Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD Review
By D-Nice
Perfection
[per-fek-shuh
n] –noun
1. the
state or quality of being or becoming perfect.
2. the
highest degree of proficiency, skill, or excellence, as in some art.
3. a
perfect embodiment or example of something.
4. a
quality, trait, or feature of the highest degree of excellence.
5. the
highest or most nearly perfect degree of a quality or trait.
6.
the act or fact
of perfecting.
7.
what videophiles strive for in a video display
For a video
display to legitimately aspire to perfection, it must possess the deepest black
levels available, an unmatched contrast ratio, a ruler-flat grayscale, and
color accuracy that brings tears to Joe Kane’s eye. There have been displays
that excelled in some of these areas.
There have been displays that even provided 70-85% of all these items;
however, there has never been a display
that aced each of these requirements. I
was raised to “Never say never” because it is a false absolute. The Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD is the perfect example
as to why one should not use that false absolute.
Panel Design
Although
the entire display industry has gone glossy black, Pioneer PDPs are always twinkling
stars due to their elegant, yet simplistic design. The PRO‐111FD continues Pioneer’s status
quo of impeccable build quality that is beautifully wrapped in a black
finish. Its 48-17/32” x 28-15/32” piano black acrylic bezel presents the PRO-111FD as if it belongs
on display in an art museum, rather than an electronics store. To top things
off, and satisfy the “slim is in” crowd, Pioneer managed to shave 20% from last
year’s display depth leaving a very lean 3.7”.
Features
The
PRO-111FD “jack pack” is identical to its siblings in the 9G non-Elite line:
§
4 HDMI 1.3a ports (three on the back,
one on the left input/control panel)
§
1 component
§
1 S‐Video
§
3 composite
§
1 VGA input
Carried
over from last year’s Elite KUROs is a network interface port that allows
owners to connect and stream video (limited file types), music, and pictures
from their home PC/laptop. Setup and use is pretty much plug-and-play. However,
computer challenged owners may require someone with networking knowledge to
help with the setup to avoid having issues with this feature. One unique feature exclusive to the Elite
line is a detachable color sensor that works in tandem with the room light
sensor to automatically adjust the contrast, brightness, and color of the
display, regardless of room color, lighting, or time of day.
Pioneer
has also included a redesigned backlit remote with the PRO-111FD.
Compared
to last year’s layout, the new remote is more user friendly with the channel
and volume controls reversed from last year’s layout.
“KURO
here, KURO there, everything KURO”…including the new menu GUI. Gone are the “So
90s” like menu colors we are so accustomed to on previous Pioneer generations.
They have been replaced with a more aesthetically appealing “KURO” GUI. Out of the box, 7 Preset A/V picture modes
are available: Optimum / Performance / Sports / Movie / PURE / Game / Standard. (two thumbs up to Pioneer for removing Dynamic from the
lineup). However, using ControlCAL’s ISFccc display profile, which by the way is one gem of tool, you can
activate 3 additional A/V modes for each input: ISF-Auto / ISF-Day /
ISF-Night.
Unlike the
crippled 9G non-Elite line (a huge mistake on Pioneer’s part), the PRO-111FD
retains a full-featured Pro Adjust menu.
The availability of these controls has a huge impact on what can be done
with Performance, Sports, Game, and Standard A./V modes. Contrary to the non-Elite versions of these
A/V modes, these are actually usable J
Bench Tests and Measurements
The
PRO-111FD aced every test pattern I threw at it. Starting with the reverse grayscale on the HD
DVD version of Digital Video Essential’s,
I found zero clipping at the low or high end.
Test material from the HQV
Benchmark HD DVD and DVD produced zero jaggies with either a 1080i or 480i
signal. The 3D and Field noise reduction
controls proved very effective without stripping high frequency picture
detail. The Block and Mosquito noise
reduction controls were visually useless. Using a 1920x1080 resolution test
pattern, the PRO-111FD was able to display every single pixel regardless if the
signal was 1080i/60 or 1080p24/60.
Calibrating
the PRO-111FD was an effortless chore.
Armed with SpectraCal’s formidable CalMAN
calibration software, I was able to tame the PRO-111FD’s grayscale and color
points in less than 30 minutes. Although
I did calibrate the ISF Auto/Day/Night modes on the PRO-111FD, all measurements
in this review were taken using Pure mode …post 150 hours of break-in (I will
review the ISF Auto/Day/Night modes in a future review).
Post-Calibration Luminance and Gamma
What more can you ask for in a
display? Perfect luminance for each RGB
channel from 0-100% stimuli coupled to a completely flat 2.2 gamma curve.
Post-Calibration Grayscale
The
PRO-111FD presented a textbook grayscale that averaged 6546K from 10‐100%
stimuli. This was a marked improvement over Pure mode’s preset grayscale of
6100K.
Post-Calibration Color Points
As you can see, the PRO-111FD is capable of
achieving nearly perfect color points. Perfection could have been achieved if
Pioneer had included a Color Management System that features saturation and
brightness controls instead of only tint.
