Pioneer is pushing its plasma KURO brand industrial monitors (50-inch and 60-inch) at its booth (N5661) by demonstrating them side-by-side with the consumer versions of those monitors (not much image difference that I can see, but then, my eyes aren’t that reliable–the differences are more about size, inputs/outputs and what-not).

The company has also placed the newest KUROs in all their glory next to older models of Pioneer Plasmas dating all the way back to 1997. In just barely over 10 years, as the demo and the detailed timeline that accompanies it (which details Pioneer’s innovations in Plasma technology going back to 1991) illustrate, general image quality, particularly in black levels, has dramatically improved, while energy consumption has greatly decreased. I found it an interesting reminder of how rapidly technology in the display arena is evolving.

–MG