Pioneer Continues to Surpass Black Level Performance with New Line of 2008 KURO Televisions

Pioneer's 2008 KURO Displays Boast Industry Leading Black Levels
and Richer Color to Create an Unmatched Emotional Entertainment
Experience
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announces a new line of KURO
plasma displays featuring black levels five times deeper than the
previous award-winning KURO. Widely recognized for its commitment to
creating entertainment experiences that transcend the ordinary,
Pioneer takes yet another groundbreaking step towards HDTV perfection
with this new line of 2008 KURO flat panel televisions.

"The game-changing performance our KURO displays brought to the
market last year revitalized the landscape of high end home theater in
a way that was never thought possible. The introduction of this year's
KURO televisions is another step toward our ultimate goal of pure,
absolute black that will fulfill the true potential and all the
promise of high-definition entertainment," said Paul Meyhoefer, vice
president of display marketing and product planning, home
entertainment business solutions group, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
"Our goal is to listen and fully understand the minds of creative
professionals and their craft. When great entertainment comes together
something truly magical happens, the boundaries of technology fall
away and you're left with a truly unique experience. This is the
hidden key to the power that KURO possesses and ensures the integrity
of the artist's vision is never compromised."

Pioneer's Philosophy is Absolute Black

The philosophy behind Pioneer's Project KURO and the driving force
is to achieve absolute, pure black. True, deep black creates a picture
unlike any other that possesses finer detail, greater contrast, and
more importantly, the ability to produce deeper colors not achievable
before. This year, Pioneer pushes ever closer to their goal of
absolute black by further reducing the idle luminance and improving
black levels five times over the previous 2007 KURO models. This has
enabled Pioneer to accurately reproduce deeper colors within the
high-definition color spectrum and outdistance other display
manufacturers.

Pioneer understands that color is a vital tool that creative
professionals - from visual artists to film and television producers -
use freely to evoke emotion and arouse our senses. With varying
techniques from the most subtle to intense manipulation of color,
artists can induce a very specific feeling within their audience. That
feeling can be lost or diluted if a television cannot produce true,
pure deep blacks and in turn reproduce an accurate color spectrum. The
end result cannot be imitated and is beyond compare.

Evoking Emotion through Sound

Pioneer has incorporated six unique sound settings associated with
each of the KURO video settings - standard, movie, sports,
performance, game, dynamic - to ensure a customized listening
experience that is specifically in tune with the type of programming
on-screen.

The television employs an auto volume stabilization feature that
further controls the television's volume level when switching between
different types of programming; including network shows and
commercials, broadcast channels or different input types to ensure
each experience remains true and distinct from one another.

Pioneer has included the most advanced SRS(R) WOW HD technology in
the new KURO models by incorporating SRS Definition, a high frequency
enhancement that provides finer control and adjustment to manage low,
mid and high audio frequencies. The result adds to the virtual
surround sound effect and produces clearer, more precise audio in mid
to high frequency levels.

A Truly Intelligent Television

The KURO employs a unique automatic adjustment feature called
Optimum Mode that simultaneously monitors video and room light
conditions. The KURO then seamlessly adjusts the picture and sound
settings by even the slightest variation to provide an experience
specially tailored to each type of programming. The result is movies
that reproduce a film-like quality, sports that feel like you're on
the field and crisp clear narration from newscasts that focus on the
reporter, not ambient background noise.

While many consumers will rely on this unique feature, the 2008
KURO models still have the ability to switch between six finely tuned
pre-set modes including: standard, movie, sports, performance, game,
dynamic for consumers who prefer the ability to manually adjust their
KURO television according to their particular taste.

Enhanced Consumer Convenience Features

The introduction of the 2008 KURO 1080p line creates the perfect
synergy between film, video and high quality sound, helping blend
these into a new world of seeing and hearing like never before.
Pioneer has built a reputation for providing best-in-class products
that evoke emotion and surpass typical high-quality sight and sound
specifications, adding enhanced features such as these to the 2008
KURO line:

-- Pioneer KURO televisions are now only 3.7 Inches thick,
reduced by nearly 20 percent

-- New remote control and redesigned high definition graphic user
interface for ease-of-use and seamless integration with other
A/V equipment

-- Networked Home Media Gallery for playback of digital assets
such as HD movies, music and photos from a PC or via USB

-- Pioneer KURO televisions are DLNA compatible and Windows
PlaysForSure(TM) compatible

-0-
*T
Brand Model Screen Resolution Availability Suggested Warranty
No. Size Price
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pioneer PDP- 50-inch 1080p June $4000 1 year
5020FD Class
(49.85-
inch
Diagonal)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pioneer PDP- 60-inch 1080p June $5500 1 year
6020FD Class
(59.58-
inch
Diagonal)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*T

Pioneer's Home Entertainment and Business Solutions Group develops
high definition home theater equipment for discerning entertainment
junkies. Its flat panel televisions, Blu-ray Disc players, A/V
receivers and speakers bring a new level of emotion to the HD
experience. The company brands include Pioneer(R) and Elite(R). When
purchased from an authorized retailer, consumers receive a limited
warranty for one year with Pioneer products and two years with Pioneer
Elite products. More details can be located at
www.pioneerelectronics.com.

PIONEER, the PIONEER logo and the ELITE logo are registered
trademarks of the Pioneer Corporation.

SRS, TruBass and FOCUS are trademarks of SRS Labs, Inc.

for Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.
Christina Ramirez, 310-952-2388
christina.ramirez@pioneer-usa.com
or
Danit Ross, 310-526-5529
dross@gcigroup.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008