Topic: Pioneer PDP508XD Review

[Vincent]

Please discuss the Pioneer PDP508XD review in this thread.

[Phantoma]

Very nice indeed Vincent.

Now, I just have to wait until the Panasonic 50PZ700 is released where I live so that Pioneer might drop their price on the 508XD.  After reading about the way Panasonic have treated some of their customers here when something goes wrong, I've decided to go with Pioneer.

[Geforce]

I like this paragraph,

I used to think that plasma televisions are not suitable for console gaming because of the residual possibility of screenburn and their lower inherent brightness (relative to LCDs), but the Pioneer PDP508XD proved to be a welcome exception: image retention was virtually non-existent, and brightness could be cranked up to challenge and perhaps even exceed that on LCDs (not that I'd want to do that anyway).

Up until now I've been told that Plasma wasn't as bright as LCD.  That is, it was duller in comparison to LCD.
Now I find out that the opposite can be the case.  Sweeeet!!. 
Can't wait to try out one of these 508's in the store. 

[takisot]

Excellent and really detailed review, thanks!
One question, since I own this television:
I noticed that when I am feeding the Pioneer with 1080p 24/50/60 signal, the image underscans a little.
Is this normal? If yes, is there a workaround?

Thanks

[bloggs]

I HAVE DECIDED TO PURCHASE THE 508 PIONEER.  THEY ARE AROUND #2,065 DELIVERED BUT CAN NOT DECIDE WHO IS A REILABLE SELLER
IF THERE IS A PROBLEM. THEY ALL SEEM TO HAVE BAD CUSTOMER CARE  REVEIWS IF THERE IS PROBLEMS

[Blutarsky]

Hi there Vincent,
I've just started calibrating my 508XD set and very happy to have an opportunity to exchange impressions with somebody that deeply tested such a TV.

At the moment the TV is attached to a bulky LG DVD\VHS combo player (outputting @576i/RGB) connected to the TV set with a SCART cable. Also the SKYbox HD is attached with a SCART cable for SD content and HDMI for HD content.

Doing calibration, reading articles, guides & opinions on the web, I've discovered that the 508XD is missing a full featured CMS, preventing the dude from a perfect calibration.

Both color spaces looked quite away from being perfect in the "before" measurements, particularly for green. On a popoular american forum there has been a long debate on what is the best color space to start with, when calibrating.

I've personally choosen "color space 2" because I thought it's better to have less green than too much, but I may be wrong.

In my first calibration attemps, while it was easy to get a proper grayscale tracking, I've struggled to move RGB in the right place on the CIE chart using the HUE controls in "Colur management" menu; later on I've been told that doing so gives nonlinear grayscale to the TV, so it's better to leave RGB in place and tweak only YCM to get them crossed on the D65 point on the CIE chart. That's what I did.

Today I've popped into your LX508 review and read about your difficulties when you were trying to get RGBYCM in the proper place into the 508XD.

I was quite curios top ask you what was your post calibration result (unlike the LX 508 review, you didn't post a screencap of the 508XD's CIE chart/after) and ask, in your opinion what is the best compromise to go for.

BTW what gamma value did you choose when calibrating, 1,2 or 3?

Regards

[madeinstein]

Hi,

Any chance of putting Pioneer508XD settings on your website like you did with the Sony models? That would be really helpful.

Thanks

[madeinstein]

I've received my PDP508XD 2 days ago and already found 2 dead pixels.. I guess it's not normal so I'll try to replace it.. I've noticed that you didn't have any dead pixels on your review model.. What about others people that got this TV, did you get any dead pixels?

[steven.jhons88]

he current trend in television technology and sales shows LCD TVs are far more popular than plasma, with most manufacturers opting to concentrate on the former whilst still producing a limited run in larger screen sizes of the latter. Not so Pioneer, which has opted to concentrate solely on its plasma line-up with simply amazing results. As the HD specialist website hdtvorg.co.uk comments, “Over the years Pioneer have built a reputation as one of the finest producers of Plasma TVs in the world.” The 50-inch PDP-508XD is the middle screen size - alongside 42 and 60-inch models - and represents the company's eighth generation of plasma technology that brings with it a total redesign of the technology from the roots up. Design-wise the 508XD wears Pioneer's trademark and extremely cool glossy piano-black surround, uncluttered with logos and control keys, wireless broadband to the current trend for minimalist chic. But its true beauty is only evident once you plug it in, turn it on and breeze through the simple set-up menus. The picture you are presented with is utterly and completely beguiling in its quality and vibrancy. Branded as Project KURO (Japanese for black), Pioneer's isp new TV range has been created with all new technology to solve plasma television's biggest sticking point - accurately reproducing blacks without losing backup contrast, brightness and colour reproduction elsewhere onscreen. And it does just that, creating black levels 80% deeper than in previous models, resulting in an astonishing contrast ratio of 16,000:1.