Pioneer outlines KURO plasma exit, insinuates that you should buy one now
By Darren Murph 
posted Mar 24th 2009 3:02PM
posted Mar 24th 2009 3:02PM
[Via Slashgear]
posted Mar 24th 2009 3:02PM
The estimated percentage of cellphones that were recycled in 2007.
The EPA estimated that of the 126.3 million cellphones disposed of in 2007, only 14 million -- about 10 percent -- were recycled. The rest? Landfill heaven. (source: EPA, July 2008)
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very sad. the end end of an era. those kuros sure were beauts.
LN52A650 FTW!
You're an idiot if you actually think a 6-series Samsung LCD can even approach the color accuracy, black levels, and overall image quality of the Kuro line.
Darn shame to see these things go. Hopefully Panasonic will keep working on their Viera plasmas, as they'll be the best once the Kuros are gone.
Seconded, the Kuros were the best TVs on the market BY FAR.
If I had the money, and if I didn't get an XBR4 for free, I'd definitely get one before they stopped production.
I had a 52A650 before I got my 111FD last week. They each have their strengths and weakness but the Samsung is also a very good set.
@DWells55
Actually, it depends on which you mean by 6 series.
The new 6 series (UB6000 / 61000) that are LED backlit are as good as 8th Gen Kuro blacks, and a better picture than a Kuro if you're in a room that actually has strong lighting, say, a living room.
They could feel OLED is coming and decided to run away before its too late... smart move, Pioneer, smart move.
My 60" kouro is certainly one of my most prized possessions, but Im a bit worried about the continuation of aftersale coustomer assistance: I never needed to use the guarantee (fingers crossed) but in some occasions I did need the help of the hotline.
Let's hope that Pioneer does'nt forget us.
I'm pretty sure mine has rgb...i have the Kuro5020, also have the xbr2 sony LCD - yeah its old, but not as old as my sony rear proj LCD kdf 55 we655. I definitely like the kuro for movies, black level is sick but the heat that thing emits combined with the ps3 can keep my first floor warm. Next up will be OLED when it comes out. Call me crazy.
RIP Kuro.
Sad man... just sad. I bought a 37" Plasma LCD for our small living room, but I had plans of buying a 50+ Pioneer Kuro once we built the bigger room over our garage. So much for that!
"Plasma LCD" eh...
Which one is it, Plasma or LCD?
I meant Panasonic LCD - not Plasma LCD. That's just silly!
Gotta love your Kuro. Mines never gets old.
I LOVE my 50" Kuro!
Blu-ray, PS3, even SD looks amazing on it!
Worth every cent!
Did I win? This is today's giveaway, right?
i think i would cry in happiness if i won one of these... Engadget?
I just hope Panasonic can get their hands on some of their technology, and keep the great plasmas rolling out for a few more years till OLED tv's start being mass produced. Nothing compares to these Pioneer plasmas currently, and it would be shame to see great engineering go to waste.
Amen, dandmcd.
If Pioneer is strapped for cash, let's pray they want to unload some of that Kuro tech they're no longer using on Panasonic, or whomever the highest bidder may be.
My Kuro stands up to the $40,000 reference monitor we were using at a high-end post-house in Hollywood. It's really that good. People who think modern LCD is about as good... well, they should buy that LCD, crank up the saturation and have a party. To each his own. But I really hope there's something Kuro-like to buy when I need another TV.
With LCD innovations and the future of OLED, Plasma going to become obsolete.
Crap, even DLP is better than Plasma now that LED backlit versions are available.
Someone doesnt have a kuro..
ROFL @ Ry
Actually, DLP is better if you include the Mits LaserVue.
while i completely agree that OLED will become the future, the tech isn't there yet it's crazy expensive. Plasma is probably the best right now, and the Kuro's were the best of the plasmas. sad to see them go.
and i'm not sure you know how DLP's work... it's not really a "backlight" like with LCD's, there is a lamp that shines through a spinning color wheel, and the colored light gets reflected off a chip with millions of tiny mirrors and projected onto the screen to form pixels.
Never looked into these, but I thought they were ok. Turns out they were.
Oh well, Samsung is good.
I'd like to see how Mitsu's LaserVue tv compares with the Kuro....not that I can afford either one at the moment.
@ OneLove- lol
@ Eric (first response)- lol
@ kjb434- lol
Heck of a going away comment party for the best tv to be released fellas. This recession= alot of the best technology sinking and the cheap/inferior stuff rising...RIP rapid technology progression.
Cheap stuff always sells well. I'd say it's more of a case of the high end stuff falling than cheap stuff rising. But I suppose that's just semantics. Either way, times are tough and the Kuros are expensive. Deeper black don't mean shit when you gotta pay the bills.
So they're killing the KURO and jacking up prices on all their pro audio gear? Nice one, Pioneer! The economy's in the shitter and you're concerned about fleecing more consumers.
Oh no what ever shall we do!
Buy Samsung's televisions of course.
Samsung. Here we come.
Samsung sucks, it's as simple as that. have not seen one I like. It's too bad the Kuros are going. Maybe I should buy one because it might be a long time before a 50" OLED is even close to affordable.
Pioneer Kuro is like the Bose of Plasma TVs
What a terrible analogy.
Good analogy, especially since Kuros are sanely priced and actually live up to their hype, just like Bo - hey, wait a second......
