On the heals of yesterday’s 1080p plasma story, we find now that troubled PDP maker Pioneer will look to a full HD Plasma to give them a leg up in the premium end of their flagging plasma business with a Spring-06 ship announcement of a 1080p 50-inch model shown at CEATEC Japan. Pioneer announced operational restructuring plans that includes downsizing the flat panel business and job lay-offs of up to 2600 workers to stem the red ink that is expected to grow to over $700M this fiscal year.

Steve Sechrist
Senior Analyst and Editor
of Projection Monthly &
Microdisplay Report

Pioneer’s problem is not the premium (1080p) space where the company has dominated with their “Elite” brand high-end plasma TVs – but rather, the sets they make are simply too expensive given the massive price cuts the industry has been forced to make to keep pace with the LCD-TV onslaught.

Last year, rivals Matsushita, Samsung, and LG all made massive investments into next generation PDP fab production, and are now reaping the benefits of highly cost reduced systems which still enjoy a production cost advantage in the larger +40-inch sizes over LCD-TVs. Pioneer has not kept pace with that investment cycle and suffering the consequences.

Pioneer makes great plasma sets, probably the best in the industry, but it remains to be seen if the company can make money selling them at a price consumers will pay.

Another plasma related story came from the European Union where a Plasma materials exemption investigation into the government mandated restriction of hazardous substances or RoHS, is scheduled to give a ruling on the chemicals used in making Plasma displays.

RoHS, is scheduled to give a ruling on the chemicals used in making Plasma displays. The leading PDP manufacturers have applied for the exemption and are following all the standard procedures—as the LCD manufacturers did when granted their exemption for the hazardous chemicals used in CCFL backlights.

We think the exemption will be granted and if not, will be a major setback as the impact of a negative ruling could shut-down the import and sale of all PDP-TVs in Europe. So far there has been no indication that will happen but the industry watches this one closely.