Scott Wilkinson

Pioneer has single-handedly revitalized the entire plasma market with its Kuro line. Named with the Japanese word for "black," all Kuro models exhibit astonishing black levels that are far lower than all other plasmas and just about all LCD TVs (except those that use LED backlighting, which can reach black levels that are literally 0fL).

Here's an interesting set of questions from Thomas Beasley, who's helping a non-profit organization set up some video displays in its lobby. Of course, he needs to keep costs down as much as possible.

I wasn't going to post a story about this until we know more about it, but it's too important to wait. According to several news sources, Pioneer is finalizing plans to stop manufacturing plasma panels and concentrate on assembling plasma TVs. The company is negotiating to acquire panels from Matsushita, Panasonic's parent company. A Pioneer spokesperson said an official statement would be forthcoming this Friday.

A few months after CES each year, many manufacturers hold individual line shows to give their dealers and the press a closer look at their new products. Sony is usually the first one out of the gate, and this year was no different. About 600 dealer representatives and 50 members of the press converged on the Paris hotel in Las Vegas this week (weren't we just there?) to see the latest from Sony.