Pioneer PDP5000EX 1080p plasma display - REVIEW

by Adam Turner

Wednesday, 24 January 2007

If your lounge room is crying out for a truly mammoth screen, you should look to the plasma giants.

Pioneer's behemoth 50 inch (125cm) PDP5000EX is one of the first plasma displays to offer 1920x1080p resolution, the highest high definition you can get and perfect for watching Blu-ray, HD-DVD or HDTV. The PDP5000EX isn't actually a television, just a big monitor. There's no TV tuner or speakers, but it does have left and right terminals for connecting external stereo speakers. The rear also sports DVI, component, composite, s-video and two HDMI inputs, plus stereo audio inputs for each video source.

Fifty inches might sound too big for your average lounge room, but the PDP5000EX's thin black bezel and clean lines mean it doesn't dominate the room. The power switch is hidden under the rim of the display and other controls down the right hand side, leaving a gorgeous jet black finish only broken by the Pioneer badge and the power light.

Feed it a high definition signal and the PDP5000EX screams for your attention. The picture is spectacular - razor sharp with fluid motion, vivid colours and deep blacks. There's none of the contrast, blur or viewing angle problems you can get with LCD. It's no exaggeration to say right now the PDP5000EX offers the best picture money can buy.

pioneer5000ex

Pioneer's PDP5000EX 1080p plasma display

While big is beautiful, there's more to a display than just inches and pixels. Giant televisions help high definition content look its best, but they also magnify any imperfections in the picture so standard definition material often looks terrible. This is not the case with the PDP5000EX thanks to the excellent onboard video processing which ensures that DVD, VCR and normal television still look their best.

Pioneer also ensures the PDP5000EX looks great by offering not just free delivery but free calibration, sending out a technician to adjust the display to suit your lighting conditions and your existing AV components - even non-Pioneer gear. These settings can be stored in the display, which can be a godsend for those who can't help but tinker with every setting.

The fact both high and standard definition images look spectacular on the PDP5000EX makes it the perfect display to ride out the slow introduction of high definition content. The only drawback is the hefty price tag, especially considering you still need speakers and an external tuner, but this kind of picture quality is worth paying for. If money is no object then this is the object for you.

AT A GLANCE: Pioneer PDP5000EX 1080p plasma display

PRICE $AU14,999

PROS immaculate high res display

CONS expensive, no speaker or tuner

CONTACT Pioneer www.pioneer.com.au

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