Pioneer’s latest home theater receivers aren’t amazing. They’re not jam-packed with all crazy one-off audio modes or loaded to the gill with connectivity options. But that’s fine. It does HDMI 1.4, works with an optional $99 Bluetooth streaming thingabob, has enough power, and supports the main HD audio codecs. Oh, and they’re only $229 and $299. → Read More
I don’t know what it is about Japan and earphones, but this country does offer some unique ones. Today, it wasn’t some weird little company but Pioneer that announced strange earphones: One is cherry-shaped [JP], the other looks like a piece of a leather belt [JP] for some reason. → Read More
The car audio market isn’t what it used to be. The days of half-din radios and crappy stock speakers are long gone. As OEM systems increase in quality, the aftermarket scene is slowing down. So much so that Pioneer is killing its 20-year old Premier label at the end of 2009. It’s truly sad news for long-time car audio geeks. → Read More
Pioneer has showcased the Floating Vision at the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo (that ended Sunday), another 3D display that doesn’t require you to wear glasses (yawn) to view 3D images. It’s not bad at all though, even though visitors flocked to Sony’s booth to see their stereoscopic 3D display (which was a bit cooler).
You can connect the Floating Vision to a PC via USB 2.0 to view images or… → Read More
Some people are jerks about their AV gear. They simply must have certain brands. If that’s you and Pioneer is your company of choice, head over to Woot for a surprisingly good deal on a modern Blu-ray player. → Read More
Behold, the Pioneer BDR-205! Thrill to the 12x write speeds on double layer Blu-ray media! Marvel at the 50Gbytes of storage capacity! Be amazed by the low, low price of $250 United States dollars! Click on through to read the entire exciting press release! → Read More
Remember Laserdiscs? Those large-size video mediums almost no one outside Japan bought in the 1980s and 1990s? I never thought I would write another post on LDs after the one in January this year in which I reported about Pioneer stopping the production of LDs players forever.
But yesterday the same company (which manufactured the best hardware) issued a new press release [JP], saying it still… → Read More
Seriously. Please spend the extra cash and get this Pioneer BDP-120 over the $98 Magnavox Blu-ray player. You will be oh so happy that you did. Why you ask? Let me explain. → Read More
Pioneer Japan yesterday unveiled a new in-house audio system, the ACCO A-IW001 [JP], which comes with a set of speakers that need to be mounted on the ceiling. The device is also specifically designed to be iPod-compatible and comes with an iPod cradle. → Read More
Remember this day. Today is the day that you saw the future of GPS navigation. Tele Atlas has partnered with Norway-based BLOM to provide photorealistic maps to personal navigation devices. So far only 40 cities in Europe have been ported to the service, but many more are scheduled to be released in the coming quarters. Soon the days of having basic 3D boxes to represent buildings will be gone and… → Read More
The optical music market is still alive, folks. Pioneer is releasing a new high-end player for your listening pleasure. Not only does it support SACDs, but also sports a USB port for DAP or iPod connectivity along with Bluetooth audio streaming support. The circuity within is sure to improve the crappy MP3 audio file too, although it probably will come nowhere close to the pristine sound of a SACD… → Read More
Pioneer gave up producing flat TVs and buried the LaserDisc, but the company seems to still believe in Blu-ray. Yesterday, Pioneer Japan announced a total of three new Blu-ray players [JP], covering the low-end and high-end segments. → Read More
The consolidation process in Japan’s tech industry isn’t stopping. Pioneer and Sharp said today in Tokyo they have reached a basic agreement to launch an optical disc joint venture [JP, PDF], a move that is supposed to give the companies a boost in the Blu-ray segment. Both companies said they are ready to completely transfer their optical disc businesses to the new entity. → Read More
We covered the news that Pioneer shuts down TV production back in February and today Pioneer Japan revealed a number of details about their radical move [JP]. In short: There will be no more Kuro plasma TVs from May this year. Pioneer calls it quits after 12 years of plasma TV production. → Read More
Here’s one of those quicke CrunchDeals we like to promote from time to time. This time, satellite radio fan, you can grab the Pioneer XMp3, along with the relevant Home and Vehicle kit, for $239. That’s $100 less than what XM usually wants! → Read More
Layoffs in the tech sector are accelerating. It took exactly three weeks for tech layoffs to surge to 300,000, according to our Layoff Tracker. Since late January, when the tracker hit 200,000 layoffs, another 100,000 job eliminations have been announced or completed. In contrast, it took five weeks for layoffs in the tech industry to hit the 200,000 mark, and four months for layoffs to hit… → Read More
After pulling the plug on LD production just last month and saying their TV business is practically dead, Pioneer today in Tokyo hold a press conference explaining the latter move in more detail [JP, PDF]. And the details aren’t pretty at all. → Read More
Vizio, a long time favorite brand of bargain hunters and geeks alike, has stopped slapping their logo on plasma TVs. Plus, there is no plan to order more once the current inventory runs outs. The cut is, of course, due to plamsa’s poor sales in comparison to the companies LCD sales. Which is, of course, due to poor consumer information and as bright as the sun’s surface showrooms. → Read More
There’s nothing much to say here other than what I’ve stated in the headline, folks. Pioneer has announced that they are officially getting out of the plasma HDTV business. Despite the quality of their plasma HDTVs, the TV division hasn’t been doing so well. Another factor is Panasonic’s recent announcement that their new plasma factory would not be ready to roll until 2010.
