Owners Thread - Pioneer Pdp 428xda/508xda 768p

[Iglesia]

,

Edited November 14, 2007 by Iglesia

[Goldy]

Potential 428xda buyer here and I've shopping around for prices. Best I've got so far is $4050. Has anyone been able to get much better than that?

You should be able to get it for around $3650.

I have been to a few places where they are willing to do it for that price.

[quintessence]

I have changed mine via the service menu.

The grey didn't bother me but the black looks nicer so i changed it.

It's easy enough to do but I do agree with you, it should be an option in the normal menu not ht service menu.

Most people will never know it can be done and have to put up with the grey.

Are you in australia and if so how did you access the service menu. The uk instructions do not work and the remote control buttons are in diffreent locations.

[quintessence]

You should be able to get it for around $3650.

I have been to a few places where they are willing to do it for that price.

i picked up my 508 for $4653 so work out the difference in the RRP between the 50 and 42 inch and subtract it from $4653 and thats what you should be paying. Mine was not a group buy, it was a 1 off.

[Mile]

Some good prices there!

The 50 might be back in the game but it depends on how it will look in the place we're going to put it. It might be sacrilege to say this, but there is such a thing as a TV that's too big

So, tonight will be cardboard cutout night

[quintessence]

Some good prices there!

The 50 might be back in the game but it depends on how it will look in the place we're going to put it. It might be sacrilege to say this, but there is such a thing as a TV that's too big

So, tonight will be cardboard cutout night

a word of advice. i understand what you mean and dont go off those distance charts. either i have bionic eyes or those charts are wrong because at 2.5m (which aparently you would not be able to tell the difference between HD and Full HD) i can see the dots. I can see my dead pixel and i wish i had gone for an LX. I am 4 metres away and i believe ot would look better at that distance.

when you view HD content over FTA and there is small writing, you cannot read it - i think it should be legible but its not.

[chrissyoscar]

Are you in australia and if so how did you access the service menu. The uk instructions do not work and the remote control buttons are in diffreent locations.

I did the same as the UK instructions but you are right our remote is different.

Our info button is above the blue button. If you look at your control about 2/3rds of the way down you will see red, green, yellow and blue buttons.

It's directly above the blue button.

Do exactly what the UK instructions say and make sure you aim the control at the bottom right hand bottom of the screen and wait the 3 seconds as instructed.

It doesn't always work so if it fails the first time try it again. I have done it about 3 times now and on two occasions it took me 3 attempts to get it so it has to be done exactly right.

[Mile]

a word of advice. i understand what you mean and dont go off those distance charts. either i have bionic eyes or those charts are wrong because at 2.5m (which aparently you would not be able to tell the difference between HD and Full HD) i can see the dots. I can see my dead pixel and i wish i had gone for an LX. I am 4 metres away and i believe ot would look better at that distance.

when you view HD content over FTA and there is small writing, you cannot read it - i think it should be legible but its not.

I actually haven't measured the viewing distance. I must remember to do that.

I was referring to how the TV will look in the room. We don't have a dedicated home theatre room so the TV will go into the lounge room, which is about 4.5m x 4.5m and we want the TV to tie in to the room as a whole, without dominating it too much, which might be hard to do even with a 42 but what are ya gonna do? I guess we’ll get used to it.

I noticed that the dimensions of the 508 are disproportionately larger than the 428. That is, the width to height ration of the 508 is larger than the 428, or is my maths wrong? If I’m right, doesn’t that mean more of the screen is used (smaller bars top and bottom) when watching movies?

[ashisb]

I actually haven't measured the viewing distance. I must remember to do that.

I was referring to how the TV will look in the room. We don't have a dedicated home theatre room so the TV will go into the lounge room, which is about 4.5m x 4.5m and we want the TV to tie in to the room as a whole, without dominating it too much, which might be hard to do even with a 42 but what are ya gonna do? I guess we’ll get used to it.

I noticed that the dimensions of the 508 are disproportionately larger than the 428. That is, the width to height ration of the 508 is larger than the 428, or is my maths wrong? If I’m right, doesn’t that mean more of the screen is used (smaller bars top and bottom) when watching movies?

I think you'll find that the screen area itself will be the same proportions (16:9 or very close to it) for both models. The overall dimensions may differ, but that will only be the TV frame area.

[Mile]

Ok, viewing distance is between 2 and 3 metres depending on which part of the sofa we're sitting on. Our sofas run perpendicular to the TV cabinet so 3 metres would be our normal, comfort mode, viewing distance. Viewing distance is now irrelevant though as the 50 would look absurdly big in the space we're putting it in. So, 42 here we come!

[ashisb]

Got my 508XDA yesterday and I'm over the moon. A couple of points that maybe I can answer from this discussion:

* I have a topfield 7000HT connected via HDMI. I see very little difference between the external and internal tuner. In fact, if I hadn't heard the concerns about the internal tuner, I would have considered them the same. I don't consider the internal tuner 'soft' at all.

* I noticed some very slight judder, particularly when text was on the screen with the settings out of the box. Using the AV forums settings, I can no longer see it.

