Strange, CR tested the Kuro in the current November issue and mentioned that it had very good blacks. But it still rated it below the Panasonic 50PX75U and the Samsung 5064.
The 81 Series Samsungs are LED backlit LCD's, they do look great, the black is good but put a red image on it (preferably with a black background) and you'll see the difference - even after an ISF calibration on the 81's we have at work, their colour quality is still nowhere close to the Pioneer's.
The Kuro line is outstanding. Beyond outstanding. I'd still prefer a Samsungg 5080 for one reason: White. The black levels on the Pioneer are weak compared to the whites on the Samsung.
I will say that the best black AND white, simultanious are the Sony XBR4's and 5's.
Consumer Reports heavily weights price in their rankings - in my opinion, price has no place in a performance review. If you can't afford the best three TVs, buy the fourth best...they have always ranked Pioneer low because of price.
Plus, honestly, I don't trust the same people who reviewed my blender to review my HDTV - I'll leave that to the enthusiasts.
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Strange, CR tested the Kuro in the current November issue and mentioned that it had very good blacks. But it still rated it below the Panasonic 50PX75U and the Samsung 5064.
The 81 Series Samsungs are LED backlit LCD's, they do look great, the black is good but put a red image on it (preferably with a black background) and you'll see the difference - even after an ISF calibration on the 81's we have at work, their colour quality is still nowhere close to the Pioneer's.
The Kuro line is outstanding. Beyond outstanding. I'd still prefer a Samsungg 5080 for one reason: White. The black levels on the Pioneer are weak compared to the whites on the Samsung.
I will say that the best black AND white, simultanious are the Sony XBR4's and 5's.
Consumer Reports heavily weights price in their rankings - in my opinion, price has no place in a performance review. If you can't afford the best three TVs, buy the fourth best...they have always ranked Pioneer low because of price.
Plus, honestly, I don't trust the same people who reviewed my blender to review my HDTV - I'll leave that to the enthusiasts.