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Black is the new grey — at least it is for Pioneer, which cares more about making TVs reproduce black properly than any other company in the world. When Kuro was introduced last year we weren’t sure how far Pioneer could take the technology. Could it keep increasing black levels each year? Yesterday, the Kuro PDP-LX6090 landed on our doorstep with a formidable thump and we eagerly set about unboxing it.
The LX6090 certainly comes in an imposing box — three boxes actually — and at 60 inches wide it’s the size of a smallish horse, but with less of a hunger for hay, and more of a desire for amazing contrast. Indeed, Pioneer simply describes the contrast ratio on its Web site as “extreme”. It goes without saying that the 6090 is a 1080p/24-capable set, with 100Hz picture processing to handle films in the smoothest possible way.
A plasma TV this size is going to need a great quality input to make the best out of it. We certainly aren’t looking forward to testing it with Freeview, although we’re sure the Pioneer will make the best out of our great nation’s over-compressed national digital TV system. Where this set will sing is with 1080p video from Blu-ray, or a games console or PC of your choice.
There are a number of optional accessories available for the PDP-LX6090, including a wall-mounting bracket. Now, we’re not structural engineers, but we think you’re going to have trouble finding a wall strong enough to hold this TV up, if you can even find one wide enough in the first place. There are also options for either side, or bottom mounted speakers and stands that support them.
You’d expect a TV this high-end to scare your bank manager, and buying one will cost you a
substantial £4,500 — but compared to a projector, that’s not actually a
terrible price. In fact, you’ll save money, because unlike projectors it
doesn’t have an expensive bulb to replace every few thousand hours.
Join with us for a few choice photos, as we show you around one of the most exciting TVs we’ve seen in a while — and enjoy the process of unpacking a TV so humungous, we could barely fit it in our testing room and shut the door.-Ian Morris
Update: Read our full Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX6090 review.
Here are all the boxes needed to get you up and running. The TV is in the box the size of a small moon and the smaller containers hold the stand and speakers. You have two configuration options here, you can either opt for the side-mounted speakers, or have an under-screen speaker system. The latter option might be a good idea if you’re short of width in your room.
Here’s the stand for the PDP-LX6090 — it’s pretty sturdy, but it’s brilliantly designed, and takes no time at all to put together. We were actually quite surprised by how simple the process was.
Here’s the TV in its half-unboxed state. You’ll notice CNET.co.uk’s very own Nick Hide enjoying some personal ‘fort’ time in the sizeable box the Pioneer ships with. The box will be sure to amuse any children you haven’t sold to pay for your TV, while you get on with watching Transfomers and Men in Black.
Here’s a warning from the manual. We suggest you take heed, because if the TV does fall over you’ll either be crushed and killed, or you’ll spend the rest of the year crying about your now-dead plasma.
On the rear panel you’ll find every connection you could ever need. Three HDMIs, component in, three Scarts and VGA in for connecting a media centre or PC. There’s also a side-mounted USB socket for looking at your favourite photos, on what you might call the world’s biggest and most expensive digital photo frame.
The remote that comes with the TV is yet another indication of the quality of the whole package. It weighs about the same as a baby, but it’s got such a lovely feel to it we can’t help love it. Plus, if you lift it up and down while watching movies you’ll build muscle and tone your arms. British tennis ‘ace’ Andy Murray has one, we hear.
We’re not messing around here: the Kuro is so black, there’s an actual scientific possibilty that light will just fall into it, and it will form a casual black hole in the middle of your house. But that’s fine, because you can harness the power of the singularity to satisfy the considerable ‘leccy requirements of this TV’s 60-inch panel.
