Once an innovator in the field, Pioneer Corp. has confirmed on Friday that it will stop the production of Plasma display panels (PDP) as it attempts to change the fortunes of its money losing business. The company is reportedly in talks with rival Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. about purchasing plasma panels for use in its flat-panel televisions.
Pioneer fell behind Samsung, Matsushita ... [ read the full article ]
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I have a Pioneer 5070 and it is a fine set. However, it is an example of why Pioneer got itself in trouble in the plasma business. When I bought mine, it was $3500 at Best Buy while similar, if slightly less capable Panasonic panels were almost $1,000 less. There simply was not that much difference in the performance of the units. (I got mine on-line, so the spread was only about $500.) That $800 to $1,000 spread continues today for the 768p models and is even worse for the 1080p models (vs. Panasonic).
Worse, the Panasonic sets get better reviews in Consumer Reports (but Pioneer gets better reviews in the enthusiast press).
Pioneer has been simply over-pricing its products and this only works when a technology is very new or if you want to be a boutique brand catering to a relative few people with more money than sense.
In today's Best Buy ad the 50" Pioneer1080p set is $5,000 (down from $6,000). The 50" "standard" Panasonic 50" 1080p is $2600 and the "Magnolia" upscale Panasonic 50" 1080 p is $3,000. The 58" Panasonic 1080p is $5,000.
So the Pioneer is 2x the cost of a Panasonic similar. Inky black blacks vs. near-inky black blacks is simply not worth paying 2x for at these prices.
