Pioneer Unveils Five New Plasma TV Models
By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 1/17/2005
LAS VEGAS— Pioneer unveiled at International CES, here, five new plasma displays in the 42W-inch, 43W-inch and 50W-inch screen sizes.
Two models in the 50HD Series — the 43W-inch PDP-4350HD (shipping in May at a $7,000 suggested retail) and 50W-inch PDP-5050HD (shipping in June at a $9,000 suggested retail) — will come in two-piece configurations including a media center that can be horizontally or vertically mounted to house circuitry and source connectors.
Both models incorporate ATSC and NTSC tuning and digital-cable-ready capability with CableCARD slots built-in to the outboard media center.
Both also include Pioneer's Advanced PureCinema processing with 3:3 pull down and ACE III circuitry to produce over 1 billion colors, deep-encased cell structure, First Surface Pure Color Filter, black stripe coating, a new tabletop stand and dual HDMI inputs.
Resolution on the PDP-4350HD is listed at 1024 by 768 pixels, with brightness listed as 1,100 cd/m2. The PDP-5050HD offers 1280 by 768 pixel resolution at 1,000cd/m2 brightness.
Pioneer also announced a series of plasma displays that will offer a single-chassis, complete one-piece integrated design. That series, called the A5HD line, will include models in the 43W-inch and 50W-inch screen sizes.
Both include built-in ATSC and NTSC tuners, Digital Cable Ready capability with CableCARD slots, Pioneer's Advanced PureCinema video processing with 3:3 pulldown, First Surface Pure Color Filter, full-length two-way stereo speakers, and tabletop stands.
The 50W-inch PDP-50A5HD (shipping in May at a price to be announced) features 1,280-by-768p resolution, 1,000 cd/m2 brightness, Pure Drive image processing, ACE III circuitry for over 1 billion colors, PIP and HDMI input.
The PDP-43A5HD (shipping in May at a price to be announced) features 1,024 by 768p resolution, 1,100 cd/m2 brightness, Advanced PIP capability, and HDMI input.
Pioneer also showed a new 42W-inch EDTV-level plasma display monitor in the PDP-4200ED ($2,500, suggested retail). The panel features 853-by-480 resolution, High Precision Color Filter, PureCinema with 3:2 Pull-Down, DVI 1.0 input with HDCP, and video wall capability.
In DVD players, the company showed two models. The entry DV-288-S ($89 suggested) and the step-up DV-588A ($199 suggested), featuring, SACD and DVD-Audio multi-channel music compatibility, DivX video compatibility, 108MHz/12 bit Video DAC, Pure Cinema Progressive Scan, MP3, WMA and JPEG compatibility, DVD-RW VR mode with CPRM playback, CD-R / RW playback, Virtual Surround, and component video output.
