World's Best HDTV? Pioneer's Elite Plasma
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StreamING NetflIX DTV-DAY IS comING IS roku'S $99 SolutIon ARE YOU READY FOR THE tHe future of HoMe video? 2009 transition? NEW LOOK www.hometheatermag.com Electronically reprinted from November 2008 Volume 15 No.11 H netWORKING MADE EASY WITH DLNA P20 FLAT PANEL HDTV BUYER'S GUIDE P36 World's Best HDTV? PIONEER'S ELITE PLASMA SLEEPING BEAUTY TH 50ANNIVERSARY BLU-RAY Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr.Disney's available first Platinum on Blu-raySeries release Septemberon Blu-ray, 30th. available now. PLUS ELEVATING BREAKING THE AVR THE BLU-RAY BARRIER PIONEER'S LATEST SONY'S $399 PLAYER AND GREATEST HIGH END BY Thomas J. Norton PhotoS Cordero Studios Pioneer Elite KURO PRO-111FD Plasma HDTV price: $5,000 HigHligHts: Blacks to die for • Precise color and excellent resolution • 72-hertz operation on film-based sources for judder-free motion • Video processing could be better TOP Once More, With Feeling PICK y review schedule doesn’t have this limitation. In fact, connection and an RS-232C use the Home Media Gallery is starting to its feature set is nearly the same as terminal to supplement its stan- feature to display your own photos look a bit like the that in the generation-8 Elites. The dard video and audio connections. and videos. You can even display Pioneer Channel. biggest changes are in the onscreen The latter connections are generous your HD videos if they are recorded But timing is menus and the remote control. enough, apart from the single in a compatible format. The M everything. Pioneer is introducing The new menus aren’t all that component input. PRO-111FD also includes a Multi- a boatload of interesting new different than before, but they aren’t As in earlier Elite models, Screen function that displays products, including the newest distinctly better, either. For Pioneer packs the speakers for picture-in-picture or two images KURO flat panels. These include example, it takes longer to get into the above-average onboard audio side by side, as well as a three- the upcoming Signature Series the new Picture menu. It’s system separately from the set position Energy Save control. KURO monitor plasma models. located in a separate Setup menu itself. Most users will mount the KURO Link is Pioneer’s version Pioneer says these models will offer rather than the Home menu as it speakers to the left and right of the of the industry-standard HDMI enough adjustments to inspire was in last year’s models. The multi- screen. But the speakers are wired Consumer Electronics Control video calibrators to set up shop in component remote still works externally, so you can leave them (CEC), which most manufacturers buyers’ homes. “Will calibrate for well, but many of its important but- off or move them to a different now offer under various names. room and board.” tons are smaller than the previous location if you have limited space. This feature is designed to provide These products will be around model’s. Pioneer includes a USB interface integrated control of equipment until next summer (at least), but The PRO-111FD offers an for the Home Media Gallery, in linked together via HDMI. But we didn’t think you’d want to wait Ethernet port for a home network addition to the Ethernet. You can not all CEC-capable equipment until then to read about them. That’s particularly important this year. This series of KURO plasmas—generation 9—will be the last models built completely by Pioneer. Next summer, if things go according to plan, the company will roll out its generation-10 sets with some components supplied by Panasonic (although the sets will reportedly still include Pioneer- exclusive features and technologies). The Lay of the Land Pioneer has long offered two plasma lines: Pioneer and Elite. Both offer similar performance in many ways. They both provide the best black levels in the flat-panel business—plasma or LCD. But the two lines have differed in some of the features they offer. This year the differences are even more pronounced. In particular, the Pioneer sets have no color- temperature options in the User menu, nor any way to calibrate the factory setting (not even in a hidden service menu, according to Pioneer). The company says this further distinguishes the two lines and makes the Pioneer line easier to operate for the average user. The Elite line, which includes the Elite KURO PRO-111FD, of courtesy image Screen 20th Century Fox NOVEMBER 2008 www.hometheatermag.com PiOneer elite KUrO PrO-111FD PlasMa HDtV provides full CEC interactivity with power draw in standby mode, from setting). On less-than-pristine all manufacturers’ gear. about 25 watts in last year’s