Trust me, the egos from Pannys do not like to be associated in any way of the old Pio. It took a lot of coaxing for them to actually admit that some of the old Kuro tech was inside the new Pannys.

The difference is Panny has a wide range, Pio did not. They only had one range. One/Two panels per year and firmware to control the different ranges.

The good thing is that the advances made will be utilized going forward. The technology is not locked away rotting in a vault.

The important thing is not about being elite or noob.

The most important thing is if a company as big as Panny can truly deliver more that Pioneer ever could.

Panny used to put out the best screens out there till 2007. They have slacked. Hope they get their act together else they will also wash away with the LCD revolution.

Also, if u do not see the difference and u r happy with ur entry level set, why worry about wanting a better set. Its elite as long as the owner is happy with the product.

Having a Kuro and not being able to appreciate that is better but merely feeling that he/she has the best set is really not important.

Thats the point I am making.

I have got calls to calibrate Kuros, but the person uses it to watch pirated DVDs and low res stuff. Why buy one for that?
Panny has better people at management,  thats why they are so big. Pio was badly managed and they have gone bust in the display industry. They made a big mistake of buying a wrong plant and backing it.

My point is Panasonic needs to pull up its socks and improve, get back to being the leader they once was. The strong fight put out by the LCD camp cannot be ignored.