Pioneer KRP-600M Plasma TV is part of the high-end KURO PDP series. This plasma display is specially made for Audio-Visual fans, who demand the high quality pictures. The new PDP monitor does not have a built-in digital terrestrial tuner or a speaker, so “the users can select products of their choice for the KRP-600M,” said Nishio. The KRP-600M is only 41mm thick at its thinnest part and 64mm at the thickest part. When using a wall hanger, the distance from the wall is 89mm.

The specifications were not unveiled, other than the fact that it has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. According to Takeshi Hama, deputy counselor of Home AV Engineering Group at Product Strategy Department of Pioneer Marketing Division, the full On/Off contrast ratio of the KRP-600M is enhanced to 100,000:1, while that of the PDP-6010HD is 20,000:1.

The Pioneer KRP-600M Plasma TV will be available in Japan later this month for around $7,921

Pioneer will be releasing two new 7.1 AV amplifiers fat the end of June known as the VSA-LX51, and VSA-1018AH. Both amps support HDMI 1.3 (3 input / 1 out), Dolby NR TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, Dolby digital plus, and DTS EXPRESS. They also come with an USB port to play MP3, WMA, AAC files and the LX51 (only) has an additional video upscaler to upscale an image to 720p and 1080p. You’ll pay about 925 € for VSA -LX51 and 700 € for the VSA-1018AH

Pioneer this morning overhauled its KURO and Signature Series lines of plasma HDTVs as well as introducing a new 1080p projector. While not going into specifics, the Elite line now has better contrast ratios to produce deeper black levels as well as improved colors; the new models are also much more customizable and also pack an Optimum mode that automatically checks both the environment and the content itself to adjust both the image and audio quality on the fly, saving viewers from having to make manual adjustments at different times of the day or as they switch channels or movies.

The company divides its high-end launch into four models. The standard Elite KURO models ship in 50-inch (PRO-111FD) and 60-inch (PRO-151FD) sets both capable of 1080p; they also both ship in June and will sell for $5,000 and $6,500 respectively. Pioneer also ships same-sized 50- (PRO-101FD) and 60-inch (PRO-141FD) Elite Signature Series models built for custom home theater installations that are similarly capable and will be available in October and August respectively, though prices aren’t expected to appear until closer to the launches themselves. Read more here

According to the BBC, Pioneer is planning to unveil an HD Plasma TV at CES 2008 in Las Vegas, which is just 9mm thick. The story has now been taken down by the BBC, but Pioneer has confirmed that it was genuine.Pioneer is claiming that the new model is the ‘world’s thinnest’ HD Plasma TV. Details of the specification are not currently available.

Leaked pictures of the set show that although much of it is ultra-thin, there is also a thicker area.

Pioneer will also demonstrate its new Kuro displays at CES, which offer extremely dark blacks and a wider colour range.

Pioneer recently announced that it had cancelled plans to open a new production facility for plasma screens, due to falling demand for the technology with consumers favouring LCD displays.