Pioneer had to give up on TV production in 2008 because they weren’t able to make it a profitable business. Now Pioneer Elite TVs will be reborn as rebranded Sharp LCD-TVs. Pionner has issued rights to produce TVs under the Pioneer Elite brand to Sharp.

Pioneer Elite HDTVs rise again
Pioneer’s TVs were extremely popular just a few years ago and the Pioneer KURO plasma TVs are still considered the best TVs ever sold. But it’s not the KURO plasma TVs that will rise again but instead Elite LCD-TVs that Sharp is to manufacture and sell.


A Pioneer LCD-TV used to look like this

Sharp and Pioneer has entered into an agreement to let Sharp manufacture TVs under the Pioneer Elite brand that is also used for Pioneer’s receivers, Blu-ray players and speakers. This agreement gives Sharp access to high-end showrooms and gives Pioneer a TV that supplements their other Elite products.

The move comes as no big surprise. It was actually Sharp that supplied the LCD panels for Pioneer’s LCD-TVs that never really impressed us (review only available in Danish). Panasonic has bought Pioneer's plasma technology licenses.

No further details have emerged about the forthcoming Pioneer Elite LCD-TVs, but since they use Sharp's LCD panels we can probably expect LED local dimming and 3D. Sharp and Pioneer says that the new TVs will be available in the US and Canada.