Pioneer is NO longer building their own plasma screens*

[Taurus]

.......and is reportedly going to buy them from Panasonic instead. And IIRC they are also supposed to eventually buy LCD screens from Sharp. They said it's because of the very competitive flatscreen market. For Pioneer to do such a radical thing, it must be REALLY competitive!

So are LCDs really selling better, despite (IMO) offering images of lesser quality than a plasma?

[Taurus]

Could a gort please add a "no" before "longer" to the subject line? Thanks!

[Michael]

my brain compensated and added the no for me.:D

[lasvidfil]

Panasonic will be manufacturing the panels for them but using Pioneer's Kuro technology. They aren't cheaping out. This will not start by the way until 2009. The new Pioneer plasma models scheduled for May/June will still be made by Pioneer. 50" & 60" only. They are no longer making a 42" plasma

Sharp will make the panels for their LCD's which probably won't be on the market until Christmas at the earliest.

[nosticker]

OEMing has been common in the world of electronics for decades. It's not a reflection on either manufacturer. Panasonic(Matsushita) is one of the biggest OEM'ers on the planet. Heck, even my Carrier air conditioner has a Matsushita compressor. Pioneer OEM's plenty, as well(my HHB CD burner, for instance).
All of these companies make deals with each other. These things go back and forth so many ways that it's arguable whether any product on the shelf right now should have that manufacturer's logo.

Right now, you can go into a Radio Shack and buy an RCA home theater amp that's made by Pioneer.



Dan

[Taurus]

^ I know that the OEM thing is common but *this* just seems so.....uncharacteristic....of Pioneer. To me it's like Ford buying engines from GM!

OTOH, I've taken major-name audio gear apart and was surprised to see chips from Sanyo in there, but Sanyo is not one of their direct competitors, so that didn't really shake me up much if you see what I mean.

my brain compensated and added the no for meI think computer techs call that "fuzzy logic". :) And thanks to the gort who fixed my title.

[Rachael Bee]

Right now, you can go into a Radio Shack and buy an RCA home theater amp that's made by Pioneer.

A few years back, I read that Sanyo was making most of Pioneer's amps.

[SamS]

^ I know that the OEM thing is common but *this* just seems so.....uncharacteristic....of Pioneer. To me it's like Ford buying engines from GM!



Yeah, but Pioneer was bleeding money by making their own panels. Panasonic/Matsushita makes 10X the amount of panels that Pioneer does, thus more effective scales of manufacturing.

FYI, this "change" does not happen until after Pioneer's next generation, i.e. mid-2009.

[JohnG]

I'm always amazed that Pioneer has remained a great brand. Leaders in TV.

[All Rights]

OEMing has been common in the world of electronics for decades. It's not a reflection on either manufacturer. Panasonic(Matsushita) is one of the biggest OEM'ers on the planet. Heck, even my Carrier air conditioner has a Matsushita compressor. Pioneer OEM's plenty, as well(my HHB CD burner, for instance).
All of these companies make deals with each other. These things go back and forth so many ways that it's arguable whether any product on the shelf right now should have that manufacturer's logo.

Right now, you can go into a Radio Shack and buy an RCA home theater amp that's made by Pioneer.



Dan

On top of that, Sharp owns a controlling interest (14% shareholders) in Pioneer. Matsushita besides their venture with Pioneer also has one with Hitachi Displays. Hitachi also has a deal with Cannon. Sony and Samsung co- operate a plant in South Korea.