Pioneer’s KURO plasmas were the best TVs money could buy. The problem was that you needed a lot of cash to be able to buy one, and Pioneer sadly pulled out of the TV market back in 2009. And now they’re back in the US and Canada, selling rebadged Sharp LCDs under thePioneer Elite brand. The sad news is that these TVs won’t make it to Australia.
As Pioneer’s GM of Sales and Marketing put it in a prepared statement: “Audio is the company’s forte and we have no plans to re-enter the flat panel market in Australia.” Given the competitive nature of the Australian TV market, it would be near impossible for Pioneer to take a Sharp panel and try and sell it in Australia as a unique offering, so from a business perspective, the decision makes sense. But from an emotional level, we just wish we could gaze upon the breathtaking beauty of a KURO panel again…