Electronics

Pioneer PDP-5040HD 50'' Plasma High-Definition Television
Panasonic TH-50PX500U 50'' Flat Panel HD-Ready Plasma TV
Sony KV-36HS510 36'' High-Definition-Ready FD Trinitron WEGA Flat-Screen Television
Panasonic TH42PA20U/P 42'' EDTV Plasma Monitor
Philips 55PW9383 55'' Widescreen HD-Ready TV
Hewlett-Packard PL4245N 42'' HD-Ready Flat-Panel Plasma TV
Philips 55PW9363 55'' Widescreen HD-Ready TV
Toshiba 34HF83 34'' TheaterWide HD-Ready TV with PURE Flat Screen
Sony KE37XS910 37'' WEGA HDTV-Ready Flat Panel Plasma TV
Philips 30PW8402/37 30'' HD-Ready TV with RealFlat Screen
JVC PD42V485 42 Inch Plasma TV EDTV
SonyKV-34XBR91034''XBRWEGAWidescreenHDTVMonitor
Philips 32PT830H 32'' Flat-Screen HD-Ready TV
Panasonic TH-42PX500U 42'' Flat Panel HD-Ready Plasma TV
Samsung TXN3275HF 32'' DynaFlat HD-Ready TV
JVC AV36DF74 36'' Flat-Screen HD-Ready TV (Silver)
Samsung TXN3071WHF 30'' 16:9 DynaFlat Digital HD-Ready TV
Sony KF60WE610 60'' Grand WEGA HDTV-Ready LCD Rear Projection TV
Panasonic CT-32HL43 32'' HD-Ready TV with PureFlat Screen
Philips 51PP9303H 51'' Widescreen HDTV-Ready TV
Zenith Z52SZ80 52'' HD-Ready DLP Projection TV
Sony KE42XS910 42'' WEGA HDTV-Ready Flat Panel Plasma TV
Sony KE-50XS910 50'' WEGA Flat-Panel Plasma HDTV with Integrated DTV Tuner
Toshiba 30HF83 30'' TheaterWide HD-Ready TV with PURE Flat Screen
Sony KE42TS2 42'' WEGA HDTV Integrated Flat Panel Plasma TV

Pioneer PDP-5040HD 50" Plasma High-Definition Television

Average customer rating:

Broke in 18 months
Excellent product
Crisp, Solid and To The Point
The Best Plasma around
reach for the stars

Pioneer PDP-5040HD 50" Plasma High-Definition Television

Manufacturer: Pioneer
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

TVs | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

Audio & Video | Refurbished & Used | Special Features | Electronics Features | Electronics

Pioneer | Brands | Electronics Features | Electronics | Home Audio

By Size | TVs & HDTVs | Audio & Video | Categories | Electronics

Sylvania 6900DTE ATSC/HDTV Broadcast Set-Top Box Receiver
The AVIA Guide to Home Theater
Monster Z300SV-2M Ultra High-Resolution Precision S-Video Cable (6.56 ft.)
Monster Z300CV-2M Ultra High-Resolution Precision Component Video Cable (6.56 ft.)
Terk Technology TV-55 UHF/VHF HDTV Indoor/Outdoor Amplified Antenna

Product Features:

50-inch widescreen flat-panel plasma TV with ATSC DTV receiver and 2-tuner PIP; 50 x 29 x 3.9 inches (W x H x D)
1,280 x 768 wide XGA pixel resolution; 18 digital and analog video inputs including HDMI, IEEE 1394, and RGB PC
Advanced PureCinema converts all signals to 768p using 3:2 pulldown correction; first plasma TV capable of rendering a 72 Hz display
13 watts per channel sound with detachable speakers and rear-panel speaker-level output for use with your existing speakers
Capable of displaying over 1 billion colors, and more accurately than any CRT set

ASIN: B000148KH0

Product Description

Sports. Movies. Sitcoms. Yes, even reality shows. They all look phenomenally great on this 50" widescreen high-definition plasma TV. Pioneer's exclusive Pure Drive keeps video signals entirely in a lossless digital domain, for greater signal control and far higher video quality. With Pioneer's new Advanced PureCinema with 3-3 pulldown, film-based material on DVD, videotape, and even regular TV will match the smooth, natural reproduction you'd see in a theater.ACE II (Advanced Continuous Emission II) uses 10-bit processing to produce 1, 024 gradation steps for each cell - creating a palette of over 1.07 billion colors and delivering reproduction accuracy up to 16 times greater than competitors' panels.Each individual lamp is encased in its own "cell", with walls on all sides so that light doesn't bleed into neighboring cells. This energy-efficient design allows each lamp to deliver a more concentrated beam of light, for truer colors and brighter images. Pioneer places a patented black coating between each row of plasma cells, absorbing the light hitting the panel. This significantly reduces reflections coming back to your viewing position and nearly doubles the effective contrast. The PDP-5040HD comes fully loaded: its outboard media receiver is equipped with an ATSC terrestrial HDTV tuner and a full set of interfaces, including a next-generation High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). This all-digital, high-bandwidth consumer interface can transfer huge amounts of pure, digital data at very high rates of speed.

