. Actually, the fans and hard disk in my DirecTV HR21 DVR are louder than the buzzing!

I have been using power save mode 2 (the highest power save mode), which makes it meet the energy star requirements of the future, and it has plenty of brightness! We'll see how this holds up as we move through the break in period.

The big question many of you are probably asking is should I order from amazon and save almost $1000 over best buy or other big box store? My first HDTV I purchased from a locally owned specialty retailer. It gave me the confidence I needed since I knew little about HDTVs at that time. They offered a 15 day no questions asked return policy. For this Pioneer purchase, I went with amazon.com and saved $1000. Shipping was free. Amazon will contract this to CEVA, who will contract the delivery to your home by another local delivery agent. My TV arrived within 3 business days. It went from Ohio to Chicago in the first day I ordered it, and then was in Milwaukee to be delivered the next day and an appointment was set up. However, when the delivery guys showed up, I asked them to remove it from the packaging so I could plug it in and make sure it worked before I accepted delivery. The bezel was cracked and the screen damaged before we even got it out of the box. So I easily refused shipment and the delivery guys took it back. I contacted amazon and once you get beyond the india help desk and to a real agent who specializes in electronics returns I was all set. A new unit was sent 3 days later (with a total of about 1 week delay) for no charge. I think in the future I would order online from amazon.com again for the cost savings they provide. Although it was a hassle to be at home twice to have the TV delivered twice it was worth the savings for me. I believe you can also return to amazon within 30 days as well if you change your mind, but shipping cost is yours to pay.

more

13 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

8 price(s) | 31 days ago at

Awesome TV but....

0

Helpful

Pioneer KURO 50" Class 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV

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

...

more

13 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

8 price(s) | 92 days ago at

What kind of guy are you?

0

Helpful

Pioneer KURO 50" Class 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV

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

...

more

13 review(s) | 0 comment(s) |

8 price(s) | 94 days ago at

Pioneer KURO 50" Class 1080p Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV

Compare Prices

Reviews

Comments

Similar Products

Sponsors