After following the "42 plasma recommendations" thread I went for the Pioneer 436 which arrived on Thursday

I was well chuffed with it until I tried to arrange Sky HD installation and was told there is a datastream imcompatibility issue between the Pioneer plasmas HDMI input and the Sky HD box

The interim solution is to use component input but (notwithstanding the drop in quality) I have heard that Sky HD is stopping component output later in the year due to copyright issues

I recall the outcry when a couple of years back Panasonic broke their promises to resolve HD issues with their earlier panels.

Question is, does it really matter, if so do I demand a refund from John Lewis or trust Pioneer will find a solution?

hi bosh,
thats odd because a friend of mine has got that model and has no problem im sure. i will ask which exact model he has, meanwhile which model code no: do you have. im sure forum members would have mentioned this problem or perhaps its a very recent thing.?
regards, scotty

Hi Bosh,

I have set-up a pioneer 436xde with a Sky HD box with no problems at all. Working with both the brands i would have had notice from either/both company regarding any issues.

I must confess that i'm not using the "cheapo" HDMI that comes with the box rather a QED Qunex HDMI lead, but am certain that this would only increase picture quality instead of solving an incompatibility.

As for demanding a refund i would pull in the reigns on those horses at the moment.

How is the HD box connected to the pannel at this point ?

Did you remember to enable the HDMI connection within the Pioneer's menu (you would not be the first who is not aware that this needs to be done on some of the inputs)

Hope this helps , please post any further results

Cheers

Martyn

Its all on the pioneer website here:

http://pioneerhdblog.com/

Hi Boosh,

Have just read the blog, and having a moan about not being on Pioneers "most dealers" list , one of my chaps said he remembers a letter of some description , needless to say he is now being forced to listen to the best of bros on repeat !!

It does seem that Pioneer are on top of it and i have no doubt that it will be sorted soon.

In the mean time component is really very close to HDMI quality albeit without the digital audio , not much cheer but....

Regards

Martyn

bosh, my friends got a sxe model but not connected to sky but telewest digibox and its ok
can you change from sky to cable?
scotty

I have the 436SXE and have no problems whatsoever connecting to sky HD.
I have read on other forums that this can be probematic, but as I say, mine works a treat - strange

Gary

Actually thinking about it, when I select a HD programme, the screen momentarily goes blank, then a grey screen appears, which looks and sounds like a TV with no aerial connected, before the picture pops up. The whole process only takes about two seconds - I'm not sure if this is normal or not?.

It only does this the first time a HD programme is sellected and doesn't do it again until the sky box is turned off.

Gary

I have a PDP436RXE connected to a Sky HD box via HDMI and the picture is excellent. The only problem I have is the picture drops out for a second or so when you switch between HD and SD channels. Other than that it is superb.
John

Hi.
Its not just Pioneer plasmas that have a problem with sky HD , it (almost certainly) killed the HDMI input on my Sim2 HT300 projector.Here's a good place for info http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=261
Cheers
Trevor.

I havent got Sky HD yet I was just going on the advice of the installer who said they had been instructed not to connect HD boxes to the HDMI input on the Pioneer panels.

Scotty - Unfortunately we cannot get cable (or Freeview) in our area so are stuck with Sky

Trevor - I wondered if it had affected other manufacturers product and your experience would seem to confirm it does and therefore Sky will hopefully be more motivated to come up with a fix/solution

John/Gary - Pioneer have stated they will repair any (Sky HD) blown HDMI inputs FOC whether the panel is in or out of warranty but I wonder how many instances they have encountered and whether this will be honoured in the long term

Pioneer have just released a dealer up-date to confirm that they have now fixed the issue.

You need to register on their website or through the HD blog. They will then arrange to come out to your home at a time suitable for you and resolve the problem.

Regards

martyn

Just seen the 436 Pioneer's replacement in my local high street, think it's called a 427?

Wow!

Hope this doesn't have the SKY HD problem, but it's stunning!

We have just had it in , it's amazing how much better they get each generation, i'm a little dissapointed that they have finished with the media boxes.
Guess wall mounting just got a lot more messy.

regards


martyn

quote:

Guess wall mounting just got a lot more messy.

You could always buy something like this:

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_isvp30.php

Allan.

Hi Allan nice bit of kit.hows your humax ? you can do so much with that box and a 80c dish and a dragon cam.regards munch

Hi munch,

Unfortunately I'm not using the humax to its full potential as you are doing but it's still serving me well for the occasional BBC-HD viewing. I've demonstrated it in my home-cinema system to a couple of visitors who have been so impressed that they are both planning on buying one.

Allan

Bosh, I had a similar problem with my hd box but with a different screem, Sky didnt help much,
in the end a complete re-install got the hand shaking working. Make sure you turn every thing off especially the sky box for 5 minutes,re-connect all cables and then power up once more,might work, did for me.

i have the 52" pioneer (52xde i think) and have no problems with HD, i have not got around to upgradeing the HDMI cable yet but there is plenty of time.