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 PIONEER
PDP-502MXE
 £9,000 (approx)
01753 789789
www.pioneer-plasma.com
Power of pure plasma
JIM HILL CLEARS THE PICASSOS FROM HIS WALL
TO MAKE WAY FOR PIONEER'S AWESOME 50in PLASMA DISPLAY. BUT IS IT ART?
There is little doubt that plasma displays
are the most fashionable way to watch TV. Only gas-plasma technology allows you
a visible screen of up to 60in, in a frame that hangs on the wall like a
picture.
Home cinema fans will agree with Pioneer
when it comes to screen size - big is definitely best. While other
manufacturers were rushing to get their 42in panels onto the market, Pioneer
was waiting for a suitable moment to casually unveil the PDP-501 - a
groundbreaking 50-incher. What's more, the PDS-501 was the first display to
offer true XGA resolution as opposed to mere XGA compatibility. What we are
looking at now is that screen's successor, the PDS-502MXE which, for now,
remains the largest true XGA plasma display available.
The most obvious attraction of plasma is its
space saving, hang-on-the-wall convenience. While the PDS-502MXE boasts a
visible screen diameter of 50in, the depth is a svelte 98mm and the surrounding
frame adds just 45mm all round. At 40.3kg, it is light enough to be a popular
choice for mobile presentations too.
There are other advantages as well. The
power consumption is much lower than traditional CRT sets, for example, and
they produce less heat and noise than projectors. The effective viewing angle
is wider than that on conventional TVs and they are unaffected by magnetic
interference.
Earlier plasma displays suffered from poor
contrast and low brightness, but Pioneer has applied some clever innovations to
this latest model to address these teething problems. Proprietary Continuous
Emission Display Technology achieves a more intense contrast in the dark areas.
It also improves the greyscale gradation, which reduces the false contours that
you often see on old plasmas. Digital High Density Image Scaling, meanwhile,
effectively boosts the image density of PAL and NTSC material by doubling the
interlaced signal to VGA level and increasing the content in both horizontal
and vertical directions.
Setting up and using the PDP-502MXE is
deceptively simple. The tiny remote control looks comically inadequate for a
sophisticated piece of kit like this, but with so few buttons, at least you
can't go far wrong. Simply select an input and choose the appropriate picture
ratio. To alter the picture, you'll need to call up the similarly
Janet-and-John-style onscreen menu. The menu text appears in 3in-high capital
letters on the screen. In addition to the familiar image settings (brightness,
contrast etc), you can also adjust the colour temperature to suit the ambient
lighting of your room.
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HCC Practical Tip
Plasma panels consist
of gas in a plasma state, sandwiched between two plates of glass. Each plate is
coated with conductive print; one containing vertical lines and the other
horizontal, forming a grid when the plates are pressed together and a point of
light or 'pixel' at the intersections. Each pixel consists of three small cells
of neon or xenon gas. When a voltage is applied to the cell, the gases emit
ultra-violet rays, which excite red, green and blue phosphors at the bottom of
the cell. The phosphors in turn produce visible light to create the coloured
pixels on screen. |
Like the majority of plasma displays on the
market, this one is a monitor rather than a TV as there is no built-in tuner.
Instead, it relies on an array of input terminals. In addition to the standard
PC and AV connections found on other plasmas, our sample was fitted with the
PDA-5001 Video Box. This add-on expands the connectivity to include RGB Scart
inputs and outputs, S-video and stereo connections. There are no speakers on
board either, although Pioneer does sell a matching pair as an optional
extra.
There is also a range of stand-mounting
alternatives on offer in addition to the 'feet' pictured here, which include a
table-top stand, ceiling mount, wall brackets and a mobile trolly.
Anyone lucky enough to own a progressive
scan DVD player, perhaps a matching Pioneer, will be able to reap the benefits
of de-interlaced Region 1 software, thanks to this screen's component video
inputs. Of course, a decent video signal from a digital source fed via the
S-video input, or preferably RGB Scart, the Pioneer will impress the fussiest
home cinema enthusiast. Naturally, the 50in screen is pretty impressive, but
the level of detail, brightness and accuracy of the image is equally
breathtaking. The Region 2 DVD release of The Patriot, for instance, looks
suitably cinematic on this set. The scarlet uniforms of the English move across
the screen with no colour bleed and pin-sharp delineation.
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IMAGE ANALYSIS
Colour separation: Very good.
Minimal tizz or bleeding of colours
Convergence: Excellent
Geometry: Perfect. Plasmas
displays are less prone to image bending
Frequency response: Clearly
visible up to 4.8MHz |
NATURAL COLOURS
You will want to turn down the colour a
little from the factory setting to get the most realistic skin tones, but on
the whole, the Pioneer's palette is refreshingly natural. Its only when you get
close up that the pixels become obvious and the picture appears granulated.
Bear in mind though, that a screen of this size and resolution will always be
brutal with second-division video sources, particularly when you are watching
terrestrial analogue TV or, worse still, a VHS cassette. Every blemish in the
video signal is cruelly highlighted on screen, giving a very grainy and smudgy
appearance overall. The same goes for poor DVD transfers and it also underlines
the importance of favouring the S-video feed over the common composite.
Best of all though, is the Pioneer's
fantastic handling of computer graphics. This is the PDP-502MXE's chance to
show off its unique XGA ability with dazzlingly detailed PC imagery. Anyone who
owns a copy of Quake Arena and a decent PCI graphics card will be in for a
pleasant surprise when they hook up to this beauty.
Plasma screens are still primarily used as
public information displays or for corporate presentations due to their
prohibitive pricing. More recently though, plasmas have been cropping up with
increasing regularity in domestic installations. This Pioneer model is
particularly home cinema friendly thanks to its full range of AV inputs and
high-quality 16:9 picture. And with 50 inches of pixel-perfect image on offer,
we think the Pioneer will find its way into many a well-heeled videophile's
front room. Recommended.
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FEATURES
Screen size: 50in
Connections: (Inputs)
Scart (RGB); 2x S-video; component video; composite video; Mini D-sub (RGB);
RS-232 stereo phonos; stereo minijack (Outputs) Scart; composite; Mini D-sub
(RGB); stereo phonos; stereo minijack
Sound: Spring-clip
speaker terminals (2x 2W output); optional speakers available
Other features: RS-232
control connection; PAL/NTSC 3.58/NTSC 4.43/SECAM compatibility
Dimensions: 1218(w) x
714(h) x 98(d)mm
Weight: 40.3kg |
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Jim Hill, Home Cinema Choice, July 2001
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