The best RPTV on the market but for how long?
Written: May 04 '04
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Pros: Excellent picture quality, beautiful case, excellent stretch modes, clean operation.
Cons: Lack of standard picture-in-picture and the normal array of RPTV concerns.
The Bottom Line: If you demand the best picture in a large-screen TV, this is the TV for you. If you don't mind the larger size of this TV, you cannot do better.
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| rich_heimlich's Full Review: Pioneer Elite PRO-730HDi 64 in. TV |
My ownership of a Pioneer Elite Pro 730HDi was a bit of a surprise. I had recently purchased a Pro 630HD (2003 model) and was completely happy with it. However, it developed a problem that Pioneer had difficulty fixing and, after a few attempts, they offered to upgrade me to a 2004 model. However, the 630 (58") model has now been discontinued so they offered to move me to their 730HDi (64") model. Since size really wasn't a problem for the room it was going in, I decided I couldn't lose here.
The 730HDi is every bit as impressive as the 630HD was and has the same fantastic picture except larger.
The first thing any notices about any Pioneer Elite is that they're beautiful TV's. In fact, it's the first TV I've seen that clearly feels like a piece of furniture. The cabinet has a stunning finish that makes it stand out in any room without being obvious or gaudy. My wife and I love the way it looks in the room whereas other sets looked out of place or futuristic for the sake of looking futuristic, not stylish. Pioneer also sells matching component cabinets. However, be prepared to pay through the nose for them. I already have a very similar cabinet so I opted against their version of it. The set is also quite heavy but it does come with casters so it's a simple matter to roll it about to get behind it when needed.
The picture quality is, in a word, exceptional. Of course everything depends on your source material. Mine includes DirecTV, DVD, HDTV and XBOX sources. All look better on the Pioneer than any set I've tried personally or have seen after many trips to the store.
While DirecTV material does look average on the set, this is a by-product of taking a source really best viewed on a 36" TV or below, and blowing up that picture to 64". However, the top-notch line doubler in the Pioneer does a better job with improving the DirecTV picture than competing products do. In fact, very little is ever mentioned about Pioneer's line doubler feature. Make no mistake, you will not find a better one in any set on the market. Your cable and small dish pictures will be presented better on this set mainly as a result of this than with any other manufacturer. The only way I've seen standard definition programming look better is on the Sony Grand Wega LCD TV's after doing some manual, and questionable, tweaks using their service menus to match settings provided by some informed users on various HDTV forums. Pioneer's picture looks great as is.
Add to this Pioneer's industry-best stretch modes and you'll be hard pressed to find reason to complain. Every other stretch mode I've seen from competitors added significant artifacts to a picture already loaded with them. The last thing these pictures needed was more noise. Pioneer's stretch modes work without adding any noticeable artifacts and they work WELL. Their Natural Wide mode is so good that I watch all 4:3 standard TV in that mode and no one has yet even noticed the change. It is that natural. Such modes leave the center of the picture intact but apply stretching to the sides. This reduces the effect of everyone looking fat and short. With similar modes from other vendors I could clearly see where the stretching began and it was often distracting. Take CNN for example. The banner of text they now run at the bottom of the screen actually changed height on some models as it crossed from the stretched area into the middle of the screen and then back again on the other side. The text was also obviously larger on the sides. With Pioneer's Natural Wide mode the change is so subtle that the effect is nearly impossible to detect.
DVD's look fantastic on this TV. The picture is bright, but not washed out. Detail is presented flawlessly and the darker scenes look exactly as you'd expect. The feeling is very much of being in a cinema. Plus Pioneer gives you several advanced features to allow for getting the picture just the way you want.
HDTV looks flat-out amazing on the set. On other sets it looked very good. Here it can be jaw-dropping if the show is done well. 1080i images are so crisp that you feel you can reach out and touch them. On other sets they often appeared washed out or flat.
Resolutions are very important to HDTV's and Pioneer comes through here natively supporting 480i (standard definition), 480p (standard DVD) and 1080i (the top HD resolution). The only resolution it doesn't natively support is 720p currently used by ABC and rumored to be used by Fox for the 2004 fall season. If you watch 720p material it will, by default, be upconverted to 1080i and looks just fine that way. Oddly many HDTV's support only a single native resolution so that everything is converted to that resolution. This can cause serious compromises depending on the limitations--compromises not present with this set.
What's more is that the Pioneer's are known for being setup well right out of the box. Mine is no exception. The geometry is solid but not perfect. ISF calibration is the answer to this and if you don't know about ISF calibration, LEARN. Do NOT spend thousands of dollars on these TV's without commiting to ISF calibration after the set has broken in for at least several months. A properly calibrated RPTV can provide a dramatically improved picture and provide you with the best results for the investment you made.
Inputs abound on the Pioneer. In fact it currently leads the pack by having two HDMI/HDCP inputs removing logjams with respect to component inputs and such (assuming your components have a HDMI or DVI output that is). There are two component inputs as well with a total of 6 inputs in total.
HDMI is the newest connector in the industry and combines both full video and surround sound audio in one very small cable that looks similar, but even smaller, to a USB connector.
