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Pioneer PDP-507XD 50 inch plasma TV Review

Design

If a picture could say a thousand words then we might as well call it a day here with our review and just let you admire the TV on the right. Because there’s not enough words to pay homage to the simple design of this 50 inch HD plasma. Pioneer has moved away from any fancy frills and curves and gone for a classic-looking, simple straight design. The 50 inch screen is surrounded by a piano black frame with a silver power button on the bottom left of the plasma, the Pioneer logo in the centre bottom and finished off with the speaker strip right below all of this. All the different sockets and inputs are discretely tucked away so you don’t have to see them. And you can either go for the full-on minimalist look and hang the plasma on the wall or you could go for a selection of stands that are available.

Setup/Installation

There aren’t any TVs whether it’s a plasma or an LCD that need much work on setting up. The beauty of HD televisions is you simply switch them on and then leave the rest up to the internal mechanisms to shift through and sort out. So it is with the Pioneer PDP-507XD, switch on, sit back and wait for the channels to be tuned into your new high definition plasma TV.

Features

This is a high-end Pioneer plasma TV and therefore comes packed with features that will make you go ohhhh. Connectivity is something to mention straight away. With so many of us owning games consoles, DVD players and lots of other peripheral gadgets, we need two HDMI inputs. And indeed with the Pioneer PDP-507XD there are two, which shouldn’t be a great deal, but with so many manufacturers insisting on a measly one, it is still something to shout about. As well as the double HDMI ports the Pioneer 507XD also supports up to 1080/24p video format making it ideally set up for high-def movies and future Blu-ray or HD discs. And then there’s three Scart, a PC input and the usual one component video in, one s-video in, a RCA AV in, common Interface slot, i/ link, two digital tuners and lots of audio in and outputs. The PDP-507XD has a contrast ratio of 4,000:1 which isn’t as great as some on the market but bearing in mind this is a 50 inch screen it’s not bad. Brightness is 1,100 cd/m2 and native resolution for this plasma is 1365 x 768. Because the PDP-507XD features Pioneer’s seventh Generation Plasma Screen design it comes with PUREBLACK Panel 2 and Direct Colour Filter 2 which all add to improved picture brightness and contrast, giving increased depth of picture. There’s all sorts of other technology that Pioneer have thrown in to this TV too. Like Pioneer’s other 50 incher, the PDP-5000EX, this one comes with PURE Drive 2HD Signal processing to deliver low noise, high contrast and natural colour images. The i-CLEAR Drive provides more accurate colour reproduction while improving grey-scale rendering, Advanced PURE Cinema for that real in-house cinema experience and Digital Noise and MPEG Noise reduction to reduce picture noise. What the Pioneer plasma TV also has is a digital (DVB-T) tuner with a CI slot which allows you to use your top-up or pre-paid TV subscription cards, as well as picture-in-picture modes, and enhanced ISF calibration options so you can decide exactly how you want your plasma to be tuned in.

Performance

The Pioneer 507XD is stuffed to the gills with technology to improve picture quality and sound. Brightness has been raised and blacks have been deepened without any leakage of colours. For everyday TV viewing this is a great plasma TV, but where it really comes into its own is when you plug it in to a HD and all of a sudden you release what all the high definition hype is all about. The whole experience is as close to being in the cinema as actually sitting at the Odeon with your tub of over-priced popcorn. Thanks to all the technology Pioneer has shoved in you get brilliant image quality with noise reduction, transition from scene to scene is smooth and even the sound through the speakers are good.

What's In The Box?

Pioneer PDP-507XD HD plasma TV, remote control.

Overall Opinion

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – but in some instances every eye sees the same. And it doesn’t matter who views this Pioneer PDP-507XD, they’ll all end up with the same verdict, and that is simply that this is a lovely looking, great performer, all packaged in a classically designed chassis. The only thing that doesn’t give this Pioneer top marks in class is knowing its sister the PDP-5000EX is a true 1,920 x 1,080 pixel TV and this one while really, really good, doesn’t quite match up to her. But then on a positive note, this one is a couple of grand cheaper.

Pros + Great connectivity + Lots of technology for good image + Minimalist design + Excellent picture	Cons - Not true HDTV - No DVI
Picture Quality 9/10	Sound Quality 8/10
Connectivity 9/10	Future Compatibility 9/10
Ease Of Use 9/10	Overall Rating

By Babita Wakelin
26/9/2006 at 2:34:40pm

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Pioneer Pdp 507XD Plasma Television Review