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Panasonic 65VX100U Premiere Plasma Is True Kuro Killer (Best TV Ever?)
Posted by Wilson Rothman at 10:52 AM on September 5, 2008
Tonight in Denver, Panasonic revealed its newest plasma technology, the 65" custom-install-only VX100 monitor, whose specs meet or beat Pioneer's hallowed Kuro. That means 60,000:1 contrast ratio with 7,160 shades of gradation for visible detail in the darker shadows. At 65 inches, you will pay US$10,000 a panel, but not to worry: Panasonic will roll out a 50 incher soon, which is sure to be (a teeny tiny tad) cheaper. We sat in a dark room and got to compare the VX100 with its predecessor, the 65PF. Though the results in the room were startlingly vivid, you can get a sense of what's going on here in our still shots:If you're really crazy about TV technology, jump for a second gallery of slides from the presentation—but, as they say on MythBusters, there's some "science content" ahead, so put the drink down and focus...
Though the first buyers will likely be rich dudes, the movie business is also going to be interested in it as a monitor, since it can handle 120% of the HDTV colour gamut, enough to maybe get a good looking movie on a TV for one damn time. And let's not forget that Pioneer has shut down its own panel production lines and plans to go with Panasonic's. I asked if Pioneer would get a shot at the sweet new one—though there wasn't a straight answer, the sense I got was "probably not, at least not at first." Go Panasonic, kicking some TV ass!
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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token_y_chromosome
Posted 11:49 AM 5/9/08
@Pwnieboy was BOCultist was Epaminondas: As an owner of a Panasonic commercial plasma (8UK for TV geeks), I agree. I haven't seen an LCD yet that compares to the corresponding generation of plasma. At least in a dark room.
token_y_chromosome
Pwnieboy was BOCultist was Epaminondas
Posted 11:27 AM 5/9/08
If your going with plasma Panasonic and Pioneer are the only way to go. Good on them!
-Happy Kuro owner.
Pwnieboy was BOCultist was Epaminondas
Jamo
Posted 1:10 PM 5/9/08
I love how the 50-inch 800U performs so this news further convinces me that there's lots of life left in plasma. It's good to hear that Panasonic is continuing to innovate along with whatever secret sauce they are getting from Pioneer in terms of meeting Kuro standards.
Jamo
ps61318
Posted 1:37 PM 5/9/08
@peacefulpony: Yawn back atcha - call me when your CRT hits 65 inches.
ps61318
peacefulpony
Posted 1:25 PM 5/9/08
Yawn. Call me when these plasmas put my CRT to shame.
peacefulpony
igneous
Posted 2:25 PM 5/9/08
the only reason to get an LCD is if your using your tv in a really sunny room. There isnt a single LCD out there that can touch a good panny or pioneer plasma
igneous
caniscream
Posted 3:13 PM 5/9/08
@peacefulpony: you seem like a bright one. How big is your crt?
caniscream
daftrok
Posted 3:39 PM 5/9/08
I still say LED LCD TV's look better than this.
daftrok
purple-pillows
Posted 3:29 PM 5/9/08
so should i go ahead and buy one of these new plasmas or wait a few years for OLED... all these tv posts make me want a tv now... well this weekend but you know what i mean
purple-pillows
flynboarder07
Posted 4:18 PM 5/9/08
every time giz does an article on plasma black levels the one on the left always looks horrible as will the one on the right in a few months, when compared to the next model next week.
flynboarder07
Knirfie
Posted 7:31 PM 5/9/08
Well, Pioneer is buying there panels from Panasonic these days, aren't they? So this panel will probably also end up in a Kuro...
Knirfie
Brau
Posted 7:58 PM 5/9/08
HD GURU did an expose on the Kuro and found they were achieving the black level at the expense of true color reproduction by tinting the glass black. The end result was browns that look black and night scenes where proper shades of grey all but disappear. Keep your eyes open because contrast ratio is not the most important feature by a long shot.
Brau
MastaFalse
Posted 9:13 PM 5/9/08
Contrast ratio = noob.
By the way, people. There =/= Their =/= They're. Goddamnit, goddamnit. And anything looks better than my last year's XBR.
MastaFalse
Knirfie
Posted 10:19 PM 5/9/08
@MastaFalse: Ofcourse I meant "their" ;)
Knirfie
dcdomain
Posted 10:10 PM 5/9/08
Kuro killer? Didn't Pioneer hook up Panasonic with all their Kuro tech so they wouldn't have to produce their own panels anymore? Since they are sourcing their panels from Panasonic I'm going to assume their Kuro line will perform similarly to this one from Panasonic.
dcdomain
I_Sell_TVs
Posted 11:17 PM 5/9/08
Pioneer is buying panels from panny because panny can make them cheaper and they already use most of the pioneer panel tech. Pioneer will still make the color filter and the video processor for their sets (both of which are far superior to their panasonic counterparts). Pioneer will still have the best looking TV. That set looks like a commercial grade plasma and from the comparison pics I'm not real impressed with the new set. I see over saturated and exaggerated colors. Notice how you can see individual light bulbs on the pic on the left and how on the right they're all kind of blurred together. By the way, all the current Panasonic plasmas have this effect too, the elite kuros that I have on display right next to them do a much better job.
Oh and @daftrok: LED LCDs can't touch plasma color accuracy or black levels.
I_Sell_TVs
Brandson
Posted 12:09 AM 6/9/08
This is great and all, but if I wanted to look at a screen in a really dark room, I think I'd rather be looking at a 100"+ front projection screen. It's cheaper too. I don't personally know anyone who has a plasma in such a dark place.
Brandson
rainfever
Posted 12:58 AM 6/9/08
i've never understood how a tv/monitor/thing can cover more than 100% of the color gamut... probably a confusion google could easily clear up, but I'm going to continue not knowing for now.
rainfever
Jackhole
Posted 12:36 AM 6/9/08
Rothman must have missed the memo that Pio and Panny have hooked up. This isn't going to kill Kuro's. Its going to end up making future Kuro's that much better.
Jackhole
Wilson Rothman
Posted 10:01 AM 6/9/08
@Jackhole: Apparently you're not very good at reading, cuz I address that IN THIS ARTICLE. Happy re-reading, buddy!
Wilson Rothman
chadmak09
Posted 6:38 PM 6/9/08
Panasonic will be building glass for pioneer to pioneer spec. thats it. thats all. Panasonic is not making kuro plasmas.
So contrary to what so many people keep saying, Pioneer and panasonic will be very different.
The main thing that these guys who are writing these articles are failing to mention is that the panasonic VX100U is a 2009 PANASONIC PLASMA!!!
They are comparing it to a 2008 9G Pioneer kuro.
They should be comparing it to the 2009 10G Pioneer Kuro that Pioneer unveiled at CES.
Here is some info on that:
[www.engadget.com]
I am very glad that Panasonic has improved thier plasmas!
Maybe this will help point more buyers toward Plasma and away from LCD.
But I am very interested in hearing how Gary and Wilson can justify calling this TV a Kuro-Killer.
In what ways does it Kill a 9G?
I disagree with comparing a 2009 Panasonic with a previous years Kuro and calling it a Kuro-Killer. the playing field should be even.
Also, I would like to see some hard data comparisons of a fully calibrated VX100U vs. a Fully calibrated Pro-151Fd.
I think a little more data is needed before considering the panny a 9G kuro killer much less a 2009 (10G) Kuro killer.
chadmak09