Men Free Blog

Quite a lot has gone on in Pioneer’s world since it wowed us all with the Project KURO at CES, but one thing hasn’t changed: it’s dedication to world-class black levels. Announced alongside several other fine pieces of kit today in NYC, the 2008 KURO family will posses black levels “five times deeper than the previous KURO.” According to company bigwig Paul Meyhoefer, the ultimate goal is “pure, absolute black,” and it’s well on its way with the latest line. You’ll also find a feature dubbed Optimum Mode, which “simultaneously monitors video and room light conditions” and then makes the most appropriate adjustments based on what it senses. Sadly, most of the nitty-gritty details have been omitted for now, but you can count on the June-bound models checking in at just 3.7-inches thick, sporting 1080p panels alone (no 720p), coming in 50- ($4,000) / 60-inch ($5,500) sizes (no 42-inch) and arriving with a new remote / redesigned HD interface. Jump on past the break for the full release, but we’re warning you, there’s an awful lot of gloating down there.
PIONEER CONTINUES TO SURPASS BLACK LEVEL PERFORMANCE WITH NEW LINE OF 2008 KURO TELEVISIONS

Pioneer’s 2008 KURO Displays Boast Industry Leading Black Levels and Richer Color to Create an Unmatched Emotional Entertainment Experience

NEW YORK (May 7, 2008) – Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announces a new line of KURO plasma displays featuring black levels five times deeper than the previous award-winning KURO. Widely recognized for its commitment to creating entertainment experiences that transcend the ordinary, Pioneer takes yet another groundbreaking step towards HDTV perfection with this new line of 2008 KURO flat panel televisions.

“The game-changing performance our KURO displays brought to the marke last year revitalized the landscape of high end home theater in a way that was never thought possible. The introduction of this year’s KURO televisions is another step toward our ultimate goal of pure, absolute black that will fulfill the true potential and all the promise of high-definition entertainment,” said Paul Meyhoefer, vice president of display marketing and product planning, home entertainment business solutions group, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “Our goal is to listen and fully understand the minds of creative professionals and their craft. When great entertainment comes together something truly magical happens, the boundaries of technology fall away and you’re left with a truly unique experience. This is the hidden key to the power that KURO possesses and ensures the integrity of the artist’s vision is never compromised.”

Pioneer’s Philosophy is Absolute Black
The philosophy behind Pioneer’s Project KURO and the driving force is to achieve absolute, pure black. True, deep black creates a picture unlike any other that possesses finer detail, greater contrast, and more importantly, the ability to produce deeper colors not achievable before. This year, Pioneer pushes ever closer to their goal of absolute black by further reducing the idle luminance and improving black levels five times over the previous 2007 KURO models. This has enabled Pioneer to accurately reproduce deeper colors within the high-definition color spectrum and outdistance other display manufacturers.

Pioneer understands that color is a vital tool that creative professionals – from visual artists to film and television producers – use freely to evoke emotion and arouse our senses. With varying techniques from the most subtle to intense manipulation of color, artists can induce a very specific feeling within their audience. That feeling can be lost or diluted if a television cannot produce true, pure deep blacks and in turn reproduce an accurate color spectrum. The end result cannot be imitated and is beyond compare.

Evoking Emotion through Sound
Pioneer has incorporated six unique sound settings associated with each of the KURO video settings – standard, movie, sports, performance, game, dynamic – to ensure a customized listening experience that is specifically in tune with the type of programming on-screen.

The television employs an auto volume stabilization feature that further
controls the television’s volume level when switching between different types of programming; including network shows and commercials, broadcast channels or different input types to insure each experience remains true and distinct from one another.

Pioneer has included the most advanced SRS® WOW HD technology in the new KURO models by incorporating SRS Definition, a high frequency enhancement that provides finer control and adjustment to manage low, mid and high audio frequencies. The result adds to the virtual surround sound effect and produces clearer, more precise audio in mid to high frequency levels.

A Truly Intelligent Television
The KURO employs a unique automatic adjustment feature called Optimum Mode that simultaneously monitors video and room light conditions. The KURO then seamlessly adjusts the picture and sound settings by even the slightest variation to provide an experience specially tailored to each type of programming. The result is movies that reproduce a film-like quality, sports that feel like you’re on the field and crisp clear narration from newscasts that focus on the reporter, not ambient background noise.

While many consumers will rely on this unique feature, the 2008 KURO models still have the ability to switch between six finely tuned pre-set modes including: standard, movie, sports, performance, game, dynamic for consumers who prefer the ability to manually adjust their KURO television according to their particular taste.

Enhanced Consumer Convenience Features
The introduction of the 2008 KURO 1080p line creates the perfect synergy between film, video and high quality sound, helping blend these into a new world of seeing and hearing like never before. Pioneer has built a reputation for providing best-in-class products that evoke emotion and surpass typical high- quality sight and sound specifications, adding enhanced features such as these to the 2008 KURO line:

• Pioneer KURO televisions are now only 3.7 Inches thick, reduced by nearly 20 percent
• New remote control and redesigned high definition graphic user interface for ease-of-use and seamless integration with other a/v equipment
• Networked Home Media Gallery for playback of digital assets such as HD movie, music and photos from a PC or via USB
• Pioneer KURO televisions are DLNA compatible and Windows PlaysForSure™ compatible

Read

Sure, those flashy new KURO plasmas or that new array of receivers may have taken you by surprise, but don’t pretend you didn’t know this one was coming. Known simply as the Elite KURO projector, this 1080p beamer incorporates LCoS technology, dual HDMI 1.3 ports, wide lens shift capacity, a trio of viewing modes (standard, dynamic and movie) and a real semblance to JVC’s DLA-HD100. According to the firm, it’s designed for “high-end cinematic installations and supports advanced calibration,” and of course, you can’t escape a KURO release without a little bragging about black levels. We’re still waiting on a finalized specifications list, but ’til then, you can chew on that $9,000 price tag and wait for these to hit dealers next month.