Even second tier Samsung models include such controls. There is no excuse as to why these controls
have been omitted on a $5,000 display.
Hopefully Pioneer will get their act together on next year’s models.
Contrast Ratio
On a 0%
stimuli pattern, the PRO-111FD goes blacker than any plasma has gone
before. It is so dark, I cannot
accurately measure its minimum luminance level (MLL as it’s called on AVSForum). Due to this challenge, I had to resort to
using 0.001fL as its black level reading, which raises the possibility of
UNDERSTATING the contrast ratios.
Pioneer also has given us a glimpse at what we can expect with future
Pioneer generations that include ECC (Extreme Contrast Concept) 0fL technology
by shutting off the pixels on 0% stimuli signals after 30 seconds. Pioneer, stop teasing us!
Using windowed
patterns, I measured a peak contrast ratio of 36,600:1 (36.6fL peak white/0.001fL
video black) Full‐screen white contrast ratio measured 17,800:1 (17.8fL
peak white/0.001fL video black). ANSI came in at a whopping 13,833:1.
Viewing Angle
There was
no visible drop‐off in contrast and color from extreme horizontal angles.
However,
there is a very slight brightness drop‐off from vertical angles above
60°. You must be standing 2 feet in front of the panel to see this
drop‐off.
Other Measurements
Dead
pixels None
Screen
uniformity Perfect
HDMI
Overscan 0%
with Dot by Dot and 2% with Full
Blacker
than black Passed
Black
level Excellent
Black
level retention None
Video
deinterlacing Excellent
Film
deinterlacing Passed
3:2/ 2:2 cadence in all resolutions
Viewing
angle Excellent
(> 150°)
Motion
resolution 950
lines
Digital
noise reduction Excellent
Sharpness Defeatable
edge enhancement
Image
retention Very
minor before 150 hour break‐in. Zero after.
Posterization
None
1080p/24
capability Yes.
No telecine judder
Performance
Very few
phrases can describe the picture the PRO-111FD renderers. Voluptuous yet accurate colors, blacks that
cause schizophrenic “Is it on, or is it off?” voices, and spine-tingling
contrast are the only ones I can think of.
To be
honest, there really isn’t another panel on the market today that has any
chance of competing against the PRO-111FD besides its 9G non-Elite siblings and
last year’s Elite models. I know I will
probably receive a lot of flak for that statement. However, after viewing the PRO-111FD both in
house and last month at Value
Electronic’s flat panel shoot-out, it’s the
honest truth that can objectively be backed up with data.
Sitting
center stage between a fully calibrated PDP-6020FD on the left and PRO-1150HD
on the right, the PRO-111FD portrays what you would get if you mixed the prior
two together, intoxicating perfection.
Dark Room BD Performance
Although
I’ve seen Batman Begins about 50
times since its premier in theaters, watching the Blu-Ray edition of it on the PRO-111FD
was like watching it again for the first time.
Blacks dripped from the screen just like on the PDP-6020FD. However, the PRO-111FD had the edge over the
PDP-6020FD by pulling even more shadow detail into low light scenes. When young Bruce Wayne was in the abandoned
well peering into the darkness, the rocks had more detail and pop on the
PRO-111FD. Ra’s al Ghul’s introduction
to Bruce while he was voluntarily imprisoned somewhere in China achieved the
same effect. Strands of Bruce’s hair
were more visible within the cell’s stone backdrop on the PRO-111FD compared to
the PDP-6020FD. The Bat Mobile chase
through crime-plagued Gotham caused me to randomly call out biblical
entities. There were even low light
scenes in the movie where the PRO-111FDs black levels surpassed the movie’s
black levels resulting in a dark, dark grey picture elegantly framed by light void
black bars top and bottom. Simply put,
it was a reference-quality panel for a reference-quality movie.
Switching
to Chicken Little allowed me to spend
some quality time with my 3-year-old daughter, and the PRO-111FD flexed its
dynamic muscles. Colors had a liquid
look to them, albeit not as fluid compared to the PDP-6020FD. This sometimes caused me to pay more
attention to the PDP-6020FD. However my
sub-conscious would rein me back into the more accurate representation on the
PRO-111FD like a dog on a leash. The
endless contrast of the PRO-111FD made the PRO-1150HD to the right look a relic
from the past. Blacks were always
lifelessly inky on the PRO-111FD compared to the ever-so slight glow on the PRO-1150HD
(black measured @ 0.004fL).. All three
panels were devoid of any and all noise.
Dark Room SD DVD Performance
Feeding
all three panels the same 480i presentation of Sin City as I did in my
PDP-6020FD review, the PRO-111FD excelled where the PDP-6020FD showed some weakness.
