Quote:
Originally Posted by fleury
Can somebody explain how with the Kuro, that same technology or whatever makes the blacks more black, isn't available on the market today? I know Pioneer stopped making TV's (though they're apparently reconsidering reviving it), but with any technology, especially that which is at least 5 years old, the price gradually comes down once that technology becomes cheaper to produce. Why hasn't it become affordable to be replicated with every set sold today? I don't understand.
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My take is margins are razor thin at the sub $1500 level. So much so that even today that tech is still too expensive to include in low end sets and make any money. Combine that with the non economics of developing the technology, since R & D on plasma at those margins is not worth it.
Basically panasonic bought old tech and only now has reuses that tech at basically the same price. I think heavy R & D would have got us there but it just wasn't worth the investment when a marginal quality screen will sell on price alone.
Really the race to the bottom on price has been realized. I think everyone of the major manufacturers lost money on sets last year. Even Sony gave up on the bottom last year and started to go back to mid to high end only. It just isn't worth having a large piece of a money losing pie anymore.