Pioneer also allows for applying their stretch modes to any source material below 720p resolution. This can be a MAJOR benefit for those opting for HDTV receivers. Most HDTV receivers take standard TV images and upconvert them to a minimum of 480p mode or higher. This generally negates the use of a TV's native stretch modes and line doubler forcing you to rely on such support from the receiver in question. Most receivers have comparatively poor line doublers and stretch modes. The ability of the Pioneer to take control back is much preferred and the results are obvious. However if the source material is plugged into an HDMI port, you will need to turn off a feature called "Pure Digital" in order for this to function, otherwise everything plugged into an HDMI port will be considered digital in nature and not subject to Pioneer's processing.
NOTE: For months I tried to get a direct answer from Pioneer as to why this feature should be enabled at all (the default setting). Pure Digital just sends a totally pure, meaning untouched, signal to the TV. The problem with this is that not only does it cause you to lose the ability to apply stretch modes to non-digital material but it also by-passes all the picture enhancement features. While this might sound like a good thing, everyone I've showed this to clearly prefers the picture quality you get with Pure Digital turned off. Turning it on is like turning off 30 years of knowledge on how to present the most impressive picture. The good news is, it's easy to see this for yourself by just moving the setting between on and off. Such menu choices only take up a small area of the screen while you set them allowing you to immediate see the impact of any such setting. Very nice!
Another nice feature is the clean way Pioneer changes inputs. Other brands change inputs and blank the screen momentarily even if the change was inadvertent. Here, if you're on a particular input and "change" to the same input, the screen does nothing but display the name of the input over the picture without blanking or muting the material momentarily.
The remote also is a positive. It's not pretty but it is laid out intelligently and supports every level of control desired. Direct selection of Input is supported so for those of us with home theater universal remotes there is no need to go searching for discreet input modes. This remote supports all of them right out of the box. You will still need to search for discreet power on codes and for direct stretch mode support if desired. The remote has the standard power toggle and a single Mode button that cycles through the stretch modes.
Built-in sound is solid. The default speaker system is more than functional. The sound is clear and volume is not a concern or problem. Most home theater enthusiasts choose to mute TV's in favor of using their receivers to provide sound but my wife and I always prefer to watch normal TV using the standard speakers and only go to the receiver for sources with solid surround sound support. In fact, Pioneer will even let you use the built-in speaker system as a center channel if needed. This is a nice extra that could come in handy for some who are on a budget (but if you're on that much of a budget I suspect you wouldn't be considering this TV anyway).
I am disappointed about the lack of a standard picture-in-picture mode. I don't use that much but it's still nice to have. Pioneer has what they call a "Split" mode. that takes the picture and compresses it into half the screen. You can then bounce between the left picture and a smaller right picture. The left picture is severely impacted by this move however. It's basically the opposite of a stretch mode. Instead of everything looking short and fat, everything is tall and skinny as the entire picture is forced into half the screen. This is quite ironic given Pioneer's obvious perfectionist attitude regarding their other stretch modes.
The TV sits low and may be too low for some tastes. In my room I like to put my feet up on an ottoman and my toes end up just cutting into the bottom of the picture. However, I must say that the viewing height they've chosen is well thought out. You're perfectly in the sweet spot for viewing in nearly all instances.
This set is a classic rear projection TV so it comes with all the standard RPTV concerns. Side view is limited but better than in the past. I have no trouble with it in my standard-sized family room and couches setup in an L arrangement. Those on the perpendicular L have no trouble seeing the TV. There is also the possibility of burn-in but this issue I find to be heavily blown out of proportion. As long as you properly adjust the set, the odds of burn-in is minimal. The key is to reduce contrast and, if you give such a change a chance, you will find the picture far more realistic and cinematic. It's just that manufacturers know we are prone to like brighter pictures so they get shipped that way regardless of the possible negative impact on your investment.
As with other RPTV's Standard 4:3 television can be displayed in one of several modes. There's the natural wide mode covered in detail above, Cinema Wide (similar to natural wide while cutting off a bit of the top and bottom), two Zoom modes (which effectively cut off top and bottom but without applying any stretching and Full mode. 4:3 programs in full mode on RPTV's is not a good idea. Pioneer displays industry standard vertical gray bars in this mode and while you can watch TV this way, the gray bars are a bit bright and distracting to many and can burn-in if you spend a lot of time in this mode. Again, try Natural Wide mode and never look back. You won't be disappointed.
I can also be a bit picky by complaining that there is no readily available power switch on the TV. There are two of them behind a panel on the TV (one for main power and one for standby mode) but I'd have preferred an exposed power button somewhere for when I forgot to hit the power from the remote. Every TV with a door or panel that gets heavy use ends up without a door or panel or one that looks heavily worn in too short a time.
The bottom line for me with this set is that it excels everywhere a TV should. The picture quality cannot be beat today, the cabinet is a real looker and all of the features combine to make this a can't lose purchase. It doesn't hurt that it does extremely well in the wife acceptance area too! I suspect this is a set that will easily continue to impress us for years to come.
It would also be a good idea to note that this is the end of the line for Pioneer with regard to CRT-based Rear Projection televisions. Pioneer has decided to put all their efforts into plasma TV's. I personally feel this is a huge mistake as I am not impressed with plasma technology for a number of reasons (feel free to e-mail me if you're interested). The reason I mention this is that there could be some concern about Pioneer's commitment to this line. Clearly they want to move on but so far they seem to handling the support for these sets just fine.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 4000
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Epinions.com ID:
rich_heimlich
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Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 1 member
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