Amazon.com Product Description

Pioneer's PDP-5040HD PureVision 50-inch plasma TV represents state-of-the-art in just about any area you can imagine. Its perfectly flat, high-contrast, high-brightness (1,000 cd/m2) display benefits from high-quality engineering and innovative Pioneer enhancement technologies.

With a plasma screen you get vivid colors like you've never seen before, extremely wide viewing angles (wider, even, than those of most LCD screens), and easy placement due to a plasma monitor's slim profile. The PDP-5040HD is a mere 3.9 inches deep, perfect for desk or wall mounting. Brightness tends to be extremely uniform across plasma screens, which are also impervious to the picture distortion and negative color balances that afflict CRT monitors when placed near lighting or sound systems.

The PDP-5040HD is packaged with a standalone media receiver equipped with an ATSC terrestrial HDTV tuner and a full set of interfaces, including a next-generation High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI). This all-digital, high-bandwidth interface can transfer huge amounts of pure, digital data at very fast rates.

The media receiver is compatible with high-definition terrestrial broadcast transmissions as well as NTSC (standard definition) broadcasts, both of which factor into the set's 2-tuner PIP (picture-in-picture) performance. The media receiver also manages an array of inputs, including satellite, cable, DVD, DVR/VCR, and computer signals up to wide XGA (1,280 x 768).

In the PDP-5040HD, each individual lamp is encased in its own deep "cell," with walls on all sides so light can't bleed into neighboring cells. This energy-efficient design allows each lamp to deliver a more concentrated beam of light, rendering truer colors and brighter images. Pioneer also places patented Black Stripe light-absorbing coating between each row of plasma cells. This nearly doubles the effective contrast, which is rated at a high 900:1.

Pioneer PureDrive ensures a pure digital signal path from source to image. With PureDrive, an analog broadcast is converted once to digital and remains in the digital domain until viewing. All incoming digital signals go through no analog-to-digital conversion. By minimizing or eliminating the A/D or D/A conversions, Pioneer reduces various kinds of digital "noise."

Advanced PureCinema maintains faithful and accurate reproduction of film-based content. Pioneer was the first to introduce advanced film detection using 3:3 film-to-video conversion at 72 Hz in a plasma display. This renders film content smoothly and naturally, closer to what you'd see in a movie theater. Previously, televisions offered only 3:2 film-to-video conversion at 60 Hz, which--while still a great improvement over unprocessed video--nevertheless resulted in visible onscreen artifacts, such as slightly uneven motion.

Pioneer's Advanced Continuous-Emission display technology II (ACE II) is another first; it eliminates false contours that can appear in closeups of faces. This improved 10-bit processing allows the television to display smooth transitions from dark to light areas without losing detail or compromising the image contrast. ACE II works with PureDrive to permit the set to display more than a billion colors.

You can position the set on a table or mount it to the wall, and it's designed to accent almost any home decor. The black frame and silver, side-mounted speakers are sure to elicit admiration from friends and family, but the true high-definition picture is likely to make the lasting impact.

Connections abound: choose from 18 digital and analog terminals, including dual HDMI and IEEE 1394 (i.Link) connections, a front-panel RGB jack for easy connection to a PC or Macintosh output, and a range of composite-, component-, and S-video inputs. S-video/composite-video outputs foster hookup with ancillary devices such as DVRs or VCRs. The set also includes side-mounted speakers, and a tabletop stand that swivels.

What's in the Box
Plasma panel, media receiver, 2 speakers, a swivel stand, a smart remote control, remote batteries, a remote stand (with 4 mounting screws), 4 screw-hole caps, a 3-meter digital connection cable, a 1.8-meter VCR controller, 2 AC power cords, 3 speaker cushions, 3 bead bands, 3 speed clamps, a cleaning cloth, 1 RF coaxial AV cable, a user's manual, and warranty information.

Customer Reviews:

Broke in 18 months.......2006-06-29

I bought this TV and the 43" model when they first came out and paid about 17k. Both scanner boards went out on this model after owning it for less than 18 months, and the TV is only used about once a week. When I called Pioneer (warranty is only 1 year)they would not let me speak to a supervisor and said, sorry, the warranty period has expired. Cost me $750 to fix. Pretty sad for an $8,500 TV.

Excellent product.......2005-02-25

Bought this HDTV at BestBuy.com in January 05 ("Super Bowl" sale). The internet deal was: you buy this tv for $5500 (regular price was 7K). Plus they give you a $500 mail-in-rebate, on top of that you get $500 worth of digital coupons (used it to get Cannon A95 5MP digital camera and Epson PictureMate printer: $319 + $199 at the time), plus free dvd home theater system ($100 worth), 15% off tv stand, and free delivery. Bestbuy was sold out of this TV in just a couple of days after the deal started. The quality of the product is excellent. No complains.
Warning:
For those who buys it just to watch cable tv: the quality of the regular digital cable channels is only so so (I have Comcast digital cable).
There is only a dozen or so of true HDTV channels (at least in my area). They look great, but some programs have bars on the sides (not tv's fault, it is just a little bit ahead of its time). With time more and more tv programs will be true HD and more and more HD chanels will exist. But if you are into DVD movies that is a perfect tv - size and quality. Sign up for netflix and enjoy the movies (from 8-10 ft).

