stevemono

I was reading on the Smarthouse site recently where they expect large size LCD panels to actually start increasing in prices soon due to a number of factors. I don't recall them mentioning plasmas though. Cheers http://www.smarthouse.com.au/TVs_And_Large...ay/LCD/B9G7F3K6

Mate, what a deal, I paid $5300 last november and was pretty happy with the deal.........it is amazing what 5 months can mean in retail land. Well done

Patrick, try playing the same piece of movie at the different settings and make up your own mind. As with DTV, we have no choice, we can only have what the broadcasters send us. My DVD is an old Toshiba that only outputs via component @ 480/576i. I cannot change it. In time it will be replaced with a Denon 2930 or a HD-DVD/BR player..........I will wait for now

Patrick, The 507 will have to upscale/downscale to suit it's native resolution (1366x768) no matter what you feed it (it does this automatically). From what I have read here and elsewhere the scaler in the plasma as quite a good one. Also from what I have been told if you are sending a HD signal the optimum setting is 1080i. If I'm wrong on this I'm sure someone will correct me. Cheers.

Gondy, If I read your post correctly you have hooked your DVD up via HDMI, or is the AVR hooked up via HDMI. If it is your DVD then that will imput audio as well so it should be just a matter of enabling the inputs & outputs. I have my setup with the DVD hooked up direct to the Pio via S & L/R audio & also through the AVR. Like you I have young kids and a less than tolerant (at times) wife. Hope this helps

I did but not overnight as you can see the screen from our bedroom and my other half would have "strung me up" so I ran it after work & weekends etc.

Rubber, my procedure is that I have to hit the power button on the left side (I seldom leave the set in standby) then either go pick up the remote to power up or use the button on the right side of the set. There doesn't seem to be any noticeable difference in the time it takes for the LED to go from red to blue. A second perhaps

Strange......you may have a dud, of course you have tried another set of batteries. I have had had mine for about 8 weeks with no issues in regards to the remote.

Good/news luck Black Dawg, we can only hope.

I also have the 507 and have not noticed any "volume correction" during ad breaks. My Metz CRT has the option which I have turned on/enabled but to be honest it seems to be pretty useless.

Luke, I was in the similar situation 3 months ago and was extremely keen on the Sammy (no sure which model though) with the built in HD tuner. I demoed it and a heap of other sets at the local HN. What it came down to is that I couldn't watch live sport on the LCD's (smearing) and if it was a plasma it would have to be the Pio. I'm not sure what the negatives over the 6th gen are in regards to SD tv. I ended up buying the 507 as I felt that the 42 would be too small in time. I also watch FTA, HD is obviously better but SD is quite acceptable IMHO. Good luck and enjoy whichever one you go with

Thanks for the reply Peter. On your advise and others on this forum I will go with the plain Jane 5000. I will upgrade the HD if and when the wife starts having storage issues. She is in the habbit of recording then wiping once it has been watched. Once again thanks

Looks as if I will go with the Topfield TF5000PVRT-black version, best price locally seems to be $700. I also see that there is the Masterpiece version. Are there any major improvements with this model?? I see that it has a 160 gig H/D and a fluoro display. The display doesn't matter and the H/D will be replaced (if need be) after the warranty expires. If that is the extent of the "upgrade" it would seem to be a waste of money. Your thoughts gentlemen

Chris, that sounds like a good call once the unit is out of warranty.

Thank's Peter, with that in mine maybe the premium for the Topfield is money well spent I saw today in a local Retravision catalogue a T/field advertised, not the 5000 though. They at least will be worth a call.

Thanks Peter, I had a read and found it very helpful. Thanks again I will now see what is available locally and take it from there. Our office manager here as a Humax Smart and is extremely happy with it, me I like the Toppy. PS, What is/are ludite SO's Thanks Wrangler, with your YESSDBT 2688 I'm not sure what you mean?? are you saying that they have issue's

Thanks for the prompt reply gentlemen. My wife loves these CSI, Law & Order type shows. She often records 1 on the VCR in our "family room" and watches one in the bedroom. I'm pretty sure at times she would record 2 simultaneously if she had the facilities.

Guys, our VCR is playing up and my other half has requested replacement for Christmas. I am going too buy her a SD PVR dual tuner model. The TV set that it will operate with is a Metz widescreen whch I have had upgraded with a SD tuner fitted internally. The metz does not have component, only RGB, S-video & composite. Of course I want to use RGB & my question is, can anyone steer me in the right direction to a set that may suit my requirements? Thanks in advance Steve M.

Spacious, The speaker actually came in it's own separate box, ie, not attached to the panel. I also read today on the smarthouse site that manufacturers already have the next format/definition level happening (quadrupal 1080p) with panels available around the end of the year (so they say) We won't see the them on the market for some time yet, thank god. If anyone is interested here is the link to the article.Smarthouse article

Spacious, I have had the 507 for about 3 weeks and am very happy except for a small amount of "judder". The speaker bar on the 42 is part of the panel but with the 50 it is detachable. I held off buying until now as I hate the media box plus STB senario. I too will probably wall mount eventually and will put up with the trade off of extra cables etc happily. Enjoy your purchase. Spacious, I have had the 507 for about 3 weeks and am very happy except for a small amount of "judder". The speaker bar on the 42 is part of the panel but with the 50 it is detachable. I held off buying until now as I hate the media box plus STB senario. I too will probably wall mount eventually and will put up with the trade off of extra cables etc happily. Enjoy your purchase.

Thanks Moby, I will try those ISF settings once I have my 200 odd hours up (about 20 hrs @ the moment, bugger )

Lavs, I haven't heard any "buzzing" from the back of my 507 as yet. In the manual they do state that some is normal of plasma technology, but of course there has to be an acceptable/non-acceptable threshold/level. Traumatized, I have a powerboard with filtering, surge protection, "brown-out" protection (adjustable) and ariel protection. Brand I think it is a Powerguard Extreme, about 2 or $300...........not sure as it was brought about 18 months ago from our local HiFi shop. I have seen them in HN's also. Cheers, Steve M.

Hi, I have just brought the Pioneer, reasonably happy, some judder. I am trying to find out how to minimise that. I didn't consider the Hitachi because of mixed feedback regarding their panels. (I have now read that they may be pulling out of the flat panel market!!! That's a confidence booster!!!) I had a bad experience with a Metz CRT which if it had a 5 year warranty would still have been covered but as when I purchased it only had 3 year......bummer. They now have 5......... so that was the clincher with the Pio. It was worth the premium price. Cheers, Steve M.

Hansel, great outcome. enjoy your "toy". Cheers, Steve.

Duke, from 4-5 meters it would look "smoother". I have the 507 and sit just over 3 meters from it and it is great