Pioneer SD 533HD5 Rear Projection

Pioneer SD 533HD5 Rear Projection 

DESCRIPTION

It's like magic: everything you watch on this 53"" projection monitor looks fabulous. Broadcast sports, concerts, or specials? The SD-533HD5 delivers a stunning high-definition picture (when combined with an HDTV tuner). Even regular TV will amaze you, thanks to an Automatic Format Converter, which up-converts standard interlaced signals to progressive images, nearly doubling the resolution. Movies on DVD or videotape? Its Reference Theater Mode automatically adjusts key settings (for example, color temperature) for the most film-like reproduction possible. It further enhances movie viewing with PureCinema, a Pioneer technology that recognizes film-based sources and recreates each individual still frame, for a more authentic movie presentation. Also included are a high-end set of connections and a glow-in-the-dark smart remote.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 21-30 of 32  
[Feb 02, 2002]
victor smith
Casual Listener

Mr. Choi should go into the service menu and pick one from "Col A and one from col B" with steamed rice. That will fix the problem! Vic

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 25, 2002]
numznutz
Casual Listener

hey, choi! one bad review per customer.....

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 15, 2001]
Robert
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Awesome picture. Multi-point convergence adjustment. Wooden cabinet, not cheap plastic. Nice Price.

Weakness:

Heavy but that is a minor anoyance.

I have coupled this with an RCA HD reciever. The picture is unbelievable and I was surprised that it surpassed a similarly sized Sony HD set easily. The remote is a little large and is "Glow in the dark" but I have replaced it with the Harmen Kardon TC1000 which is back lit with a touch screen which works very well with set. I have used this with a variety of signal sources including Satelite (DirecTV) - Air (via Antenna) - Cable, Video Tape (Cheap JVC) and DVD (Pioneer DV444 progressive scan) -- In all cases the picture is surprisingly vivid and clear. I have also used the set with an X-Box in high resolution mode which is another way of showing off this beautiful set. I shopped at many stores for the set but was sold on the smaller store that the owner and the sales people really knew what they were talking about. They delivered the system and wired the whole thing up, including re-wiring my existing components to make the whole thing work much easier. They spent the time a big store would not have even spent a fraction of. I heartily recommend the TV and the store both.

Similar Products Used:

As far as big screens a 53" Sony but this is my first HD set.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 20, 2002]
Kelvin Choi
Audiophile

Strength:

Incredible picture quality (for the 1st 1/2 hour after converging the set) for the price.

Weakness:

shoddy quality control, pitiful service and support from both Best Buy and Pioneer. Incredible picture quality (for the 1st 1/2 hour after converging the set) for the price.

Follow up to previous review -

Well, I'm still waiting on an updated converence board. Pitiful. Best Buy, despite me having spent $300 for an extended warranty (translation: profit margin padding) keeps pawning me off on Pioneer saying it is their problem, despite my extended warranty.

In the meantime, the set now resets all it's picture callibrations for all it's inputs to the default settings about every 4 days or so. No, I have not lost power or had any surges. My $10 alarm clock is not flashing, after all, so I am reasonably sure I haven't lost power.

In addition, if I set the convergence with the 72 point setting, within about 1/2 hour, it is WAY off again, to the point that I start to see red and blue halos around edges.

Is this a condemnation of the model? Maybe not, as I am still willing to believe I got a lemon. But it IS a condemnation of Pioneer and Best Buy. If you are going to purchase one of these, or any expensive, heavy item, I can not stress enough how important it is to purchase from a local, reputable, knowledgable, dealer that will offer you personal service and form a relationship with you. DON'T BUY OVER THE WEB OR FROM SOME WAREHOUSE STORE! No amount of money that I have saved is worth the aggravation and annoyance.

From now on, I will never buy any piece of AV equipment UNLESS it comes from George Liu at Audio Visions, in Tampa, FL. There is a guy who knows how to take care of his customers.

Now I have to go find my lawyer.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Jan 25, 2002]
moronski
Audio Enthusiast

meester choi, pleese take your discussion over to the discussion forum, leave the rating forum for ratings. you might get some sympathy. no need to repeet post.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 09, 2002]
g2
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

terrific picture, highly tweakable

Weakness:

none noticed

I shopped/researched very hard for 2-3 months before settling on this model. Getting it home, I was not disappointed. The picture is outstanding and seemingly continues to improve as the set "burns in." Convergence drift is not really an issue, it takes only a couple of minutes to perform the function on the Pioneer, with 72 point convergence accessible in normal user adjustments (not service menu mode like most other brands). I believe most sets, regardless of mfr, have this same attribute in their early life.

Every feature this set has in best in class, e.g., stretch modes, line doubler, connectivity. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

Similar Products Used:

toshiba 50HX, sony 51HW

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 08, 2002]
the Choi
Audiophile

Strength:

Black Level, flesh tones, input flexibility, more "natural" pic

Weakness:

Convergence drifts constantly

This set clearly stands out in the showroom, even especially when it's properly calibrated. But I got this home and quickly noticed that the convergence was off by 1/4" or more at the edges, and in the center. After converging all points (72) for all inputs (4) for all aspect ratios (6) I congratulated myself for a long night of watching progressive scan DVD's. And it was great, as expected, once you turned down the ridiculous contrast setting to flat instead of it's default setting, maximum (annoying and ridiculous).