The Nikkei… → Read More
Pioneer today announced in Tokyo [JP] that they will no longer manufacture LaserDisc players. The DVL-919, CLD-R5, DVK-900 and DVL-K88 are the last models available. → Read More
Complaints that Blu-ray is too expensive—we say it often—may soon be harder to justify, now that Pioneer will release the $250 BDP-120 in April. It’s just a Blu-ray player—no fancy Netflix streaming here—but if all you’re looking for is an inexpensive player (and have no interest in the PS3) you could do worse. → Read More
There was a time when the term plasma TVs meant expensive and power hungry electronic, but those days are fading. Three of the largest players in the plasma world now have Energy Star Certified models which is a big feat. This means that a 42-inch PDP cannot consume more than 208 watts while on and less than a watt in standby mode. LCD were once the champion of tree-hugging hippies, but they… → Read More
DigiTimes is reporting on Pioneer’s new layered optical disc. Each of the disc’s 16 layers holds 25GB, for a total storage capacity of 400GB. That’s 8x the storage on a double-layer Blu-Ray disc, which according to my CrunchGear companions holds an awful lot of porn. The new discs use a reflective layer, but should be compatible in existing Blu-Ray players, according to Pioneer. → Read More
In case Sony’s 8x Blu-ray recorder isn’t for you, Pioneer is soon to have its own super-fast Blu-ray PC burner. The BDR-03J can author Blu-ray media at 8x speeds, DVD-R at 16x and CD-Rs at 32x; not that you’re burning the later that much anymore. The serial-ATA optical drive is dropping in Japan sometime in January, but will hopefully hitch a ride ‘cross the Pacific shortly… → Read More
Put your seatbelt on for this one. Check out the Pioneer DVR-X162J [JP], an external DVD burner that’s enclosed in a dustproof shell. That is to say the external enclosure is dustproof, handy if you’re an Okie in 1936. Aside from its incredible dustproofing, the burner is your standard issue USB 2.0 little guy. Pioneer has outfitted it with something called Pure Read Technology, which… → Read More
Pioneer has just opened its second retail location and the companies CEO doesn’t seemed worried even with the dismal fate of Circuit City and Tweeter. According to Masao Kawabata, Pioneer products are recession tough thanks to its mid to high-end niche market of premium products. So while mainstream Best Buy-specialdisplays might be having issues, Kuro displays and such should be fine. I… → Read More
With Circuit City and CompUSA’s woes, you would think that electronic makers would shy away from opening brick and mortar stores. Not Pioneer though, oh noes, the company is opening its second US store; this time in Phoenix. The store is loaded with KURO displays, Blu-ray players, Elite speakers, and its Premier line of car electronics. Plus, previously Japanese-exclusive products are going… → Read More
Let’s say your name is, I don’t know, Jonathan Peters or Jojo Flores or Armand Van Helden. As a DJ you need a pair of solid headphones, ones that not only sound good but look good. (It’s a vain industry, DJing.) Are these Pioneer HDJ-2000 headphones what the doctor ordered? Who knows—I haven’t heard them yet—but given Pioneer’s pedigree I’d say… → Read More
We all knew that eventually Blu-ray would hit the home theater in a box market and while the Pioneer LX010BD isn’t the first, it seems well equipped. For £2000 ($3,137 USD) British AV snobs will be rock’n out to 5.1 audio sound out of dodecahedron compact speakers (it means 12-sided shape, playboy) that claim to produce omni-directional sound for a better surround experience. Plus… → Read More
A federal jury found yesterday that Samsung willfully infringed two of Pioneer’s patents covering plasma televisions. As such, the Korean electronics giant will have to cough up (“cough up” is the technical term, mind you) some $59 million, payable to Pioneer. As you might expect, Samsung plans to appeal the ruling forever and ever. Sorta interesting: a Japanese corporation taking a… → Read More
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