Last week we found out that Pioneer was contemplating to stop producing plasma display panels altogether, after first cutting the production to focus on large displays. On Friday, Pioneer announced that it has decided to stop producing plasma display panels in order to stay competitive. Instead, it will outsource production to other companies, Matsushita/Panasonic most likely. The decision has been met with disappointment among home cinema enthusiasts. Pioneer panels was regarded as among the absolute best on the market and they will surely be missed.
Plasma hasn’t been able to keep with LCD in terms of sales, mainly due to the fact that plasma TVs are not available in the lower-end segments, but, as stated above, the home cinema enthusiasts have almost always preferred plasma in favor of LCD. Alas, this is a small niche market, and not enough to stay competitive and most important, in the black.
