Pioneer to Leave TV Market Completely, Report Says

So this means no more Pioneer Elite 60”‘s? A staple in high end installs? Crazy.

Now this is how Capitalism works… Finally.

Once again proof - you can’t stay in business if you are not making money.  Doesn’t anyone else in the electronics business realize it is NOT about market share, but in the end it is a profitability.  Can anyone say:

Circuit City

now Pioneer TV’s.
And how many other before them!?!?

Amazing…..

I really hope Pioneer does not quit making its state of the art, better than everyone else’s TV’s.  It is disappointing to see so much mediocrity in our custom industry these days.  With the price fixing schemes of the flat-panel market by LG execs and the likes, the video industry has been forced into ridiculous prices and poor quality products.  In the end, I guess the minimal fines imposed on the companies that drove prices down to drive out competition were worth it to the companies that will ultimately survive the flat panel industry consolidation and the global recession.  There’s no pot of gold at the other end though as consumers are left with only low-end products to choose from and an inevitable price structure rise do to a significant reduction is competition that allows those manufacturers and retailers left standing to dominate the rest of us.  Unfortunately, it is inevitable also that some of these manufacturers will attempt to bottom out the audio side of the industry as well in order to squeeze out competition and dominate the market with unfair business practices and pricing controls via payola etc.  What this leads us to is an industry that must maintain and focus our cost structure and pricing in the areas of services.  If we do not, we will not survive the aggressiveness and unfair/illegal business practices of the Walmart’s of the world.  While consumers are in a feeding frenzy over the push in video to go lower and lower in price, a day will come when they will wake up and realize that only a few companies remain and they can set whatever price they want.  I am sure that our industry will look significantly different in just a few years and many will not want to be a part of it anymore.  In the end, an business must maintain a healthy level of profitabiity to survive the ups and downs of the economy.  In recent years, those companies that chose to be the bottom feeders of pricing are going out of business at an alarming pace.  You cannot operate on 10% above cost forever.  For those of you that chose to be part of the bottom feeders driving down everyone’s profits, all I have to say to you is GOODBYE!  Our industry will be better without you and hopefully can restructure our pricing to some level of sensibility.  So, I say again, NA NA NA NA, NA NA NA NA, HEY HEY HEY, GOODBYE!

Plasma has been an obsolete technology for years, LCD got all the research and improvements, lighter cheaper less power, Plasma good bye, only Panasonic is stupid enough to keep making them, 6 months they are out.  It’s a dead product…LCD is already obsolete, OLED is coming, thinner, lighter, and gonna let the companies make some money until it becomes old in less than 5 years…this stuff moves fast.  Philips is usually ahead of the pack getting out, they moved TV’s all together to Funai, only in Europe where they are a bigger share, making money they make it themselves.  Pioneer is a no direction, company, they make whatever is the thing for the day, they are doomed.  No inventions no inovations, a basic mfg.  They are doomed.

There TV’s have the best blacks in the market and were very well designed for simplicity but they were WAY over priced and I hated the fact they charged nearly twice for there elite version of the same TV. Elite, since you can make more adjustments (and better warranty). These adjustments should have been made at the factory so the lesser model would have been fine, with out the need of the elite model. Greed!

Great TV’s but WAY over priced! See them next to a 1/3 price LCD and for most, its a no brainer.

You will be missed but this is what can happen with greed.

I would hardly call it greed, when even at their prices they could not be profitable.  The market has done what it typically does to itself - the good stuff costs more to make, and remain profitable.  Prices drive down quality, and in the end the consumer is stuck with better pricing over better product.  Not the formula anyone involved with CEPro should favor.

Pioneer TV’s are not overpriced, they are priced for the quality difference of the design and component cost. Pioneer does not say, hey, let’s price ourselves out of the market, they say, hey let make the best TV on the planet.  A comment like this just goes to show that without a competent, qualified salesperson, a customer is left with only one choice, to buy the cheapest priced product on the market.  For example, I own two cars, one is a Honda and one is a BMW.  Now, everyone knows Honda makes a dependable car.  From a functionality point, it will get me from point A to point B every time.  But, when I get in my BMW, I immediately know the difference and what they mean when their slogan says, “the ultimate driving experience”.  From the way the seats support my body, to the quietness of the ride, to the power of exceleration, to the comfort ride, it just makes you want to drive the car all days long.  And the faster you go the better the ride gets. Is there a big difference in the price of the two vehicles that, for the most part both get me to my destination but one makes me want to keep on driving and the other I can leave behind without any hesitation.  As I said, it takes a competent and qualified salesperson to sell better quality products, based upon your comments, I would say you don’t have the skills yet.  But, there is hope.  With the right training and experience, you too can learn to appreciate better products.  In the end, it is all about the entertainment experience the client receives.  The old adage is true that “ignorance is bliss” but ask yourself this question.  Do you want to enjoy the ultimate home theater experience or just think you do?

Yup, its not greed. Thats why the elite 60’ is almost twice as much as the 6020 here in Canada. Just for a longer waranty and more picture controls and a guy in their factory ensuring the settings are correct. The non elite had colour issues that could not be corrected with the VERY simple menu it came with, forcing you to get it professionally calibrated!!

A great TV but this deal was a rip off for sure. No one can convince me otherwise
The 6020 was $5k here and now its $6k?? Bad business sence in a recession!!
I have no problem paying $1k or $2k more than others that size (LCD or Plasma) but 3 times the price compared to some?? Forget it. I will wait….

Sounds like a government issue like import tariffs etc.  It is like people in America complaining about the sales tax.  I tell them I do not charge sales tax, I collect it for the state.

Secondly, you pay for what you can afford in the end but a good salesperson doesn’t limit what the client can do by our own economics.  From an integrators standpoint, our goal is to make sure that we are meeting the clients needs and working within their budget.  It is surely a balancing act.  I think there are many people that can appreciate the quality difference but, in the end, know they don’t have the budget.  There are always limitations but a good integrator finds the right solution for his client.

Consumer electronics moves at super fast speed, Plasma introduced flat screens to teh public, rember teh $15,000 sets?  Then LCD came out and zoomed past crt, and LCd keeps getting better, cheaper cheaper.  Plasma has no advantages, they are energy hogs, weigh too much, been replaced by cheaper, more efficient technology, now LCD will get LED illumination, further improvements in energy use, image quality. LCD is already obsolete even with the coming LED improvements.  OLED is next.  Philips sold off it’s ownership in LG Philips LCD, was the largest maker of panels for everyone, they dumped CRT before that, they where the world’s largest maker of CRT’s, companies that understand technology, know when it’s time to move on.  Philips created most of the technology, and they keep advancing the products.  Philips got out of Plasma long time back, the rest always follow.  OLED super thin displays are next, Philips already has shown super thin, super efficient displays.  Plasma has been obsolete a long time ago.

The other factor that is killing the better quality TV makers like Pioneer is the ever shrinking specialty electronics retailers.  Companies like Tweeter, TheaterXtre etc.  Those dealers carried Pioneer as staple products.  The big box retailers just cannot sell the better line products like the specialty dealers. It’s a different breed of customer.  Unfortunately, the consumers that accept lower quality products have taken over the marketplace. Additionally, internet sales cannot save them either.  All we can expect is for the the junk to flood the market as Best Buy and Walmart gain a stronger foothold in the CE marketplace.

Very disappointing. They manufactured the best Plasma TVs on the market.