* Foxtel was MUCH better than I expected. In fact, the digital FTA channels and sport, along with a couple of the other premium channels look every bit as good as FTA SD (which is very good). My children watch the cartoons a lot and the upscaler does an outstanding job with these. The worst channels were, as others have noted, ESPN, and channels where the source material is aged, like TV1, Fox Classics, etc. Even then, the issue is softness rather than artifacts (viewing at 2.5-3m).

The only down side I have is that I used to use the speaker on my old RPTV as the centre speaker in my surround set up, as it sounded better than the one that came with my relatively cheap, but generally effective setup. I can't see a simple way to use the Pioneer speaker to do the same, as it has discreet left and right connections.

[I Wish]

How much quicker is the Topfield tuner compared to the internal?

[ashisb]

I must admit I didn't pay much attention to the speed. But the fact that I didn't notice it, probably suggests there was little difference. I will check again when I get home tonight.

[quintessence]

* I noticed some very slight judder, particularly when text was on the screen with the settings out of the box. Using the AV forums settings, I can no longer see it.

* Foxtel was MUCH better than I expected. In fact, the digital FTA channels and sport, along with a couple of the other premium channels look every bit as good as FTA SD (which is very good). My children watch the cartoons a lot and the upscaler does an outstanding job with these. The worst channels were, as others have noted, ESPN, and channels where the source material is aged, like TV1, Fox Classics, etc. Even then, the issue is softness rather than artifacts (viewing at 2.5-3m).

i must have a dud. I was watching Heroes HD last night and it was shocking (as are all the programs on all FTA HD and SD. Any movement was very blocky and looked shocking. Switching between HD and SD was all the same. I am going to call pioneer now and get this fixed...

[chrissyoscar]

i must have a dud. I was watching Heroes HD last night and it was shocking (as are all the programs on all FTA HD and SD. Any movement was very blocky and looked shocking. Switching between HD and SD was all the same. I am going to call pioneer now and get this fixed...

You do seem to be having some major problems, push for a replacement TV as you've had problems from day1 and that's not good enough from a premium product.

[SleepRequired]

Got my 508XDA yesterday and I'm over the moon. A couple of points that maybe I can answer from this discussion:

* I have a topfield 7000HT connected via HDMI. I see very little difference between the external and internal tuner. In fact, if I hadn't heard the concerns about the internal tuner, I would have considered them the same. I don't consider the internal tuner 'soft' at all.

* I noticed some very slight judder, particularly when text was on the screen with the settings out of the box. Using the AV forums settings, I can no longer see it.

* Foxtel was MUCH better than I expected. In fact, the digital FTA channels and sport, along with a couple of the other premium channels look every bit as good as FTA SD (which is very good). My children watch the cartoons a lot and the upscaler does an outstanding job with these. The worst channels were, as others have noted, ESPN, and channels where the source material is aged, like TV1, Fox Classics, etc. Even then, the issue is softness rather than artifacts (viewing at 2.5-3m).

The only down side I have is that I used to use the speaker on my old RPTV as the centre speaker in my surround set up, as it sounded better than the one that came with my relatively cheap, but generally effective setup. I can't see a simple way to use the Pioneer speaker to do the same, as it has discreet left and right connections.

can you clarify how you eliminated judder... saw a blu ray at jb hifi and it had a bit of judder

[nearly]

Got my 508XDA yesterday and I'm over the moon. A couple of points that maybe I can answer from this discussion:

........ Using the AV forums settings, I can no longer see it.

* Foxtel was MUCH better than I expected. In fact, the digital FTA channels and sport, along with a couple of the other premium channels look every bit as good as FTA SD (which is very good). My children watch the cartoons a lot and the upscaler does an outstanding job with these. The worst channels were, as others have noted, ESPN, and channels where the source material is aged, like TV1, Fox Classics, etc. Even then, the issue is softness rather than artifacts (viewing at 2.5-3m).

Which avforums set of settings are you using for Foxtel and FTA? I am using the avforums HDMI D65 settings for Xbox360 with HD DVD but haven't decided on best for FTA and Foxtel (and SD DVD) as yet on my 508xda.

I must agree with your Foxtel comments though, it looks much better than I had expected. The upscaler/deinterlacer is clearly doing a good job. Might try doing this porcessing through my new Yamaha upscaling AVR for a comparison, but expect it will be better done in the panel.

[kidhazy]

A couple of questions to current owners:

1) Do the speakers come with the panel or are they optional?

2) Does anyone have a pointer to the 508XDA Users Manual in PDF format?

3) How have the owners found the glare on the 508XDA. Unfortunately placement of my unit will be directly opposite a window and I know with my current CRT it's a pain.

Thanks.

Edited November 16, 2007 by kidhazy

[ashisb]

Which avforums set of settings are you using for Foxtel and FTA? I am using the avforums HDMI D65 settings for Xbox360 with HD DVD but haven't decided on best for FTA and Foxtel (and SD DVD) as yet on my 508xda.

I must agree with your Foxtel comments though, it looks much better than I had expected. The upscaler/deinterlacer is clearly doing a good job. Might try doing this porcessing through my new Yamaha upscaling AVR for a comparison, but expect it will be better done in the panel.

