PDP-5070HD Calibration and Measurements

I used the Sencore ProColor 5000 to calibrate the PDP-5070 and the Colorimetre HCFR to create the pretty graphs you see below. The fist order of business was to measure what the default settings were doing to the set.

Dynamic RGB                            Dynamic Color Temp

As you can see, under the Dynamic setting the red and green line up nicely but the blue is pretty far out of wack. The big problem, of course, is that this is torch mode as evidenced by the literally off the charts color temp. Wow, if you want to experience burn-in, living with this setting and a couple of static images would surely do it.

Game RGB                                    Game Color Temp

Similar RGB graphs give way to a still hot Color Temp graph under the Game setting. I guess if I were playing Doom or something equally dark this might be ok but it is still way to hot for normal viewing.

Movie RGB                                      Movie Color Temp

The Movie setting exchanges the blue emphasis for a red one and lowers the color temp all the way to a dead flat 5500k. This is pretty dark but should reduce eye fatigue in a really dark room.

Standard RGB                                Standard Color Temp

Alright, we are getting more normal here but still there is a blue emphasis with a fairly flat color temperature around 7800k (too high for our 6500k target). On a whim, I decide to engage the Low setting on the Color Detail (which says it accentuates the red). My thought is that it might balance out that little bit of blue emphasis and perhaps lower that color temp a bit. This is what I got:

Standard (low) RGB                      Standard (low) Color Temp

Basically, I ended up with the Movie setting except for the red being a little closer to the green and blue and the color temp a smidge higher. I decided to start with this as my baseline and adjust from there. Well, without going into the service menus, the calibration options on this display are really non-existent (though as many will tell you, accessing Pioneer's service menu is not too difficult). I maxed out and bottomed Color and Tint with no significant effect on the measurements. The only thing that really made a difference was the Color Detail (as noted above) so experiment with that setting to see what looks most natural to you. I went with Color Detail set on low as it wasn't as torched out as the other settings while retaining a fairly tight RGB graph.

One interesting thing of note is that all these settings are locked (you can't adjust the brightness, contrast, etc.) EXCEPT for Standard. Standard is a global setting that you can change. User, on the other hand, is an input specific setting that you can set for each as you wish. This means you can make your adjustments on User and replicate them for each input with minor changes or you can find an overall setting that you like and just adjust it under Standard. A nice option in my opinion.

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

Perfect Score is 130
Pioneer PDP-5070HD Benchmark Score: 75

* The fist score is with DNR or MPEG DNR off, then Low, Medium, and High.
**The first score is with PureCinema off, then Standard and last Advanced.

Comments on HQV Testing

As you can see, there was little difference between the Noise Reduction settings of Off/Low/Medium while High made a huge impact. Also, the PDP-5070HD passed the Film Detail and 3:2 pulldown tests with the PureCinema on (either setting) but failed the Horizontal scrolling text test (something I haven’t seen anything fail before). An interesting result. Overall, the display scored well and should make a good primary display.