My wife just bought me a 5020fd from Amazon a few weeks ago for $1949 w/free shipping. She has known of my unrequited love of the Kuro line for a while now and after I told her about Pioneer announcing their defection from plasmaland she surprised me with the Kuro. Hell of a price she paid, too. I love the hell out of it; it's my 3rd HDTV after a Panny CRT, then a Sharp Aquos LCD. The Kuro beats the snot out of anything else I've ever seen.
Meh, they looked good, don't get me wrong, but I don't think they are as good as the Samsung Series 9 or XBR8. True, it's all a matter of taste, and I'm aware of the "plasma is what it's supposed to look like" crowd, but I just think the latest LCD's beat the Kuro's by a mile. I like the picture quality better, and yes, I think brighter whites look better and more realistic on LCD than washed out whites on plasma. White is bright in real life, especially in the sun, not dull like on plasmas. Black levels impress me only to a certain point, I'm more interested in having a 3D life like looking image (without wearing glasses), which the latest LCDs provide.
My Kuro can handle whites just fine, although with the wrong settings the whites can look dull, but the same can be said for any tv.
No offence, but sounds a lot like you're trying to justify your LCD purchase. I own a KRP-500A, I only decided to purchase it after the poor guy in my local home theatre store physically moved every LCD and plasma panel for a "vs showndown" with the Pioneer, it beat everything on everything. Including my own sources. The old arguments about plasma burn-ins are moot and old and plasmas have LCD licked on _everything_ other than energy efficiency and quite frankly that's a piss poor agument.
I think this review says it all really:
http://www.avforums.com/reviews/27/Pioneer-KRP-500A-50inch-Kuro-Plasma-Review.html
"The old arguments about plasma burn-ins are moot "
People say this all the time these days, yet I see plasmas with burn-in on a regular basis. We have one here are work that only a year or so old and it has burn in.
I don't own an LCD or a Plasma btw, I own an old 53 inch CRT that I'm hoping to soon replace. I have been looking at, adjusting in store and reading reviews for LCDs and Plasmas for two years straight, looking for the best one and waiting for the right price. I have decided on the Samsung LN52A900 series after extensively viewing it's preceding LCDs and plasmas and then viewing it for an extended period if time. I like the XBR8 best, but I can't afford it and likely never will be able to. I have seen professionally calibrated plasmas and Kuros (playing Blue Ray, Hi def cable, digital TV etc) at multiple stores, I have seen them in the same store as LCDs, side by side and across from each other. I have looked for hours and hours, walking between TVs, and I'm telling you, the latest LCDs, in my opinion, have a better color quality and image "depth."
This is all opinion, but there is one thing I do know. My girlfriend could give a crap about TV quality, never notices the difference in anything ever all these years. After she saw the XBR5 (a while ago) then the Samsung 9/XBR8 series, she commented that she'd never seen anything look "so real" before lol.
Couldn't have said it better. Yes, in a perfect world with a perfect room the Pioneers are nearly impossible to beat, which is what all the reviews have stated. But in a normal viewing environment, especially if you have windows and natural light present, I would rather have an XBR8 or A950. LED-based LCDs offer world class picture quality without requiring a theatre room, and are as good as we're going to get now that Pioneer is stopping production and until OLED is actually a viable option. Still, though, it's sad to see a company that was so good in their field have to bow out.
Hands down the BEST flat screen I have ever owned!
I SO wanted to get a Pioneer 2 years ago when I was in the market for a Plasma. I was even willing to pay the $1000 premium. But none of their models had a VGA port, and that was a deal-breaker. I ended up with a Samsung instead and it has been completely... satisfactory. Sigh. (Samsung was actually my 3rd choice. Hitachi was my 2nd, but they didn't offer VGA either.)
You clearly didn't do your research. I have a 5070HD that I bought in I believe 2006, and a 4280HD that I bought in 2007, both have VGA ports on the back. The input on the remote is labeled PC, even the new ones still have this. I'm sorry you missed out on one of the best tv's ever produced.
I have to add my condolences here. I've had CRT, Trinitron until 1.5 years ago. Until the 1st gen Kuro which I believe is finally good enough. I've seen the 2nd gen Kuro and they are nothing short of amazing. Have just seen the latest sony LCD and those LED backlit ones and the Kuro is clear winner. And on SD, it is no competition, I think my 1st gen Kuro will still be better than even next year's LCDs.
I don't know about ppl here, I still have 90% of TV viewing in SD and I'll say it isn't just plasma which makes Kuro the winner. It is the Pioneer signal processing that makes Kuro such a versatile TV. Some may bark at whatever LCD *could* be better. Well, they are utter rubbish when you watch normal SD television.
It is a shame. RIP Kruo plasmas. I'll watch mine everyday thinking of what could have been...
@Seneca, your having a laugh, no LCD can touch the Kuro range esp the KPR range for PQ, in fact even the best of the other Plasmas lag behind when it comes to PQ and I do not own a Kuro(can't afford to spend €3,000 on a 50" TV). The PQ of the Kuro when playing a blu-ray dvd or a PS3 game is just amazing, I have yet to see any other TV come near esp LCD's which while improving still leave a lot to be desired esp when viewing sport programs or indeed any SD feed.
Too bad, I really wanted to buy a Kuro in a year or so
Glad I got my 50" when I did... Sad to see a great set being retired, but with OLED around the corner and LCD
getting better and cheaper it might have been the right move.
Why so sad? Now's the time to grab all those Kuro display models at BB for huge discounts! I'm picking up a 111fd at the local BB for $2K. The only risk you take is potentially not getting product support, which I'm willing to take.