Popular Science’s Best of What’s New 07 feature review of the Pioneer Kuro does not hold back praise. Popular Science named the Pioneer KURO the Home Entertainment Category Grand Award Winner stating “The company completely redesigned its plasma technology to produce the sharpest, most vivid picture you’ll find on any TV.” Perhaps it is Pioneers success with rejuvenating plasma technology that is behind Matsushita’s (Panasonic) plans to expand and strengthen its plasma display panel products.

The Pioneer KURO PDP-4280HD, PDP-5080HD, Elite PRO-1150HD and Elite PRO-950HD plasma HDTVs are all WXGA (1365 x 768) resolution with a 16:9 Wide-Screen Aspect Ratio. If in doubt about choosing between the WXGA or 1080p resolution models it might help to consider that the human eye has a hard time distinguishing between XGA and 1080p at around three meters from the screen. Also, at the moment the sources for 1080p video are limited including the Blu-ray and HD-DVD formats.

The Pioneer Elite KURO models 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

The Pioneer KURO XGA resolution plasma HDTVs all have superb contrast ratios of 16,000:1. Contrast ratio, which is defined in part by the black levels which can be produced, is commonly considered the most important aspect of picture quality ahead of color saturation, color accuracy and resolution. Pioneer’s Kuro (black in Japanese) Project focused on improving the depth of blacks which could be produced by their plasma displays. They achieved success by lowering the priming charge (required for quick response times) to phosphor cells thereby reducing its “graying/lightening” effect. Other contributors to more intense black levels are improvements to the Direct Color Filter and the front filter film replacing glass to overcome multiple reflections occurring between the front filter glass and the plasma panel.

Other improvements Pioneer has made from previous plasma 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 new version 3 Direct Color Filter further minimizes light reflections under high ambient light. Attached as a film directly to the front of panel, it ensures a wide horizontal viewing angle without any mirror or reflection effects and also improves black intensity.

New Crystal Emissive Layer

The new crystal emissive layer has a new cell structure including a new electron emission source material to both speed electrical discharge and improve the pixel blackness between frames. Black luminance is now about one fifth of previous models. This the primary reason for the impressive 16,000:1 contrast ratio of the XGA resolution KURO models.

Deep Color

All Pioneer’s KURO plasma HDTVs implement the new xvYCC color standard (short for Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications). The xvYCC color standard provides an extended gamut (color space) supporting some 1.8 times as many colors as the existing sRGB color space. The larger range of colors that can be produced gives the plasma displays a more lifelike or natural appearance due to the size of the color palette being closer to that of the human eye.

Deep Color term refers to the use of 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color in flat panel displays - an increase from the 24-bit depths of previous HDMI specification versions. 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

Unfortunately, high definition displays magnify any image defects which may include noise and image artifacts caused by poor video processing. Image defects commonly masked by lower resolution displays are apparent on HDTV displays. Image noise and artifacts can be introduced through the compression required to pack hundreds of channels within limited transmission bandwidth or during de-interlacing which is required to convert NTSC or PAL interlaced signals to progressive-scan for digital display. As a consequence of these factors, video processor performance is increasingly important to picture quality.

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. Improved performance is delivered by the tailored chip design.

Video processing technologies bundled with KURO plasma’s include:

• Film Smooth Motion Mode for 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 judder (awkward movements) during conventional 2:3 pull-down conversion for smoother movement between frames.
• A Noise Reduction System for minimized 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 for automatic processing of images based on the signal and ambient light conditions.
• 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

Newly developed twin 17W speakers and an integrated digital amplifier have been included by Pioneer in their KURO plasmas. Their focus has been 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

Pioneer KURO models come with an excellent range of connection options including four HDMI, a couple of component-video, USB for use with the HomeGallery feature, PC VGA port and a CableCARD slot.

Other 1080p Plasma HDTVs to Consider

Pioneer KURO PDP-20FD Series | 50 - 60 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Pioneers latest plasma offering with exception black levels now 5 times darker, 72Hz mode for smooth playback of 1080p24 (24 fps) cinema sources and Pioneer’s Home Media Gallery.

Pioneer KURO PRO-1FD Elite Series | 50 - 60 Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Premium Pioneer plasma HDTV series with same specifications as the KURO PDP-20FD models but, with additional picture calibration options and ISFccc calibration ready.

Samsung Series 7 | 50 – 63 inch 1080p plasma HDTV

Samsung series 7 plasma HDTVs are the premium models of Samsung’s range. Dynamic contrast ratio is 1,000,000:1. Standout features include an Ethernet port, DLNA Certification, Pre-loaded Content Library and MPEG4 + XviD video files playback.

Samsung Series 6 | 50 – 63 inch 1080p plasma HDTV

Samsung Series 6 plasma HDTVs have the distinctive Touch of Color styling, Infolink RSS feeds of customizable stock quotes, weather and news briefs, 4 HDMI connections and 15W speakers. Samsung’s Ultra FilterBright glare reduction reduces picture degradation from ambient light.

Panasonic VIERA PZ850U | 50 – 65 inch 1080p plasma HDTV

Top series of 2008 Panasonic range of plasma HDTV models. The Panasonic VIERA PZ850U models come with VIERA CAST Internet TV (IPTV), 30,000:1 contrast ratio, 24p Cinematic Playback for smoother motion, Digital Cinema Color for accurate color reproduction, Pro Picture Setting Menu, and Studio Reference Mode for pictures just as the director intended. Sound system features four speakers with 2 Woofers and BBE VIVA HD3D sound enhancement technology. There is an SD Memory Card Slot for Photo Viewer/Gallery Player.

Panasonic VIERA PZ800U | 50 – 65 inch 1080p plasma HDTV

The PZ800U models have THX Certification – not available with the PZ850U models. The PZ800U models have the same specification as the PZ850U models apart from lacking VIERA CAST IPTV Capability, Studio Reference Mode, Pro Setting Menu, AVCHD/MPEG2 playback, H.264 codec and Digital Cinema Color.

User Reviews and Price Comparisons

Check Amazon for competitive prices and read the first hand customer reviews.

Pioneer PDP-5080HD 50-inch 720p Plasma HDTV

PRO-1150HD Elite 50-Inch PureVision HD Plasma TV

Pioneer PDP-4280HD 42-inch 720p Plasma HDTV

Extended Service Plan

Resources

Pioneer KURO - 50 inch PDP-5080HD, Elite PRO-1150HD and 42 inch KURO PDP-4280HD, Elite KURO PRO-950HD XGA Resolution Plasma HDTV Review

Technorati Tags: Pioneer KURO, plasma technology, WXGA, Pioneer Elite KURO, priming charge, Direct Color Filter, Deep Color, CEC control, Crystal Emissive Layer, xvYCC color standard, extended gamut, posterization, Video Processing, Film Smooth Motion Mode, Noise Reduction System, Optimum Video Mode, 3D I/P (Interlaced/Progressive) Conversion, High-definition Resizing, integrated digital amplifier, WOW sound technology, TruBass