» Pioneer KURO PDP-5010FD 50 inch and KURO PDP-6010FD 60 inch 1080p Plasma Displays

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Editor's HDTV Pick

HP 47 inch MediaSmart 1080p LCD HDTV "Out of the box" digital media platform. Enjoy videos, pictures and music from home network + digital media delivered over your broadband Internet connection + 3 x HDMI

The Pioneer KURO PDP-5010FD and PDP-6010FD are both full 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080) having a 16:9 Wide-Screen Aspect Ratio. The only difference in specification between the PDP-5010FD and PDP-6010FD plasmas is the difference in screen sizes.

Pioneer have placed emphasis on black through all their marketing literature for their KURO plasma full definition TVs. KURO means black in Japanese,. Pioneers’ contention is that black gives each color greater definition, additional shades, more depth and the sharpest details.

Improvements Pioneer have made from previous models include HDMI 1.3 with implementation of the Deep Color and CEC control support that this version provides. There have been further efforts put into reducing the possibility of burn-in effects. Not only does the KURO come with a built-in digital tuner, it also has a second to enable users to record a digital broadcast on a DVD recorder while viewing another digital broadcast. Pioneer’s has an illuminated remote control - important for dark home theaters,

Direct Color Filter III

Pioneer’s Direct Color Filter (version 3) further minimizes light reflections in high ambient light conditions. Attached directly to the front of panel, the filter assures a wide horizontal viewing angle without any mirror or reflection effects.

New Crystal Emissive Layer

Pioneer’s crystal emissive layer has a newly developed cell structure including a new Electron Emission Source material to speed electrical discharge and improve the pixel blackness between frames. Black luminance is now about one fifth of previous models. This a primary reason for the impressive 20,000:1 contrast ratio of these 1080p KURO models.

Deep Color

Pioneer’s KURO plasma full HDTVs implement the new xvYCC color standard (short for Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications). The xvYCC color standard which provides an extended gamut (color space) which supports some 1.8 times as many colors as the commonplace sRGB color space. The larger range of colors that can be produced gives the plasma displays a more lifelike or natural appearance as it brings their color palette closer to that the human eye can perceive.

Deep Color term refers to the use of 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color in flat panel displays which is an increase from the 24-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification. The extra bit depth is actually required to reduce the chance of posterization which can occur with extended color gamuts such as xvYC. Posterization occurs when part of an image with continuous graduation of tones is replaced by a number of regions of fewer tones. It looks somewhat like tidemarks between distinct steps in color. The effect is sometimes referred to as false coloring.

Video Processing

Video processor performance is having a continually important part in assuring picture quality. Unfortunately, high definition displays magnify any image defects which may include noise and image artifacts caused by poor video processing. Image defects masked by lower resolution displays are evident on a HDTV. Image noise and artifacts can be introduced through the compression required to pack hundreds of channels within limited transmission bandwidth or during deinterlacing which is required to convert NTSC or PAL interlaced signals to progressive-scan for digital display.

Video processors de-interlace and scale video signals to fit native resolution however, they also have algorithms to improve image quality and remove any noise or artifacts. Pioneer’s newly revamped video processing engine includes an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) (an integrated circuit customized for a particular use) instead of relying on a general purpose one. The tailored chip design gives improved performance.
Some of the video processing technologies included in the KURO plasma’s include:

• Film Smooth Motion Mode for providing smoother movement when reproducing 24-fps film material. It works by generating intermediate video images to boost the frame rate to 60fps (frames per second). This technique suppresses awkward movements (judder) during conventional 2:3 pull-down conversion to achieve smoother movement between frames.
• A Noise Reduction System to minimize block noise which commonly occurs in moving images (small dot-shaped mosquito noise artifacts along the image periphery). It also minimizes noise from compression and definition conversion as well as analog video noise.
• Optimum Video Mode which automatically processes images based on the signal and room conditions (ambient light).
• 3D I/P (Interlaced/Progressive) Conversion produces clear video images by eliminating comb-shaped noise commonly seen in scrolling text and smoothing jaggies along diagonal lines.
• High-definition Resizing for reducing noise generated when a 1080p video signal is converted to 1365 x 768 or 1024 x 768

Audio System

Pioneer have included an integrated digital amplifier and newly developed twin 17W speakers in their KURO plasmas. They have focused on delivering improved linearity in amplitude and less low range distortion.

SRS WOW (includes TRU-BASS, 3D and FOCUS)

Pioneer’s KURO plasmas have SRS Labs’ patented WOW sound technology by. WOW improves the dynamic audio performance of twin speakers by expanding the size of the audio image and improving the perception of low frequency sound (action flick’s deep rumbles).

TruBass

TruBass enhances bass performance, restoring the perception of low frequency tomes by using the harmonics present in the original audio source to recreate the low bass frequency information. It delivers the perception of deep, rich bass up to an octave lower than the physical low frequency limitations of small, medium or large speakers and headphones.

FOCUS

FOCUS lifts the dialog out of the sound mix and elevates the sound image, creating the perception of image height. Where speakers are located below the height at which viewers will be listening the sound field produced can be raised electronically.

Connectors

Both the Pioneer KURO PDP-5010FD and PDP-6010FD come with an excellent range of connection options including no less than four HDMI, a couple of component-video, USB for use with the HomeGallery feature, PC VGA port and a CableCARD slot.

Further Reading

The Pioneer KURO PDP-5010FD and PDP-6010FD have a higher specification sibling, the Pioneer Elite KURO PRO-110FD Plasma television which was recently judged a 2008 International CES Best of Innovations Design and Engineering Award honoree in the Video Displays category. Competing consumer electronics products are judged by a preeminent panel of independent industrial designers, independent engineers and members of the trade press. The most impressive products in each category are selected as honorees.

The Pioneer Elite KURO PRO-110FD and PRO-150FD 1080p plasma displays have additional features including:

• ISFccc Calibration Capability
• further color management options
• more extensive video noise reduction capabilities
• a LAN (10/100 Base-T Ethernet) connection

User Reviews and Price Comparisons

Have a look at the competitive prices and user reviews at the following online retailers.

Pioneer PDP-5010FD 50-inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Pioneer PDP-6010FD 60-inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Pioneer 50 Plasma TV - 50 - NTSC, ATSC - 16:9, 4:3 - 1920 x 1080 - HDTV

Resources

Pioneer’s Message regarding outsourcing

Pioneer KURO PDP-5010FD and PDP-6010FD Plasma Television Specifications

Technorati Tags: KURO, Deep Color, Video Processing, SRS WOW, TruBass, International CES Best of Innovations Design