newbie ? 434HDE and freeview

welshy

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I understand this may have already been covered but their are so many posts here it's hard to take everything in.

I want to buy the Pioneer 434HDE but want to watch freeview. I know the plasma comes with an analogue tuner but how do I watch freeview? Do I connect the freeview box to the Pioneer plasma's media box? But wouldn't this make it analogue? I don't have a freeview box yet because I have a 36" Panasonic IDTV but I know I will have to buy one.

I have the Pioneer DVD757AI and VSX-AX5i connected via iLink. How best should I connect the DVD player and a freeview box to the plasma for best picture quality and reception?
 
Hi,

To get the best Freeview picture, connect it using RGB Scart to the media box. Unfortunately there aren't any digital tuners with HDMI yet, so they only output an analogue signal. Connect your 757 by component to take advantage of progressive scan. Hope this helps.

Steve
 
Welshy,

Exactly as Steve says - easiest connection is vis RGB scart - exactly the same concept as an IDTV except that the tuner is "external" - it will work exactly the same way as your Panasonic.

If you buy the Pioneer Freview box (about £80) the remote will operate all of the Plasmas main functions out of the box (Power, Channel, Volume, Mute, Input) so you can put the (very nice) Pioneer Plasma remote away in a drawer!

My own recommendation however would be to buy the Sony Freeview box which is not only faster than the Pioneer but also comes with a far superior remote, which once you've entered a three digit code, will also operate the plasma functions - so you'll have one remote to operate all the main "TV" functions.

It's an elegant solution which gives a very transparent integrated "TV" experience.
 
Thanks for the help :)

I've not had a proper chance to view the screen yet though. We don't have any specialist AV stores near Bangor, North Wales. Curry's do have the 434HDE in their store but only with analogue TV (they can't get digital because of the mountains) and the quality was very poor (they do feed the same signal split to all their hundred TV's though!).

Can anybody comment on the quality of reception to this screen from freeview?

Thanks.
 
Probably not really related, but I saw a demo of the 434HDE at the weekend running Hi-def TV, and i can not even begin to explain how good the picture quality is. It was in a hi-fi shop, and a DVD of Skrek was running next to the hi-def demo on another TV, and I have to say that by comparison, Shrek looked positively grainy. I had no idea plasma screens were so hi-res and such good quality. Trust me, never beleive a useless TV demo in currys - they always make plasma's look awful.
 
Welshy

Have seen the 434 in Allders of Bromley being fed via a freeview box. 434 was alongside Hitachi 42pd3000 and some Sony model, and the Pio looked the best to my eyes anyway. Very good quality picture.
 
Neil, if you think hi def is good on the 434hde, you should see it on a real plasma, the scaling is all to cock on the 434.
 
Maw: Please explain your all to cock comment.
 
Hi def is 720 or 1080, the screen/media box has to scale this, it's not wonderful at it. Ideally you'd use an external scaler to do this, but the screen won't let you, it only accepts 720p as a digital signal, you are just as well off in practice with 576p from a digital source. Yes there's more info in a 720 signal, but the screen is still chucking the same percentage of useful info away, you need to use a panel which can accept native res from it's DVI port. HDMI restricts this to the resolutions defined by the interface specification. If you are truly a PC nut, you will appreciate the finer points of this.
 
Originally posted by MAW
Neil, if you think hi def is good on the 434hde, you should see it on a real plasma


:boring: How tiring is this getting? MAW, you're starting to sound like a console fanboy continually slating a product (the Pioneer HDE's) :D The proof of the pudding is in the eating and not the technical specs. IMO, the HDE's have enough positive points to more than outweigh the negatives.

Yes I have one, but only after demo'ing a number of screens including the Panasonics.
 
My post about watching and connecting freeview to the 434HDE has turned into scaling (don't even know enough about it to be worried) and HDTV (as if we'll ever see it within the next 2 years at least anyway)? Remember I'm a newbie and I need simple answers :lesson: Thanks anyway, I appreciate the technical help but it's all over my head I'm afraid :confused:

My mate won a £100 on the horses but by the time the story past through 5 other friends before getting to me it was a £1000 :D
 
I appreciate your viewpoint Messiah, and I have been known to say it's a good screen, fine for the original poster's intentions. Just hi def is never going to be it's forte, it's a good TV, that's all. Not to mention it's so far ahead of everything else when it's turned off they mostly look like a joke beside it. I'm sure it's at least half of it's success.
 
isnt that pretty much the same though with anything that is not a true hi-def panel. if we had hi-def then theres no point buying anthing less than a 1280x768 panel.

