Very sad to see this.First let me say, that during tough financial times, entertainment will take a back seat, just in general, to the basic needs of living, food, shelter, and clothing. With that said, I had the pleasure and opportunity to help install a Pioneer PHP 5010 Kuro plasma. A very heavy tv I might add!!
Once it was setup and calibrated, it provided one of the best pictures I have seen for a flat panel.

Hopefully, Pioneer can take whatever they have learned from creating this Kuro lineup, and possibly use some where else, to create more jobs, rather than cut them.

Very sad news for the industry. The frightening part to me is that a product that was almost universally declared the best was unable to gain enough traction in the marketplace. (DisplaySearch’s 2008 fourth-quarter market share report, Pioneer ranked fifth in U.S. plasma TV market, with a 2.6 percent share, down 4 percent from the prior quarter and down 9 percent year over year.) Quixel Research reported that almost 60% of consumers in the $200,000 and higher income bracket who bought a flat panel TV in December 2008 spent under $1000. This shows two strong negative indicators for the industry even considering the noise in this number caused by the likelihood that for this bracket that the purchase was for a secondary location. (This bracket has mostly purchased a primary viewing location HD panel already.) First, price has become more important than value for many in this recessionary economy. Second, and more critical to me, is that the distribution network failed to show the obvious difference in quality and why consumers should step up. If dealers can't make a compelling case for better quality, manufacturers can't make money building better quality products. The distribution for Pioneer Elite and Kuro was the network that should have been able to make the case for quality. There are always people willing to pay a bit more to get better quality, but that quality difference must be presented to them. Vizio's announcement the same day added color to this. Although their distribution is notably downscale from Pioneer, their decision to walk away from Plasma in favor of LCD was made on the basis that LCDs look better in brightly lit stores compared to Plasma which looks better in darker environments like most home viewing (this from Newsome's interview in the NY Times). For any salespeople in the industry reading, fight the good fight and show your customers what quality looks and sounds like!

I agree with you Dave - this is TRULY SCARY news. I know people in retail that were brought to tears over this... Pioneer was a go-to TV line.

I still believe that people will ultimately pay for better things. Right now - it doesn't seem like that is the case but these are ultra-tough times. Things will get better soon.

Looks like this is my final time to buy the Elite Kuro for the bedroom.....

I hate to be the one to say this but did Vizio just drive the best TV maker out of business???

You could blame Vizio but I am not sure they did anything that Sony couldn't have.

I think you you point more at Walmart and specifically Costco. They are the ones who sell HDTVs for 3% margins which without question drove Circuit and Tweeter into Chapter 11...

j

Sad when being the best isn't good enough.

All the more reason to go the projector route...

Killy -

I agree. Projectors are the best. The image you can make with a projector like I use (JVC RDS2) for the same money as a Pioneer KURO 65 inch set ($7,500-ish) is bigger and when calibrated correctly - is simply better.

Jerry,Killy

I would LOVE to do a projector for my main rig, but in my current home there is simply no way to control light without blacking out no less than four rooms and at least one glass wall.

Some of us are forced into a closed display, and the Kuro's leaving market hurts those of us who strive for the best performance. It really bothers me that despite being undoubtedly THE best display made, Pioneer couldn't make it in this market.