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Pioneer markets its Elite lineup of plasma TVs to appeal to the hard-core home theater enthusiast, and that means pricing these panels above and beyond just about anything else. The enthusiast who can afford one, however, can rest assured that the 50-inch PRO-111FD performs above and beyond anything else on the market today. This display has the best black levels (aside from OLED) and most accurate color of any HDTV we’ve ever reviewed, and it’s hard to find fault with other aspects of its picture quality. A picture mode entitled Pure is exactly that, delivering better out-of-the-box settings–before we performed any adjustments–than any preset picture mode we’ve tested, including THX on models like the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U. A stratospheric price disqualifies the Elite from consideration as our Editors’ Choice, but make no mistake: If you have the cash to burn, this plasma or its 60-inch brother is best flat-panel HDTV you can buy today, period.

Design
Pioneer’s no-nonsense, all-black look gives the PRO-111FD an ultraserious air, backed up by the unadorned, glossy-black frame with a simple gold “Elite” tattooed on the bottom. The sharp-cornered frame is characteristically chunky for a 50-inch plasma, and unlike most HDTVs, Pioneer mounts the speakers to both sides, making for an expansive wingspan. We appreciated that the speakers can be detached, as can the glossy black, nonswiveling stand.

Including stand and speakers, the PRO-111FD measures approximately 56.9 inches wide by 31 inches high by 13.8 inches deep and weighs 88 pounds. By itself, the panel measures 48.8 by 28.5 by 3.7 inches and weighs 74.5 pounds.

Pioneer’s remote was redesigned after last year, and we really don’t like it. Gone are the different shapes for secondary functions; instead, almost all of the keys on the new remote share the same square shape, tiny size, and are arranged in a staid grid. While that may make the clicker look cooler in some designer’s opinions, it sure doesn’t help navigate the scads of buttons. Sure, we liked the direct access to each of the inputs and the red-backlit keys, but we can’t forgive the unforgiving grid.Click Here!

Tags: HD, Pioneer, satellite tv