So basically Pioneer and Panasonic will be using the same panels in the future... should one secure a "real" Pioneer while they're still around?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23464096/

Pioneer to end plasma panel production
Japanese manufacturer struggles to compete with larger rivals
By Kentaro Hamada
Reuters
updated 9:21 a.m. CT, Tues., March. 4, 2008

TOKYO - Japan's Pioneer Corp is finalizing plans to stop all production of plasma display panels in a bid to turn around its loss-making flat TV operations, an industry source briefed on the plan said on Tuesday.

Pioneer is the world's fifth-biggest plasma TV maker, but it has been struggling to compete with larger rivals with better output efficiency such as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., maker of Panasonic-brand electronics.

After the move, Pioneer plans to buy plasma panels for flat TVs from Matsushita, the Nikkei business daily reported. Pioneer is already planning to buy liquid crystal display panels from Sharp Corp to start offering LCD TVs.

"This is an excellent development," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.

"Pioneer could have chosen another way and stepped up its plasma investment despite the fact that the business is bleeding red ink, but it's a wise step to decide against that," he said.

"A quicker decision would have been even better, though."

Japanese TV makers are undergoing a realignment as top manufacturers with ample output capacity such as Matsushita and Sharp look for panel buyers, while mid-tier players seek ways to obtain display panels without making hefty initial investments.

A Pioneer spokesman said the company would unveil its display business strategy when it announces companywide business plans on Friday.

To fight price declines, Pioneer last year launched its "Kuro" series, positioning the TVs as premium products. Executives had said the brand was gaining momentum and would translate into bigger sales in 2008.

Pioneer aims to sell 480,000 plasma TVs in the business year that ends this month, less than one-10th of Matsushita's sales target of 5 million units.

Withdrawing from the panel business implies the firm will close its panel plant in Kagoshima in southwest Japan, but Pioneer is studying ways to avoid shutting the factory, the source said.

Copyright 2008 Reuters.

 

Nooooooo! Say it ain't so. Oh well, saw it coming, I guess.

 

i thought that they were just stopping production on the 42" screens and below so they could focus on 50" screens and larger.

 

They are just stopping to actually manufacture the panels themselves. They will be buying the panels from panasonic. Plasma is anything but dead. Until LCD displays provide...

a)Picture at least EQUAL to a plasma
b)Equal or lesser cost per square inch to plasma.

This won't happen for at least 5 years.

 

I wasn't suggesting that Pioneer was going to stop selling Plasmas, just that they wouldn't be "their own" going forward. Does anyone have a sense for how much engineering/design/etc there is once the basic panel is done that affects the final picture? Will Pioneer still be able to do things that allow it to best the Panasonic sets (which already seem to be no worse than 2nd best in terms of picture) that will feature the same panels inside? Or is it just going to come down to how much one is willing to spend for the nicer case?

 

just on the subject of lcd, not plasma

you guys are aware that there's like, 3 companies in the world that create lcd panels..

and the actual final image is more down to signal processing and re-production than the base product right?

i might be wrong on the number of companies actually producing the core lcd product, but the fact remains that the finer points of image quality have historically been in other elements of a product than the lcd display itself.

just food for thought.

 

Oh damn, Pioneer plasmas are supposed to be really good, too.

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/features/...d-round-ii.html

 

Ehhh. Maybe Pioneer figures they can do as well or better than what they have currently buying Panny's panels.

BTW, I'd really love a 42" Pioneer 720 Plasma for the bedroom. Can they be had at a good price now?

Inky blacks, high contrast. Mmmmmm.

 

Panasonic plasmas are top notch. To me it just seemed Pioneer charged more for the same thing.

The Panny 9UK and 10UK series 1080p panels rock.

 

I just picked up a 42" 720 Samsung last weekend for $899 @ Circuit City. I'm pretty happy with it considering it is my first venture into flat panels. Big difference from my 27" Philips/Magnavox box.

-Hockey