BAN5HEE
Prominent Member
This is bad news. I was planning on getting a Pio next year as I need to pay off a couple debts this year but this news has just squashed that dream....
AV Amplifiers, Receivers, speakers and Blu-ray players are not affected by this announcement and will continue as normal.
All warranties and after sales advice will be honoured well after production finally stops on the TVs and projectors.
all of those people insisting on plasma quality will have no option but to go to Panasonic, and that this extra trade for Panny will help them survive.
Sorry to be a dissenting voice, but it's simple economics. The Kuro was very good indeed - but not that much better than its cheaper rivals to justify an extra cost that could buy you a decent family holiday. At least that's what I thought when I was buying a new set last year (and yes, I could afford a Kuro, it's not sour grapes) and judging by the sales, a lot of others think the same.
Hope so too. There are far to many retailers pushing the 'they're all the same' line it's unreal.
Everytime I go into Currys/Dixons/PC World etc etc I always hover round by the TV's to see what the sales people say.. makes me laugh!.
Tell me about it. I remember walking in there and having a discussion with a guy about 1080P and he did not have a clue what I was on about or it being FullHD and true 1920x1080 lines. If I remember his exact words was something like 'they're all the same'
Sorry to be a dissenting voice, but it's simple economics. The Kuro was very good indeed - but not that much better than its cheaper rivals to justify an extra cost that could buy you a decent family holiday. At least that's what I thought when I was buying a new set last year (and yes, I could afford a Kuro, it's not sour grapes) and judging by the sales, a lot of others think the same.
Is there any hope Pioneer will sell or licence the the tech behind Kuro to someone like Panasonic? Surely it makes sense for Pioneer to at least recoup some money from their investment rather than leave the IP rights gathering dust.
I was thinking the same, although I think it is unlikely. Panasonic and all the other big players already have great technology; they just choose not to use it due to cost. Look at the AVForums review of the Panasonic 65", they know how to get a fantastic picture and at 65", they just don't bother doing it for a £800 plasma....
Dupe...
This is, like the end of Concorde was to the aviation industry, a step backwards. I only got my Pioneer LCD on Tuesday and now I'm even more glad that I did because it's so much better than any other LCD I've seen. Watching a couple of Blu-rays earlier, I was simply astonished how much better the picture was compared to my old Panasonic and my dad's 1 year old Toshiba. It's not as if it was expensive either, costing less than the equivalent Panasonic and with a 5 year warranty thrown in.
Once again, cheapness reigns over progress and quality. We can only hope that, once the economy recovers, Pioneer can be tempted to make another go of the TV industry.