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It's Official: Pioneer to quit TV business
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 12, 2009  | 

Pioneer has confirmed that it will exit the TV business altogether in the face of the global economic crisis. According to a press release issued today, "Pioneer will terminate any further in-house display product development after its products currently available on the market, and withdraw from the display business by March 2010. Recent market conditions have changed far more than initially anticipated, and Pioneer has decided to withdraw from the display business after concluding that there are no prospects for improving profitability under current conditions. However, the Company will continue to provide after-sales services even after the withdrawal.

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Audio Video News
Who Will Make the DTV Cut?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 11, 2009  | 
Under recent legislation, some television broadcasters will extend their digital TV transitions to June 12, while others will proceed earlier, by February 17. Yesterday the Federal Communications Commission released a list of TV stations that intend go all-digital next week, cutting off analog transmissions.
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Audio Video News
No More Vizio Plasma
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 11, 2009  | 
Vizio has just announced it will get out of the plasma business altogether, due in large part to the overwhelming popularity of LCDs and the vanishing price gap between the two technologies. According to company co-founder Laynie Newsome, plasmas don't sell as well in big-box stores because LCDs look more impressive in brightly lit aisles, and the company must concentrate on products that move off the shelves the fastest.
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Will EchoStar Lunge for Sirius XM?
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 09, 2009  | 
EchoStar, the owner of the Dish Network, is accumulating debt from the recently merged Sirius XM Satellite Radio Inc., according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper speculates that this "could be the first salvo in an attempt to take control of the battered company," either inside or outside of bankruptcy.
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Audio Video News
No More Pioneer DTVs? Say It Ain't So!
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 09, 2009  | 
Pioneer is considering retreating from its status as the manufacturer of some of the world's best flat-panel DTVs.
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Audio Video News
Farewell Kuro?
Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 07, 2009  |  First Published: Feb 08, 2009  | 

In a report from the Nikkei and Kyodo news agency in Japan on Saturday, Pioneer is said to be quitting the plasma-TV business altogether—not just getting out of panel manufacturing and handing it over to Panasonic, but abandoning its TV business entirely. The global economic downturn, plummeting demand, and fierce competition led the company to take the drastic action in order to stem growing losses, which are expected to reach almost $850 million in the home-electronics division this fiscal year.

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Audio Video News
Networks to Keep Analog Until Bitter End
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 06, 2009  | 
Several major TV networks have announced that they plan for their owned affiliate stations to keep analog signals on the airwaves until the final deadline in June.
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Audio Video News
It's Official: DTV Transition Botched
Mark Fleischmann  |  Feb 04, 2009  | 
The on-again, off-again effort to delay the DTV transition from February 17 to June 12 has overcome its biggest obstacle. It originated with the Obama team, then got approved by the Senate, voted down by the House of Representatives, re-approved by the Senate, and today, finally passed by the House in a 264-158 vote. The legislation now goes to President Obama who is expected to sign it.
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Audio Video News
To Delay After All
 |  Feb 04, 2009  | 

It feels like watching a tennis match—back and forth, over and over. The decision to delay the analog-TV cutoff was passed by the Senate, rejected by the House of Representatives, passed again by the Senate last week, and finally passed today by the House with a vote of 264-158. Interestingly, the number of Republicans who voted for the bill (23) was greater than the number of Democrats who voted against it (10). Obviously, President Obama will sign it, since he spearheaded the effort to delay the transition in the first place.

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Audio Video News
Blockbuster Hooks Up with CinemaNow
user  |  Feb 02, 2009  | 
Desperate to catch up with the online transformation of its main rival Netflix, Blockbuster has struck a deal with CinemaNow to bring online movie distribution to its customers.
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Audio Video News
Dolby and DTS Get High
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 30, 2009  | 
Dolby and DTS are both gearing up to take surround sound to the next step in its evolution. Both are preparing to add height channels to their existing surround standards.
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Audio Video News
Senate Passes Revised DTV Delay Bill
Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 30, 2009  | 

According to an aide to Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), the US Senate yesterday unanimously passed a revised version of a bill that would delay the transition to digital television from February 17 to June 12. The revisions had to do with budget rules and first-responder communications, changes that were added by the House of Representatives before the bill was defeated there on Tuesday.

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House Delays DTV Transition Delay
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 29, 2009  | 
The House of Representatives voted yesterday to keep the DTV transition running on schedule, defeating legislation that would have allowed some stations to delay the transition from February 17 to June 12. Though the measure had passed the Senate, it did not attract the two-thirds majority required to pass the House. Therefore all TV stations will have to stop transmitting analog signals, using digital only, after February 17--unless the bill's proponents try again.
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Audio Video News
HDTVs Abundant, HDTV Not
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 28, 2009  | 
First the good news: More than 39 million U.S. households have HDTVs. Now the bad news: Only 22 million of them have a source of high-def programming, leaving the other 17 million out in the standard-def cold.
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Audio Video News
Senate Partly Delays DTV Transition
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jan 27, 2009  | 
The drive to delay the DTV transition cleared the Senate last night. However, the legislation now has a new twist--the delay is voluntary.
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