Fujitsu Plasmas

[G-Man72]

Can anyone tell me if the fijitsu plasmas are any good, because one of the salesman in a certain West Midlands AV shop said that they are far superior to anything else and they only sell fujitsu and hitachi plasmas.

He recons that pioneer pay a lot for advertising in the various magazines which means that the reviewers are worried that if they give a pioneer set a bad rap they will start to pull their advertising from that particular mag!!!

I was going to get a pioneer 436xde but now I really dont know what to get??

 

[Bacus]

Can anyone tell me if the fijitsu plasmas are any good, because one of the salesman in a certain West Midlands AV shop said that they are far superior to anything else and they only sell fujitsu and hitachi plasmas.

He recons that pioneer pay a lot for advertising in the various magazines which means that the reviewers are worried that if they give a pioneer set a bad rap they will start to pull their advertising from that particular mag!!!

I was going to get a pioneer 436xde but now I really dont know what to get??

Get a 436XDE !!

 

[Joe Fernand]

Hello G-Man72

The salesman was on the right track until he mentioned that he also sold Hitachi

Giving a 'blanket' thumbs up to every product by a single manufacturer is a big no no - especially in the world of PlasmaTV and Plasma Display.

Fujitsu have some excellent products for the Home Theatre market and they also have some products that I'd personally use in the Corporate world but not necessarily in a Home Theatre system.

In terms of Home Theatre then the P50XHA40US, P55XHA40US and P63XHA4US are very good - these use a Progressive pixel array not the ALiS interlaced pixel array used by Fujitsu (and Hitachi) on a lot of models.

If your looking to go smaller than 50" then there are NEW Panels from Fujitsu on the way that made a first appearance at the recent Bristol Sound and Vision Show and they looked very good.

The P50XHA58ES and P42XHA58ES are due to arrive with Dealers in the next couple of weeks and will be available as 'stock' items by late April/early May 06 - I'm not sure how wide spread availability will be as these models are part of the Fujitsu 'Custom Install' range.

Best regards

Joe

PS I wonder how many products your friendly 'salesman' sells that don't have a national advertising campaign backing them up - selling kit that doesn't appear in the National press is mighty tuff!!!

 

[gIzzE]

To be fair to the guy he is not far off the mark, the Pioneer has always done well in the UK and the US but never that well in other markets in comparision, however, the 436/506 range are very good screens and are deservedly doing well.
The only Fuji that is good is the 50" version that uses Panasonic glass and its own processing, the others use Hitachi ALiS glass and are pretty poor in comparison.

So depends what screen size you are looking at as to whether he is talking cobblers or not. But look at it this way, would you expect to walk into an Audi dealer and hear the sales guy rave on about Mercedes??

Only you can decide, to be fair you can't even listen to people on hear, I stopped posting my views a few months ago as I got sick of being bombarded with people telling me I was wrong, I was only commenting on the screens I had owned and spent alot of time with, and I would get people who had only ever owned one screen telling me theirs was the best.
What I am trying to say there is, choose who you listen to very carefully, everyones new toy is always the best thing ever!

 

[G-Man72]

Thanks guys you seem to both know what you are on about.

the salesman was also the installer and he was saying that he has installed so many pioneers as well as fujitsus that he thinks that fujitsus are better but like you say he aint gonna recommend something he doesnt sell but he has said he will do me a really good deal on a 50 inch fujitsu, wall mount, pioneer VSX-AX2AV-S, a good speaker pack, install and calibration.

Plus he seemed the most genuine salesman i have met!!

 

[AV Junky]

Thanks guys you seem to both know what you are on about.

the salesman was also the installer and he was saying that he has installed so many pioneers as well as fujitsus that he thinks that fujitsus are better but like you say he aint gonna recommend something he doesnt sell but he has said he will do me a really good deal on a 50 inch fujitsu, wall mount, pioneer VSX-AX2AV-S, a good speaker pack, install and calibration.

Plus he seemed the most genuine salesman i have met!!

Oh, I bet he did!

Seriously though, I would bet that Joe has sold two for every one that your guy in W Mids has. Why not write down the package that you've been offered and then ask for a like-for-like quote from some other specialist suppliers? Easiest way to tell if you've been offered a good deal or not.

 

[gIzzE]

If it is the 50" screen, P50XHA40US, it is in a different class to the Pioneer 506XDE, but do a search for prices on here as I know someone payed £3400 and that was quite a few months ago so prices have probably fallen a fair bit since then???

