Jason Unger

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It's a sad day for true HDTV fans.

Pioneer to stop making plasma panels

Pioneer Corp. will stop making plasma display panels in an effort to turn around its money-losing business, the Japanese electronics maker said Friday.

Pioneer plans to procure the panels, used in flat-panel TVs, from another company. It said it was in talks with Japanese rival Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic products, to purchase plasma display panels.

Pioneer used to be one of the leading developers of the technology but has fallen behind bigger companies like Matsushita and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc.

"We have judged that maintaining the cost competitiveness of plasma display panels, or PDPs, at projected sales volumes will be difficult going forward," Pioneer said in a statement.

Pioneer's KURO plasmas are the best TVs on the market. Hands down. There really is no competition.

But they do (did) have a problem — cheaper sets are outpricing them, and they can't keep up. At CES, they told me that they were going to try and establish themselves as a higher-end product (similar to the custom-friendly manufacturers), but that obviously didn't help the bottom line.

I've got a Pioneer at home, and I've never regretted the decision to buy it. If the KUROs drop in price as they try to empty out stock, I will definitely be considering one (once I convince Debbie we need another plasma).

Well, so long. It's a sad day, but who knows what the future might bring.

Let's just hope their extreme concept product is part of it.

Welcome to the times, MASN.

According to my pals over at EngadgetHD, the morons at MASN have finally figured out what broadcasters in 28 other markets already knew — people want their sports in HD.

MASN will broadcast 40 O's games and 40 Nats games, sez the Washington Times. I'd like to think they heard my bitching about it, but I know I'm not the only one. (A number of people come to the site looking for MASN HD in Google.)

The schedule of HD games hasn't come out yet, but I know at least one I'll be seeing in Full HD - Opening Day.

Last night, I was watching a classic Orioles game — 1996, ALDS, O's vs. Cleveland, Game 4 — on MASN.

It was the Orioles' first playoff series in 13 years, and their first of two straight appearances in the ALCS.

Those were the days.

This year, I'm not expecting much out of the Orioles — especially with the O's three best players (Erik Bedard, Brian Roberts and Miguel Tejada) essentially gone.

But if there's one thing owner Peter Angelos can do for us lowly fans: please put MASN in high-definition.

It's despicable that the only teams to not have HD broadcasts are the O's, Nationals and Royals. Angelos has always treated our area like a second-tier market. It isn't.

(image from Nasty Nats)