As they said they would, Pioneer has made their lower res, 1365 by 768 and 1024 by 768 res, 16,000:1 contrast ratio, Project Kuro Plasmas available for sale before July was up. The 1080p models, with the 20,000:1 ratios, 1080p pixel count, and 50 and 60 inch sizes, are coming in September. Until then, these are good…

Here at the Pioneer "Project Kuro" Gen 8 plasma launch, the TVs really look good. I wouldn't expect them to look bad, seeing as everything in the room would be optimized. However, you can see from these pictures that the contrast really is dramatic, and that in low light, the blacks don't hum with grayness the way some…

To recap the news that leaked out of Europe yesterday, Pioneer is rolling out its 8th-generation plasmas, TVs whose black levels are 80% deeper than Pioneer's previous TVs. The end result is a 20,000:1 contrast ratio, and three times as many gradient steps. That means, in dark movie scenes, you'll see be able to see…

Pioneer Europe just unveiled details on their 8th generation Plasma tech 24 hours before the US event. This is something we heard about at CES, and that HDTV lovers can get riled up about. (Go ahead, woot out loud, it makes sense this time.)