Pioneer PDP-428XD / 508XD Expert Reviews

With its 'Kuro', blacker-than-black styling, the Pioneer PDP-428XD does live up to its hype. It might sound like a ridiculous thing to say about a TV but we really fell in love with the styling. It would make a great centrepiece to any home cinema and ...

Black levels ; picture quality ; styling ; menu system ; build quality ; sound ; connectivity

Picture can look a little soft with certain settings engaged ; price

A high-quality TV with the sort of black levels that we last saw on CRT TVs. It's not perfect but it does move home cinema screens up to a new level where they can offer something the LCD-based competition can't

Pioneer's top-of-the-range PDP-508XD is without doubt one of the best screens we've ever reviewed. Its design and build quality are difficult to fault, it has no less than three HDMI inputs and the picture quality is truly outstanding

Awesome black levels ; blazing colours ; smooth motion ; heaps of picture tweaking options ; classy design and build quality ; great range of connections

Lack of 'Full HD' 1080p resolution ; some reflections on screen

Televisions don't get much better than this. A winning combination of excellent picture quality, stylish design and user-friendly features, this 50-inch plasma should be at the top of any serious home cinema fan's shopping list. It's pricey, but it's ...

Slightly older model, but the best 42in TV you can buy, full stop. Not cheap, but the quality is all up there on the screen

Fabulous black depth. Amazing contrast. Generally wondrous picture

Not Full HD. But when everything else is this good, that doesn't matter

Kuro means black in Japanese, and it's fundamental to the company's new range of plasmas. Each set, from 42in to 60in, has been designed to deliver dramatically better black levels than any other flat TV on the market: Pioneer claims an 80 percent ...

The actual 50Â" model is a beautiful looking screen with its polished back surroundings, neat (optional) speakers below and a presence that shouts quality before the power switch is even turned on. Looking directly at the screen, on the left hand side ...

Excellent

Equivalent to the PDP-LX508D, but in its HD Ready version, this plasma displays the same fine qualities: deep blacks, nice colors and fluid images. We loved it!

The PDP-428XG is a near-clone of the full-HD LX Kuro in most respects, except that it's priced a lot more affordably.

Deep blacks and excellent color graduation ; overall sharp pictures ; triple 1080p24-ready HDMIs, onboard JPEG playback ; sleek clean design ; dedicated input buttons ; extensive tweaking options

Fixed tabletop stand ; no side HDMI ; a bit pricey

Easily accessible USB port but no side HDMI input

Equivalent to the PDP-LX508D, but in HD Ready and 42 inches (107 cm), this plasma displays the same qualities: deep black colors, nice colors, and a fluid image. Superb!

Pioneer's extraordinary new Kuro range of plasmas is nothing short of a revolution in TV picture quality and this 42in model is one of its finest sons

Fabulous black depth. Amazing contrast. Generally wondrous picture

Not Full HD. But when everything else is this good, that doesn't matter

Near-perfect pictures, features galore, awesome audio, designer finish

Expensive versus most rivals