Kuro beats Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD

The Sharp Elite is an LED backlit LCD panel available in both 60" (PRO-60X5FD) and 70" (PRO-70X5FD) sizes. The Sharp Elite is THX certified and it has 216+ LED local dimming zones. Back in January 2011 Sharp licensed Pioneer's "Elite" brand name which explains why the Elite logo on the bottom of the TV looks so familiar. CNET reviewed the Sharp Elite PRO-X5FD and compared its picture quality to the "legendary" 2008 Pioneer Kuro Elite. Here are some choice quotes from the review:

"The Kuro still produces a better picture overall"

and

"The only TV that's better is the long-discontinued Pioneer Kuro"

and

"You'll see better blacks from the Kuro"


CNET also said that the Sharp Elite's color accuracy fell short of the Kuro. It is amazing that 3+ years later no TV has matched the picture quality of the Kuro. Maybe 2012 will be the year that the Pioneer Kuro is bested? You can read the full CNET article here:

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/sharp-elite-pro-60x5fd/4505-6482_7-35004013.html

Will the Kuro be dethroned in 2011?

Three years later the Kuro 9G is still the HDTV king of picture quality and black level. In the fast moving world of consumer electronics how is this possible? How long will the Kuro's reign last? I don't know but CNET has an article titled "Will any 2011 TV best the 2008 Pioneer Kuro?"

• http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20034816-1.html

I agree with the author in that 2012 may be the year that the Kuro's performance is finally bested. Just think, the Kuro 12G would be released this year if Pioneer had stayed in the HDTV business. It makes you wonder what could of been.

Kuro beats Panasonic G20/25

It has been a sad 15 months since Pioneer canceled the Kuro 10G and said it was leaving the plasma TV market. Well, technology keeps marching forward, or does it? Panasonic recently released its 2010 series G20/25 plasma TV's. According to this CNET review:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20004882-1.html

The 2008 Kuro 9G still beats it when it comes to picture quality and black level. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Panasonic G20/25 is a fantastic TV but come on. It has been 2+ years since the initial release of the Kuro 9G, which is like forever in the tech world, and the competitors still can't beat the Kuro. Maybe 2011 will be the year when the Kuro gets to pass the torch?

PDP-5020FD vs. PRO-111FD

The Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD and PRO-111FD are 50" versions of the 60" PDP-6020FD and PRO-151FD plasma displays. The 50" Kuro panels are smaller, about 45 pounds lighter, and consume less energy than their 60" counterparts. The feature differences between the Elite and non-Elite models are exactly the same. See the PDP-6020FD vs. PRO-151FD comparison report for details.

MSRP

• PDP-5020FD 50" - $3500
• PDP-6020FD 60" - $5500
• PRO-111FD 50" Elite - $4500
• PRO-151FD 60" Elite - $6500

The step up from a 50" to a 60" panel costs +$2000. The step up to an Elite model costs +$1000.

For current street prices check out the Pioneer Kuro 9G store.

PDP-6020FD vs. PRO-151FD

How do the Pioneer PDP-6020FD and the Elite PRO-151FD differ? Both are 60" second generation Kuro 1920x1080p plasma HDTVs. They use the same electronics and the same 9G plasma panels so picture quality and major features are basically the same. Most of the differences are minor but one is very major:

differences:

• the PDP-6020 has a bottom speaker while the PRO-151 has side speakers for better stereo separation
• the PRO-151 has an aluminum plated, learning, backlit illuminated remote control
• the PRO-151 an external color sensor for use with the optimum mode
• video processing controls of the PDP-6020 have been removed so
  
• the PRO-151 is ISFccc calibration ready with independent RGB gamma controls
• DRE, black level, ACL, color space, color temperature, 3D Y/C comb filter, and 4 noise reduction controls have been removed on the PDP-6020
  
• the PRO-151 has 3 more A/V selection memories
• panel dimensions are the same without the detachable speakers, with speakers attached the PDP-6020 is 3" taller while the PRO-151 is 8" wider
  
• the MSRP of the PRO-151 is $1000 more expensive

The most significant difference is the lack of configurability of the PDP-6020's video processing picture quality controls. Those firmware controls have been removed. So for an extra $1000 the picture quality of the PRO-151 can be calibrated and more finely tuned.

For current street prices check out the Pioneer Kuro 9G store.

Blackerness

"Pioneer pushes ever closer to their goal of absolute black by further reducing the idle luminance and improving black levels five times over the previous 2007 KURO models." The result is Blackerness. Take a look at Engadget's Blackerness photo comparing the black levels of Panasonic, Samsung, Sony plasma and LCD displays with the 8G & 9G Kuro. From the photo, here is the black level ranking with some measured luminance values in fL (foot-lamberts):

1. Pioneer Kuro 9G - 0.001 fL
   
2. Pioneer Kuro 8G - 0.004 fL
   
3. Panasonic plasma - 0.008 fL
   
4. Samsung plasma - 0.026 fL
   
5. Sony LCD - 0.032 fL
   
6. Samsung LED LCD - ? fL
   

The Kuro's ranked on top and all the plasma's beat out the LCD's when it comes to having the best black levels. The two LCD's were photographed slightly off-axis which accounts for their gray backgrounds. LCD's black levels quickly degrade when viewed off-axis.

It is interesting that the Sony CCFL LCD has a better black level than the Samsung LED LCD which is last years 81F model. Many reviewers said that the Samsung LED backlit LCD had an on-axis black level (fL luminance) that rivaled the Kuro 8G's.

vs. Kuro 8G improvements

The 2008 second generation Kuro plasma HDTV (9G panel) is an amazingly beautiful sight to behold. It is an incremental improvement over the previous Kuro 8G series and here is a list of the changes:

improvements:

• 5x deeper blacks for improved contrast ratio
  
• black level luminance changed from 0.004 fL to 0.001 fL
• all models have a native 1920x1080p resolution
  
• panel is 1.2" thinner and 10 pounds lighter
• new redesigned remote control
• improved Graphical User Interface (GUI)
• clear-QAM tuner
• HDMI 1.3 now with Deep Color support
• three more aspect ratio settings (Auto & Wide modes)
• inputs labels can now have custom names
  
• automatic 3:2 pulldown @ 60Hz for PureCinema 72Hz mode
• non-Elite models have light sensor for optimum video mode
• non-Elite models have DLNA Home Media Gallery (HMG) via Ethernet and USB
• energy save modes
• energy star compliant (less than 1W standby)
• MSRP is $1000 less

features removed:

• one of the YCbCr component video inputs has been removed
• TV Guide On Screen Interactive v9 removed
• cableCARD slot removed
• video processing controls removed on the non-Elite models
• one of the analog NTSC tuners has been removed
• one the RF antenna inputs has been removed

Many of the new features are very nice and useful. The main disappointment is the removal on the non-Elite's of the video processing controls (gamma, noise reduction, DRE, black level, ACL, ...).