I'm using the SKY SD settings for Foxtel.

I tried the freeview settings for the internal tuner, but I'm not that happy with them.

[ashisb]

can you clarify how you eliminated judder... saw a blu ray at jb hifi and it had a bit of judder

Edit: Perhaps I should have clarified, I've probably misled you using the term 'judder'. I'm not talking about judder from 3:2 pulldown of 24fps sources. I'm talking about the non-smooth movement of panning scenes and scrolling/moving text from any source. Maybe theres a better generic term that I'm not aware of. End Edit.

I'm not suggesting I've 'eliminated' it. Just that on the sources that I have (HD FTA, SD DVD, Foxtel) I haven't noticed any problems since I changed the settings. I'm not particularly technical, so I'm not sure which settings have helped, but I'm guessing that turning off all of the enhancement settings (pretty much everything that was originally 'on' is now 'off') has played a part.

Don't have Bluray so I can't comment there. Also, my testing hasn't been either exhaustive or directed (I haven't specifically checked scenes that are known to cause judder). It's just been normal viewing.

Edited November 16, 2007 by ashisb

[moa999]

Can someone tell me who has the 508XDA manual/ has a set whether it accepts RGB over component.

The LX508/608 pdf appears to suggest it supports RGB over HDMI, but and via analogue PC Input

However the Input page states: "INPUT 2 terminals (COMPONENT VIDEO: Y, PB, PR)"

Reason is I have a

Grundig Ovation DVD player. Outputs are

SCART

S-Video

A/V

Menu selections in the player are however only RGB or S-Video - which leads me to believe it broadcasts RGB over SCART.

Set is presently connected via a SCART-SCART cable and I also have a SCART to Component cable.

Will the 508XDA accept RGB over component or only YPbPg ???

Just need to know whether I need to go buy a S-Video cable to connect instead, or switch to a DVD with HDMI out.

[ashisb]

How much quicker is the Topfield tuner compared to the internal?

Just had a chance to do a check and I was wrong with my initial thoughts ... there is a significant delay (probably 1-1.5 seconds) between channel changes on the internal tuner. The Topfield is almost instantaneous.

I just made some changes to the picture settings too, but unfortunately that made the picture worse than the external tuner. I might revert back to the default for the internal tuner.

[ashisb]

A couple of questions to current owners:

1) Do the speakers come with the panel or are they optional?

2) Does anyone have a pointer to the 508XDA Users Manual in PDF format?

3) How have the owners found the glare on the 508XDA. Unfortunately placement of my unit will be directly opposite a window and I know with my current CRT it's a pain.

Thanks.

The speakers are technically optional, but are included in all retail packages on sale at the moment. That is, you probably couldn't actually buy without the speakers even if you tried.

I have flicked through the 508 manual in hard copy (I don't know where to get it electronically). It is, however, very similar to the LX manual which is floating around.

The glare is much lower than my previous RPTV. I have it positioned with a wall of glass to the left, albeit with pretty good blockout curtains. Some light gets through, yet I haven't noticed it at all while watching. Also, I have a wall of dark brown wall cabinets which sit around the TV. The first few times I walked into the area, I had to look twice to make sure the TV was there, as there was barely any reflection coming from the screen.

[ashisb]

Can someone tell me who has the 508XDA manual/ has a set whether it accepts RGB over component.

The LX508/608 pdf appears to suggest it supports RGB over HDMI, but and via analogue PC Input

However the Input page states: "INPUT 2 terminals (COMPONENT VIDEO: Y, PB, PR)"

Reason is I have a

Grundig Ovation DVD player. Outputs are

SCART

S-Video

A/V

Menu selections in the player are however only RGB or S-Video - which leads me to believe it broadcasts RGB over SCART.

Set is presently connected via a SCART-SCART cable and I also have a SCART to Component cable.

Will the 508XDA accept RGB over component or only YPbPg ???

Just need to know whether I need to go buy a S-Video cable to connect instead, or switch to a DVD with HDMI out.

I can't give you a definitive answer (the manual only refers to "component" over component, it doesnt even mention YPbPr. It mentions analog RGB from a PC and RGB over HDMI). What I can say is that my scart to component from Foxtel only works when YUV is selected on the Foxtel box. Selecting RGB from the Foxtel box fails to produce an image. I don't know if there is a TV setting which can be changed to allow RGB over component.

[Guest Wolfhound]

Just had a chance to do a check and I was wrong with my initial thoughts ... there is a significant delay (probably 1-1.5 seconds) between channel changes on the internal tuner. The Topfield is almost instantaneous.

I just made some changes to the picture settings too, but unfortunately that made the picture worse than the external tuner. I might revert back to the default for the internal tuner.

I have Topfield 7000 and LX508 The Internal tuner is much slower than the Topfield. However on the internal tuner the TV states it has full 1080i input but on the Topfield it states signal is 576i, I thought the Topfield was HD. The difference in picture quality is quite noticeable to my untrained eyes. Teh internal tuner has a much better picture than the Topfield.