Should of held out for this. It's really the BOMB!
It's got a contrast ratio over 100,000 to 1. LCD can't even dream of
touching.
http://gear.ign.com/articles/753/753836p1.html
CES 2007: Impressions of Pioneer's "SED Killing" Plasma
Dramatic breakthrough in Plasma-tech, observed.
by
Gerry Block
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January 9, 2007 - Pioneer has held a position as one of the preeminent forces is Plasma HDTVs for a number of years. Plasma, as a general technology, is known for the accuracy with which the technology is able to handle contrast, across the board superior in contrast-ratio (the difference between the brightest colors and pure black) among the various HDTV technologies. In 2006 SED prototypes blew us away with contrast-ratios up to 100,000:1, massively superior to the general 3,000:1 contrast-ratio common among LCDs and other HDTV-techs. SED technology has been subject to many delays, however, and is currently slated for release sometime in 2008. Pioneer has taken advantage of the situation, and at this CES is demonstrating, in closed-door sessions, next-gen Plasma displays capable of even more dramatic performance figures.
IGN Gear attended a demonstration of Pioneer's upcoming Plasma displays and walked away as impressed as we get. Pioneer won't provide contrast-ratio figures on its next-gen Plasma technology, citing the figure as un-measurable. We'll assume that means more than 100,000:1, but we'll have to wait for specifics when they are eventually made available by third-party testing. Regardless, we left the Pioneer demonstration just as excited as when we walked out of Toshiba's SED demonstration exactly one year ago.
The demo session took place in a closed room wherein Pioneer's currently available 60-inch Plasma display was compared to their newest tech, which, we were told, is an entirely new engineering effort rather than any image-processing upgrade to existing technology. In comparison to what is generally though of as best-of-breed image quality, Pioneer's new plasma display was astounding. The demo began with both screens in idle-black. That is, the new plasma display looked black; Pioneer's current plasma looked shockingly gray and over-lit. Over the course of a variety of sources including an in-house demo reel and clips of Haunted Mansion, the new Pioneer model put the previous version to absolute shame.
We haven't seen better black-level performance since we were treated to Toshiba's SED demo a year ago. Though a head-to-head comparison is impossible, Pioneer's new display tech appeared easily surpassed everything we've seen in the recent HDTV space. Not only are the blacks at CRT-quality, but color contrast, even in red, is remarkably vibrant and highly differentiated in shade.
Even more impressive than the picture-quality of Pioneer's new Plasma design is the fact that the displays will reach the market place in a matter of months. Pioneer will roll out the new units this summer, beating SED displays to market by a solid year. Pioneer representatives expressed some concerns regarding the expense of the technology, which we fully expect to first appear at a high premium. Nevertheless, whatever magic Pioneer has developed for the displays we witnessed will be sure to trickle down to later models in future months and years.
http://gear.ign.com/articles/753/753475p1.html
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CES 2007: Pioneer Kicks SED Tech in Groin
Announces new plasma display technology it claims is better than Toshiba/Canon's CES 2006 standout.
by
Matt Casamassina http://media.ign.com/ign/images/readmyblog.gif
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January 7, 2007 - There's no doubt that Pioneer makes a mean plasma, but now the manufacturer says it has developed new display technology that "surpasses both LCD and SED regardless of lighting conditions."
A bold allegation. We were on hand at last year's CES to see SED television in motion and we were so impressed with the clarity and black levels of the displays, which combine the elegance of flat panels with the performance of traditional CRTs, that we named it the tech of the show.
Pioneer stated from CES 2007 that its new unnamed SED killer "will change the competitive landscape of the flat-screen market." Evidently this new display breakthrough is the result of a re-engineered infrastructure, including an enhanced panel and filter. In side-by-side comparisons with competing formats, including SED, this new Pioneer mystery tech just looks better, offering deeper blacks and more vivid colors, even in brightly lit rooms. Unfortunately, we haven't yet seen this new display for our ourselves so we'll have to take the company's word for it -- at least for now.
Better not watch any pr0n...
Describes perfectly what happened to me. After setting up at home was very disappointed till the HD upgrade. Now? wow