Read

Not content with just busting out a new pair of Elite KURO plasmas, Pioneer has separately introduced four 1080p Pro models for those with (even more) exquisite tastes and deep wallets to back it up. The whole lot enjoys the firm’s highly touted Optimum Mode, which “simultaneously monitors video and room light conditions” and then makes the most appropriate adjustments based on what it senses, and “industry leading” calibration features. As for the 50-inch PRO-111FD ($5,000) and PRO-151FD ($6,500), you can expect a bolstered two year warranty and a ship date to be determined, while the Signature Series PRO-101FD (50-inch) / PRO-141FD (60-inch) units will arrive in October and August (respectively) with prices not yet disclosed.

Read

Never one to skimp on a product launch, Acer has once again gone all out with its latest batch of monitors, with this one consisting of no less than eleven new LCDs that fall into two different product lines. On the lower-end of the lot, you can look forward to 17- and 19-inch 4:3 displays (model numbers V173 and V193), and 19-, 22-, and 24-inch 16:10 displays (V193W, V223W, and V243W) in the company’s Value series line, each of which apparently boast 5 ms response times, 2,000:1 or 3,000:1 contrast ratios, VGA and DVI (with HDCP) ports, and presumably all the usual resolutions for their respective sizes. Moving on up a bit, the Business series models add a “stylish and elegant black bezel and base,” and again come in 17- and 19-inch 4:3 models (B173 and B193), as well as 19-, 20-, 22-, and 24-inch models (B193W, B203W, B223W, and B243W), with each apparently otherwise boasting the same specs as the Value series models. From the looks of it, you can get your hands on any one of ‘em right now, with prices ranging from a mere $185 (list price) to $399 for the top-end Business series model.

Read

It’s been a little while since we’ve heard of any significant progress in field-emission displays, but a group of researchers at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign now seem to be shaking things up a bit, with them touting new copper nanowires that could one day be used for ultra-thin FED screens. Specifically, the copper nanowires developed by Kyekyoon Kim and Hyungsoo Choi are between 70 nanometers and 250 nanometers wide, and can be “grown” on various surfaces including silicon, glass, metal, and plastic. As Technology Review reports, in the case of field-emission displays, the nanowires would be used to fire electrons at phosphor particles on a screen to light them up. That process would result in displays that are not only thinner than traditional flat-panel displays, but brighter and more energy-efficient as well — assuming they ever find their way out of the lab, that is.

Read

A company called GreenPix has created an astounding combination of sustainable technology and digital media virtuosity, dubbed the Zero Energy Media Wall. The system features the world’s largest (so they claim) color LED display, powered completely by photovoltaic cells which are integrated into the glass curtain. During the day, the wall — located on the Xicui entertainment complex in Beijing — harvests solar energy, then expends the charge at night in a display of undulating colors. The system goes on display this month, but if you can’t make it to China, you can watch a video of the work in action after the break.

Read

DIY multitouch surfaces may be relatively new to the do-it-yourself library, but we have a feeling they won’t be fading anytime soon. Engineering and design firm Eyebeam has spent the weekend demonstrating a kit (Cubit) that enables folks to build their own multitouch tables, and all individuals will need to provide in order to enjoy their very own is an “inexpensive” video camera and projector, among other small pieces of hardware. Unfortunately, details beyond that are pretty scant, but we’d count on hearing a lot more in the coming days now that it has stolen the limelight at Maker Faire.

[Thanks, Duke]

Read

You want questionable design? Kenko’s giving you questionable design. Rather than just leaving the remote unattached like, oh, every other digital photo frame maker in the universe, this firm has found a reason to stick it on the side of the frame itself. Generally known for its photographic paper, Kenko has ventured into the ever-growing world of digiframes with the 7-inch KDF-07, and while the flip-out remote can be tucked behind when not needed, we’re still a bit perplexed as to why it’s even assembled in this manner. Specs wise, you’ll find support for JPEG, MP3, AVI and MPEG1/2/4 file formats, a multicard reader, a 480 x 234 resolution panel and a USB port for transferring files from your PC. Folks somehow obsessed with the above pictured device can supposedly snag one in grain, black or silver motifs for ¥16,800 ($160), but we’re betting that crew is mighty small. [Warning: PDF read link]

[Via CNET]

Read

Look out world, er, Europe, as Sony is debuting a new trio of LCD HDTVs in your neck of the woods. The BRAVIA V4500 line consists of a 26-, 32- and 37-inch model, each of which posses a WXGA (1,360 x 768) panel and the company’s own BRAVIA ENGINE 2 technology. You’ll also find a 33,000:1 contrast ratio on the smaller two, and the whole lot packs 178-degree viewing angles, BRAVIA Sync and a built-in HD tuner for snagging DVB-T / DVB-C signals where available. There’s also the Picture Frame Mode for turning your set into a digital art canvas (USB port included for image viewing), and the three HDMI inputs ensure that your PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and hacked up Atari Jaguar won’t be fighting for sockets. Unfortunately, mum’s the word on a price / release date.

Read

We’ve already seen one engineering bloke stuff a touch panel into a Cloudbook, so we figured it was only a matter of time before that luscious 8.9-inch unit from the Eee PC 900 found its way into the pioneering 701. According to jkkmobile, all that was necessary in order to make the mod happen was a good bit of reworking around the bezel and a BIOS hack to enable full-screen support on a larger display. Unfortunately, a step-by-step guide has yet to be posted (though it’s likely forthcoming), but you can gaze upon a smattering of photos right now by giving the read link a visit.

[Via Liliputing]

Read