Next day, the convergence was off just as bad as it had been before, if not worse. I've had professionally converged in diagnostic mode, but the very next day, BAM!

Service people say they have revised the convergence board and added some capacitors, but I haven't gotten the new board yet because I imagine they have a horrible backorder!

buyer beware! I'm more frustrated because the picture is so good for a short period, until the convergence drifts again, which it always does. GRRRR!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
3
[Nov 21, 2001]
Joe Paradise

Strength:

Excellent analog pictures, best I have seen on any HDTV of similar price, excellent line doubler, awesome HD picture quality.

Weakness:

a complete learning remote would be nice, otherwise no weaknesses

I cannot say enough about how impressed I am with this set. Like others, I read the great reviews of the Pioneer SD532-HD5 model, and saw the impressive picture first hand in the store. It clearly stood out among the competition! I seriously considered Sony's latest XBR series but decided that the line doubler for standard signals was clearly inferior to Pioneer and the Sony prices were higher. I decided to wait for this newest model Pioneer with the improved line doubler, 3-2 pulldown, etc, and I have not regretted it for a minute. My only hesitation was perhaps getting the larger SD643-HD5 model, but I opted for the 53" as it was large enough without over-powering the room.

Video quality with Digital Cable is truly impressive, DVD's using a Sony progressive scan player are magnificent, and HD is just out of this world. I am getting HD signals from Comcast Cable that now offers 5 HD channels in my area.

Lots of video/audio options to please almost any enthusiast. Built in sound is quite good, but most impressive with an separate receiver and appropriate speakers.

Now if someone would come up with the perfect learning remote that would end the need for separate remotes to utilize all functions for cable box, audo, VCR, DVD, TV, etc, that would really be great! Any ideas out there?

THIS HDTV IS ABSOLUTELY THE BEST FOR THE MONEY, BY FAR!! I RECOMMEND IT HIGHLY.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 16, 2001]
Dan Espersen
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Nice user features especially the convergence capability
Crystal clear pictures

Weakness:

non- lighted remote-glow in the dark

Recieved my new set about a month ago and hooked it up to my surround system and dvd. Awesome picture with the dvd. I'm even running the dvd without progressive scan and the picture is still crystal clear. The screen options are a nice feature, cinema, full wide etc. lots of room for fine tuning the viewing enviornment. The only weakness I can see is the non lighted remote. I know it glows in the dark but its always nice to have an led staring out at you in the dark, easier to see. Overall I'm very happy with this set. I purchased it after a few months worth of studying and found that the past reviews on the older model were very favorable versus Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi, etc. So I went with the new model. Tech support is very good at answering any questions you might have concerning setup etc. Overall very pleased with this product.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 15, 2001]
Bart Hubbard
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Excellent setup (72-point convergence), pictures settings stored for each mode, high-quality scan converter

Weakness:

none found so far, except the weight

I purchased this HDTV set to replace my ailing 27" Trinitron. I researched rear-projection sets for 6 months, and determined that the qualities I was looking for were:
- size less than 58" (due to room size)
- HDTV capable (no tuner needed, yet)
- component input and Dsub15 input
- deep setup menu, allowing full tuning w/o need of service mode
- at least 3 additional audio/video inputs with Svideo

The SD533HD5 fulfilled all of these qualities nicely. I had settled on the 532HD5, but read that the newer 533HD5 would be released soon, and waited until October for it. Both sets compared very well in the showrooms against Toshibas, Sonys, and Phillips sets. The Pioneer HD5 series had a picture at least as sharp, and slightly more sharp than many other sets.

The clincher for the SD533HD5 for me was the Pioneer's rep's insistence that this 533 incorporates many of the internal components (including scan converter) from the Elite PRO-510HD. I have not verified this, but as the 533 is the same price as the 532, I can see no reason to go w/the newer model.

I don't use the built-in speakers much, but they do sound very nice. They have a surprising frequency range for a television.

My picture is driven by:
- my DSS receiver connected via Svideo; I can see the difference in compression between the channels, now, but the scan conversion is overall very good
- an old Sharp VCR; I totally hate watching videos as their graininess and static are more apparent on the large screen
- a Toshiba 4700 progressive scan DVD player connected via component cables; very, very nice picture - DVDs in real widescreen on this set make it hard for me to go to the movies and pay $8, now
- a Sony PS2 running Gran Turismo 3 in widescreen mode; Incredible! I don't run this much, to preserve the screen

No complaints, I heartily recommend this set.

Similar Products Used:

Compared against Pioneer SD-532-HD5, Pioneer SD-582-HD5, and Pioneer Elite PRO-510HD

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 21-30 of 32  

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