Psst… come closer. We’ll let you in on a little secret: black level is arguably the most important element of picture quality on a high-definition television. Here’s why.
Ignoring inflated figures from manufacturers and various measurement methods (ANSI versus on/ off) for a second, contrast ratio is essentially the ratio of peak brightness to black level that a television can produce. In a dark room suitable for critical viewing, assuming we peg peak brightness (100% stimulus white) of a TV to SMPTE’s recommendation of 30 foot-Lamberts (too much brighter would look uncomfortable… remember it’s a dark room), it stands to reason that it’s actually the black level that determines the contrast ratio of the television.
The lower the black level, the higher the contrast ratio. The higher the contrast ratio, the greater the dynamic range – here we’re talking about the transition from blacks to shadow detail to midtones to highlight detail and finally to whites – the HDTV can reproduce, which lends more depth and insight to the image.
Strange as it may sound, black level is also critical to colour rendition on a HDTV, simply because the background luminance is irrevocably added to every single colour that needs to be displayed on screen. Think of it this way: greyish blacks will have more “white” than pure blacks. This “white” will be mixed with the colours, decreasing their saturations (for example red may look pink… a bit extreme, but you get the idea) and washing out the image. Only the deepest blacks can allow the colours to flourish with unadulterated richness.
Last year, Pioneer unleashed their Kuro line of plasma televisions, which went on to capture the attention and imagination of TV reviewers and the public alike by delivering a revolutionary level of rich, deep blacks that had never been seen before on any other flat screen TVs. Now that the next generation (9G) of Kuro plasmas is upon us, can the black level be improved even further for one last hurrah before Pioneer stops in-house panel production and starts using Panasonic plasma panels? Here’s our Pioneer PDP-LX5090 review.
Thank you Vincent for your hard work once again,
The wait was worth it. I automatically assumed the 8th gen replacement would be at the same price but 1k less makes a huge difference (with the other arf mainly!). And it appears to rock!
I have contributed previously saying that I had been sitting on the flat screen fence so long I had gone numb. I work in TV Post Production and have the pleasure of using professional monitors (most of them CRT’s) so to pick a screen for home has been hard, and until now a let down.
Recently a suite has been kitted out with a Sony BVM-L230 reference LCD. It’s only a 22.5 incher and a cool 12 grand ( maybe you should give it the once over?). It also has a 8th gen 50 inch LX Pioneer on the wall (mainly for the client). This is probably the best spec’d suite so far but its been so long coming.
I’m sure a few questions may come to mind after the excitement of actually
finding a worthy screen subsides, but until then thanks again for your enthusiasm and expertise.
Chris
GREAT review as always.
So happy i got this TV after reading review after review for years. My old CRT is now in the trash, and loving every minute the LX5090 is on.
PLEASE post your calibrated settings.
I am thinking about buying the PZ800 from Crampton and Moore for £1299 with a 5 year warranty. Is this Pioneer worth twice the price? Almost 2 and a half grand for a tv seems utter madness.
I know Pioneer always recieve great reviews but at this price they are going to lose alot of custom.
A 42 inch at a sensible price point would have been a great seller.
Thanks for the great review. I expected nothing less from this TV.
Pioneer has done it again.
Good to see they are less expensive than last year models.
A Very good review Vincenzo. :)
Does anyone know how long is the runtime for Chapter 2 of Casino Royale
(blu-ray)?
This is the movie segment that Vincent uses for the power usage tests.
I want to do some calculations against LCD power consumption and project usage for a typical calendar year.
Cheers for an in depth review, and as always, cheers for the gaming apsect. (It was a Fiver well spent!)
I’m a proud owner of this set and it is magnificent :) Great job and great review.
It really shines with blu-ray and drive 3 (72Hz refresh rate) .
Does anyone know if the author will post/ posted the value of settings after calibration ??
Cheers
It’s a pity that the PDP-LX5090H can’t be released into the UK market until October :-(
Hi Vincent
I am wondering what the post-calibation white luminance of this TV is. Can you post those values as well. What is the measured ANSI contrast?
To me this is as important as the black levels.
In advance, thank you
The ‘H’ version of the LX5090 isn’t going to be released in the Uk, only Europe.
Today in a shop I viewed a Pioneer PDP LX 5090 alongside a 46″ Sony LCD. The picture on the Sony looked consistently sharper. They were both showing a Pioneer demo off a hard disc. I presume the increased sharpness resulted from the smaller picture. So would I obtain a better result at home by buying a 46″ panel even if the picture performance is technically inferior to the Pioneer? If I had not read all the praise about the Pioneer I would have chosen the Sony on the basis of what I saw today!
Went and bought one from TLC (very good experience, highly recommended). So far only Sky HD as a source (waiting for 80gb PS3) but its pretty amazing! Vincent could you please publish your prefferred settings for the various sources.
Thanks for getting me off that fence (see top comment)
Chris
The first truth is that Lcd are always sharper than plasma.
The second truth is that plasma cannot do a true white. Do you ever seen a demo of ice hockey or a skiing race on a pioneer kuro ?
The third truth is that plasma strains your eyes.
The fourth truth is that if you like playing ps3 or watching teletext you will waste away your money burning your plasma television. Read your kuro manual before buying it please.
I was at Top audio video (TAV) in milan last september and i asked to watch electra in dvd on a 60 inch kuro. The colours were washed out and technicians cannot solve it because the tv was already calibrated. I thought i could not watch well sky tv (satellite television) on this 8000 euro kuro tv because this was my best quality dvd. After some months pioneer tell us that old kuro are not kuro and next lcd from pioneer are also kuro.