 

[redpavlos]

Well, I'm very happy with my Fujitsu 50" having lived with it for almost 3 months.

Among the most natural looking pictures you can get on a plasma with an internal scaler.

Always good to judge with your own eyes though, and on a range of sources.

 

[g852]

The fujitsu's are very good screens. Do a search, it's been asked before. A certain HornyDragon will confirm....

 

[plaver]

If it is the 50" screen, P50XHA40US, it is in a different class to the Pioneer 506XDE, but do a search for prices on here as I know someone payed £3400 and that was quite a few months ago so prices have probably fallen a fair bit since then???

Sorry to jump in, I am also looking to purchase the 506 as well but the Fujitsu is fast becoming my first choice, you mentioned that the Fujitsu is in a different class could explain and do you know if they can with a seperate media box and removeable speakers. Any comments would be much appreciated.

 

[Joe Fernand]

Hello risky3301

Fujitsu have two models you can consider - both use the same 1366x768 pixel array (sourced from Panasonic).

P50XHA40US - detachable loudspeakers and no Media Box - see http://www.fujitsu-general.co.uk/products/homecinema/fujitsu_hcproducts_p50XHA40US.html

P50XTA40GS - detachable loudspeakers and a Media Box - see http://www.fujitsu-general.co.uk/products/homecinema/fujitsu_hcproducts_p50XTS40GS.html

As per my previous post the NEW P50XHA58ES is on the way and definitely worth considering too.

I'd always advocate the no Media Box route as you then have the flexibility to 'upgrade' the system with an external Video Processor at a later date.

Best regards

Joe

 

[gIzzE]

You need to see them both running yourself really, as soon as you do you will see what everyone means.
The Fuji looks like a big CRT where as the Pioneer definitely looks digital in comparison, the way the fuji deals with motion compared with the Pioneer makes all the difference, the Pioneer can look breathtaking with some scenes, but these are usually close ups of people or panoramic shots and for this the bigger gaps between pixels give a really sharp look to the picture, compare this with a Panny commercial screen or a Fuji where the pixels are slightly bigger but the gaps between them are far smaller and it can look softer, but when you study the image there is no loss of detail and the fuji/panny screens look far more analogue and film like than a lot of others, this however is not everyones preference.
But when you start to get movement the real differences start, the way the Fuji handles and processes the source is far superior to the Pioneer TV's, alot smoother and more like watching film, which you could never say about the Pioneer.

Fuji have a screen that has a media box, but I don't know anything about it I am afraid, Joe probably does though?
But I would consider getting a panel and an external video processor anyway, far better results and you can update it as and when new ones arrive. However if you do go that route I then think the Panasonic is a better screen than the Fuji, plus you should save a few quid with the Panny.

 

[gIzzE]

He beat me to it!!

 

[redpavlos]

Sorry to jump in, I am also looking to purchase the 506 as well but the Fujitsu is fast becoming my first choice, you mentioned that the Fujitsu is in a different class could explain and do you know if they can with a seperate media box and removeable speakers. Any comments would be much appreciated.

Mine is the one with the media box.

I've posted comments about this previously, but it's got very flexible connectivity.

What is right for you depends partly on your sources and where the AV kit is in relation to the screen.

On the media box I currently use two Scarts for RGB (or component), hdmi, dvi, and analogue component. Very occasionally, S-video and composite video too.

All connected to the panel via a single 20m powered DVI cable, so saves a whole lot of cabling.

The door is still open for me to try an external scaler sometime, but it's not a burning issue for me right now.

The speakers are 'extra', but I chose instead to go for a separate sound system that I'm also very happy with.

 

[plaver]

Three quick responses thanks guys, Can any of you explain the difference between
Media Box
external scaler
external Video Processor, sorry being a little thick

My number ONE want is least number of cables that feed DVD/Ditigal TV etc to the screen because I intend to install the screen on the wall and so the least amount cableing the better which is one reason for going with the 506 and media box.

One other question, I am based in Essex (Hornchurch) do any of you know where I view the Fujitsu, I seen the 506 a number of times so I know how good it is.

The one comment that is really turning me the Fujitsu is 'The Fuji looks like a big CRT'

BTW my curent set-up is below

 

[hornydragon]

Thanks guys you seem to both know what you are on about.

the salesman was also the installer and he was saying that he has installed so many pioneers as well as fujitsus that he thinks that fujitsus are better but like you say he aint gonna recommend something he doesnt sell but he has said he will do me a really good deal on a 50 inch fujitsu, wall mount, pioneer VSX-AX2AV-S, a good speaker pack, install and calibration.

