Event Coverage

Pioneer Kuro Launch - Black As Night

By Kenny Yeo & Andy Sim - 22 Oct 2008

The Night Beckons

The Night Beckons

Held at Park Royal Hotel, Pioneer's launch of their new line up continues to tempt the senses with the launch of three new Kuro panels and three new Blu-ray players. The three new panels come with even more punch as they are now able to deliver black levels five times deeper than the previous 2007 models. Based on what we could discern and the reactions of others at the event, it definitely wasn't just propaganda on Pioneer's part.

 Glitzy enough for you? It was for us!

 Pioneer launched three models for their Kuro series, the KRP-550A (50-inch), KRP-500m(50-inch) and their flagship KRP-600M (60-inch). The ninth generation of KURO PDPs looks set to water the parched mouths of AV enthusiasts not just with their 64mm slim looks, but their delivery of black levels and color reproductions. Now all we need is the cash to afford one and we're set for life (well, till 2009 where they may possibly introduce a new model with even darker blacks).

 It can be a little hard to discern with this small image, but the latest KUROS has an Optimum Mode feature which tweaks the image quality on the fly such as its hue and sharpness levels based on the room's lighting conditions.

 Pioneer didn't want us to distinguish the TV's bezel during the BD playback on their KUROs, and we duly did not. With their new Direct Color Filters and proprietary drive systems, the image sharpness and black levels are laudable enough to murder someone for real.

Last but not least are the BD players that go with their new plasmas - the BDP-51FD, BDP-LX71 and BDP-LX91. All three units will cart the Motion Adaptive IP Conversion and Triple High Definition Noise Reduction Circuit features. Translated from geek-speak, it amounts to a smoother picture quality with lower noise levels. All three players support Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS HD and DTS HD Master audio formats.

 Out of the three new models, only the BDP-LX91 BD player supports BD-Live, which does leave us somewhat disappointed. Also, the new BD players will carry Pioneer's newly designed GUI interface which displays A/V CODEC information, which is a nice touch on their part.
 

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.