Which HDTV to buy? (2 Viewers)

[Chris Hosfield]

My dad is looking to buy his first widescreen HDTV.

He is thinking either the:

Pioneer 533HD5. $3300
Hitachi 51S500. $3450
Hitachi 51F500. $3000

(all prices canadian).

Any recommendations?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Alan Pummill]

Pioneer Elite....HANDS DOWN!!

 

[greg_t]

Pioneer all the way.

 

[HankM]

I concur,

Pioneer Elite

 

[Bill Reid]

Chris

I just purchased the Toshiba 51H83 from Sears yesterday for
$2239 Canadian. Future Shop also has the same model on for that price. Sears was asking $2299 but price matched F.S.
The reviews are pretty good and the picture was very good.

Check the web site
www .toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?lg=en&section=2&group=6&product=1831[/url]


Bill

 

[Chris Hosfield]

Thanks for all the replies....

But...

I was under the impression this pioneer model is NOT the "ELITE" series. Does that then alter your recommendations?

Cheers!

 

[greg_t]

No, the SD533 is NOT an Elite. It uses some components from older Elite lines, such as the Pure Cinema I line doubler and the same stretch modes. The beauty of the 533 is that it still allows for native 480p, and it's stretch modes are the best. The Hitachi's stretch modes are not as good, and it does not allow native 480p, instead it upconverts 480i and 480p to 540p, which generally causes the inclusion of more artificats than native 480p.

The downside to the 533 is that it will not accept a 720p signal, and it has no DVI inputs. In order to make a good decision, you need to consider what sources you will be displaying on the set. For example, will it be HD and DVD only, or will there also be SD material, LD, or VHS? If you use lesser quality sources, the Pioneers line doubler, stretch modes, and comb filter will shine over the Hitachi. I myself have an Elite 530 and would never go back to any other RPTV.