Plus he seemed the most genuine salesman i have met!!

Can i ask which dealer you were dealing with? there arent many in the W Mids, I would have thought they could offer you a good deal on the whole package as well as a quaity instalation and back up after the fact, was the calibration he mentioned ISF calibration or just him tweaking the screen by eye. Big difference between the two so worth checking on what he meant before agreeing a deal

 

[gIzzE]

AV-Sales in Kent, Tunbridge Wells, may have the Fuji screen set up, PM Alistair Collie and ask him. They have it at £4.5k at the moment though, so ask him his best price and have a hunt round to see what they are going for, they seem to be up and down all the time.

Media Box is a box that has all the inputs and TV tuner in and sends it all to the screen with one cable.

Video processor and scaler is the same thing, they deinterlace and scale but they do so much more than that so people are starting to called them by their proper name now, Video Processors.

This really does the same thing but usually no TV tuner in it, just very high quality processing. You can sen the screen the exact resolution that your screen needs and therefore bypass the cheap processing that is built into the screen to get a far superior picture.
However the reason everyone loves the Fuji is it uses its AVM processing which is very, very good, because of this if you are going to use an external scaler I would consider the Panasonic 50PHD8, the Fuji uses Panasonic glass but the in built processing is not as good, but if you are going to use external processing it doesn't matter.

I actully prefer the Panasonic to the Fuji when using an external processor, and when I bought mine I could have got the Fuji for £40 less, but the PHD range is the most CRT like screen out there. The Fuji is a little brighter than the Panny but at the same time it has this slight digital feel to it, better than any of the other plasmas out there but the Panny still wins for me.

If you want to see a Panny set up and can be bothered to come up the M11 into Norfolk I am about 1h45mins away from you and you are more than Welcome to see my set up.
Panny 50PHD8 with a Crystalio scaler.

 

[hornydragon]

I agree with gzlaroc with a sclaer the panny is stunning without the fujitsu internal processing puts it ahead of the panny bypassig the internal processing as much as possible with an external processor its a very close call until recently fujistu were only available stock in silver which put some off, fujitsu has better warranty and higher price so its up you at the end of the day but there is still something very special about a Fujitsu

 

[redpavlos]

Three quick responses thanks guys, Can any of you explain the difference between
Media Box
external scaler
external Video Processor, sorry being a little thick

Each plasma (or lcd) is made up of a particular pixel display structure. Generally, this will be higher resolution than the structure of an SD signal, and may also be different to that of HD signals too.

It's therefore necessary to convert incoming picture signals to a format suited to the display, and this is what a scaler does.

Each plasma/lcd has it's own built-in scaler. This can be a complex process to perform well, so there is a niche market in external scaler boxes that give better results than the simpler built-in processing used in most displays.

A 'media box' is simply a box that contains a range of input connectors and feeds an output to the display panel - rather than fitting all the different connectors to the panel itself.

 

[G-Man72]

Can i ask which dealer you were dealing with? there arent many in the W Mids, I would have thought they could offer you a good deal on the whole package as well as a quaity instalation and back up after the fact, was the calibration he mentioned ISF calibration or just him tweaking the screen by eye. Big difference between the two so worth checking on what he meant before agreeing a deal

The dealer is Sound Academy in Bloxwich and he says it will be ISF calibration, plus he will also calibrate all the audio too which I will need doing also.

they will also so a survey of the room to see where the best setup for everything to go and he will channel all the wires in the wall.

So the install will be very professional!!!!

I am amazed at the number of responses so far and I only posted this morning!!

 

[hornydragon]

Didnt know they did ISF calibration...

 

[G-Man72]

Didnt know they did ISF calibration...

what do you know about them M8??
any good, honest, reliable??

 

[hornydragon]

just know of them never used them, i thought i knew of most of the ISF calibrators in the UK, Didnt know they did it. HAd a look at there website and the prevoius installs are all rather bland and boring but tht might just be the people who let them take pics....

 

[damo_in_sale]

The P50XHA58ES and P42XHA58ES are due to arrive with Dealers in the next couple of weeks

Do you know the likely proce of the P42XHA58ES Joe?

 

[G-Man72]

Just had a look at their website too, not very good is it!! lol

I see what you mean by bland though.

Do you know of any other installers in the area then?