Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 9, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
After Pioneer’s award-winning plasma technologies clearly outpaced the competition in HDTV last year, Pioneer engineers are now offering a preview, under the KURO product line, of future concepts for displays with extremely high contrast and superior design. The extremely high-contrast concept achieves reproduction of absolute black, while the superior-design concept results in a 50-inch display only 9 millimetres thick – the world’s thinnest 50-inch display*.
– Project KURO – concept for extremely high contrast
The extremely high-contrast concept has produced the industry’s first plasma display capable of reproducing absolute black. This display emits no measurable light when displaying black. Contrast ratio is defined as the ratio of the luminance of the brightest colour (white) to the luminance of the darkest colour (black). A high contrast ratio is a prerequisite for ideal picture quality. For televisions, the darker the black, the more accurate the colour reproduction.
By fully exploiting the advantages of self-emissive displays, Pioneer has succeeded in designing a display that reproduces absolute black, with more than six million cells rendering black with zero luminance. This gives the KURO extremely high-contrast concept a contrast ratio beyond the measurable range, making any comparison unnecessary.
– Project KURO – concept for superior design
Thanks to Project KURO’s groundbreaking technology, Pioneer can present the world’s thinnest 50-inch display*, only 9 mm deep. The picture seems to float on the wall, turning the television into a screen for outstanding entertainment. Since the television is also extremely light (18.6 kg), it can be mounted on the wall easily and blends harmoniously into interior design.
The future concepts developed by Pioneer under the KURO product line express Pioneer’s passion for delivering an emotional entertainment experience. These concepts were exhibited at International CES 2008 in Las Vegas from January 7 to 10.
