Will a scaler give a big improvement?

[newavfan]

Hi,
Sorry to be a newbie but here goes..
I currently have a Fujitsu 50" 58EB (cost £3k 18 months ago) & by all accounts, even though its only HD ready not 1080p, its still the best panel because of its processing power. These are forum reader comments, not mine.

I watch sky HD, both HD & SD programmes, which makes up 90% of viewing.

I want a plasma on my kitchen wall, so I am in the market for a 2nd one.
One option is to move the Fujitsu into the kitchen & buy a better one for my main viewing. However I am struggling to understand what's the best route.

One suggested option is a Panny pf10 (1080p) with a scaler.
Another is the Pioneer LX508D, but I hear the £1500 cost over the pf10 is not worth it.

Does the pf10 need a scaler at all for my needs?

Can anyone tell me the 'real world' effect on pq a scaler can do for me & which is the best route.

I want to know the improvement on my current viewing habbits. Gaming is not important & having blu ray may become important next year but neither are essential.
Thanks for your help.

 

[Avi]

Hi,
Sorry to be a newbie but here goes..
I currently have a Fujitsu 50" 58EB (cost £3k 18 months ago) & by all accounts, even though its only HD ready not 1080p, its still the best panel because of its processing power. These are forum reader comments, not mine.

I watch sky HD, both HD & SD programmes, which makes up 90% of viewing.

I want a plasma on my kitchen wall, so I am in the market for a 2nd one.
One option is to move the Fujitsu into the kitchen & buy a better one for my main viewing. However I am struggling to understand what's the best route.

One suggested option is a Panny pf10 (1080p) with a scaler.
Another is the Pioneer LX508D, but I hear the £1500 cost over the pf10 is not worth it.

Does the pf10 need a scaler at all for my needs?

Can anyone tell me the 'real world' effect on pq a scaler can do for me & which is the best route.

I want to know the improvement on my current viewing habbits. Gaming is not important & having blu ray may become important next year but neither are essential.
Thanks for your help.

A video processor aka scaler does more than just scale. Many of the benefits come from functions that allow the display to be calibrated i.e. grayscale, white point, colour temp etc to higher degree than is possible with its native controls in many cases. The VP also allows different types of conversion and processing that may be of benefit to some users more than others. The later is usually more beneficial with interlaced input esp film. Again performance can vary between VP's with some being better with SD material and some being better with HD.

Both of the panels you mention are very good but the PF10 is aimed at the commercial market and as a consequence doesn't have some of the TV reception hardware/processing of the Pioneer. That said you can connect your Sky HD direct via the optional HDMI blade and it will work just fine. If your planning on watchng lots of film material at 60hz the Pioneer has the ability to process this to avoid 3:2 judder but you would need to add a VP to the PF10 to achieve the same. Other differences come down to the raw panel in terms of contrast, black level and colour. Also product style may be a consideration and I think the Pioneer has the advantage here.

Cheapest option is the PF10. You could add a VP at later date if there are areas of performance that you don't like after extended viewing assuming they can be addressed via a VP.

Best to see them in the flesh if you can.

AVI

 

[newavfan]

Thanks AVI.
I dont want the tuner the Pio has as I have sky & can't get freeview.
Which of the two (pf10 without a VP & the Pio) is better for watching HD & SD from sky?
Cheers

 

[Avi]

Thanks AVI.
I dont want the tuner the Pio has as I have sky & can't get freeview.
Which of the two (pf10 without a VP & the Pio) is better for watching HD & SD from sky?
Cheers

How do you define better ? The PF10 direct to you Sky HD box may produce a great image. The VP will typically provide greater calibration options but do you have the tools and knowledge to make use of this ? If not then you will need to pay a specialist to take advantage of these extra features.

I recommend a demo of the displays with a range of familiar material to see what looks better to you. A VP will not overcome the limitations in display technology such as contrast, black level etc. I don't know enough about these display to know if one is better in what key areas than the other.

If it turns out you prefer the PF10 why not try it without a VP first to see how you get on ? There are different VP's so again you need to be clear on what you want to establish what models best fit your needs.

AVI