Pioneer PDP-4280 XD

The Pioneer 4280XD a fantastic choice of television and quite possibly one of the best plasma options currently out of the market, before it's release there was a massive hype within the circles that follow this sort of thing and you should know that the visual quality even when not on High Definition is absolutely gob smacking but then for the price it retails at, you'd expect as much wouldn't you? Unfortunately there isn't all that much I can tell ...
...and SKY picture on the Pioneer instantly impressed, I've heard others hail it as the "very best for this class" and I have to agree however there are the obvious flaws such as the compression and bit-rate constantly varying from programme to programme, but the PDP4280XD's however the technology incorporated within the Pioneer did a great job of reducing pixilation to an absolute minimum. SKY HD though not without flaws showed just how dull ... more

The Pioneer 4280XD a fantastic choice of television and quite possibly one of the best plasma options currently out of the market, before it's release there was a massive hype within the circles that follow this sort of thing and you should know that the visual quality even when not on High Definition is absolutely gob smacking but then for the price it retails at, you'd expect as much wouldn't you? Unfortunately there isn't all that much I can tell you about this product, after all it's a tele and the best way to review a tele will always be to watch it but as per usual I'll give my insight and hope that it helps you the consumer make an educated decision regarding the PDP-4280, perhaps the best way to start this would be to reveal the specifications.

Features and Measurements:
Screen Size: 42 inches
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Dimensions (mm): 1040 x 679 x 115
Dimensions with Stand (mm): 1040 x 719 x 237
Weight (Without Stand): 29.6 kg
Weight (With Stand): 31.3 kg
Recommended Resolution: 1024 x 768
HD Ready: yes
Colour System: PAL/ SECAM/ NTSC 3.58/ 4.43/ PAL 60
Special Features: HD Digital Film Direct 24FPS, Ultra Black Crystal Layer, Direct Colour Filter 3

Connections:
HDMI 3 HDMI 1.3 (rear)
VGA 1 (HD-15 + audio in; rear)
Component 1 (YPbPr 3 x RCA connectors for video & L-R 2 x RCA connectors for audio; rear)
SCART 3 (21-pin; rear)
S-Video 1 (4-pin; side)
Composite (including audio input) 1 (1 x RCA video & 2 x RCA audio; side)
Analogue Audio Output 1 (L-R 2 x RCA connectors; rear)
Digital Audio Output 1 (Optical; rear)
Headphone Output 1 (3.5mm stereo minijack; side)
Serial RS232 1 (rear)
Common Interface Slot 1 (rear)

Audio:
Speakers 2
Power Output 17 W + 17 W
Sound Effect SRS, TruBass

Power Consumption:
Voltage 220 - 240V, 50/60Hz
Operation 299 W
Standby 0.4 W

Now I understand that the specifications mentioned above will probably mean more to some of you consumers than it will to others but in the competitive market of modern television retail this is the information that makes all the difference.

So anyway, now that I've got the introduction and the general information out of the way lets tackle my experience with the product in question shall we? Firstly the setup, I'm afraid it's not quite as simple as you might expect - not just a case of plug-in and go I'm afraid! To get optimal performance you need to make sure that all of the right cables from the right devices are in the right places - particularly in terms of audio, after all how you set up this hardware is ultimately the difference between mediocre sound and picture or top-of-the-range! My advice is if there's any doubt then get someone else to do it, after all if you can afford the TV then I'm sure you can afford a technician right? As an extra note - be aware that there is a hidden Master Power switch on the underside of the Pioneer, I wasted fifteen minutes of my life wondering why it wouldn't turn on because of that.

Once the setup was complete I found that the PDP featured no end of options to tweak and personalize to the user's preference, personally I found the default settings more than satisfactory so saw no need to tweak further but "Techno Enthusiasts" would have a field day I'm sure! The Freeview and SKY picture on the Pioneer instantly impressed, I've heard others hail it as the "very best for this class" and I have to agree however there are the obvious flaws such as the compression and bit-rate constantly varying from programme to programme, but the PDP4280XD's however the technology incorporated within the Pioneer did a great job of reducing pixilation to an absolute minimum. SKY HD though not without flaws showed just how dull Standard Definition can truly be. I managed to test the movie Casino Royale through both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD thanks to the help of a friend of mine, there were subtle differences in colour leaning more favourably towards HD-DVD but both looked crisp and stunning and with a decent sound setup the experience is the closest you can get to being at the cinema, at home. In fact all I can fault is that in regards to the picture shadows don't quite reach the full spectrum of quality all other effects do on the television, not to say they're bad - just under-emphasised.

So all-in-all, a fantastic piece of equipment for those high earners out there who can afford to the very best that money can buy thus proving that the Pioneer PDP-4280 XD is truly a high end device well placed in a difficult modern market. 

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