Pioneer Kuro PDP-5080 HD
TVs Buying Guide
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June 26, 2007 10:11
4.5/5
Let me first start by saying, WOW! What a GORGEOUS picture. As picture quality goes, there truely is no better anywhere. Best contrast on any plasma or LCD (no brainer there) that has been seen to date. And of course, Pioneer always brags about the amount of gradation in color in their picture, well it is absolutely apparent in this set. Pioneer offers a new Optimum video setting on these TVs which is an ever changing adjustment in the picture so that every image is a beautiful as the next. Very similar to the way the Advanced Iris settings work in the Sony SXRD projection systems. My ONLY concerns are as follows: There is no X.V. Color support. As major BluRay advocates like Sony and Mitsubishi have demonstrated, X.V. Color Gamut technology is going to be the future of BluRay and for Pioneer not to include that capability in any of their new sets or their new BluRay Disc Players is more than disappointing to myself. And in a time where almost all major TV manufacturers are introducing the 120hz side scanning for smoother motion, Pioneer has introduced the 60hz side scanning...? Well, before they had 72hz (also called 3:3 pulldown, which they still have). I havent yet seen anything with this feature, but Sony and Panasonic sure are high on it. All in all, Pioneer, even with their disappointments this year, continue to lead the pack as far as quality of picture go. If you are looking for a picture that is head and shoulders above the rest, welcome to Pioneer. -
September 20, 2007 01:46
Terrible
0.5/5
TV is still under warranty, the pixels are misfiring a pink or orange color when they are supposed to be blue. The repair service has been to my house 3 times an is unable to fix it - even though they replaced the video board. Now they want to take it to their shop for a couple weeks to replace some of the internal components, but they are guessing. Meanwhile, Pioneer Customer Service flatly refuses to replace the unit - they apparently don't do that. Panasonic has tv's with comparable picture quality and lower prices, and they would have given me a new tv by now and taken the old one to fix on their own time. I wish I had bought Panasonic rather than Pioneer. I read all the reviews - this is typically a great tv so I realize I probably got a lemon, but they should replace it. Save yourself the grief and go with Panasonic. -
August 31, 2007 09:35
4.5/5
I've been following the PDP & LCD wars for some years. I work in the business in R&D and know what I'm looking at. Quite simply, this is the best TV you can by right now. There soon will be a new Pioneer 1080p model that might eclipse this one (at a hefty price premium I expect), but for now it's the king of the hill.
I've had occasion to do very close comparisons between the new 120HZ LCD's, the Pioneer 5080HD and the new Panasonic FHD models. The Pioneer is by far the best of the lot.
The often mentioned black level is unique in the industry and I am confident that Pioneer will maintain that edge due to their superior technology. Perhaps even more impressive is this sets ability to avoid all manner of dynamic false countours and sustain very high resolution for fast screen action. Using the NHK method of evaluating resolution loss, this set scores the highest of all flat panel TV's on the market today, sustaining ~ 900-1000 lines fo resolution for typical fast action. Even the best 1080p LCD's (120Hz)by comparison display less than half the resolution for moderate motion speeds. Figures reported are typically in the 400-500 line range!
Also a feature is Pioneer's luminous efficiency. This set spec's out at 2.2lm/W, an industry best for HD sets. This is in part what allows the set to achieve the very high contrast ratio and low power consumption.
Fianlly, I really like the anti-reflective screen technology that Pioneer is using here. The Panasonic sets resort to a matte screen which badly distorts the image quality. When compared side-by-side to the Panasonic 1080p set family, the Pioneer 5080HD set looks better hands down. For the time being, the Panasonic sets lack the luminous efficiency to achieve the contrast ratio needed to best Pioneer. The Panasonic screen looks more like an LCD's due to the lousy AR treatment. Panasonic may get it better next gen, but for now Pioneer is best. -
August 22, 2007 12:04
4.5/5
This is the one! It came down to the 5080 and the Panasonic 50PZ700U, and although the Panasonic is 1080P, I can honestly say that the 5080 offers the most stunning picture I have yet to see from a plasma. I also like that the bottom speaker attaches from the bottom of this set. For those who are still on the fence about this particular unit..don't be...it's picture is excellent. -
August 28, 2007 10:21
4.5/5
I went to Best Buy to purchase the new Sony DLP 60a2020 but out of the corner of my eye I saw this beast, the picture quality on this 720p set is better than any other 1080p set under $3000, you don't need numbers, and editors, and awards to tell you that, just look at the picture, in HD, 720/1080 and SD it just looks better. Period.
I have had it now for 3 weeks and no complaints yet, I have Comcast cable and my XBOX360 running on it all the time and the picture is amazing! I attribute my Madden ranking to this TV.
The only reason I gave it a 9 is because it is expensive and the speakers should come separately as an optional add-on so I don't have to pay for them, who buys a 3000 TV and uses the TV speakers? -
August 19, 2007 02:14
4.5/5
I researched TVs for quite a few months before purchasing this Pioneer. After deciding that Plasma would be the best bet for my needs, I looked at quite a few. The Pioneer 5070hd kept coming out on top. Then they released the 5080hd. I don't know how much difference there really is, but I think the black levels are something of an improvement.
Now that I have it home, I just can't believe how beautiful it is. I love the elegant piano-black frame. The picture is absolutely exquisite, particularly with a 1080 signal (although it deals surprisingly well with standard def signals). So far, I love everything about this set. Just amazing!
