We covered the news that Pioneer shuts down TV production back in February and today Pioneer Japan revealed a number of details about their radical move [JP]. In short: There will be no more Kuro plasma TVs from May this year. Pioneer calls it quits after 12 years of plasma TV production.
Pioneer is making two Limited Edition Kuro HDTVs available to lucky Euro A/V trash this Holiday season. It seems these editions are simply the KRP-500A with a different color bezel options. They sport the same external set-top box style input receiver, extreme black contrast ratio and the rest of the stellar Pioneer specs. Only 1,000 KRP-500ABG beige models and 1,500 KRP-500AW white models are going to be produced. No word on price yet, but it will probably be higher than the standard edition.
Let’s start with a quote:
The Elite KURO Signature Series PRO-101FD (50-inch class) and PRO-141FD (60-inch class) monitors are now shipping for the suggested price of $5,500 and $7,000, respectively.
50 inches of pure black Kuro for $5,500? Where do I sign? Pioneer is launching two new high-end monitors – probably for retail and design use – that offer monstrous blacks in a monitor the size of a small child. You’ve got 4 HDMI 1.3 inputs, 1 DVI input, and a before/after settings monitor that allows you to compare monitor settings while tweaking things.
These things look hot as heck. I would totally do all my blogging on a 60-inch Kuro, given the option.
The new KURO line of TVs from Pioneer have one thing in mind: blackness. I’m okay with that. They say that the new line of KUROs has blacks several times deeper than the last line, though at this point I start wondering whether we’re getting diminishing returns; one can only see so much black. I think it’s a “see for yourself” kind of thing, and I look forward to it. They also have ambient light sensing capability and a few sound modes, although I don’t trust my TV to do anything with my sound.
Update: A separate press release for their “absolute black” monitors is here, but to be honest I see very little difference between the monitors and the HDTVs, since the hardest specs in the release are “near flawless” and “pristine.” The monitors have TBA prices, which probably means “expensive,” so they probably have better color reproduction.
Pioneer announced this morning that they will be expanding their KURO initiative into projectors. The Elite KURO projector will be full HD (1080p) and features a wide lens shift capacity and support for HDMI 1.3. Only serious home theater buffs need apply next month since the projector will go for $9,000.
Product Name: Project Kuro
Description: 50-inch flat panel display that weighs a mere 41 pounds and is the thinnest panel at 9mm.
Price: Concept
In-store date: These fully-operational concept televisions will not be commercially-available in 2008.
Site:
Why it’s cool: It’s cool, but it’s a concept so don’t get your hopes up just yet.
Wow. Pioneer is trying a little too hard to advertise its Kuro line of HDTVs. Pioneer’s plasmas are usually fine, so its “look how great they are!” is a little troubling. The Kuro line is split in two: the Kuro and the Elite Kuro. Both are available in 42-, 50- and 60-inch models, but none of them are 1080p. Hmmm… Strange, considering it’s 2007. Both models have the usual suspects like HDMI 1.3, but Pioneer is really pumping the hell out of how black their blacks are. We get: more black equals more gooder.
Maybe someone should tell Pioneer that no matter how many bleeding advertising firms it hires (that eye is creepy not cool, guys), it’s gonna have a hard time selling 720p sets to our technology-rabid readership. It’s like trying to sell us a solar powered flashlight. 1080p or bust.
Kuro [Pioneer]
