Panasonic may finally have given us a genuine successor to Pioneer’s remarkable Kuro plasma TV technology which has been billed as the best TV technology in the world today after secretly acquiring the patents to Kuro late last year.
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| Left: Current model Panasonic plasma Right New model Panasonic Plasma with built in Kuro technology |
At demonstration in Melbourne to launch their 3D TV’s Panasonic took time out to demonstrate their new Kuro plasma technology which when compared with a current model top of the range Panasonic plasma TV delivered a significantly superior display where whites were significantly brighter and blacks significantly blacker.
2 years ago Panasonic took over the 120 strong Pioneer research and development team who had developed the Kuro engine which critics deemed the best flat panel display engine in the world. However they failed to get access to the patents.
Panasonic and Pioneer began collaborating with each other shortly before Pioneer exited the plasma market in late 2008 due to heavy losses.
In November a paragraph appeared in Pioneer’s annual report that said that Panasonic had officially acquired the patents for Kuro.
The results of that acquisition and 18 months of further development were shown in Melbourne today with a comparison between an existing high end Panasonic plasma TV and a new Kuro model that is set to be released shortly.
The statement in the Pioneer annual report said “The Company resolved to transfer its patents for plasma display panels and modules to Panasonic Corporation at the Board of Directors’ meeting held on April 28, 2009. The two companies had executed the agreement on May 15, 2009. This constitutes part of the business restructuring effort in accordance with plans for a full withdrawal from the display business.”
The Pioneer Kuro plasma-TVs has set the standard for picture quality in the flat panel market for some time with arch rivals LG and Samsung recently admitting that it was a “Superior” plasma TV technology.
Paul Read Director of Consumer Electronics for Pioneer said “The Kuro demonstration shows that plasma is a significantly superior flat panel TV technology. We have reduced the power usage by 35% and by using the Kuro technology we have significantly improved image quality. Blacks are blacker and the white just got brighter.