I purchased mine from www.access2.digital.com for about $2500, including shipping to my door. They are an authorized Pioneer dealer, so it came with the warranty, etc. They also persuaded me to purchase a three-year extended warranty for an extra $400 or so. Probably worth it, given how much I'm spending!
All in all, just a fantastic TV. Go look at your local store and compare it to all the other TVs on the wall. You'll be able to see its smoother image and superior detail in dark scenes.
Frankly, I think this thing is a perfect 10. The only reason I'm giving it a 9 is because it's not 1080p (not that I can see any difference...it looked better than the 1080p Panasonic it was next to at the store), and because it's a hair more expensive than the competition.
But worth absolutely every penny! -
November 16, 2007 07:31
4.5/5
I researched TVs extensively for probably way too long. It finally came down to the Sony XBR4 LCD (40") and the Pinoeer Plasma (42"). What finally put me over the top was the superior handling of Standard Definition programming by the Pioneer. With only about 25 HD channels available right now most of my TV viewing is still coming in SD. For most SD channels I couldn't see a discernable difference between the plasma and my old CRT. Except when the SD was broadcast in wide screen then it looked better on the plasma. I found the XBR was grainy and a little washed out when showing SD. The Pioneer also had much richer colours and deeper blacks than the XBR.
The quality of the HD will not disappoint you. I find my self watching the most ridiculous shows just because they are in HD! The National Geographic channel is a must!! And PBS has great shows for the kids in the morning! The set up was really simple and all the HDMI inputs greatly reduce the amount of cable clutter. I honestly don't think I could be any happier with this purchase. -
August 23, 2007 01:17
4.5/5
Very pleased with both the picture quality & sound fidelity. I have a dedicated video room and placed the Pioneer side-by-side with a 46" Samsung LN-T4665F LCD (also a very good flat screen tv). After manually setting both systems for optimal performance given the room's lighting conditions, I simultaneously played the movie 300 using a pair of Oppo DV-970HD DVD players. I must say that both flat screens performed extremely well and the differences took several long minutes before they they (shyly) reveled themselves. In the end the Pioneer displayed notably better performance in color depth, modestly superior tracking/refreshing and appreciably superior sound quality (I assessed sound on the flat screen system speakers only). Had I not viewed them side-by-side, I probably couldn't have rated one superior to the other; both the Pioneer & the Samsung are very high quality performers. My goal was to determine which system to put on center stage in the video room, and the 50" Pioneer plasma seemed to surpass the 46" Samsung LCD in overall performance. Dollar for dollar I'm not sure which has the better value, given the higher price tag for the PDP-5080HD, but strictly within the performance dimension I would recommend the Pioneer. -
January 5, 2008 03:23
4.5/5
After a couple months use, everything about this plasma spells quality, except for the piano gloss plastic bezel and Pioneer's customer service, two factors you should weigh before buying.
Pioneer and other manufacturers are using a piano gloss plastic finish for their products.
Canon is one notable using this finish for their latest line of scanners. The Kuro has it too, and why? Because it looks nice. But the downside of this plastic finish is that it picks up hundreds of fine scratches. A few specks of dust, even when cleaned with a microfiber cloth, can result in scratches.
Viewed from a distance, you don't know they're there, but take a close look and it's a different story.
Why is this a negative point?
I upgrade TV's every year or two, and sometimes up to every 4 years, and there's nothing that defrays the upgrade cost like being able to resell your TV and apply the proceeds to the new one you've got your eyes on. Personally, I'd like to be able to say my Kuro is cosmetically in mint condition, because that's a strong point when selling a used TV. Imagine the difference to a potential buyer if you say, this TV is cosmetically mint, or this TV is cosmetically nice, but up close, there are fine scratches on that piano gloss.
My Kuro arrived and the box was perfect. I was surprised to see it looking absolutely factory fresh, especially since my Panasonic 60u (now in my bedroom)arrived with the box dinged and dented and looking like it had made a rough trip and then some.
Upon opening the Kuro box, and carefully setting it up, I saw these fine scratches in the piano gloss, and of course, Pioneer's warranty doesn't cover anything cosmetic, even if it occured in packing on their end, which a Pioneer rep told me it had. Apparently, some piano gloss scratching isn't uncommon when they pack this TV.
Is it a big deal, or worth complaining to Pioneer about? That depends on you. If you plan to resell later and want it to stay nice, it does, or you can look at it from the hey, for $3000, I should get a little more quality control, point of view. Both are valid.
The other negative is that Pioneer's support is wretched. When I thought my TV might have an issue, and phoned them, it took 45 minutes and I was told that I'd have to arrange my own in home service call and Pioneer would pay for it.
I then called back and was told that rep was mistaken, and they set up a service call, even though the tech didn't show up. Instead he did the support over the phone, and told me to call back if I needed to. -
November 14, 2007 08:36
Terrible
0.5/5
Sure the image quality is great, if you live in a cave. The image is really dim, I bought a set brought it home plugged it in, played a dvd, blu-ray, hd-dvd, hd cable, and sd cable. 2 days later packed it up and took it right back. The image it produces is very very dim, which may be how it achieves its "great black levels" if you turn the brightness up which would be a simple solution, the ENTIRE picture recieves a grayish tint and all that glory of wonderful black is completely lost. I even pulled the sales assiociate at the store on the side and had him try the same thing with the set in the store to see if I was wrong we tried everything but only recieved a dim faded image...I can't even imagine how dim the image will become as the set gets half way toward its half life. Steer away, buy a panasonic plasma, or get an XBR lcd from Sony.
