Pioneer Makes it Official
By Scott Wilkinson March 7, 2008 — In a press release issued today, Pioneer announced it will stop manufacturing raw plasma panels, stating, "We have judged that maintaining the cost competitiveness of plasma display panels at projected sales volumes will be difficult going forward. Accordingly, we have decided to terminate in-house plasma display panel production and to procure these panels externally, after panel production for our next series of models is complete...Pioneer is currently in discussions on the feasibility of procuring panel modules that may incorporate the Company's proprietary technologies. Details will be announced as soon as they are finalized."

Two points stand out for me: First, Pioneer will stop making panels after panel production for its next series of models is complete. This seems to indicate that the next generation of Kuro models, commonly referred to as 9G, will not be affected by the decision.

Second, the company wants whoever supplies panels in the future to incorporate its proprietary technologies—presumably, the technologies that result in those great Kuro blacks and other superior characteristics. There's no way to know if outsourced panels can match those made by Pioneer, even if they use the same technology—after all, manufacturing processes can significantly affect the final performance. Time will tell...