gen-8 program material, I also liked a The PRO-111FD has seven sets to less than 0.5 watts in the touch of one of the four flavors different AV Selections—Pioneer’s gen-9 models. of noise reduction (3DNR, Field, name for the usual preset picture The Pro Adjust submenu offers Block, and Mosquito). modes. Although most of the a wide assortment of specialized The other Pro Adjust controls settings for Dynamic and Optimum controls. Some are useful, others, offered little or no benefit. In my are fixed, you can change the not so much. The PureCinema opinion, some of the controls controls for the other modes control automatically detects film- degraded a properly adjusted and from the factory settings to your based sources and offers three calibrated picture. I recommend preferences. The User mode is options (plus Off): leaving them off or in their neutral the only mode you can set up • Standard (interlaced inputs settings. differently for each input. You can only) converts the input, as The set also includes the ISF • The PRO-111FD’s speakers are externally use the other modes for more than necessary, to feed the panel 1080p CCC feature, which provides a wired and detachable, so you can mount one input, but the same settings will at 60 frames per second (or hertz), special, code-locked setup menu them to the cabinet or leave them off. apply to all of them. complete with 3:2 pulldown for that calibration technicians can The Optimum mode uses a film-based sources. use. This menu offers separate Day, and The Day the Earth Stood Still, room light sensor and a color • Smooth (for all sources except Night, and Auto ISF AV Selections the PRO-111FD performed well. sensor to automatically and 1080p/60) reportedly produces (modes), much more flexible gray- The results on 1080i-to-1080p dynamically adjust the picture “smoother and more vivid moving scale adjustments (at 10 positions tests were only fair, as well. The for both the room and program images.” As far as I could determine, across the brightness range, rather set deinterlaced well, but it didn’t material. It also adjusts the audio though, it offered no real benefits. then the usual high and low), and recognize 3:2 pulldown. It produced and even takes the characteristics of • Advance (also for all sources separate adjustments for each input. moiré on many of my tests, the video into consider-ation when except 1080p/60) converts film- You can’t change the settings in the including the Vatican wall and steps it makes its sound adjustments. An based program material (as ISF modes once the calibration is on Mission: Impossible III. onscreen menu displays the current required) to 1080p at a display complete, but you can still access The PRO-111FD reproduced status, but it’s an information rate of 72 fps. First it eliminates and adjust the other modes. above white and below black, but menu only. You can’t make manual 3:2 pulldown (if present) and then Of the available aspect ratios, just barely. There was enough of changes in the Optimum mode; converts the 24-fps result to 72 fps Dot by Dot (available only in 1080i each to properly set the Brightness they’re locked into the internally by repeating (not interpolating) and 1080p) offers the lowest (zero) and Contrast controls, but calc-ulated and constantly changing each frame three times. overscan. The Full option slightly little more than that. Many sets picture settings. If the program material is already overscans a 16:9 image (an aver- (including Pioneer’s own gen-8 Pioneer designed the Optimum 1080p/24, as is the case with nearly age of about 3 percent, peaking at PRO-110FD and PRO-150FD) and Standard modes to comply all films on Blu-ray and HD DVD, 4 percent), which may be useful if push deeper into below black and with the newest Energy Star stan- the Pioneer converts it to a display there’s unwanted noise at the edges above white. Fortunately, this had dards. Pioneer also reduced the set’s frame rate of 72 fps automatically. of the picture. However, overscan little or no visible impact on most It will do this regardless of the does sacrifice some resolution. program material. But if the source PureCinema control’s setting. Pioneer also designed a number includes significant information You’ll also find the display’s five of features to minimize the risk of above 100-percent white (it preset color-temperature settings in image retention or burn-in, such as shouldn’t, but some programming Pro Adjust. There’s also a Custom its Orbiter mode. In my experience, does), it will be crushed out. option that allows full calibration Pioneer sets resist visible image These concerns were not with the User menu’s red, green, retention more than other plasmas distracting in normal viewing.