There's no doubting that the KRL-37V produces a mighty fine picture, but it can't quite justify that hefty price premium

We almost choked on our cornflakes the morning Pioneer announced it was branching out into the world of LCD TVs. For those who missed the original story, the company's ninth generation of Kuro TVs uses LCD screens developed in conjunction with Sharp on all sub-50in sets.

Given Pioneer's previous commitment to all things plasma, this was quite a shock. Thankfully, we managed to avoid a trip to A&E and over the past couple of days we've been spending some quality time with a 37inch set from Pioneer's new LCD range: the KRL-37V.

Positioned as a premium product
Pioneer has positioned its new Kuro LCD TVs as premium products, which is evident in the price tag (£1500 for this model) and the technology that it uses.

For example, the KRL-37V features the same ultra-black, anti-reflective front filter found on the Pioneer's ninth-generation plasma TVs. The set even uses a similar remote control that's chunky and a delight to use.

The KRL-37V is a weighty design by LCD standards: the moody black bezel and accompanying pedestal stand give the TV a purposeful appearance.

On the rear of the set you'll find a good assortment of sockets including a trio of recessed HDMI inputs, a set of component video inputs and twin RGB Scart sockets.

Full HD resolution and 100Hz processing
The KRL-37V boasts Full HD resolution and 100Hz picture processing. Work your way through Pioneer's graphic menus and you'll find standard picture settings that can be altered, together with more detailed picture enhancing technologies including Pure Cinema (for optimum performance with film sources).

The Pioneer set can also automatically alter backlight brightness depending on the viewing conditions (you can also adjust the backlight manually too). The picture can be customised for each individual input or you can use one of the preset picture modes, including a specific gaming mode.

Talking of gaming, users of older Xbox 360 consoles should note that the KRL-37V won't accept 1080p over component video – 1080i is the maximum that the Pioneer can handle.

Setting up the Freeview tuner is done via auto-installation. One thing that you'll notice is that the Pioneer's EPG (Electronic Programme Guide) is quite busy and you can get lost in the sea of channels and programmes. But you can search by genre using Pioneer's clever little icons, which is a nice touch.

Freeview pictures look excellent
Carrying the weight of the Pioneer Kuro range on its shoulders, the KRL-37V has plenty to live up to, and it doesn't disappoint. The set does a superb job with Freeview.

Sure, the picture isn't completely free of noise but the Pioneer makes a great fist of it. Motion is handled smoothly, detail levels are to be admired and overall it's very good picture, on a par with the best integrated Freeview tuner's we've seen.

Move on to DVD playback, and it's more of the same. The TV won't make the script of Mike Myer's The Love Guru any better, but it does bring the picture to life with excellent edge definition and a broad array of rich colours.

Make the jump to Blu-ray and Pioneer ups its game yet again, producing an extremely enjoyable, cinematic picture. The material and texture of Hancock's superhero suit looks natural and realistic.

But there's a slightly uneven backlight
There's a lot of detail to admire in the blacks of his suit and the dark blue police uniforms on show during the bank heist scene.

However, those blacks aren't quite as rich as we'd have liked, and matters aren't helped by a slightly uneven backlight – not something we'd expect from such an expensive set

Sound quality is solid and above average for a flatscreen. The two, 10W speakers don't sound thin or tinny. Keep things to reasonable levels and you can't go wrong, although we suspect many buyers will use this set with an external surround system.

Pioneer deserves to be applauded for what it has achieved with this LCD TV. On pure performance terms, you'd be hard-pressed choosing between the Pioneer and our award-winning Sony KDL-40W4500, even with its extra three inches.

But this TV's main stumbling block is its price tag. £1500 is a massive ask, especially when you consider the calibre of TVs that you can buy for half the price and the fact that you could buy a Blu-ray player and AV receiver with the difference. The KRL-37V is a stunner, but a tad too expensive.