ON TEST / 42IN PLASMA TV

Verdict Approx price 1,800

Pioneer PDP-428XD

Does its darndest to make all rival screens redundant The rivals

/ Samsung PS42Q97HD

Under a grand and offers a far better performance than youd expect for price. Reviewed: Issue 322
BThe best flat TV picture ever, lovely design, great features, fulsome 1080p/24Hz support EPremium price, no stand or wall bracket supplied

/ Pioneer PDP-507XD

Pioneers previous plasmas are being discounted, but their picture quality remains excellent. Reviewed: Issue 320
046 / What Video & High-Denition TV / Issue 324

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The darkest corners of the darkest scenes in the darkest movies all look utterly black///
ALWAYS BET ON black, they say. And Pioneer seems to agree with this adage, as its staking arguably its entire future on a belief that the black level performance of its new TVs is so remarkable that a notoriously tight-sted UK buying public will be compelled to shell out premium prices to get it. To nd out whether this gamble will pay off for Pioneer, we got our hands on the PDP-428XD: a 42in model costing a considerable sum that does not even include a desktop stand or wall bracket. Can this plasma really be so much better than anything else around that it justies parting with such a sizeable amount of money?

Features:

The inevitable starting point has to be with the 428XDs supposedly revolutionary black levels. The screen quotes a contrast ratio of 16,000:1 the highest yet seen on a at TV. In fact, Pioneer is so condent in the ground-breaking black levels of its new TVs that its calling them Project KURO (meaning black in Japanese). Four main innovations are responsible for the 428XDs apparent black level prowess. First, a new Ultra Black Crystal Layer element incorporated into the screen radically boosts the efciency with which the plasma cells discharge, resulting in quicker response times and swifter white/black transitions. Pioneers so-called Deep Wafe Rib pixel structure has an important function too, as it prevents leakages of light and colour from one plasma cell to another. Then theres the companys Direct Colour Filter, which replaces the usual thick glass front of plasma screens with a material which soaks up ambient reections, making the panel lighter in the process. Finally, Pioneer has focused the 428XDs image processing on responding in very specic ways when dealing separately with dark and light scenes.
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Picture technology

PURE DRIVE 2 HD Pioneers proprietry image process technology is a fully digital system specically optimised for HD pictures and is designed to sharpen up detail, smooth out motion and eliminate noise. Combined with Direct Colour Filter it minimises ambient light reections and boosts contrast.
Black level isnt the 428XDs only claim to fame, though. For starters, it can be professionally calibrated to suit your specic viewing conditions by an Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) engineer. Indeed, this could improve black levels even more. Also intriguing is the 428XDs handling of the 1080p/24fps format used to master most HD lms on Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. Other screens can handle this format too from high-end Blu-ray players (see Pioneers own BDP-LX70 reviewed on page 56) that can output it. But the 428XD unusually carries a 72Hz playback frequency option, which permits 24fps sources to be played with a minimum of messy processing fuss. Connections, meanwhile, include a salutory three HDMIs, a PC input, and a USB 2 for viewing digital photos via Pioneers impressive Home Gallery, while other key features include unusually sophisticated MPEG, Mosquito, 3D, and Field noise reduction routines.

Ease of use

Although the 428XDs remote is gorgeous and its onscreen menus are slick, you really need to familiarise yourself fully with the TVs hefty manual if youre going to get the very best results from its countless, but sometimes quite technical, settings.
These truly revolutionary black levels are enough in themselves to deliver the most believable and cinematic picture weve seen on a at TV. But theyre hardly the end of the 428XDs story. Colours, too, are a revelation. The dazzling black levels are offset by a wider colour range that result in colour tones both extremely vibrant and more natural than any seen on a plasma TV before. For instance, reds actually look red rather than orange and greens look real rather than slightly radioactive. The 428XD also excels with its motion handling. The clarity and smoothness with which it shows fast moving objects leaves all LCD rivals for dead. Plus theres no sign of plasmas potential problems with dithering noise over in-motion skin tones, and the sets 72Hz mode reproduces 1080p/24Hz HD transfers with scarcely a trace of judder or correction. The sets 72Hz handling of 1080p/24Hz output from Pioneers Blu-ray player also benets from remarkable cleanliness, as the relatively straightforward 24Hz-into72Hz conversion throws up negligible processing noise. Next, even though the 428XD isnt a full HD screen (Pioneer isnt introducing full HD Kuro until September), its pictures are phenomenally sharp. In fact, with their pristine motion handling, black levels and colours, the 428XDs images arguably look crisper and more detailed than those of many full HD LCDs, especially when theres anything moving in the picture. Is there anything bad to say about the pictures? Not unless youre obsessed with HD enough to wait and save for the full HD Kuros.

