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- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 13 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"My first HD plasma is a winner"
Pros: Excellent for HD and DVD; clean styling; good sound quality
Cons: Some reflections in daylight; so-so SD rendition from cable
Summary: As a first-time plasma owner you might think I'd be easily impressed. Well, there's no question that HD blows away SD, and this plasma does a particularly good job with HD sources. But I was equally impressed with the quality of 480p DVDs. I still plan to upgrade to Blu-Ray, however, to take full advantage of this set's 1080p resolution.
Although the detachable speakers can't compete with a good surround sound system, they are remarkably good for their size.
On the downside, reflections from both the screen and the glossy black frame can be distracting in bright daylight, but are not discernible at night. SD rendition from cable sources is a little disappointing, but only by comparison to HD.
One reviewer made a negative comment about heat, but I have not found heat build-up to be excessive. At 5600' above sea level, I live near the upper elevation limit for plasmas (6500'). Cooling can be a problem at higher elevations, for which there are four thermostatically controlled fans across the top of the back vents. So far, these fans have never had to operate, even after extended viewing.
I was surprised that some HD channels do not always format their output to 16:9. In 4:3 format, the image does not completely fill the screen unless the auto-zoom function is activated, which stretches and distorts the images horizontally. With auto-zoom off, you can opt for either black bars or gray bars on either side of the 4:3 image. The manual warns against the potential for burn-in, so most of the time I stretch the image to fill the entire 16:9 screen. When I want an undistorted 4:3 image, I find that black bars are far preferable to gray.
Some of the menu options are not clearly spelled out in the manual. But after a little experimentation, I found the optimum settings for my personal taste.Updated
I had given the PDP-5010FD a numerical rating of 9/10. But when I submitted my review, for reasons unknown to me, the rating was changed to 7/10. If you read my entire review, however, you'll see that I am very pleased with this TV and would recommend it highly.
Where to buy
Pioneer Kuro PDP-5010FD:
$1,892.69 - $2,299.89
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$1,892.69 | Yes |
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$2,299.89 | Yes |
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