Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD 60" Plasma Impressions/Review

[Jon Liu]

Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD… My Search Is Over

Throughout the last decade I’ve had a good share of different displays and I can say my search is finally over. Here’s a list the different displays that I’ve personally owned in the last ten years that have been through my home:

1998 – JVC 24” Standard Direct View CRT
1999 – Sony 27” Wega Direct View Flat CRT
2001 – Mitsubishi 55” WS-55857 Rear Projection CRT
2003 – Samsung 30” TXN3075 Direct View CRT
2004 – Back to the Mitsubishi 55” RPTV
2006 – Infocus 4805 DLP Front Projector – 92” screen
2006 – Panasonic AE900 LCD Front Projector – 92” screen
2007 – Sony KDS-60A2000 Rear Projection SXRD
2007 – Sony KDL-52XBR5 LCD Panel
2008 – Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD Plasma Panel

Nearly every single time I changed to a different TV, the one replacing the previous one was step in the right direction towards what I was looking for. However, each of the displays was not without their faults. The first two, the JVC and Sony were a wash since they were my first televisions and I had no experience really on what was good or not. The Mitsubishi was a fantastic television, but had continuous convergence errors and overscan. The Samsung 30” was kind of step backwards because of severe bowing along the edges of the display which improved and got worse as the different intensities of images were displayed. The Infocus was only a 480p resolution projector and I had gotten used to 1080i resolution. The Panasonic inherently had the lightest black levels compared to all my previous displays due to the technology. The Sony SXRD was a good display, but lacked a little bit of the punch I was hoping for. The Sony XBR5 was a very good display, but lacked the black level desired, motion resolution was the worst of all my displays, and also the colors were too punchy and unnatural looking, impressive at first, but after getting used to it, they never looked natural enough.

Now I have reached the Pioneer Elite and I can say that my search is over. Bless my wife’s heart she has a hard time believing me when I say that, rightfully so. Since we’ve got married in 2003, we’ve had 7 different main displays. Honestly, it is only time I’ve really said something like this to her. Most displays have made me very happy and could’ve settled with most of the displays, but that’s the kicker, I would’ve had to settle. With the Pioneer, it has the best of every display that I’ve owned. In fact, it’s even bested every other display that I’ve personally seen.

Anyone who knows me knows I was pretty adamantly opinionated against the plasma technology. Since first conception there have been many major issues with the technology; burn-in/image retention, peak-brightness, black levels to certain degree, and power consumption. But, these don’t seem to be nearly as much of an issue anymore.

Power consumption difference is minimal nowadays. In terms of dollar value it only means about a dollar or so more a month to run compared to similarly sized LCD televisions.

The blacks are on par with CRT televisions, which is an amazing feat for a digital display. In some ways, the blacks are better than what you can get even from CRT’s. On-screen black levels are better on the Pioneer than they are on CRT’s because CRT technology suffers from something called floating blacks. Floating blacks are black levels that change depending on the content. If a brighter overall image is on the screen, the black level will be raised. With the Pioneer the black level remains constant no matter what. The only area the Pioneer still has yet to improve is with an absolute black screen being displayed. The black level for the current crop of Pioneers is under 0.001fl and so far the lowest documented black level for the current Pioneers is 0.00066fl. For reference, the next lowest display has a black level of 0.004, which is actually last years Pioneer displays.

In real world terms, what this equates to are blacks that appear ‘black’. Movies with black bars on top and bottom, now the bars completely disappear with the front bezel. After a normally lit scene appears on screen and changes to a black screen instantly, it takes several seconds before my eyes adjust to even see the screen is still even lit. Generally, I look at the black level being most important part of the picture. The reason why is because I equate it to the canvas of a picture. Without a good canvas, or starting point, the picture won’t look right. The basis of the entire image relies upon the foundation of the image and what the Pioneers do right is lay the proper foundation.

The colors are indeed the most accurate that I’ve ever seen on any display. The calibrated numbers that professional calibrators have been able to achieve for the color accuracy for the Pioneer Elites so far have been the closest to perfect that any set of displays has ever achieved. The numbers themselves have come within less than 2% error, most of which are even under 1% error, for the primary and secondary color points. Several very respected calibrators have said what they’ve observed about the accuracy of the colors even goes beyond the calibrated numbers. I would attribute a lot any improvement in colors and natural looking colors to the black level. Not even so much the absolute black, the whole grayscale gamut is improved because of the base starting point. Because of that, shadow detail and delineation help give colors a better overall tone. Most of the problem I had with televisions is shadows looking too washed out and gray. It also reduces the three dimensionality of the image, too.

One area of additional improvements for me is motion resolution, especially over the XBR5. The inherent drawback of the LCD technology made motion resolution the lowest of all the technologies, which was one of the biggest issues I had with the Sony. Even with the 120Hz refresh rate, which improved motion resolution, it still is not on par with CRT’s or Plasmas. The improvement when I made the switch to the Pioneer was easily apparent and I was very pleased. For comparative numbers the motion resolution that the XBR5 was able to achieve was around 600-700 scan lines, whereas the Pioneer Elite can achieve 950 scan lines (higher is better). All it means is as something is moving on screen the image retains finer detail as the object is moving on screen.

