Pioneer returning to TV business in Europe

Pioneer

One of the last Pioneer plasma TVs




Japanese manufacturer Pioneer is returning to the TV business it abandoned some four years ago with a collaborative European effort.


The company will now return to making "technologically advanced high-end TVs" through a deal with European electronics retailer Dixons.


As reported by ERTonline, Pioneer will produce Full HD 1080p LED panels in 40-inch, 46-inch, and 55-inch sizes for the retailer. They will include all of the extras we’ve come to expect from a high-end TV, including 3D, smart TV, plenty of inputs (three HDMI and three USB) and Wi-Fi.


These Pioneer TV sets won’t be available to buy anywhere else. According to the press release, "Dixons Retail has been granted the exclusive rights to source, develop, produce and sell Pioneer TVs in selected European markets."


In addition to their self-named stores, Dixons also owns Currys and PC World, so we can expect to see Pioneer TV sets appearing in retail parks across the UK in the not too distant future.


Initially, these Pioneer TV sets will be sold only in the Nordic region starting from this December, but Dixons claims to have "an aspiration to extend into the UK market in future."


Pioneer previously made only plasma TV screens, despite the panel technology largely falling out of fashion with consumers and manufacturers at the turn of the decade. Indeed, even Panasonic - the last major plasma TV producer - will stop doing so in 2014.


Next, read our pick of the best TVs of 2013.