Pioneer unveils BDR-211UBK BD/DVD/CD writer with 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray playback support
As more consumers embrace the cloud for storage, and fewer computers ship with optical drives, it is easy to think that the concept of burning Blu-ray, DVD, and CD discs is outdated. Yeah, maybe it is. With that said, some people -- including yours truly -- still like to store data on optical discs. Heck, some people use their computers to play video and audio from these discs too.
The newest type of optical video disc is Ultra HD Blu-ray, allowing the user to experience 4K content. Unfortunately, these discs require entirely new hardware -- they are not backwards compatible. Today, Pioneer (one of the most respected optical drive manufacturers) announces its newest internal BD/DVD/CD writer -- the BDR-211UBK. This drive has a very cool feature -- it can play those newfangled Ultra HD Blu-rays.
Pioneer in-car multimedia center will leverage iPod, iPhone platform
At this moment at CES 2010 in Las Vegas, Pioneer is debuting an in-car entertainment platform designed to provide a full-color console and controls to users of Apple's iPods and iPhones.
It's called the "AVH" series, and Pioneer's top-of-the-line model (designed to replace the standard-size electronics consoles featured in some vehicles) is called the P4200DVD. Those latter letters are there for a reason: The system will playback DVD video, evidently using the audio system and layout of the automobile (if there's six speakers, it'll use them).
Pioneer to exit plasma displays, lay off 10,000 workers
Hit by expectations of further financial losses, Pioneer Corp. has announced 10,000 job cuts, plant closings in the US and UK, and plans to leave the plasma display market.
With demand falling for both its plasma displays and car electronics equipment, the Japanese electronics maker now predicts that its net loss for the current fiscal year ending in March will total ¥130 billion ($1.4 billion), in comparison to a previous estimate of ¥78 billion.
New Pioneer Blu-ray players turn up the RAM for Blu-ray
One of the most venerable names in consumer electronics, Pioneer, showed that it was still a player. No pun intended.
Like a TiVo for XM radio, Pioneer Electronics' GEX-XMP3 portable XM Satellite Radio with MP3 provides more than 170 channels of XM content, with the capability to schedule recordings of up to 75 hours of XM programs, and automatic recording of 15-30 hours of XM programs -- five channels at a time. It can also replay up to 30 minutes of live XM. In addition, it includes a microSD card slot for playing recorded music. It is available now for $279.
Pioneer gets in on the Qflix direct-DVD-download act
Sonic Solutions announced Qflix download and burn technology for DVD nearly a year ago. Now, following Dell's lead, Pioneer has announced its own Qflix compatible burners.
Today, Pioneer announced two Qflix DVD/CD burners: the internal DVR-2920Q,
and the external DVR-X162Q. Both drives incorporate Sonic Solutions' Roxio Venue software, which was designed to create protected DVDs from legally purchased downloads, as stipulated by The DVD Copy Control Association in 2006. The drives will begin shipping this month, and carry an MSRP of $69.99 for the internal model, and $114.99 for the external, a scant $5 cheaper than Dell's.
Pioneer now says it can add four more layers to its Blu-ray disc
With the optical disc industry upping the ante last month, raising its goals for optical disc-based storage to a half-terabyte, Pioneer returned to testing a possible multi-layer BD, and now says it can squeeze more capacity onto one disc.
During a symposium on optical storage in Hawaii last month, Pioneer Electronics showed off its latest permutation of multi-layer recording using the DVD form factor, unveiling its draft specifications for a 16-layer Blu-ray Disc with as much as 400 GB capacity. But apparently, the company was surprised to find that the symposium had set forth a little higher goal: 500 GB by no later than 2012.
Pioneer to enter consumer Blu-ray disc recorder market
Pioneer Corp. plans to launch a Blu-ray disc recorder stand-alone console in Japan by early next year, making the company the seventh Japanese vendor to step into this market.
Under co-development by Pioneer and its partner Sharp, Pioneer's high-end, high-definition disc recorder console for consumers is slated for release in Japan before the 2008 holiday season, according to Japan's Nikkei news service. Meanwhile, a report in the Associated Press gives a later target date of March 2009 for Japanese shipment of Pioneer's first standalone Blu-ray disc recorder for consumers.
Pioneer to demo optical discs with 400 GB capacities
The Japanese electronics company says it has successfully developed a optical disc which includes 16 layers of data.
Each layer would be capable of containing 25 gigabytes, meaning the disc could hold 400 gigabytes of data in total. Such high capacities would prove beneficial to those content providers that offer multi-volume titles presently.
As flat screen prices plummet, Pioneer strikes a deal
In a deal spawned by the flat panel TV industry's current price war, financially struggling Pioneer Corp. has agreed to stop making plasma panels and buy them instead from Panasonic's parent company Matsushita.
Pioneer has shown an operating loss for three consecutive years now, while dealing with an oversupply of plasma display capacity in the face of falling prices.
Pioneer to halt production of plasma screens
Japanese consumer electronics maker Pioneer, makers of what many consider to be the best plasma panels on the market, is reported to be ceasing production of its own plasma screens, according to Nikkei.
Pioneer is known for producing what many consider to be the best plasma panels on the market. The Japanese business news service Nikkei reported today that as early as this year, Pioneer's Kagoshima production facility could close, and its Yamanashi and Shizuoka plants will shift focus to assembly.
Sony BMG, XM reach deal on Pioneer Inno
The deal could be a sign that the satellite radio provider's legal woes surrounding the recording functionality of some of its receivers may be waning.
Pioneer's portable XM receiver was one of the devices targeted by the RIAA in its suit filed in May 2006. At the time, the recording industry representatives accused XM of committing "massive wholesale infringement."
Pioneer Sues Samsung Over Patents
Pioneer has sued Samsung in the United States over alleged patent infringement involving plasma displays used primarily in television sets. The two companies were in licensing talks that apparently fell through, prompting Pioneer to file a lawsuit.
Japan-based Pioneer says it holds a patent regarding an electrode configuration that improves plasma display quality, as well as a patent covering a manufacturing step that increases the brightness of a display. South Korea-based Samsung SDI is violating both of those parents, Pioneer says.
Pioneer Delays Blu-ray Player
Confirming recent rumors, Pioneer disclosed Tuesday that it was delaying its BDP-HD1 Blu-ray disc player due to production issues. Originally scheduled for launch in June, the player is now not expected until sometime in the autumn. With the latest delay, it appears that only one set-top Blu-ray player made by Samsung will be available by the summer.
Pioneer additionally announced that it would end production of regular DVD players and only support the Blu-ray format. The move may be a dangerous gamble at this point, as neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD seems to be gaining much traction among consumers due to high costs and a fragmented market.
Pioneer to Launch Blu-ray Drive at CES
HD DVD's latest delay in reching the market may prove costly, as Pioneer announced Tuesday that it planned to unveil a Blu-ray enabled optical disc drive for PCs at CES 2006 in early January, with a launch in Japan scheduled for later in the month.
In order for the company to make its late January launch target, issues related to the AACS content management system -- the same feature delaying HD DVD drives -- as well as a completion of the Blu-ray logo need to occur, Pioneer says.
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