Video Asylum

Posted by xenon101 (A) on December 14, 2001 at 09:19:14

In Reply to: Pioneer SD533HD5 vs. the Elite Pro 510HD? posted by Brian on December 14, 2001 at 08:02:53:

I do not know the specifications of the non-Elite products and did not compare the non-Elite products to the Elite for screen differences. The Elite product does not have automatic convergence it has a 60 point cross-hatch pattern that is manually adjusted. This is not difficult to do, and once converged it should not require reconvergence unless the set is physically moved. By that I mean not just rolled out on its casters from a position to access the inputs/outputs, but actually picked up & transported to a different location.

The Elite unit that I purchased required very, very minimal convergence adjustment after being shipped from the manufacturer to the electronic store's regional warehouse (with unknown intermediate stops), further transportation (500 miles) from the warehouse to the store, and then from the store to my house. I would expect any of the manufacturers'high-end products to be equally as stable.

As far as the Pioneer being "better" than the $4K Hitachis, for my requirements - yes - but perhaps not for your requirements. "Better" is a value judgement based on individual needs, tastes, and budget.

The Hitachi is a very good product. Between it and the Mitsubishi, I probably would have chosen the Hitachi. But, I have people that will be sitting off the center line axis at times, and if you do a "walk around" of the screens (start at an oblique angle at one side about 10-feet out from the screen, and walk to a matching angle at the other side of the screen) you will see that the Pioneer brightness level is much more even through this test, and brighter at the off-angles than the Hitachi.

This met my needs. My personal taste was that the picture on the Pioneer seemed to be more saturated with better dynamics (more detail in the shadows and, simultaneously, in the highlights). I have found that much like ears with audio equipment, everyone one seems to have an individual "eye" when it comes to video pictures and color reproduction. My advice is that you should look carefully and pick the one that looks best to your eye, and meets your needs and budget requirements. I would also buy one that is 16:9 format if you plan on using it a lot for DVD's - once you see movies in that format at your house, you can't conceive of how you ever watched them pan-and-scan on 4:3.

In my case, I went from a Sony XBR^2 to the Pioneer Elite. It is difficult to match the quality of that tube with a rear screen system, but in my estimation, the Pioneer Elite is very close - I'm satisfied.