Woochifer
02-24-2008, 06:40 PM
Pioneer has long been one of the more acclaimed plasma HDTV brands. Apparently, they've now decided to stop producing 42" plasma sets and focus on sets 50" and larger. They will continue to market smaller plasma sets, but those will be manufactured by Panasonic. In addition, Pioneer is looking to sell the plasma production facility that they bought from NEC.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-pioneer.html?_r=1&oref=login
Pioneer sets are known for their color accuracy and deep blacks. In addition, their Elite line-up is the only brand that allow for ISF calibration controls, without having to go into the service menus (which would invalidate the warranty).
As well regarded as their plasma sets are, like other plasma manufacturers, they fell behind on the spec sheets when LCD and RPTV manufacturers quickly upgraded to 1080p and plasmas got stuck at 720p for more than a year. Pioneer was the first manufacturer to introduce a 1080p plasma, but those sets were initially priced at nearly $10,000 and limited to the larger screen sizes above 50".
Last year, Panasonic added a full lineup of 1080p plasma HDTVs, while most of Pioneer's lineup, and its entirely 42" lineup, remained at 720p resolution. Their 1080p offerings remained significantly more expensive than competing models, and even the 720p models were priced higher than competing 1080p models. My understanding is that while plasma has been losing market share to LCD, Pioneer in particular has been losing market share even faster.
I think Pioneer fell behind in the market when they failed to develop a 42" 1080p plasma, while segment leader Panasonic did. No question that their sets look great, but not having a 1080p set at the 42" size really hurt them, particularly as their 720p sets remained more expensive.
This article seems to point to further consolidation in the flat panel TV market as fewer and fewer companies make their own panels.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-pioneer.html?_r=1&oref=login
Pioneer sets are known for their color accuracy and deep blacks. In addition, their Elite line-up is the only brand that allow for ISF calibration controls, without having to go into the service menus (which would invalidate the warranty).
As well regarded as their plasma sets are, like other plasma manufacturers, they fell behind on the spec sheets when LCD and RPTV manufacturers quickly upgraded to 1080p and plasmas got stuck at 720p for more than a year. Pioneer was the first manufacturer to introduce a 1080p plasma, but those sets were initially priced at nearly $10,000 and limited to the larger screen sizes above 50".
Last year, Panasonic added a full lineup of 1080p plasma HDTVs, while most of Pioneer's lineup, and its entirely 42" lineup, remained at 720p resolution. Their 1080p offerings remained significantly more expensive than competing models, and even the 720p models were priced higher than competing 1080p models. My understanding is that while plasma has been losing market share to LCD, Pioneer in particular has been losing market share even faster.
I think Pioneer fell behind in the market when they failed to develop a 42" 1080p plasma, while segment leader Panasonic did. No question that their sets look great, but not having a 1080p set at the 42" size really hurt them, particularly as their 720p sets remained more expensive.
This article seems to point to further consolidation in the flat panel TV market as fewer and fewer companies make their own panels.