Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater sxrd vs plasma

I am trying to decide on which tv would be best for me and am having a hard time. From all of the reviews that I have read it seems that in terms of picture quality the Pioneer PDP-5080HD Kuro is the best one out there. Unless of course you get the 1080p version of the Pioneer instead of the 768p, but I can't afford the 1080p model. The pdp-5080 even beat out all the 1080p models it was competing against in the most recent issue of home theater magazine. The Panasonic 1080p plamsa came in a close second place and the sony a3000 sxrd came in a distant third place. The only downside to the Pioneer (or even the Panasonic) is that it is a plasma and is susceptible to burn in. The Pioneer, however, has a feature to help decrease the chance of this happening with its orbiter feature. The orbiter moves the image back and forth one pixel at a time or something like that? Anyway I read a review online where someone was saying that they have been watching television a couple hours a day and most of the channels have the icons in the lower corner and he hasn't had any burn-in issues with the Pioneer even after 4 months of doing this.

My viewing habits: I only watch dvd's or play video games. There is a lot of 2:35 movies and 4:3 tv shows on dvd that I watch and a little bit of 16:9 material. One concern that I have is that my wife will sometimes watch a 4:3 tv on dvd show and she will fall asleep and the menu screen will be the only thing on screen for about 20 or 30 minutes. But, my biggest worry is about playing video games on the Pioneer set. Some days I will play video games for nearly the entire day and I have read how this could be a problem if there are backgrounds that don't change much for a long time or if there are icons on the screen that don't change much. For example, suppose I race a 100 lap race on Gran Turismo 3. The race takes about an hour, so for the entire hour the RPM gauge is in that same spot on the screen. This could be a problem. I am hoping that I can go with the Pioneer since it has the best picture available that I can afford, as long as I can still play any video game that I want and even if I want to do it all day. But, if the burn-in is still that big of a problem then I may have to go with the distant third place Sony a3000 sxrd so that I don't have to worry about it.

Can anyone comment on Plasma burn-in with the Pioneer's with the orbiter feature on or even without it on?

Is it true that burn-in isn't a concern after about 100 hours or so?

Will the orbiter feature prevent any burn-in as long as I can stomach having this feature on?

thanks in advance for any replies, Nick

I have a Pioneer Elite Pro-1130HD plasma. I Really like it. I use it for everything form Tv, Movies, and Games. I havnt had any burn in problems. I have had some retention every once in awhile. Like when i was playing Zelda Twilight Princess for wii. The only time I noticed it is when you had a bright white screen. But the Retained imaged did go away over time. Id say it was completely gone within a few weeks. Even games Like Metroid Prime Echoes with its full HUD display on never left any burned in image. There was one day I played Zelda for 11hrs. With no problems. So really I dont think there is much of an issue with burn in with these sets. Just dont watch CNN or QVC all day long. Those situtations may give you burn in. The thing is if your going to fall asleep just shut the tv off. The Kuro Sets are great.

I have the a2000 and the pic quality is great. Keep in mind that Sony will be droping the rear projection line soon. I don't really think that plasmas have much chance of burn in these days.

Hi Nick,

I struggled with this choice a few months ago. I ended up with the JVC HD-ILA LCOS (like SXRD) and am very pleased with my decision. The picture is stunning.

You really have to go LOOK at some sets and not rely solely on reviews.

I'm really glad I didn't settle for 768p, especially relative to displaying computer or gaming images.

Read my journey of angst here

Image retention, aka burn in on plasma is still possible, but not unless you are really careless with the set. I would say set the pic mode to stretch for 4:3 programming just to be safe.

It also seems that watching varied programming initially and in full screen can help prevent burn in, as will properly calibrating you set and turning down the brightness.

My overall impressions are Pioneer is the best plasma, but I would never pay the large premium for the piano black finish and any slightly better pic than the Panasonics.

As for RPTV, yes Sony is discontinuing the SXRD as they had problems with it. I consider the XBR series of SXRD to be better than the Grand Wega (A2000, A2020, A3000, etc.)

JVC had been doing LCOS based RPTV longer than Sony and that is what I chose 1.5 years ago. I heard feedback from an ISF calibrator at the time that its videoprocessor was better than the A2000 sony and on par with the XBR's...I'm extremely pleased with the set and have had no issues.

My reccomendation is for plasma the Panny is a great set and better value than Pioneer, but if $$ is no object go with the Pioneer.

For RPTV, JVC isnt sexy and doesnt market their products well, but they have more experience with LCOS and their HDILA sets the past 3 years seem to be very reliable and the performance is great.

I compared the Panny plasma's side by side with the JVC HDILA and Sony XBR and really couldnt say one picture was significantly better than the other.

Re: Burn-in - don't beleive the hype.

Just be careful about how you view. I have my computer hoooked up to my plasma, and ocassionaly, I get careless and leave a window open for too long (read: hours) and I woudl get image retention at the top and bottom of the screen, where the windows bars are. They go away in a matter of minutes, though, with some other active viewing (motion and color changes across the whole screen).

With regard to image quality - these days, the pictures are all getting so good that it is hard to really make a choice. A few years back, a couple of brands were more advanced than others (Sony, Pioneer and Panasonic) among them. Others have since caught up. I have a Pio ("older" (circa 2006) 720p version), and think the image is smooth, clear, bright and just down right awesome. A buddy has the 1080 Panny and he pretty much thinks that it is the tits, too.

Tough choice, only because you can't go wrong nowadays. Think price, form factor and functionality as your main considerations. All of those sets will display HD beautifully and will do a really greaty job with DVD. With standard def cable going digital in a lot of places, even SD TV looks really good, too.

Enjoy

I agree with the capn. You should probably be concentrating on other features such as 24fps and faster refresh rates.

Faster refresh rates are really not an issue with plasma or LCOS (Liquid Crystal On Silicone) sets. SXRD was just Sony's version they called (Silicone Xrystal Reflective Display). this is mainly with LCD direct view that you will get motion blurring due to slow response time and refresh rates.

As for 24fps conversion. Its a process called inverse telecine and if you google Gary Merson- are you getting all the resolution you expected....you will see where he does 3:2 conversion tests and evaluates which TV's properly do this.

ctown,

Not being able to display a 4:3 program its correct aspect ratio is a deal breaker for me. I cannot stand to watch anything that is not in its correct aspect ratio. You really think that the 4:3 aspect ratio might be a problem with burn in?

- Nick

vassillios,

Between the Sony and the Pioneer 24 fps is not even an issue since they both can display those frame rates. This was one issue that I took into account when I narrowed it down to these two sets. The Pioneer is a 72 Hz set and the Sony is a 120 Hz set.

- Nick