Pioneer's Next-Gen Plasmas
Pioneer has just announced eight new plasmas the company claims are built around so-called "game-changing technology." The 42-, 50- and 60-inch sets will be split evenly between the Pioneer brand and its higher-end Elite label.
The game Pioneer claims to be changing is the handling of black levels, which affects the color and detail you see on-screen. According to Pioneer, the new plasmas achieve deeper black levels than anything before them, which translates to richer and more lifelike colors. We happen to agree.
Two 50- and two 60-inch models drop in September and will deliver high-definition in full 1920x1080 resolution, meaning they can display your 1080p Blu-rays and HD-DVDs without losing a pixel. Even more impressive is the amazing 20,000:1 contrast ratio –- those black levels Pioneer is bragging about -- which doubles the 10,000:1 achieved by most of today's plasmas. The Pioneer 50- and 60-inchers will go for $5,000 and $6,500 respectively, while the Elite 50- and 60-inch models command $6,000 and $7,500 price tags.
If you can't wait until September, some slightly lower-end (though still amazing, and still very expensive) sets arrive in June and July. These 42- and 50-inch models deliver content at a less impressive resolution of 720p with a contrast ratio of 16,000:1 -- a step down from the higher-end sets but still enough to out-pace just about any other plasma on the market today.
The Pioneer 42- and 50-inch sets will sell for $2,700 and $3,500 respectively, while the Elites will go for $3,200 and $4,500.
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