Updated: read our full review of the Pioneer KRP-500A.
If this Kuro delivers half as much as it promises, it will be a very special set indeed. Pioneer's latest flagship plasma carries the kind of specification that most other TVs would kill for, and turns them into a picture that, if first impressions are to be trusted, could reset the standard for flatscreen excellence.
The 50-inch panel packs a full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and makes sure every one of them operates to its full potential with some of the most sophisticated hard and software we've ever seen.
The company's own, much envied, Pure Cinema circuitry sits at the heart of everything and is joined by the Picture Detail Settings suite (incorporating DRE Picture, Black Level, ACL, Enhance Mode and Gamma control), plus a whole host of colour management and noise reduction technologies.
Perhaps more intriguing, though, is a clip-on light and colour sensor that monitors the ambient lighting
conditions of your viewing environment and optimises the set's output accordingly.
A flexible and intuitive setup procedure enables you to use any combination of the aforementioned (and many other features too numerous to list) in conjunction with a snazzy and intuitive new operating system to ensure that the picture is tweaked to your precise requirements.
None more black
We were treated to a demo of the KRP-500A at Pioneer HQ and, while it's safe to assume that pains had
been taken to ensure a crowd-pleasing performance, we reckon the set is more or less guaranteed to
leave mouths agape when it hits stores this month.
Ratatouille on Blu-ray looked absolutely amazing, with some of the most uncannily accurate colour reproduction we'd seen outside a cinema.
The resolution and all-round quality of the panel, meanwhile, combine to deliver the kind of exacting detail that must make the people responsible for animating individual hairs or sorting out realistic water spray-patterns feel that all those hours hunched in front of a computer really were worth it.
And the blacks, as we've come to expect from the consistently excellent Kuro range, are awesome.
We'd need to get our hands on a sample and test it properly before making any hard and fast pronouncements on the picture quality, but all the signs are that this is destined to be one of Pioneer's finest ever sets.
And that, in the context of the manufacturer's enviable pedigree with gas screens, is saying a lot. Full review coming soon to TechRadar.
Your comments (1) Click to add a new comment
mandeville
September 23rd 2008
1. I had the pleasure of seeing the KRP 500A up close and personal at a pioneer event laid on at TLC broadcast.
To say i was blown away by the picture quality was an understatement.
where do i start,the picture was set in what is called "pure cinema" mode the picture is nearly bang on broadcast standard "d65" basically the perfect picture settings,this is literally straight out of the box and i know of no other tv that achieves this including the LX5090.
The seperate media box is a great touch,all your kit is connected to it and one lead is then fed to the screen,ideal for installers,the media box can be networked as it has a DNLA connection.This allows custom installers to tweak the tv from the comfort of their office if needed,how cool.
The blacks are so good that watching a typical widescreen movie (with the black bars) in a darkened room the bars disappear,that's how good it is.
i watched the blu-ray movie Transformers and the picture was stunning even standard def tv was quality.
another plus i did notice was that the actual screen was very cool i.e not giving off a lot of heat compared to the LX5090,maybe this was due to a lot of the components being moved to the seperate media box.
I was going to buy the LX5090 but i have now moved to the queue for the KRP 500A,nothing can touch it ,worth every penny.
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