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ON TEST
Picture
technology
PURE DRIVE 2 HD
Pioneer's proprietry image process
technology is a fully digital system
specifi cally optimised for HD pictures
and is designed to sharpen up detail,
smooth out motion and eliminate
noise. Combined with Direct Colour
Filter it minimises ambient light
refl ections and boosts contrast.
Black level isn't the 428XD's only
claim to fame, though. For starters,
it can be professionally calibrated to
suit your specifi c viewing conditions
by an Imaging Science Foundation
(ISF) engineer. Indeed, this could
improve black levels even more.
Also intriguing is the 428XD's
handling of the 1080p/24fps format
used to master most HD fi lms on
Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. Other
screens can handle this format too
from high-end Blu-ray players (see
Pioneer's own BDP-LX70 reviewed
on page 56) that can output it. But
the 428XD unusually carries a 72Hz
playback frequency option, which
permits 24fps sources to be played
with a minimum of messy
processing fuss.
Connections, meanwhile, include
a salutory three HDMIs, a PC input,
and a USB 2 for viewing digital
photos via Pioneer's impressive
Home Gallery, while other key
features include unusually
sophisticated MPEG, Mosquito, 3D,
and Field noise reduction routines.
★★★★★
Ease of use
Although the 428XD's remote is
gorgeous and its onscreen menus
are slick, you really need to
familiarise yourself fully with the
TV's hefty manual if you're going to
get the very best results from its
countless, but sometimes quite
technical, settings.
★★★★★
Picture
So are the 428XD's pictures really
as revolutionary as Pioneer
reckons? Er, yes, actually.
Leading the way, inevitably, is the
TV's black level response. Which is,
by miles, the fi nest yet seen on a fl at
TV. The darkest corners of the
darkest scenes in the darkest
movies all look absolutely,
completely and utterly black.
There's no greyness, no blue tones,
no greyish dot crawl... just black.
What's more, dark picture areas
contain more shadow detailing than
the vast majority of the TV's rivals.
048
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What Video & High-Defi nition TV
WHV324.pion42 048
WHV324.pion42 048
/
42
PLASMA TV
IN
These truly revolutionary black
levels are enough in themselves to
deliver the most believable and
cinematic picture we've seen on a
fl at TV. But they're hardly the end
of the 428XD's story.
Colours, too, are a revelation.
The dazzling black levels are offset
by a wider colour range that result
in colour tones both extremely
vibrant and more natural than any
seen on a plasma TV before. For
instance, reds actually look red
rather than orange and greens look
real rather than slightly radioactive.
The 428XD also excels with its
motion handling. The clarity and
smoothness with which it shows fast
moving objects leaves all LCD rivals
for dead. Plus there's no sign of
plasma's potential problems with
dithering noise over in-motion skin
tones, and the set's 72Hz mode
reproduces 1080p/24Hz HD
transfers with scarcely a trace of
judder or 'correction'.
The set's 72Hz handling of
1080p/24Hz output from Pioneer's
Blu-ray player also benefi ts from
remarkable cleanliness, as the
relatively straightforward 24Hz-into-
72Hz conversion throws up
negligible processing noise.
Next, even though the 428XD
isn't a full HD screen (Pioneer isn't
introducing full HD Kuro until
September), its pictures are
phenomenally sharp.
In fact, with their pristine motion
handling, black levels and colours,
the 428XD's images arguably look
crisper and more detailed than
those of many full HD LCDs,
especially when there's anything
moving in the picture.
Is there anything bad to say
about the pictures? Not unless
you're obsessed with HD enough to
wait and save for the full HD Kuros.
★★★★★
Sound
As usual with Pioneer, the quality of
the 428XD's speakers is seriously
impressive and at times approaches
the high standards for which its
dedicated audio products are so
highly regarded.
★★★★★
Value
With even Panasonic now breaking
the £1,000 barrier with its latest
42in plasmas, the 428XD
undoubtedly looks expensive at
£1,800. But then shouldn't you
expect to pay a premium price for a
product that genuinely breaks new
Z
performance ground?
/
Issue 324
Fact fi le
/
42in plasma TV
/
1,024 x 768 pixels
/
HD Ready
/
Pure Drive 2 HD processing
/
3 HDMI inputs
/
Time in Lab: 8 days
/
Serial No: N/A
1,040mm
Playback
Power consumption:
1W (standby)
Test
Rating
260W (in use)
Colour temperature
6,500K
Contrast ratio
1,700:1
Lab notes: Our subjective
Luminance
15.6fL
observations are amply borne
●●●●●
Colour
out by these superlative results
●●●●●
Frequency response
Spec check
Screen size and shape:
ambient light sensor; Active DRE;
42in, 16:9
PIP/PAP; I-Clear Drive; various
noise reduction systems; optional
Tuner: Digital and analogue
stands and brackets; subwoofer
Sound system: Nicam
output; motion handling modes
Resolution (pixels): 1,024 x 768
/
Sockets:
HD Ready: Yes
3 HDMI inputs (PC and video);
Quoted contrast ratio: 16,000:1
3 Scarts (2 RGB); component
Quoted brightness: N/A
video input; composite video
Processing: Pure Drive 2 HD
input; S-video input; D-Sub PC
input; stereo audio output;
Screen dimensions: 1,040(w) x
headphone jack; stereo audio
679(h) x 115(d)mm
inputs; CAM slot; RF input; USB
Weight: 29.6kg
socket; subwoofer output; digital
/
Other features
audio output
HD Digital Film Direct mode
/
Contact:
(24fps); HDMI CEC control; ISF
01753 789500,
C3 Ready; ultra black crystal
www.pioneer.co.uk
layer; Direct Colour Filter 3;
Not just the best
42in screen ever,
it's the best fl at
screen yet by
some margin.
For once, it
seems, you can
believe the hype
115mm
24/7/07 13:52:20
24/7/07 13:52:20
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