No More Kuro! Pioneer Pull out of Plasma business

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loz

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I thought of putting this in the plasma forum (and mods might choose to shift it there), but I thought it more appropriate for General chat as it seemed so significant given how much kudos is given to Pioneer displays on avforums, and that it is a 'real sign of the times'

BBC NEWS | Business | Pioneer announces 10,000 job cuts

Pioneer announces 10,000 job cuts

Pioneer will stop making flat-screen TVs by March 2010
Japanese electronics maker Pioneer is to cut a further 10,000 jobs as it warned it expected to report an annual loss of 130bn yen ($1.4bn; $1bn).

The struggling company also announced that it is to close its loss-making flat-screen television business.

Hit by the sharp fall in global consumer spending, Pioneer had already shed 5,900 jobs last year.

Pioneer described the decision to pull out of making flat TVs, a sector it once led, as "extremely painful".
 
This truly is terrible news

no more decent TVs ......

grab a bargain whilst you still can :(
 
There is already a very long thread about this.

sorry, had a look at the plasma forum and didn't notice it. I thought it was breaking news today. Presume BBC a bit late then...
 
I dont know what all the fuss is about - these arent the best plasmas around - granted you cant buy them anymore but the last 58 series fujitsus where better in alot of ways.

The only downside is now there is only Panasonic to consider when it comes to Plasmas - hopefully this will mean they WILL continue as it will be a long time before LCDs are to the point I would have one as my main screen,
 
I dont know what all the fuss is about - these arent the best plasmas around - granted you cant buy them anymore but the last 58 series fujitsus where better in alot of ways.

The only downside is now there is only Panasonic to consider when it comes to Plasmas - hopefully this will mean they WILL continue as it will be a long time before LCDs are to the point I would have one as my main screen,

except the fujitsu's are twice the price of the already expensive pio's ...

unless you want a tiny 50" or smaller

i just home mine lasts long enough till u can get a 75" oled at a half reasonable price ..
 
Its been on the cards for a long time now. Sad news indeed. :(

Maybe Pioneer wouldn't be in this mess if they didn't charge so much for their displays (double the cost of Panasonic displays).

I also thought that Pioneer was going to use Panasonic panels with their own firmware. :confused:
 
Trouble with Pioneer Plasmas is that they are just too expensive.

I'm not questioning the quality, I was planning on buying a KRP-500A myself. I was all set to buy a 50" at around £1800 just before Christmas and then they increased then the prices increased to £2200 because of the falling £ exchange rate.

Even that didn't put me off but it was enough for me to put it on hold and think about it.

The problem is that their plasmas are upto twice the price of the competition. There is little doubt that they are better than most of the competition but it's a tough decision to pay twice as much.

Obviously there are those (and I include myself) who are prepared to pay the premium but there lies the problem - premium prices for a commodity item. There simply aren't enough people to pay the premium price to offset the development cost.

I don't know what to do now. I would have bought at £1800. I would have probably bought at £2200 but this latest news is a problem. If I buy now I run the risk that I'm buying something that is no longer supported.

Cheers,

Nigel

On a related topic, it was also reported that China's exports have fallen by 17.5% - just goes to illustrate that this really is a worldwide recession and it isn't just the UK in the doo doo.
 
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Already being discussed in the Plasma forum and front page of the site. Closing.
 
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