Pioneer PDP-4280HD 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV
See it at Amazon.com for $1,999.99Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First (5 out of 5)An excellent TV - but take note of Amazon's incorrect info
I can't recommend this TV highly enough, especially after the price drop. It's definitely the best TV out there at this size and price. As long as you are sitting more than 6-8ft from the TV, the fact that this is 720p instead of 1080p is irrelevant. It will look better than other 1080p TVs of the same size due to Pioneer's superiority in overall picture quality.
There are some downsides, but they are too minor to list here and can be found in other online forums.
A couple of things to note since Amazon's information for this TV is wrong:
1) The native resolutions for the 4280 is 1024x768. It can display a number of resolutions higher or lower than this, but that is the native resolution of the panel. Therefore, it does not display 720p "natively", like Amazon says. Like all flat panels, anything other than the native resolutions gets scaled to the native resolution. Amazon incorrectly lists the resolution as 1365x768 in the product description. That is the resolution of the 50 inch Pioneer.
2) The speaker is not detachable on the 4280. It is detachable on the 5080.
3) The "Product Dimensions" under "Product Details" shows 16 x 47 x 33 inches ; 87 pounds. This is the size and weight of the TV in the box. The actual dimensions are correctly listed later as 4-1/2 x 40-15/16 x 26-3/4 x 69.6 lbs.
(4 out of 5)Ice up a cold one and hand me the remote!
I wanted to wait several months before I put my 2 cents in on this tv. I had been researching HDTV's for almost a year, and finally took the plunge. Bought a Sony KDL40v3000 LCD. (We have a smallish family room.) the Sony was a great tv, but personally, I could not get used to the ghosting/motion blur effect that is common to LCD's. -got headaches everytime I watched a fast action scene. Time for plan B. Returned the Sony and debated on a panasonic TH42PX75U, or the Pioneer. After agonizing for several days, settled on the Pioneer. Very glad I did. Not to say the Panasonic is a bad tv, It isnt. I just liked the features of the Pioneer better. I did 200 hours of break in with the tv. The key I think, is to turn down the contrast-and the other settings for the first 200 or so hours of watching. -The risk of burn in is due to people not following the break in period (turn contrast down) when the tv is new. (You'll have time to impress your friends later during football sunday) I found a web site that gave the recommended settings for this tv. After break in period set it to the recommended settings, and WOW.- Vivid colors, fantastic contrast and depth-almost 3D. I watched the car chase scene in Bad Boys 2, and no motion blur. I watched a college football game and could see the rain drops from the rain drizzle on the players helmets. (Yeah, Im starting to like this HDTV stuff...) So far, have watched a lot of football and other shows with logos, scores etc, and not the slightest hint of burn in. -Nothing. I was extremely paranoid abot burn in at first. (The main reason I bought the Sony to begin with.) Tv has 4 HDMI inputs, several component inputs, and PC input. More than enough for audiophiles or regular users. Sound is actually fairly good. Surround is of course better, but quite good sound from the attached speakers. Standard definition is not bad, better than Ive seen on other tv's. On some final observations, It has been reported in earlier Pioneer models about the fan buzzing noise. I can hear the cooling fan running on the tv after it has been on for some time but you literally have to have the volume off and be 2 inches from the tv to hear it. Maybe they did a better job with this years model, but I dont hear it unless Im right next to the tv. Also, I would not get too wrapped up in the 720P 1080P debate. This is a 42 inch set, and I challenge anyone to tell me the difference in picture quality of this set and a 1080P set at normal viewing distance. (9-10 feet) Since 1080P wont be available through the airwaves for many years,unless you watch alot of Blu Ray or HD DVD, its a mute point and marketing hype. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because of the cost, but it's a very well made tv. (And it can be had through Amazon a lot cheaper than the big box stores.) The back is metal, not plastic, and the panel is glass crystal not plastic like on the cheaper brands. Also assembled in USA! Hope this helps in your decision process. Definitely recommended.
(4 out of 5)Friend has it
Out of the 42in flat screens i have seen this is the best. My friend bought it to replace an older 42in Pioneer he was putting in bedroom and wow this TV is nice. The colours are lifelike, and the blacks are real a real black. If you want a good tv get this or the PDP-5080HD. What i was suprised by was the deep blacks but also the crisp whites. Now when i go to the store that is the first thing to pop out at me, all I see is how white the whites are and the blacks are really balck. Other tv's may have crisp whites but then only give you grey, then if they do black or darkpurple/blue-balck they only give a yellow or bluey white(so obvious tweaking there). The resolution was great even on regular tv signal. When hooked up a blu-ray player it looked amazing, and thought for sure it was 1080p tv.
Overall it is worth the extra money because you can really see the difference. When you buy a more expensive higher quality tv you get what you pay for. My family always had their tv's for over 10-13 years. So this will be the first time I will be recommending to them it is worth it for them to buy this Flat panel to replace their old tube tv's.
We know some people that bought projection tv's when they were coming down in price to where these LCD's are coming now, but 3 years later parts broke and there were a 1 year backorder on parts, and they had to throw out their tv.
So you have to wonder with all these other tv's cheap flat panel tvs that have plastic parts, and plastic casings in the back of them what else are they cheaping out on to get the price down so low? I don't know about you, but I do not plan on replacing my TV like a cheap cell phone in the 2nd and 3rd year. Just like the old days you get what you pay for.
(5 out of 5)Amazing TV - price is now unbeatable
I bought this TV after a lot of research on LCDs and plasmas. Was looking for a TV under 42" and it came down to the Sony 40W3000 and this plasma TV.
When I went to a store to check them out, the Pioneer won hands down. I bought it two weeks ago for $1999.98 and it is absolutely amazing! 720p is way sufficient for my 10 feet viewing distance, no need to throw in the extra cash to get a 1080p plasma.
Picture quality, black levels, etc. this is the best TV I've ever had!
And with amazon's great price adjustment policy, I just got $200 back.
At $1799.98 this is now one of the best deals around, and the price keeps falling!
(5 out of 5)Believe The Hype!
I totally agree with the thoughts offered by J.Franklin. I researched like a maniac for at least two months, spent a lot of time on the AVS Forum (highly recommended) and just going to all the big box stores and seeing for myself under the less-than-scientific conditions.
Now that I think of it, if you're serious about making a fair comparison between Plasma and LCD, the highly lit flourescent environment you'll find at these places could not be worse. I happen to prefer Plasma for all kinds of reasons that I'll spare you from here. You can a/b Plasma to Plasma in a store, but absolutely try to find a friend who has one to see what the tv can really do.
I was lucky in that I happened to stumble upon a couple of the 5080HD in a few social and business situations. Besides being totally blown away by the picture quality, black levels and transparency of the image, I took note that these were industry professionals who had chosen to purchase the Pioneer because they felt it was the best.
I absolutely recommend purchasing through Amazon, preferably directly when they have units available. I got a fantastic price at $1599, no tax and free white glove delivery. If you're interested in a smaller flat panel experience (given that 50 inches is becoming the industry standard and Pionner is dropping non-Kuro units smaller than 50") think about buying NOW. After several months of losing my mind doing all that research and viewing, I'm happily recovering and enjoying the tv experience of my life...