Pioneer Elite PRO-700HD 64 in. TV

I had been looking hard at the Toshiba 65" TW65X81 HDTV shopping the web and comparing this set with the Mitsubishi, Sony, and Hitachi widescreen sets and every time the Toshiba came out on top. I went to a home show and saw a demo room set up for home theater and was amazed at the quality of picture from the HDTV they were using. I asked what set it was and was told that it was a Pioneer PRO 700 HD. Once I was back at home, I researched this product on the web and found that it had rave reviews universally with some concern for the video noise on the line doubler built into the set. My curiosity raised, I went for a full-scale demo at the local dealer and looked at the Toshiba and Pioneer side by side. The controls and menus were easier to understand and use on the Pioneer and the picture quality using the doubler was excellent. When comparing video quality using digital input sources of a football game played on natural grass the Pioneer won hands down, showing the kicked up turf and blades of grass without any edge artifact thus yielding a crisp clear visual effect. In fact, the reception of local analog cable was actually improved on the Pioneer compared to the Toshiba. The Pioneer is capable of decoding all 18 established video standards and the noise effects encountered using the built in line doubler had to be pointed out to me since I didn't detect it initially. The noise is a slight pixelation of parts of the picture during fast motion sequences of the viewed content. It's not present all the time and didn't detract from my viewing experience. Some folks on the web had invested in an expensive Faroujda external doubler to eliminate this slight amount of video noise. Sort of like killing a gnat with a hammer, but to each his own for videophiles. I've had the set about a month now and am more impressed every day with its video quality. There are no scan lines, even on local TV, and with widescreen it feels like you are part of the action not just a spectator. The set does not impose as massive a presence as the Toshiba from a size standpoint and it has a clear black lacquer finish that provides a pleasant viewing environment. The picture-on picture (POP) is a fabulous tool that effectively gives you two 40" side by side pictures from any source you choose to use. The set is future proofed, with slots for connecting HDTV decoders when this feature arrives in my area. It has connections for component, s-video and composite video sources. It has a good speaker system but I have disabled it to use my external audio system. All in all the Pioneer PRO 700 HD is an excellent product and offers a good choice for folks who are ready for HDTV like pictures using conventional video sources.