Maw take it the 504 fares better?


sorry no more off topic

anyhow Messiah youve got that splendid S3 for hi-def:thumbsup:
 
They all scale, there are NO native hi def panels. But as there's no real hi def over here in any case, what does it matter at the moment. Be nice if there were, like projectors. You can buy a native PAL projector, a 720 projector, there is a Samsung 74" screen on the way which is apparently 1920x1080, ie 1080 ready, but it's £40k or something silly. The problem with all HDMI plasmas is that you are stuck with the panel's scaling as HDMI only supports a very limited number of resolutions, none of which are plasma native, so you always end up scaling in the plasma, and if you're not smart about it, scaling twice. But all irrelevant to the folk who buy the HDE in the main, they mostly buy it cos it looks so smart. And of course it's very easy to get pretty good pictures with too, it's the last 5% that's hard.
 
Maw: What are your recommendations for a sub 50" screen & why you would recommend it, and what source for dvd and off air TV scaling.
 
Not quite true that there's no hi-def available in the UK. There's Euro1080 (see the hi-def forum), but for a better choice of material you can buy (from CRT Projectors) or import a JVC d-theater player with quite a decent selection of movies. Mine plugs directly into my much-reviled Sony plasma and the results are truly awesome. Going back to DVD after that is very disappointing, though...
 
Bernard, I have seen euro 1080, nothing wrong with the picture, absolutely amazing, it's merely the content which is not there yet. As you are no doubt painfully aware, the choice even for you is pretty limited. the selection of movies is not quite what you'd find in your average blockbuster, and as the 'next gen' hi def format is so vague at present, they are not likely to pursue anything to vigorpusly till the dust has settled a bit. Unforntunate, perhaps Blu-Ray will rescue us.
 
Yes, totally agree with all that. According to a story in the new Widescreen Review, Columbia (Sony) will start issuing movies in Blu-Ray late 2005/early 2006 in the US, by which time players should be available there. Still no real resolution over competing formats, apparently.
 
Originally posted by MAW
.... And of course it's very easy to get pretty good pictures with too, it's the last 5% that's hard.

Exactly :) I think it's because that last 5% is so hard that many of us take the best 95% option. Otherwise you're in to diminishing returns (of time, effort and money).

Gandley - yep. The S3 handles Hi-Def from the HTPC just beautifully.
 
Originally posted by Bernard Barnett
Not quite true that there's no hi-def available in the UK. There's Euro1080 (see the hi-def forum)

Just goes to show what you learn from these forums and also goes to show how little I know.
 
And Hi def TV has a whole forum to itself! There's nothing on, can't see what they're talking about. It reminds me of Jeremy Clarkson in Belgium, and a popular pastime called 'S**t yourself rich', involving a cow and a grid marked field, betting on the results. Happy to say my Sundays are better spent!
 
Originally posted by MAW
They all scale, there are NO native hi def panels. But as there's no real hi def over here in any case, what does it matter at the moment. Be nice if there were, like projectors. You can buy a native PAL projector, a 720 projector, there is a Samsung 74" screen on the way which is apparently 1920x1080, ie 1080 ready, but it's £40k or something silly.

Maw,

does this mean therfore that the Hitachi 5000 which is 1024 x 1024 will scale down to 1080 for those of us in Oz who have HiDef TV?

Lewdannie
(eternally plasma commitment phobic)
 
Er, it will scale but as the 1024 lines are not addressable by any mortal being, it seems unclear what scaling goes on. The panel thinks of itself as 1024x768 so whether the internal video software knows different I couldn't say. PC nut, my choice of screen, money aside would be the Panasonic PHD6. It has all the depth of black of the PW6, but XGA res. Yes there are issues with it's DVI, it's HDCP compliant but doesn't like PAL video. I'd still have it, and connect with VGA to the scaler. If intent on a digital connection, I'd go for the new Pioneer, but it won't have the contrast still.
 

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