048 /What Video & High-Definition TV /Issue 324
PURE DRIVE 2 HD
Pioneer’s proprietry image process
technology is a fully digital system
specifically 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
reflections and boosts contrast.
Picture technology
ON TEST
/
42IN PLASMA TV
Not just the best
42in screen ever,
it’s the best flat
screen yet by
some margin.
For once, it
seems, you can
believe the hype
Black level isn’t the 428XD’s only
claim to fame, though. For starters,
it can be professionally calibrated to
suit your specific 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 films 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 finest yet seen on a flat
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.
These truly revolutionary black
levels are enough in themselves to
deliver the most believable and
cinematic picture we’ve seen on a
flat 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 benefits 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
performance ground? Z
Playback
Test Rating
Colour temperature 6,500K
Contrast ratio 1,700:1
Luminance 15.6fL
Colour ●●●●●
Frequency response ●●●●●
Power consumption:
1W (standby)
260W (in use)
Lab notes: Our subjective
observations are amply borne
out by these superlative results
1,040mm
679mm
Fact file
/
42in plasma TV
/
1,024 x 768 pixels
/
HD Ready
/
Pure Drive 2 HD processing
/
3 HDMI inputs
Spec check
Screen size and shape:
42in, 16:9
Tuner: Digital and analogue
Sound system: Nicam
Resolution (pixels): 1,024 x 768
HD Ready: Ye s
Quoted contrast ratio: 16,000:1
Quoted brightness: N/A
Processing: Pure Drive 2 HD
Screen dimensions: 1,040(w) x
679(h) x 115(d)mm
Weight: 29.6kg
/
Other features
HD Digital Film Direct mode
(24fps); HDMI CEC control; ISF
C3 Ready; ultra black crystal
layer; Direct Colour Filter 3;
ambient light sensor; Active DRE;
PIP/PAP; I-Clear Drive; various
noise reduction systems; optional
stands and brackets; subwoofer
output; motion handling modes
/
Sockets:
3 HDMI inputs (PC and video);
3 Scarts (2 RGB); component
video input; composite video
input; S-video input; D-Sub PC
input; stereo audio output;
headphone jack; stereo audio
inputs; CAM slot; RF input; USB
socket; subwoofer output; digital
audio output
/
Contact:
01753 789500,
www.pioneer.co.uk
115mm
/
Time in Lab: 8 days
/
Serial No: N/A
WHV324.pion42 048WHV324.pion42 048 24/7/07 13:52:2024/7/07 13:52:20