A stunning plasma screen combined with Freeview and an HD satellite receiver is just short of IDTV perfection

There are few things in life that really, honestly wow you; things that inspire a true sense of awe. The birth of your child. The light cascading down Ayr's Rock as the sun sets... A sober appearance from Amy Winehouse... And a new telly from Pioneer...

There are few things in life that really, honestly wow you; things that inspire a true sense of awe. The birth of your child... The light cascading down Ayr's Rock as the sun sets... A sober appearance from Amy Winehouse... the latest Kuro from Pioneer...

A separate multimedia receiver makes the best even better

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As Greavsie said to Saint, "it's a funny old game". Pioneer's epic Kuro range of plasma TVs are arguably the best in the business, but the manufacturer has recently confessed to experiencing sluggish sales, and is switching to LCD. The reason for this change of direction can be concisely summarised – price.

The first wave of Kuro's have won acclaim worldwide, so what should we expect from this newly arrived 60in model? Perhaps it's sufficient just to say that this is probably one of the most accomplished TVs in the world

Pioneer calls its new plasma TVs 'Kuro', as Kuro is Japanese for black. Not because they're dressed in gorgeous high gloss black (though they are), but rather because Pioneer says they deliver the finest black level performance - by miles - of any flat TV

When we looked at Pioneer's 50in PDP-508XD plasma recently, we didn't just find it good: we found it positively revolutionary. So our expectations for the 42in version of the TV are understandably sky high

No speakers and no stand for £2,700 make Pioneer's new 50in plasma very expensive. But it may seem fairer if, as Pioneer claims, the 508XD redefines flat TV pictures

We have already been wowed by Pioneer's new 8th-generation 50in plasma TV, the KURO PDP-508XD, so we jumped at the chance to find out if the new technology that helped make the 508XD's pictures so stunning delivers as much impact on the 42in PDP-428XD.In case you're wondering, 'KURO' is Japanese for 'black'.

Back in December What HDTV was lucky enough to sneak a peek at Pioneer's top-secret new plasma TVs. A viewing of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith in high definition revealed hitherto unseen levels of realism and detail.

Can the first 42-inch model from Pioneer's 'KURO' range make the same level of impact the brand's 50-inch model did? The ultra-minimal and high-gloss black design of the PDP-428XD is an exercise in opulent elegance

At £2,700 without speakers or stand, Pioneer's new 50in plasma is very expensive. But the price will ultimately seem fair if, as Pioneer claims it will, the PDP-508XD redefines expectations of flat TV picture quality.

'Always bet on black', they say. And Pioneer seems to agree, as it's staking arguably its entire future on a belief that the black level performance of its new TVs is so good that the UK buying public will shell out heavily to get it. Fortunately, it is

When the wraps finally came off Pioneer's 8th-generation plasma screens, the world gasped. But would the power of these prototypes make it to production reality? In a nutshell, the answer is an emphatic 'yes'

When you look as cool, sleek and opulently glamorous looking as a Pioneer plasma TV, it really doesn't matter how big you are. In fact, we'd say that Pioneer's TVs look better as they get bigger

With every Pioneer plasma TV in recent times being uniformly excellent, there's only one complaint we can raise against the company: the 50in size point that it has continually topped out at just isn't big enough! Cue the PDP-607XD

We've loved Pioneer's recent plasma TVs, but there is one thing they've lacked - size. Although 50in is all very nice, the home cinema groupie in us has been crying out for Pioneer to think bigger.

Pioneer has always been at or near the front in the quality end of the large flat TV market. But there was always something missing from its plasma range: a screen bigger than 50 inches. Happily, the brand's new 60-inch PDP-607XD puts that right

When Pioneer introduces its first UK plasma with a full HD' native resolution the viewing public should sit up and look. Quality at a price tends to be the theme with this company's plasma TVs so the arrival of a 1920 x 1080 screen whets the appetite

The PDP-507XD is packed to the rafters with manufacturing and processing technologies designed to take picture quality to a higher level. It's also great to look at with its glossy, deep black finish and minimalist lines

Pioneer rewrote the big screen plasma TV rulebook with its stupidly impressive sixth-generation screens. So it's fantastic to see it has no intention of resting on its laurels: this seventh-generation 50in model hits the spot in every department

This seventh-generation Pioneer plasma is the step-up version of the impressive £2,000 PDP-4270XD. It boasts a similar feature list, including a digital tuner and 1024 x 768 resolution