Pioneer has announced its 8th generation of plasmas in Europe, with six 720p sets available in June in 42- and 50-inch sizes, and four 1080p sets in 50- and 60-inch flavors coming in September. All models have integrated DVB-T tuners and detachable speakers, with the 720p sets sporting a 16,000:1 contrast ratio, and the 1080p sets stepping it up to a whopping 20,000:1. Pioneer claims that it redesigned the sets from the ground up with improved color reproduction and contrast in mind, and have improved over older plasmas by up to 80%, including Intelligent Brightness Control, which promises to display the best picture regardless of lighting conditions. Prices and exact release dates have not been set, but Tech.co.uk is reporting potential model numbers of PDP508 for the 50-inch 1080p set and PDP4280XD / PDP5080XD for the 42- / 50-inch 720p units.
[Thanks, Martin B]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Colin Davis @ May 8th 2007 3:48PM
Sweet jesus, yay! Hopefully the US will get them first.
Loban @ May 8th 2007 3:57PM
Wow!! These will be beautiful, and will probably cost an arm and a leg. Plasma = the best, and now it will be even more amazing.
Dominic @ May 8th 2007 6:55PM
I'm going to guess... $11,000.00 for 60 inch..
GhostDoggy @ May 8th 2007 8:15PM
Yeah, I'm going to guess one couldn't measure within 5-6,000 to 1 contrast in a controlled setting, and that 99.9% of the consumer environments will not allow you to get even that.
LCD4Eva @ May 8th 2007 10:54PM
Will the burn-in also have a 20,000:1 contrast ratio?
Plasma is yesterdays CRT...dead
mike @ May 9th 2007 1:55AM
If plasmas did not have burn in, I would snatch one up in a second. Tis a shame for the gamer :(
MAK1981 @ May 9th 2007 6:49AM
I've had my Maxent EDTV for 2 years now, and leave it on for hours at a time, and never had burn-in. Is "burn-in" the LCD fan-boys version of "50GB is better than 25GB" blu-ray fanboy insult? :)
I'm guessing $8,000 for the 60" once it comes out. Or soon after.
Aaron Smith @ May 9th 2007 11:37AM
MAK I've never thought of it that way but you're correct, burn-in sounds the same to me as Blu-Ray is better. I've never seen burn-in on any plasma and my family owns a few. If any one can find me an LCD that looks as good or better than a Pioneer 1080P plasma or a good DLP I'll give them a dollar. I don't even need to throw in Vidikron, Fujitsu or Runco plasmas. LCD might get there one day but it's still got a ways to go.
Aaron Smith @ May 9th 2007 11:31AM
Another site has the pricing, and it's cheaper than current models:
The Pioneer-branded XGA and WXGA sets will be available in June:
Pioneer 42" XGA PDP-4280HD - $2,700
Pioneer 50" WXGA PDP-5080HD - $3,500
The Elite-branded XGA and WXGA sets will be available in July:
Elite 42" XGA PRO-950HD - $3,200
Elite 50" WXGA PRO-1150HD - $4,500
All 1080p sets will be available in September:
Pioneer 50" PDP-5010FD - $5,000
Pioneer 60" PDP-6010FD - $6,500
Elite 50" PRO-110FD - $6,000
Elite 60" PRO-150FD - $7,500
andy @ May 9th 2007 1:25PM
my vizio 50" looks great.
I don't watch a lot of TV; I play probably 15hrs a week of Halo2. No issues with image retention, much less burn in. And, btw, I use it on the brightest setting, sports.
LCD looks like crap next to my cheap plasma, and by the way LCD IS NOT EVEN AVAILABLE IN THE 50 AND 60 INCH SIZES.
gus @ Jun 17th 2007 7:53PM
plasma now in days is "are" almost impossible to produce burn in .... lcd also can burn in but i dont know the technical word for it , its re ten er something.... just as it sounds as rare for lcd to produce that burn in well its getting to be the same with a plasma.... oh and these new 8th gens will cost more but not like 3 x more for the 42'' pioneer reg edition is $2,500 for the elite edition $3,000 and they dont make 42'' 1080p.... so thats a price range for 42'' again not official price... for the 50'' pioneer reg is $3,500 for the elite 720p is $4,000 and for the elite 1080p is $6,000
for 60'' $4,500 for reg pioneer elite 720p $5,000 and for 1080p 60'' is $7,500
so actually these are more cheaper then 7th gen and earlier... for ex the pro-fhd1 was $8,000 and now its 6gs the 60'' 1080p will offer full tv not just moniter plus its $500 bucks cheaper so yeah these are better deals....
Joseph R @ Jun 23rd 2007 7:09PM
Wow, talk about amazing HD plamas!
Pioneer's website doesn't list the new (June) models yet, but I viewed the specs today on the onecall.com website.
Notably, the $2700 list, Model #PDP-4280 (42" model) - has 4 HDMI 1.3 inputs, and the "Advanced Pure Cinema" feature - which is 3:3 pulldown (72hz) of a 24fps signal, and elimates the need for the standard 3:2 pulldown (60hz, although the sets have included this too when not using the APC option).
And the sets accept both 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 signals, providing the clearest, smoothest, noise-free image possible. Note: the newer Blu-ray players have a 1080p/24 output option [Pioneer and Sony models, also the Sony PS3 after firmware 1.81 update]
And these new plamas continue being lighter in weight than comparable Samsung and Panasonic models.
After owning a Sharp Aquos LCD for 2 years (good quality), I'm tired of weaker blacks and the LCD blurring effect, and will be buying one of these new Pioneer plasmas this year [either the 42" model above, of the $3500 list 50" model].
Plasma image quality is the best I've seen of any display technology.
gus @ Jun 24th 2007 5:40AM
go to avs.com search something 8th gen kuro it shows these new pioneer 8th gen in action!!! god damn the blacks are amazing. the owener compared the PDP-5080 (50'' 720p) pioneer FRESH OUT OF box settings vs a PRE CALIBRATED with avia disc panasonic 9th gen i belive and the panasonic looked like a lcd compared to this pioneer pdp-5080 its really amazing!!!