Pioneer Elite PRO-1540HD

By Augie Bettencourt

The Elite product line of Pioneer Electronics represents the company’s attempt at creating the finest home theater products possible. Pioneer Elite products are exclusive products with exclusive distribution channels, and not all Pioneer retailers are allowed to carry Elite products. These hot-rodded Pioneer products are equivalent to BMW’s M-Series, or Mercedes’ AMG line. Whether it’s plasma televisions that display improved, pristine HD content, or receivers and speakers that work in tandem, Pioneer’s Elite line is their very best gear. Understanding Pioneer’s goal, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on their latest 60” plasma television, the Pioneer Elite PRO-1540HD. 
Pioneer shipped the PRO-1540HD to my house on a palette via a freight company, and I was anxious to unbox it. As I unboxed the set, I couldn’t help but marvel at the beautiful gloss black finish Pioneer calls their “Urushi” finish, which is named after an ancient Japanese lacquer collected from the Urushi tree. The entire face of the television is covered in the Urushi finish, with “Elite” elegantly written in gold letters at bottom front of the set. The PRO-1540HD has a retail price tag of $7,500.

The Technology

Plasma televisions create a picture from a gas (plasma) filled with xenon and neon atoms and millions of electrically charged atoms and electrons that collide when you turn the power on. The energy the collision releases increases the energy level in the plasma and the neon and xenon release photons of light (similar to the way neon lights work). Plasma TVs offer large viewing areas, but are very thin. While they offer excellent picture quality, they are quite expensive and are fast becoming the popular choice for HDTV. Several Pioneer exclusive technologies work in tandem to provide consumers an unparalleled picture and home theatre experience. Newly designed glass and the First Surface PRO Color Filter improve picture contrast and provide greater detail in darker scenes, resulting in a purer more accurate picture on screen. A redesigned Deep Encased Cell Structure and improved red and blue phosphor technology improve overall brightness, while a Crystal Emissive Layer bonded directly to the plasma glass is responsible for improved panel efficiency and better contrast. If you’re worried about the life cycle of a plasma television, know that sixty thousand hours (20 years at 8 hours per day) is an approximate lifespan that Pioneer estimates this display panel will take to reach half of its original luminescence. This approximation may vary depending on source and type of content, settings, environment and use. 

Setup

I connected my Denon 3910 DVD via HDMI for DVD viewing, Microsoft Xbox 360 via component connectors for game playing, Sony Playstation 3 via HDMI for Blu-ray watching and game playing, and Comcast DCT3416 via HDMI for HD viewing. All cables were of premium quality supplied by Cableorganizer.com. From the main menu you’ll find access to the Picture Menu which includes Brightness, Contrast, Color, Tint and Sharpness controls. Pioneer Elite televisions also offer the option of ISF calibration. This feature allows consumers to have a trained professional finely tune their plasma adjusting color, brightness and contrast all to the specific tastes of the owner and the room in which it resides

Features 

The PRO-1540HD is 60 inch diagonal, high definition WXGA resolution (1365 x 768), 16:9 wide-screen aspect ratio plasma television with the ability to accept a 1080p/24Hz signal. It has the most amazing array of features of any plasma I’ve yet seen, but rather than bore you with the details, I’ll only briefly highlight some of the most important features. The PRO-1540HD is one the first Pioneer plasma to incorporate an exclusive home networking program, “Home Media Gallery” that easily connects to an existing home network via Ethernet or USB. This feature provides users direct access to movies, music and photos stored on a networked PC or any other DLNA compliant device for immediate viewing on the plasma in HD quality. It has a fully integrated media receiver with dual NTSC (standard TV) tuners and one ATSC (high-definition TV) tuner for receiving over-the-air broadcasts. Cable TV subscribers can utilize a CableCARD to receive NTSC and ATSC broadcasts instead of using a traditional cable set-top box, which just requires inserting the CableCARD provided by your cable company into the slot provided on the television. The PRO-1540HD also features the TV Guide On Screen Interactive Program Guide, to help you find your favorite shows, as well as a full set of A/V and computer inputs and outputs. The PRO-1540HD includes two independent HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) terminals that enable direct digital input of video and audio signals using just one HDMI cable and have the ability to accept a 1080p/24Hz signal. The Pioneer Elite PRO-1540HD includes two side speakers that attach to the panel and can be detached. The remote control is very nice, as it has direct input selection of all inputs and is completely backlit. 

Movies 

First I tried the “Moulin Rouge” DVD (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), which I have always found visually astounding. Although there are certainly lots of scenes you could pick in this film, Chapter 4 is my favorite. This chapter epitomizes the film’s dizzying, psychedelic rollercoaster ride with richly colored sets and costumes that seem to pop off the screen. The PRO-1540HD never missed a beat as I was treated to some of the most lush, saturated colors I have ever seen on any 60” display of any type. Images were smooth and film-like, but also had adequate detail without having a digital appearance, surely a testament to the excellent scaling of the PRO-1540HD’s processing circuits.

Mission: Impossible III (Paramount Home Video) is certainly a reference quality DVD. Detail is sharp throughout; black levels provide deep contrasting. Fleshtones are richly colored, every pore and bead of sweat was clearly visible and displayed by the PRO-1540HD.

HD Movies

The Chicago (Miramax Home Entertainment) Blu-ray Disc is simply jaw-dropping and looked wonderful when being played by the Playstation 3. Everything about the image was exactly what HD ought to be. The detail was striking in some scenes and colors popped-off the screen. It was an amazing experience.

The Comcast DCT3416-I Dual HDTV DVR box worked flawlessly with the PRO-1540HD. Some of the material I watched included CSI: Miami, 24 and The Discovery Channel. Standard definition programming looked good, but HD programming was simply jaw-dropping. 

Games

Finally, I played Call of Duty 3 on the Xbox 360. In the context of a game, Call of Duty 3 is visually stunning and has never looked better. Gamers will love the immersive feeling of playing games on the Pioneer PRO-1540HD, especially when combined with a thunderous Dolby Digital home theater system. 

Downsides

At $7,500, the PRO-1540HD isn’t cheap. But considering the fantastic picture quality, features and technology - $7,500 for a 60” plasma is not overpriced.

Conclusion 

The Pioneer Elite PRO-1540HD is the best looking 60” display I have ever seen. Simply calling it Pioneer’s M-Series of plasma televisions is not enough, because it’s better-than that. In my opinion, for the moment, the PRO-1540HD sets the standard for all 60” displays. Not only does the Pioneer Elite PRO-1540HD have the nicest gloss black finish in the industry, but it’s packed with advanced technology like Pioneer’s own First Surface PRO Color Filter, Deep Encased Cell Structure and Crystal Emissive Layer, not to mention a laundry list of features like Home Media Gallery that easily connects to an existing home network via Ethernet or USB. Whether you’re watching the latest HD epic movie, or playing the latest Xbox 360 game, the Pioneer Elite PRO-1540HD provides the most richly colored and the smoothest detailed images I have ever seen. If paying $7,500 is within your budget, the Pioneer Elite PRO-1540HD is an easy choice and I highly recommend it.