The PRO-111FD produced the same clarity and razor-sharp detail that the PRO-1150HD
on the right pumped out. Gone was the
softer picture of the PDP-6020FD. I
welcomed the return of that superb picture that I was so accustomed to on the
PRO-1150HD. Jessica Alba on the stripper
pole looked as if she was dancing for me in my living room (boy do I
wish!!!!). Facial details were identical
to the PRO-1150HD.
To see how
the PRO-111FD handles less than perfect SD DVD quality material, I downloaded a
copy of Hancock. By no means do I
encourage anyone to download “illegal” copies of any movie. However, I made this an exception for the
review and will absolutely purchase the BD copy when it is release this winter. Can you say “WOW!!!”? The PRO-111FD handled this less than perfect
presentation like it was nothing. Colors
were spot on to what I remember of the DLP theater version I viewed. Video noise was held at bay, even with all of
the noise reduction features turned off.
Even with this less than perfect copy, blacks remained deep and
rich. The PRO-111FD once again claims
the “Reference Display” crown.
HD Cable Performance
I feel
sorry for anyone who missed the spectacular 2008 Summer Olympic opening
ceremonies. Viewing this spectacle on
three KUROS was nothing less than heavenly.
With apologies to Judy Garland, “Colors, Contrast, Black Levels, Oh
My!!!” Although I’m a few thousand miles
from Beijing, the fireworks with the nighttime city backdrop shown on the
PRO-111FD put me right there. Pure
perfection baby!!!! Reds looked like the
delicious red apples in my fruit bowl. Blues were jaw dropping on all three
panels. Greens were perfect on the
PRO-111FD contrasted with the oversaturated ones of the PDP-6020FD. All colors in between …breathtaking.
Overall, I
must confess that colors looked more “life-like” on the PDP-6020 due to its
wider and hardcoded colorspace 1 color pallet.
One of the perks of paying $1,000 (MSRP) more for an Elite over the
non-Elites is the flexibility of switching between colorspace 1 (overstaturated
colors) and colorspace 2 (which conforms to the HD colorspace). However, if you are stickler for accuracy,
colorspace 2 on the PRO-111FD is the only way to go.
With the
exception of the Olympics, the PRO-111FD showed the same flaws seen on the PDP-6020FD
that stem from good ol’ compressed HD signals.
Let’s give a round of applause to our wonderful broadcasters that are robbing
us blind for this crap….NOT!
Details in
static 1080i images were superior to the PRO-1150HD; however, moving scenes proved
to be more riddled with macroblocking and other picture artifacts but, Dot‐by
dot mode reduced some of these artifacts. However, it still was sub-par to the pristine
picture the PRO-1150HD was simultaneously showing. In this case the higher
resolution of the PRO-111FD compared with the 768p PRO-1150HD merely shows the
faults of the source. I can now
confidently say the finger squarely needs to be pointed at Time Warner Cable
and all satellite/cable providers. Full
1080i broadcasting my ass.
SD Cable Performance
SD cable
was as acceptable as on the PRO-1150HD.
Never was I annoyed surfing SD channels with either the Wide or Cinema
stretch modes as I was with the PDP-6020FD.
Having control over the noise reduction features is a must when it comes
to SD channels. Shame on you Pioneer for
removing those features from the non-Elite line.
Overall Daytime Performance
The
PRO-111FD performed even more admirably than the PRO-1150HD. Mid range APL scenes were noticeably brighter
on the PRO-111FD, even after setting both to the same peak light output. This comes in handy when watching Eight Below on BD, although an LCD still
would perform better in this context.
The 9G
Elite Pioneer’s AR coating, which is mixed into the bonded color filter, is visually different compared with the
PDP-6020FD and PRO-1150HD. With the
picture off, the PRO-111FD has a more purplish hue to it. This hue isn’t visible with most screen
content and actually improves color performance when lots of light is hitting
the screen. All three KURO’s AR coating
kept reflections at bay.
Anomalies
There were
a number of “bugs” reported with last year’s KURO series. Pioneer did address
most of
these
issues, but did not fix all of them (even after I was told that they were
corrected):
Blotching Not
present on the PRO-111FD. However, it is
present on the PDP-6020FD (Only visible on a completely black screen).
Pure
Cinema ADV Screen Dimming Fixed
Pure
Cinema ADV Screen Flicker Fixed
Buzzing Power
supply buzz has been corrected. Panel buzz is negligible.
Conclusion
Perfection
is what every videophile wants in a video display. Pioneer has gone the extra mile to cater to
the videophile’s stringent requirements.
§
Blackest black levels of any flat
panel on the market today? Check
§
Colors that make your eyes want to
divorce your eye sockets? Check
§
Dynamic contrast range that is
guaranteed to cause couch potato syndrome? Check
§
Grayscale that rivals $40,000 studio
monitors? Got that too
The
PRO-111FDs $5,000 MSRP sticker price will probably cause some buyers to venture
down other flat panel purchasing avenues.
However, I personally could never put a price on perfection. The PRO-111FD has it all. At this point I’ve run out of things to say
about the PRO-111FD. Feel free to add your
own words in the blanks below.
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