Pioneer KRP 550M v Pioneer KRP 500A Plasma

[spearce8]

Hi,

Set my Heart on one of these bad boys, just a case now of waiting for stock, I'm still though a little undecided on which version I requirer for my needs "A" or "M" there's approx £200 difference, I trust the panels are identical (I read somewhere the meun's are slightly different, but that's it) and it's just the Media box you pay for, obviously.

Don't wanna sound a Lemon, but what exectly is the Media Box for :shrug: I believe it as plenty of Scarts :shrug: I will have PS3, SkyHD and perhaps a dedicated Blu-ray player (all HMDI) and that's it.

[Deron]

Same quality screen aimed at 2 different sets of people.

KRP-500A is the user friendlier version as it has a media box with scarts/hdmi/network connectvity plus built in freeview and satellite tuner.

The box isn't perfect though and is a little slow at going through channels plus it only seems to output 2 channel sound through optical out.

KRP-500M is the monitor version and as such is better connected straight to an amp through hdmi.

It will remember what resolutions you send through the one hdmi connection.

Personally I bought the KRP-500A as it dropped to the same price as the 500-M at xmas and it means I don't need to upgrade my amp to a HDMI one...

I initially had sky+ which was connected through scart but now have SkyHD using the HDMI.

I also have a component connection from my amp which switches between my Wii and and xbox (xbmc). I also have a 360 connected via HDMI.

The choice is yours...but with £200 difference you need to work out of you need the extra bells and whistles of the 500-A...

Connectivity:

500-A

Equipped with an integrated analogue tuner, DVB-T tuner for digital terrestrial TV reception and a DVB-S/DVB-S2 tuner for receiving satellite signals, the KRP-500A is compliant with the EICTA ‘HDTV 1080p Minimum Requirements’ and supports MPEG-4 high definition decoding.

The KRP-500A has 4 HDMI inputs that enable a quick and convenient connection to a broad range of source devices. Equipped for easy integration into your home network, the KRP-500A features a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified Home Media Gallery, enabling you to enjoy compressed audio files, photos and even high definition content from one or more connected media servers.

500-M

2 x HDMI, 2 x Component Video, 1 x RCA Audio, 1 x PC, 1 x Ethernet (for IP Control), 1 x DVi,

[the thing with no name]

shame the 500M only has 2 HDMI's
I know its a monitor and really meant for pro installations, but why cut down from the three on the 5090?

[spearce8]

I thing it's the "A" then

Many Thanks :)

[Deron]

If I had a decent HDMI upconverting amp then I'd probably have got the M...

I can't see me using many of the features of the media box at the moment, but it has other bits on it which may come in helpful later.