The thing that has most impressed me is the three-dimensional image that the Pioneer produces. A lot of televisions do a very good job of making the objects on screen pop off the screen. A lot of that is due to the vividness of the colors, but the Pioneer is able to match that image dimension without the use of overly vivid colors. The Pioneer retains the effect of objects popping off the screen while retaining more natural colors at the same time; moreover objects in the distance actually look deeper in the depth of field. Objects in the distance seem to go beyond the depth limits of the panel, adding to the overall three-dimensional look. Nearly no other television can produce a level of depth like that.

Are there drawbacks to this television? Absolutely. This television may not be for the feint of heart at its current MSRP of $6500 US. This television may very well be the case of diminishing returns. For example, one of the next best televisions can be had for about half of the Pioneer’s price. Is it worth it? It won’t be to most people. But, for those striving for perfection will find the premium worth it. Also it’s not as bright as LCD’s, which may be an issue if one’s viewing habits are primarily during the day with tons of sunlight flooding in. In my case, with the amount of direct sunlight my room gets and with any amount of lights I can turn on, the brightness issue is not an issue at all.

Burn-in is almost a non-issue now and would really only be an issue for those who are excessively careless with their television. Image retention still can happen, but after several hundred hours of use now, I’ve found no instance of image retention at all, even after several straight hours of gaming. So again, one would have to be somewhat careless in order to have temporary image retention happen.

Summing it up, if you couple the some of the deepest blacks on any digital display, best color accuracy, best gamma-curve tracking, grayscale tracking, and one of the best properly rated contrast ratios, you get the Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD. No televisions can match it currently. Not being a fan of the plasma technology, originally, I favored the LCD technology more, but even that has changed. In fact, after owning a LCD flat panel television, I started becoming more aware with its technology faults than I anticipated. Overall, if I were to recommend a television for the most accurate picture possible, the 9th generation Pioneer Elite would be it.

[Causedawg 83]

Congratulations. It sounds like a freakin awesome TV.

[Jon Liu]

Pictures never do the actual image justice, but here are some anyways:

[Serren]

Congrats!

I have been a huge proponent of Plasma over LCD for many years. LCD has never been able to capture motion properly, and I seem to be able to detect the "grid" on LCD's easier. I am surprised that so many people opt for LCD over Plasma all the time. To me, Plasma displays can generate the 3d/depth to an image, where as LCD's never seem to have the umpf required.

I had a Pioneer a few years back, and it was a great set. I dont think I would pay what you did for a TV, but what the heck, it is only money!

[Jon Liu]

Well, I didn't pay MSRP for it, silly! It's still a lot of money, but selling great stuff off to get even greater stuff is a beautiful thing!

I can see the appeal in LCD's. They're easy. You don't have to worry about Image Retention or Burn In and the picture is incredibly bright and punchy. Just what the average consumer wants; the least maintenance required.

It'll be interesting as Pioneer shifts and adds an LCD line to their product list next year. I wonder what a "Kuro" LCD would be like...

[dolfan]

Pioneer Plasmas (especially Elite's) rock!!! I've got a Pio Kuro PDP-5080HD and I absolutely love it. I couldn't imagine getting a better picture especially for the price I paid...

[namehater]

grats man! nice write up and a sweet TV. Id like to think that when i ever decide to buy a new display i would ignore the $$ and go for whatever looked best to me, but the reality is im broke and would have to find some discontinued floor model lol.

[Causedawg 83]

That's what I did Name, no shame in that!

[Jon Liu]

No shame at all. If you don't have to have the latest and greatest, and/or you see little differences between two models, all the more power to ya! You're saving lots of money.

[BiffCo]

I love the Kuro line of Pioneers. I've even looked at the possibility of getting the 720p version (5080 I believe), but even the price on that is a bit steep to a poor college student. There is time for this stuff later, I keep telling myself, and I try to enjoy the things I have for now.

Congratulations on the new tele, Jon. If you ever decide you're going to upgrade again, I promise I'll have Dylan stab you.

-Brad

[Jon Liu]

Hahaha thanks. Yeah, even the 720p line is a sight to behold. Don't worry, when it comes time to buy for you, the prices will have gone down even further and technological advancements will only have improved things further!

P.S. I love you, Brad.

[GoatMother]

I call dibs on this bad boy when you upgrade in 3 months

[dolfan]

Originally Posted by BiffCo

I love the Kuro line of Pioneers. I've even looked at the possibility of getting the 720p version (5080 I believe), but even the price on that is a bit steep to a poor college student. There is time for this stuff later, I keep telling myself, and I try to enjoy the things I have for now.
-Brad

I don't mean to hijack Jon's thread but since Brad brought up the idea of loving Kuro's and possibly getting the 5080, here's a pic and screenshot of my 5080. Oh and please don't laugh about they grayed out pics.









Okay, let's continue commenting about Jon's AWESOME Elite 60" Plasma !!

[GoatMother]

Nice setup, very clean! Sporting the old school energy as well +1

[Jon Liu]

I love it, Dolfan! I love the back lighting! I am going to get a 6500K backlight soon.

How long have you had your 5080?

[dolfan]

Thanks for compliments!

Originally Posted by Jon Liu

I love it, Dolfan! I love the back lighting! I am going to get a 6500K backlight soon.

How long have you had your 5080?

Purchased it back in January. I was somewhat concerned about the whole native 720p thing regarding the 5080 before purchasing it but let me tell you, the TV's got