Audio Video News

European fans of Pioneer's Kuro line of HDTVs will be eager to study the company's recently released breakdown of its upcoming line. With a full complement of LCDs, front projectors and familiar plasmas for the continent in 2008, Pioneer is doing a good job of showing just how invested it is in the Kuro brand.

The panels in the plasma models in this lineup are still Pioneer-made, and won't switch over to Panasonic until next time. Pioneer says this generation of Kuros shows off black levels five times darker than the 2007 generation. Will it impress Europeans like the Extreme Contrast Concept Model impressed CES attendees in January?

Hopefully, European Kuro-lovers will document their eye-witness accounts when the models ship in June. These plasma Kuros will only come in 50 and 60-inch sizes, showing Pioneer completely grasps plasma's niche.

The new Kuro LCD TVs, with panels made by Sharp, won't ship until August in the 32 and 37-inch sizes (that sounds about right for LCD), but the arrival date of a plasma-competitive 46-incher is still unknown.

Finally, Kuro gets big with a new front projector for home theater screens ranging in size from 60 inches to 200 inches. That model is set to arrive this month. -Rachel Rosmarin

Pioneer Europe