Audio Video News

Pioneer is considering retreating from its status as the manufacturer of some of the world's best flat-panel DTVs.

The sad news broke in a Japanese business publication. According to Nihon Seizai Shimbun, via The Wall Street Journal, Pioneer may be planning to pull out of DTV manufacturing and convert its DVD line into a joint venture with Sharp.

Exactly what will become of the Pioneer TV brand, and its enviable portfolio of advanced video technologies, remains uncertain. "There is a whole spectrum of possibilities with withdrawal on one end, in-house development and production on the other and sales of procured TVs somewhere in the middle," a Pioneer spokesman told Reuters via redOrbit.

The news comes on top of the company's decision last year to begin sourcing panels for its plasma sets from Panasonic.

None of the available press reports said anything about the company's equally world class audio products.

See Nikkei Net (paywall).