Crisp, Solid and To The Point.......2005-02-17

I work in the technology industry and did much research before purchasing this plasma. Overall, Pioneer did a great job in features, and performance.

Price: I got it for around $5200 (yes, it's the 50 inch) with free shipping from a major retailer, so that worked out well.

Quality: The depth and great color reproductions make this plasma overwhelming to watch sometimes. After 2 months, its still hard to walk away for a snack sometimes. The "brains box" concept works out well of cables and it well made. The solid stand it comes with, along with the entire enclosure is solid, sturdy and strong. The swivel is smooth, the mounts are perfect. I have 2 dead pixels, which sometimes I notice when the screen is a solid color, but that's a risk we all take I guess.

Speakers: The standard ones it came with a great, better than people kept reviewing them. For real sound, we all know a good receiver and surround speakers make all the difference.

Connection: Had more than most others I have seen - 2 HDMI, rear and front components, RGB, svideo, etc. Wish you could name the inputs on the display though. :(

Tuner/Basic Parts: This is a true HDTV, with dual tuners for both standard and hd. A must.

Standard TV: Eh, doesn't look that great. But it doesn't on most plasmas. The side gray bars it has for the 4:3 viewing are annoying, but I can live with it. Streching it just feels weird on certain shows. The people look to fat or cut off.

Features: The split screen nice....between any one input and another. Pretty cool. They should have an option for all 4.

Physical Screen: The deep encased cells really do make a difference on reflection and lighting. Nothing seems to effect the picture, day, night or angle. Love that. The glossy is just enough to make the picture feel natural.

Is It Worth It: Depends on the person. It's a good amount of cash for a TV in the grand scheme, but for second level early adopters like me, it's well spent. I spend every day, for some amount of time watching TV, so it might as well be important.

HDTV Carrier: This is not about the actual product, but what you will of course be also search for, good HDTV provider. I had DirecTV. Loved the service, quality and TiVo. However, there HDTV options were terrible....very very expensive HD-DVR, monthly fees and an extra antenna made the deal sour. I chose cable to my own surprise, Comcast. The service is ok, not great. The HDTV programs are great, but too few. The DVR is many steps down from TiVo, there software is a true annoyance even though it essentially does the same job.

Final Thoughts: Top of the line quality, good 800 # support, great HDTV for those who can afford it and have the sense for a quality product.

The Best Plasma around.......2004-09-24

I've had the Pioneer 5040HD for about 2 months now. It is unbelievable. The quality is great, and I wnet back on forth between this and the Sony 50inch XBR, finally settling on the Pioneer beaucse I thought the image was clearer and sharper.
I would recommend getting the DVD Essentials home theatre dvd for correctly setting the color and contrast settings. I did, and the picture is awesome. I run Dish Network (non-HD) and the image is really good. Progressive scan DVD is even better.
I highly recommend this plasma. Because this is a 50 inch plasma..for best results, you do have to view the screen from atleast 8 feet away or more when watching non-HD content. that is pretty much true for any large screen TV.
The sound quality of the speakers is great..suprising loud and clear.

reach for the stars.......2004-07-28

I've only had it for a short while, but I've known for some time that this was going to be the one. At the store, when a colorful nature scene appears on all the plasmas, you'll see the amazing depth that this thing produces (billions of colors) compared to all the rest. A media receiver comes with it, so it is genuinely HD-ready. A clean-power surge protector is actually not a bad idea. They're pricey, 150+, but it's true that dirty ac power degrades (a plasma's) image quality. And absolutely necessary, is a Progressive-scan DVD player, the difference is totally noticeable. The Sony 50inch is a great screen, I watch one occasionally and you can't go wrong with it. The other nice thing about the Sony vs Pioneer is that the Sony very wisely decided to give 4:3 screen-mode BLACK bars on the sides instead of the annoying gray bars that Pioneer always opts for (imagine watching a movie with gray bars on the top and bottom - ridiculous). The Pioneer, I believe is slightly superior in image quality though. The billions of colors, the resolution, is just hypnotic. You will have to tweak it, setting it to movie-mode but enhancing the color and contrast a bit, or standard and turn the sharpness down a notch, and so on (vivid mode is just horrible, and must be for watching the occasional and unavoidable video tape or something). It is gorgeous too, the speakers go on the top or the sides, or not at all. PC input, monitor-out, lots of others.

The only bad thing that I can see so far, is the "PureVision" or whatever it's called, that Pioneer claims to enhance the picture and smooth edges? I'm not really sure what exactly it's supposed to do, but its a noticeable difference in the way a Sony will process the image, you may or may not like it. BestBy doesn't typically have the Sony 50inch on display, they do always have the Pioneer though. Go see them all. My runner-up flat-panel is definitely the Toshiba, that is one gorgeous tv. too bad there is no 50incher. The 42inch is a nice alternative. And Sony's 42 model from last year is going on sale now (07-27-04) from 6k to 4.3k at BestBy.

Electronics:

Electronics