Pioneer may not be prolific in the plasma game, but when a new one does arrive, it always bears cutting-edge gifts. Pioneer by name, Pioneer by nature - and the PDP-435XDE is no exception. This 43in screen boasts one feature that's new to Pioneer - a built-in digital TV tuner - and another that's new to the whole plasma universe - a glassless screen.

The tuner is self-explanatory. The glassless screen isn't. Surely, if you haven't got any glass on the screen's front, all the plasma is going to leak out, right? Well yes - if Pioneer hadn't replaced the glass with a Direct Colour Filter. This highly engineered plastic frontispiece makes the screen lighter, reduces screen reflections, and should boost contrast.

The PDP-435XDE also retains a couple of cutting-edge features found on its Pioneer predecessor: an HDMI digital video input and a PC card slot with which you can check out your digital photos.

Aesthetically the Pioneer is a sight for sore eyes. Not as sore as the two Elle loses in Kill Bill 2, but the screen is pretty darned cute nonetheless! You can even attach the speakers with a gap between them and the screen for a seriously haute couture effect.

Pioneer's plasma pictures have a reputation for being state of the art, and at times the PDP-435XDE upholds this. But not always... Let's start with the good stuff. High-definition sources and our pristine Kill Bill 2 DVD looked superb. Colours are so vibrant that the lurid lighting of Budd's 'My Oh My' club positively jumped out of the screen at us. But this doesn't compromise authenticity - Kill Bill's varied lighting conditions were all handled with total naturalism.

What's more, the image is searingly bright, causing us to reach for our sunglasses as a bloodied Bride emerges from the middle of a huge ball of sunlight as she heads back to Budd's trailer. Kill Bill 2 looked wonderfully clean - free of grain or excessive dot crawl. And thanks to the TV's PureCinema mode, the film's frequent fast movements looked smooth as can be. Fine detail levels are also extreme.

The PDP-435XDE does lack a little black level response however, meaning that we occasionally struggled to make out what was going on in Kill Bill 2's dark bits. We also didn't like the way noise levels increased exponentially with lower-rent sources like a digital or analogue broadcast signal.

That's rich

The Pioneer's audio tone is exceptionally rich. A bit more aggression for our test movie's frequent gunfire would have been nice, but you'll be too busy lapping up the fidelity to notice (or enjoying the set's pictures with a dedicated sound system - what it deserves).

The PDP-435XDE is another fine Pioneer plasma. But it is only truly outstanding with very high-quality sources. Which makes it irresistible as a monitor for a premium home cinema only, rather than a simple TV replacement.