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The HD Guru puts Pioneer's Pro-111FD plasma to the test
You've got to respect the effort that Gary Merson, a.k.a. the HD Guru, puts into his TV reviews. Thorough and technically savvy, he relentlessly exposes the weaknesses of displays passing through his lab. His latest review is a showdown between two 50-inch plasmas vying for the top, the new Pioneer Pro-111FD and the Panasonic TH-50PZ850U. We've long heard about these 9th generation Pioneer plasmas, the last to come off of Pioneer production lines, so our eyes perked up at the comparison. We won't spoil the outcome of the "two plasmas enter, one plasma leaves" showdown (and that pesky $1500 price difference between the two units is significant), but we will say that the Pioneer lived up to the Kuro name by displaying blacks too dark for the Guru to reliably measure with his test gear. Oh, and the 10th generation promises to be darker still.
Pioneer intros 2008 Signature Series Elite KURO monitors
Not content with just busting out a new pair of Elite KURO plasmas, Pioneer has separately introduced four 1080p Pro models for those with (even more) exquisite tastes and deep wallets to back it up. The whole lot enjoys the firm's highly touted Optimum Mode, which "simultaneously monitors video and room light conditions" and then makes the most appropriate adjustments based on what it senses, and "industry leading" calibration features. As for the 50-inch PRO-111FD ($5,000) and PRO-151FD ($6,500), you can expect a bolstered two year warranty and a ship date to be determined, while the Signature Series PRO-101FD (50-inch) / PRO-141FD (60-inch) units will arrive in October and August (respectively) with prices not yet disclosed.
