Pioneer SD-532HD5 53 in. TV

For the longest time I ooh'd and ahh'd the HDTV sets at the local electronics stores. I was perfectly happy with my non-HDTV 50" RPTV (a Mitsubishi VS-5077), but now that DirecTV has rolled out their HDTV service, I figured it was time to start making the transition.

I purchased this item at a local Best Buy (since I'm deathly frightened of having it "shipped to my door". I want this thing hauled up the stairway FOR me). It was $3799, plus another $300 for the 4-year extended warranty (a MUST for any TV this size.)

SETUP
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Setup was a snap. Put it where you want it, and plug in your components. The rear of the TV has several types of inputs. They include:

D-Sub15 (VGA compatible as well)
Antenna x 2
Component x 2 (Use these whenever possible!)
S-Video x 3, x 1 in front
Composite x 3, x 1 in front
AV Monitor Output x 1
TV Tuner Output x 1
Variable Audio Output x 1
Pioneer "SR" System Control x 1

I haven't upgraded my DirecTV receiver (a Sony AD3) to HDTV yet, as it will require a new receiver and elliptical dish, so I decided to use my current unit connected via S-Video (though I tried composite as well, more on that later).

My DVD player is currently a Sony Playstation 2 (hey, it's acutally pretty good!) using Component outputs.

As for HDTV, Best buy was nice enough to allow me to test this functionality on their set by plugging me directly into their HDTV signal, provided by an RCA HDTV receiver. They also let me play with the controls/remote and muck around with all the settings. I also tested a 480P signal from a notebook PC at home.

CONTROLS
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Pioneer certainly didn't skimp here.

There's several screen modes to choose from with this set, all accessible at the touch of a button on the remote. They are:

Natural Wide: Uses as much of a 4:3 signal as possible, stretches it to a 16:9 screen, but does so in a manner that doesn't make supermodels look like they weigh 400lbs. You still lose a LITTLE off the top/bottom of the screen)

Zoom: Utilizes the center of a 4:3 screen, but applies it to a 16:9 format, you lose a little off the top and bottom of the screen)

Cinema Wide: For DVD's in widescreen format

Normal (4:3): A 4:3 format with 2 gray bars on each side of the unused portion of the screen - NOTE: some HDTV's warn against using 4:3 signals on a 16:9 RPTV because of burn-in issues. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE SETS! The manual offers no warning about burn-in on 4:3 viewing, so GO RIGHT AHEAD!

Full: Any signal is stretched to the full 16:9 screen. A 4:3 signal in a 16:9 format makes everything look stretched (although I'll admit, this effect isn't as bad as you might think).

For each of the above settings, you can configure your own picture specifications for black-level, contrast, sharpness, tint, color level, comb filtering level, noise reduction level, color profile, and Convergence.

THE REMOTE
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Eh, it's so-so. Most of the buttons are a bit too close together, but for the most part it serves its purpose. It has 4 modes of operation, TV/VCR/DVD/SAT. It's also a learning remote, so it can learn commands off your other remotes.

One thing of note is that this TV is very "custom installation" friendly. There's no IR window for the remote. It's embedded in the center of the screen, so in order for the remote to work, you just have to point at the screen.

CONVERGENCE CONTROL
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This is a big thing for rear-projection sets. Pioneer certainly did it right here. Pioneer offers a 72-point convergence grid on this set. First you set the center convergence in the setup menu, then you can set any one of the 72 points on the grid.

While this is cumbersome and time-consuming at first, it gives you the ability to have a PERFECT picture EVERYWHERE on the screen. It's amazing how much of a difference this makes. All your settings are saved, so after doing it once, you don't have to do it again. Make sure you let your set warm up a good 15 minutes before doing this.

PERFORMANCE
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My first test was with a natural HDTV signal. Since I haven't gotten a new receiver/dish yet, the only source I had was a notebook PC using the 15-pin DSUB input on the rear of the unit.

WOW.

I never expected to see such an ACCURATE display on a rear-projection set. Colors are incredibly vibrant, but not oversaturated. No color bleed either. Fine details are outstandingly clear. It'll make you want to put together a tiny PC just for playing some games on this baby. It'd make a heck of a Progressive scan DVD player as well if you slapped a Hollywood Plus DVD decoder into it.

Pioneer has created an HDTV set to be reckoned with in the picture quality department.

NOTE: If you use the 15-pin DSUB input as INPUT3, you cannot use the S-VIDEO and COMPOSITE inputs for INPUT3. You can still use INPUT 1, 2 and 4(front) any way you choose, however. There's a switch near the actual DSUB connector that allows you to choose which you want to use.

My second test was with my PS2 DVD player. I used the component cables from Pelikan ($9.99). I was amazed at the sharpness and detail. The Line Doubler seemed to be doing its job rather nicely, converting the 480i signal over the component cables to 480p. While the built-in doubler lessens the need for a progressive-scan DVD player, the argument for this is that a progressive scan DVD player would do its task digitally, rather than upconverting an analog signal. I personally don't think i'll be going this route, since the output is terrific.

Games look pretty good too, though the output is a tad bit blurry because of how the PS2 handles textures in its first run games. While this is more a software issue than anything, it was less noticable on a purely interlaced set. One thing this line doubler seems to do is point out any little flaw in the source medium. While overall the picture looks better, flaws are more readily apparant.

My final test was as with my DirecTV receiver. I set up 2 outputs, one S-Video and one composite. It looks crappy on both. Why? Likely the same reason as above. The line doubler in combination with a precise picture will more readily show off flaws in the source medium. I also went as far as to plug in my PS2 to the SVIDEO connector, and it looked crappy as well. Every little compression artefact is visible, some detail actually seems to be lost, and some channels look outright blurry. I may update this epinion after switching out my sony receiver with my RCA from another room to see if there's any difference.

If you're going to use the SVIDEO or COMPOSITE inputs on this TV, expect crappy output. Don't buy this set if you plan on using it as a standard-definition set using SVID or COMPOSITE devices. It just won't cut it. I plan on upgrading as soon as possible to the better receiver, or at least one that has component outputs.

SUMMARY
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It's a great set if you plan on moving to HDTV sooner than later. Don't buy this set if you plan on using it as a standard non-HDTV set for an extended period of time, as you'll likely be disappointed. Its accurate screen and mediocre line doubler show a ton of flaws in the source medium. The S-Video and Composite connectors yield rather poor image quality.

However, if you plan on using it as an HDTV set or with pieces that have Component outputs, you will NOT be disappointed. The picture is incredibly sharp, the controls allow a GREAT deal of customization and the all-important convergence control is TOP NOTCH.


Final rating: 4. For this set to be a perfect 5, they would have to:

Improve the line doubler for S-Video and Composite connections (.5)
Add a HDTV tuner for DirecTV signals (.5)