Just got back from Pioneer plant tour... (1 Viewer)

[Alan Pummill]

Just wanted to share my thoughts on a tour of the Pioneer plant in Springboro, Ohio, that I took today.

This plant is celebrating their 15th anniversary. They make car audio electronics, all except speakers, which are made in California. My wife has been there 14 years. They knocked off at lunch for the tour.

They had the Pioneer Formula One race car on display. Around the car were several of the PDP-505HD 50" Plasma Displays. I was very impressed with the picture quality on these sets, even in a fairly well lit area. Another thing that was pretty awesome were the DVD players for cars that they had on display. The picture quality was excellent on the smallish screens.

The Pioneer demo semi truck was out back. It had a complete HT in the front end of the trailer, and car audio stuff in the rear.

Seeing those 50" plasmas was making me drool. My 40" direct view Mits is about 5 years old, how long do you guys think I can hold out...?

 

[Michael St. Clair]

They had the Pioneer Formula One race car on display.

You sure that wasn't a Champ Car (CART)?

 

[Alan Pummill]

I might have been wrong. It was an Indy car, or whatever they call them...sorry.

 

[Colin Dunn]

I think you can probably hold out for quite a while with the 40" Mitsubishi direct-view vs. the Pioneer plasma displays.

Every plasma screen I've seen has a 'posterized' effect - not enough colors to render the picture smoothly, resulting in a 'banding' artifact. It's very easy to see if you stand up close to the screen. The effect is less objectionable from afar, but it's still there.

Plasma screens are heavy. They can't just be hung like a picture on the wall, as they weigh over 100 pounds. They are also ludicrously expensive, ranging from the high four-figures to the low five-figures. That sum can get you into a VERY nice front-projection system including screen.

The 40" Mitsubishi direct-view was their top-of-the-line model 5 years ago. While it may lack things like a built-in doubler or HDTV, I would much rather go with it than with any of the plasma screens on the market. So save your money and go with high-definition RPTV or FPTV, but don't buy a plasma screen...

 

[Philip Hamm]

I share Colin's misgivings about Plasma Displays.

Every plasma screen I've seen has a 'posterized' effect - not enough colors to render the picture smoothly, resulting in a 'banding' artifact.

I see this in many DVDs on any set.:frowning:

 

[Alan Pummill]

I'll have to say that I have been very pleased with the picture quality of the Mits. It is model # CS-40507, along with the matching stand, a quit impressive looking outfit. Most people, when they first see it, think it's a RPTV, until I turn it on.

I'm not knocking RPTV, but except for the HDTV's, the Mits has a much brighter picture. I just wish it was a little bigger. What is the life expectancy of this set? And I wonder what will be the best thing to buy when it does start to go south?

When we bought this set, we could have bought a bigger Pioneer RPTV at the same price using my wife's employee discount, but we liked the direct view sets better. Of course my audio rack is stacked full of Pioneer Elite components. But I'm not particually impressed with Pioneer speakers, so I went the Paradigm/ Velodyne route.

I need to update the pictures and equipment list of my HT here on the HTF. BTW, I really enjoy this site, and want to thank Philip and the other admins. for a job well done.

 

[David Judah]

I agree with the others about the Plasma sets. They are great if size & aesthetics(cool factor)are your main concern, but they're not the best bang-for-the-buck performance-wise.

RPTVs have come a long way in the last 5 years, Alan, especially where off-axis brightness is concerned, so you might want to reconsider now. An Elite set shouldn't set you back too much if Pioneer gives a decent employee accomodation.

DJ

 

[Paul E V]

Plasma screens are heavy. They can't just be hung like a picture on the wall, as they weigh over 100 pounds.

So what you're saying is they're slightly heavier than the plate glass mirror I've got --- hanging on the wall

 

[Alan Pummill]

Paul, I just took a look at your Equipment List.

You ARE a big Pioneer fan. And like me, no Pioneer speakers!

 

[Michael St. Clair]

If you properly mount something into/through a couple of studs, you can hang things weighing several hundreds of pounds on a wall.