NEWS: Pioneer reveals UK details of new Kuro plasma TVs and first LCD flatscreens
Pioneer has announced details of its latest, ninth-generation range of Kuro TVs – including the last Pioneer-badged plasma sets to sport glass panels made by the company itself.
It has also revealed its first-ever LCD screens - developed, as we reported here earlier, in conjunction with Sharp - and confirmed its sub-50in sets will sit in this line-up, rather than its plasma family.
As of next year, Pioneer will adopt Panasonic-derived plasma panels, a move designed to help keep costs in check and ensure it can continue to produce competitively priced TVs.
In another big change, this year's G9 series 'Kuro' plasmas are available only in 50in and 60in screen sizes: the smaller 42in plasma previously offered by the company has been dropped, its place in the range taken by three new LCD sets, each of which uses LCD panel technology from Sharp.
Every set in the range, from 32in LCD to 60in plasma, is offered with 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, with the new KRL-32, 37 and 46in LCD sets also providing 100Hz picture processing. 
Pioneer claims the Sharp-based LCDs - due from September - have been specially tweaked by the company's engineers to optimise black levels and overall image quality: just as well, given that the 32in set is expected to cost £1300, and the 37in model £1450.
The plasmas, meanwhile, boast still-better black levels and contrast, and are offered as both integrated 'one-body' sets (the PDP-LX5090 and PDP-LX6090 - in shops by June) and as two-element 'component' TVs, with a separate media receiver box just like Pioneer sets of old.
These latter models (dubbed KRP-500A and KRP-600A, and due later in the summer), also boast tweaked cosmetics and new, radically enhanced on-screen graphics.
In addition to Freeview tuners, they also include HD-capable satellite receivers, but sadly aren't Freesat compatible.
All four plasma panels are slimmer, at around 94mm, than last year's equivalent G8-series sets - as you can see from the picture below.
Prices are expected to be around £2400 for the 'LX5090 and £4200 for the 'LX6090, with the two-box component sets costing around £300 more in each screen size.
Look out for news of Pioneer's new Blu-ray player, receivers and systems in our home cinema section soon! 
Technorati Tags: Freesat, Freeview, HD TV, Kuro, LCD, Pioneer, Plasma
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cool, looking forward to this new generation a lot! please hurry up and review them! The current retail price of the LX508 is about £4000 but can be bought for about £2700 online, with the new LX509 coming in at £2400 retail price..what will this do to the previous model in terms of price? And what about the 508XD..which is still the best non full hd tv about..will that also drop in price?
Pioneer seems to have very efficiently run down stocks of the existing Kuro range, so I don't know there'll be many bargains around....
Some retailers have told us they've found it hard to get sets for some weeks now, and will go straight to the new line--up.
I thought Pioneer were introducing LCD screens to be more cost effective and competitive in the tv market, but how on earth is £1300 for a 32inch LCD tv meant to be competitive?? At the end of the day its a Sharp screen with a Pioneer badge on it with a maybe a few tweaks..can this compete with current LCD market leaders such as Sony and Samsung who sell their 32inch tvs for around 400-700 pounds?
Two things, Ginder - firstly, i'd expect a heck of a lot more from Pioneer than rebadging. As we've seen with Sony - who haven't made their own screens for years - the differences you can achieve with all the electronics and picture-processing 'brains' surrounding the LCD are immense.
Secondly, we're quoting list prices announced at the launch, which are likely to be discounted at retail - just like the Sony and Samsung sets you mention, which certainly weren't launched at those prices.
Yes, I think Pioneer will still sell at a premium. Will that premium be worth it? Our performance-per-pound testing methodology will soon find that out when we get the sets into our test rooms!
When will What Hi-Fi be able to test out the new sets? It would be great if an online review can be published by June! I can't wait to read the review!
Also, given that the new Plasmas are all Full HD, does it make any sense getting the soon to be outdated HD ready sets?
Do the new LCD screens use the "reflective" type screens to give it the plasma "look and feel" like some Samsung LCD models?
So many questions for a Saturday! We'll get review kit as soon as possible and our test verdict will certainly debut online.
Without having yet tested the sets against their HD Ready siblings (other than a brief demo at the launch - no place to judge these things), we can't say how much better the new Full HD models are.
However, we've yet to see anything that beats the current Kuros, so they remain an excellent buy.
Re the LCD screens - again, tough to comment until we have more time with them. Sorry, but we don't rush to judgement on anything - and especially not premium products!
EXCUSE me Claire but Sony's LCD PANELS are made by a company that is owned 51 percent by Sony 49 Percent Samsung. The Panel is the ONLY thing that is not 100% Sony. I agree with you to hold off judgement until it's on front of you though.
Clare, can you find out if Pioneer intend to release a Plasma/LCD with full hd at the size of 42"? Or would you ditch that and go for the Panasonic 42" with the freesat embedded? (had my heart set on a Kuro though for my new house)
Ive read a comment on the fact that a full hd tv is not necessarily better than hd ready so which are the best tvs in the 42" range plasma or lcd ,full hd and hd ready.
Actuali I think you will find that sony themselfs are switching to sharp panels. Pioneer may not be competative in relation to panasonic and jvc but when compared to loewe who also use sharp panels then there very competative. Pioneer wont have a 42" out untill next year when they move to using glass from matsushita.