At first glance, Belfast, Ireland-based Ripfactory's just-released Ripserver looks like nothing more than a $1,400 1-terabyte hard drive. For those not keeping track of digital storage prices, that's about five times too expensive. But for...
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."
Are flat-panel TVs going the way of Duff Beer? Simpson fans will recall the episode where Homer and Barney visit the Duff brewery and witness all the different varieties of beer - Duff Lite, Duff Ice, Duff Mountain Berry Blast - all being bottled...
[UPDATE TO THIS UPDATE: Pioneer has officially announced that it's no longer in the plasma-making business. Go to the end of this post for a link to a Pioneer press release.] Don't give up on the super display qualities that made Pioneer's Kuro...
Today Pioneer confirmed a previous report that it would cease making--but not marketing--plasma DTVs. Pioneer's exit from plasma manufacture adds another name to a list of casualties that already included Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, and NEC, from whom Pioneer purchased two of its plasma production lines.
They say the waiting is the hardest part. For HD DVD early adopters and other Blu-ray hold-outs, a Blu-ray player priced around $200 would be the only motivation needed to make the plunge into that high-def format. Unfortunately, its going to be a...
Okay, plasma-lovers. Take a deep breath. We know that news of Pioneer's plans to exit the plasma-making business caught a lot of you off guard. Not because all home theater enthusiasts own a beautiful, industry-leading model from Pioneer's Kuro...
By Samsung's estimation, the market for combo Blu-ray/HD DVD players collapsed on itself when Toshiba exited the HD DVD business last month. Consumers still interested in purchasing such an obsolete machine will have to make do with just one...
The major record labels have sucked in millions of dollars in settlements of copyright-infringement suits--but little of the money has been shared with recording artists.
According to a Circuit City employee tip-off to Gizmodo, the retailer plans to take back HD DVD players from consumers who've become casualties of the high-def format war. Instead of its typical 30-day return policy, Circuit City will extend...
If you've said it once, you've said it a thousand times: An HDTV without an HD signal is like sugarless cake, non-alcoholic beer, or a Lamborghini running 87-octane gasoline. It works, but it isn't right, and its definitely no fun. All the...
Here's a chance for TiVo Salvation: a 40% off sale. At one-product-per-day retailer Woot.com, refurbished Tivo HDs are selling for $179.99 (MSRP for the unit is $299) with three months service included. For HDTV owners pained daily by their...
Reports in the Japanese business daily Nikkei that Pioneer Electronics is planning to cease production of plasma panels shocked the consumer electronics industry on Tuesday. Along with Panasonic, Pioneer has been one of plasma’s greatest...
How does Toshiba plan to move forward in the wake of HD DVD's demise? The company's CEO says improved DVD upconversion is among the strategies to be pursued. Here's a nugget from a
Wall Street Journal interview with Atsutoshi Nishida: "If you watch standard DVDs on our players, the images are of very high quality because they include an 'upconverting' feature. And we're going to improve this even more, so that consumers won't be able to tell the difference from HD DVD images. The players would be much cheaper than Blu-ray players too."
I wasn't going to post a story about this until we know more about it, but it's too important to wait. According to several news sources, Pioneer is finalizing plans to stop manufacturing plasma panels and concentrate on assembling plasma TVs. The company is negotiating to acquire panels from Matsushita, Panasonic's parent company. A Pioneer spokesperson said an official statement would be forthcoming this Friday.