Scott Wilkinson

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."

Declan McGlinchey

Pioneer has no new A/V receivers at the show, but it did announce that several Elite AVRs are now THX-certified. What's the big deal about that, you ask? These are the first products with Class D digital amplifiers to receive such certification. Also newly THX-certified is the BDP-09 Blu-ray player.

When Michael Fremer reviewed the <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/avreceivers/55/">Pioneer VSX-49TX</A>, he concluded that it was "one of the best, if not <I>the</I> best, A/V receiver on the market today." Of course, technology marches ever onward, and Pioneer hasn't rested on its laurels. Their subsequent flagship receiver, the VSX-59TXi, builds on the qualities of its predecessor, offering even more features for the same $4500 price tag.