I am tired of reading that kuro is the best.
Nice ancient myths you share!
“The first truth is that Lcd are always sharper than plasma.”
– Wrong. If you have a LCD and a Plasma with same sizes and both 1080p, they have the exact same sharpness. LCD looks more digitalized which some people might feel sharper, but it has nothing to do with correct picture quality.
“The second truth is that plasma cannot do a true white. Do you ever seen a demo of ice hockey or a skiing race on a pioneer kuro ?”
– In fact, no televisions can produce true white. Thats the same with black. A true white and black would need an unlimited contrast ratio and that is physically impossible with a monitor that needs to send out light from a panel. LCD can definitely NOT produce true white and not as correct as plasmas.
“The third truth is that plasma strains your eyes.”
– True. But this is individual. Some people have sensitive eyes for these phosphor trails, but most people do not notice them.
“The fourth truth is that if you like playing ps3 or watching teletext you will waste away your money burning your plasma television. Read your kuro manual before buying it please.”
– If you speek to the past you were right, but this is present and that is over. Especially for Kuros. They are extreme ressistant for retention and burn in would never occur. Todays plasmas pixels are moving so the colors can’t stock!
I would be glad to welcome you a demo with a lx-5090 and I would bet my wife that it would give you a much better experience than you had earlier.
Kuro is just Pioneers selling brand. They can call their upcomming LCD’s whatever they want, but they will definitely not be as “kuro” as their plasmas.
I own this set – very pleased with it so far!
I moved on from a 28″ CRT to this 50″ Plasma. Here is my take on the tv:
Analog television:
The Pioneer does this amazingly well. An SD signal on a 50″ could really go bad, but the Pioneer LX5090 looks surpringly good
Digital:
My box has not yet arrived.. grrr
PS3:
I’ve gamed and gamed on my ps3 with this TV. It’s just like stepping into a time maschine – hours fly by like seconds with this one!
Retension while gaming:
I’ve played 2 whole chapters in MGS4 in ONE session, and no retention at all – not a problem at all with the Pioneers.
Phosphor trail:
Not disposed to this, hence, not a problem.
Blu ray movies:
One word: STUNNING!
If you got the cash, this is the one to go for!!!!
THIS TV IS EXCELLENT BUT I WOULD ADVISE ANYONE WHO IS THINKING ABOUT IT ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
NOT A MASSIVE IMPROVEMENT OVER 2008 MODEL………..WHICH WILL NOW BE DISCOUNTED …………….
The first truth is that Lcd are always sharper than plasma.”
from hdtv test : This is one area where the Samsung LE52F96BD LCD held a definite edge over the Pioneer PDP508XD plasma when I compared them side-by-side after calibration. More often than not, I found my eyes being attracted to the LE52F96BD simply because it looked sharper than the PDP508XD (no excessive edge enhancement applied on both televisions) from a viewing distance of 10 feet away.
The second truth is that plasma cannot do a true white:
White colour on plasma are something else; It is not white; it is so dark;
I do not like this type of white instead i think you will.
The third truth is that plasma strains your eyes.
some people are lucky because they can try if they have sensitive eyes by their friends with plasma, do you ?
The fourth truth is that if you like playing ps3 or watching teletext you will waste away your money:
you say They are extreme ressistant for retention and burn in would never occur. Todays plasmas pixels are moving so the colors can’t stock!
Well most people say this but they have kuro from few months, they made a careful use for at least 1 month or more and usually extreme gamers do not buy plasma so i think it is better to know that the manual says that consoles and teletext could cause damage at your kuro by time.
But if you can buy a new kuro every year forget it!
Hi I am a tv sales man now and 15 years ,I m gone a speak about build quality,if I compare Pioneer tv with other brands Samsung,Sony, Philips ,Pioneer never on service ,but with other brands always proplems especialy Samsung.If you buy Pioneer your safe.
“The first truth is that Lcd are always sharper than plasma.”
from hdtv test : This is one area where the Samsung LE52F96BD LCD held a definite edge over the Pioneer PDP508XD plasma when I compared them side-by-side after calibration. More often than not, I found my eyes being attracted to the LE52F96BD simply because it looked sharper than the PDP508XD (no excessive edge enhancement applied on both televisions) from a viewing distance of 10 feet away.”
Humm PDP508XD is HD ready not full HD (LX-508XD is) that can be a good reason …
what are the differences between:
LX5090
LX5090D
LX5090H
???
LX5090H has sat receiver
“Strange as it may sound, black level is also critical to colour rendition on a HDTV, simply because the background luminance is irrevocably added to every single colour that needs to be displayed on screen. Think of it this way: greyish blacks will have more “white” than pure blacks. This “white” will be mixed with the colours, decreasing their saturations (for example red may look pink… a bit extreme, but you get the idea) and washing out the image. Only the deepest blacks can allow the colours to flourish with unadulterated richness.”
errr… it’s a plasma TV with pulse width modulated rgb subpixels. So for virtually every colour/luminance (i.e. everything that isn’t virtually black) the TV can offset the background luminance in its internal calibration and achieve the same colour accuracy as a TV with better black levels. Nobody is going to be able to tell the difference except on very dark areas on the TV.
“for example red may look pink”
I don’t think so unless the plasma TV black levels are more like pale grey….LOL
hi my name abdullah hammad in uae dubai
i want buy tv pioneer krp-500a