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The Pioneer PDP-6020FD 60-Inch Class KURO Plasma HDTV is not a HDTV for the faint hearted and if you wince at the thought of spending $4,000 or more on a TV this won’t be the TV for you.

This is high end and you can expect to pay for quality. I have to confess for $3995 currently discounted on Amazon I was expecting something a bit special and I wasn’t disappointed…

Pioneer PDP-6020FD 60-Inch Class KURO Plasma HDTV

but I have to say that for such a serious amount of money as this is (listed at over $5500 on the Pioneer website) I wasn’t totally blown away either.

Yes this HDTV screams class and it could win style awards but that doesn’t make it a great HDTV and at this price point you expect a lot for your hard earned cash.

When a Television is this pricey, it’s only fair to expect the best.Sadly,this 60-inch plasma from top of the range makers of such things Pioneer doesn’t measure up to its lofty ticket price in my book.

I can recall a few years ago when buying high end audio and video equipment Pioneer would always be high on my wish list

But nowdays others have taken up the mantle and companies like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and even LG are producing better products at competitive prices.

The Kuro has many plus points but when you must consider products like the new range of LED TV’s from Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony this really has no way of competing at that over inflated price and at it’s true list price well don’t even get me started.

If I was spending $3000 or more on a TV and I am not, the Pioneer Kuro would not even be on my short list yes the screen is really black and the picture colors are some thing else compared with plasma TV’s in the past but every one has caught up with Pioneer and they are being left behind.

I thought movement on screen was some what jittery and prone to judder on panning sequences. I also felt the tuner on this set should have been much better it’s like it’s been a time warp or something maybe that’s one reason Pioneer are getting out of the TV game?

Both standard (ie playing a DVD or watching TV) and high-definition pictures are afflicted by the jitter and close up the pixels seem to be slowly vibrating maybe that was eyes as I wasn’t far from the screen and didn’t notice it further away from the screen.

Rather curiously the HD pictures seemed just not as good as I had anticipated maybe I am just over optomistic with my expectations.

The included speakers, boasts a strong stereo effect plus nice depth and detail. But I think it would be better if their was an option as there used to be for not buying speakers and using those with your existing system.

The Pioneer can be transformed should you wish into a huge computer display by connecting via the analogue VGA or one of four HDMI sockets. So could be connected to some of the new HTPC systems available.

All in all this is a really good TV but for the price I would either get the new LED TV from Samsung or LG or wait and see what the new generation of TV’s are going to cost when those shown at CES 2010 hit the stores.

If you have $3500 or so burning a whole in your pocket that’s fine but don’t buy it if you have been saving for years for your dream TV.

Related articles on HDTV

• 6 reviews of Samsung FPT5884 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (rateitall.com)
• The 5 Best TVs You Can Buy [TVs] (gizmodo.com)

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