Fact le

/ 42in plasma TV / 1,024 x 768 pixels / HD Ready / Pure Drive 2 HD processing / 3 HDMI inputs
/ Time in Lab: 8 days / Serial No: N/A 1,040mm 115mm
Playback Test Colour temperature Contrast ratio Luminance Colour Frequency response
Rating 6,500K 1,700:1 15.6fL
Power consumption: 1W (standby) 260W (in use) Lab notes: Our subjective observations are amply borne out by these superlative results

Spec check

Screen size and shape: 42in, 16:9 Tuner: Digital and analogue Sound system: Nicam Resolution (pixels): 1,024 x 768 HD Ready: Yes Quoted contrast ratio: 16,000:1 Quoted brightness: N/A Processing: Pure Drive 2 HD Screen dimensions: 1,040(w) x 679(h) x 115(d)mm Weight: 29.6kg / Other features HD Digital Film Direct mode (24fps); HDMI CEC control; ISF C3 Ready; ultra black crystal layer; Direct Colour Filter 3; ambient light sensor; Active DRE; PIP/PAP; I-Clear Drive; various noise reduction systems; optional stands and brackets; subwoofer output; motion handling modes / Sockets: 3 HDMI inputs (PC and video); 3 Scarts (2 RGB); component video input; composite video input; S-video input; D-Sub PC input; stereo audio output; headphone jack; stereo audio inputs; CAM slot; RF input; USB socket; subwoofer output; digital audio output / Contact: 01753 789500, www.pioneer.co.uk

Picture

So are the 428XDs pictures really as revolutionary as Pioneer reckons? Er, yes, actually. Leading the way, inevitably, is the TVs black level response. Which is, by miles, the nest yet seen on a at TV. The darkest corners of the darkest scenes in the darkest movies all look absolutely, completely and utterly black. Theres no greyness, no blue tones, no greyish dot crawl just black. Whats more, dark picture areas contain more shadow detailing than the vast majority of the TVs rivals.

Sound

As usual with Pioneer, the quality of the 428XDs speakers is seriously impressive and at times approaches the high standards for which its dedicated audio products are so highly regarded.

Value

With even Panasonic now breaking the 1,000 barrier with its latest 42in plasmas, the 428XD undoubtedly looks expensive at 1,800. But then shouldnt you expect to pay a premium price for a product that genuinely breaks new performance ground? Z
Not just the best 42in screen ever, its the best at screen yet by some margin. For once, it seems, you can believe the hype
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Plasma TV of 2007 I 1,800 approx

Pioneer PDP-428XD

High-class atpanel that rmly makes black this years black, both in its stylish appearance and its rendering of super-dark scenes
PIONEER BET EVERYTHING on black with its Kuro range of plasma screens, hoping that an impressive contrast range would be enough to compel the average punter to part with their hard-earned cash. And considering that the sizeable outlay of 1,800 for this 42in plasma doesnt even include a stand or wall-mounting bracket, there was a lot riding on how dark those shades really were. The combination of a staggering contrast range of 16,000:1 with the new Ultra Black Crystal Layer element and Pioneers deep Wafe Rib pixel structure with its Direct Colour Filter, meant that the results didnt disappoint us. The darkest corners of the darkest scenes in the darkest movies all look completely and utterly solid and devoid of greyness, blue tones and dot crawl. So prestigious are the black levels, that we can condently say that this is not only the darkest plasma of the year, but also the darkest atscreen. Ever. This by itself might have made the PDP-428XD our plasma of the year, but this stunning screen has so much LCD sets to shame, and the screens 72Hz handling of 1080p/24Hz output from its Blu-ray player can only be described as breathtaking. Completing the package, the audio output of the PDP-428XD approaches the high standards of Pioneers dedicated audio products, while the connection roster ticks all the boxes. Add to that high-class design and

Highly commended

More vibrancy and naturalism than weve ever seen on a plasma ///
more to offer. Colours are a revelation, displaying more vibrancy and naturalism than weve ever seen on a plasma. The clarity and smoothness with which fast moving objects are handled puts even the best numerous picture tweaks and you have the TV that all rivals will be trying to copy in 2008 Z
Reviewed: Issue 789789 www.pioneer.co.uk

Panasonic TH-42PZ700

An expensive, but supremely gifted 1080p, just overshadowed here on value. Reviewed: Issue 325
030 / What Video & High-Denition TV / Awards 2007

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