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Pioneer PDP-5010HD Plasma High Definition Television

Pioneer have announced a new range of eight flat panel plasma televisions from 42 to 60 inches which have evolved from Project Kuro. With the launch of these eighth generation plasma TV models, Pioneer is seeking to position itself as a manufacturer of the highest quality products in audio and video.

Pioneer emphasizes their achievements with:

• Deep blacks and rich three-dimensional colors. From newly developed cell structure, crystal emissive layer and newly designed filter. Blacks are said to be 80% darker than the previous generation plasmas.
• Performance of the new video processor and “Optimum” mode that automatically processes images based on the signal and room conditions. Room lighting conditions are detected and fed back into the video processing loop. Different video content (eg. News, cartoons or sport) is also detected and processed in an optimum manner.
• speaker technology for enhancing the high definition sound experience.

Pioneer’s new prototype plasma HDTVs. Both are 50-inch models: one is 9mm thick (yes that’s less than 4/10 of an inch), which makes it thinner than most cell phones, and the other prototype plasma panel has the deepest, darkest blacks I have ever seen on a television, regardless of technology.

The 9mm panel a.k.a. “Advanced Design Concept” was impressive, weighing in at just 41 pounds. Since plasma is a self-emissive technology (each pixel or “cell” illuminates itself with no backlighting required), and traditional LCD televisions require a backlight, it’s possible to make a plasma panel thinner than even the slimmest LCD panel. But squeezing one all the way down to 9 millimeters is previously unheard of and creates a display that literally seems to just float on the wall rather than hang from it. Pioneer had a working prototype on display but no specific pricing or availability estimates.

On cinemascope aspect ratio source material (2.4:1), the black letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the image which were faint yet clearly visible on the Pioneer PDP-5010 were completely invisible on the new panel, blending seamlessly with the deep black darkness beyond the screen.
Some basic details of the new plasma televisions announced are tabulated below.
Brand Model No. Screen Size Resolution
Pioneer PDP-4280HD 42 inch XGA
Pioneer PDP-5080HD 50 inch XGA
Pioneer PDP-5010HD 50 inch 1080p
Pioneer PDP-6010HD 60 inch 1080p
Elite PRO-950HD 42 inch XGA
Elite PRO-1150HD 50 inch XGA
Elite PRO-110HD 50 inch 1080p
Elite PRO-150HD 60 inch 1080p

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