Pioneer Corporation commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational
corporation that specializes in digital entertainment products, based in
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto in 1938
in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair shop, and its current president is
Susumu Kotani. Pioneer played a role in the development
of interactive cable TV, the Laser Disc player, the first automotive Compact
Disc player, the first detachable face car stereo, Supertuner technology, DVD
and DVD recording, plasma display, and Organic LED display. The company works
with optical disc and display technology and software products and is also a
manufacturer. Sharp Corporation took a 14% stake in Pioneer in 2007, which has
been reduced to 9%, but Sharp still remains the largest shareholder of
Pioneer Corporation, followed by Honda Motor Co., Ltd. who owns roughly 4% of
Pioneer shares following a memorandum between the two companies in 2010 to
strengthen business ties. In March 2010, Pioneer stopped producing
televisions, announced on 12 February 2009. On June 25, 2009, Sharp
Corporation agreed to form a joint venture on their optical business to be
called Pioneer Digital Design and Manufacturing Corporation. In September
2014, Pioneer agreed to sell Pioneer Home Electronics to Onkyo, and on March
2015, Pioneer sold its DJ equipment business division to KKR, which resulted
in the establishment of Pioneer DJ as a separate entity, independent of Pioneer.
History 1937: Pioneer’s founder, Nozomu
Matsumoto develops the A-8 dynamic speaker.
January 1938: Fukuin Shokai Denki Seisakusho is founded in Tokyo.
May 1947: Fukuin Denki is incorporated. December 1953: Hi-Fi Speaker PE-8
introduced. June 1961: Company name changed to
Pioneer Electronic Corporation. October 1961: Shares are listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange Second Section. June 1962: Introduces the world’s first
separate stereo system. March 1966: Establishes sales companies
in Europe and the U.S. February 1968: Shares are listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section. April 1968: Shares are listed on the
Osaka Securities Exchange. February 1969: Shares are listed on the
Amsterdam Stock Exchange. U.S. GAAP consolidated financial reporting starts
November 1975: Introduces the world’s first component car stereo.
1976: Hi-Fi Speaker HPM-100 introduced. December 1976: Shares are listed on the
New York Stock Exchange. December 1977: Introduces the world’s
first two-way addressable CATV system in the U.S..
1978: Introduces SX-1980 receiver, Pioneer's most powerful receiver
manufactured to date. February 1979: Introduces the
industry-use Laserdisc player. June 1980: Introduces VP-1000 LD player
for home use in the U.S. October 1981: Introduces LD player for
home use and 70 LD software titles in Japan.
October 1982: Introduces the LD Karaoke system for business use.
November 1982: Introduces CD player. September 1984: Introduces the world’s
first LD combination player compatible with CDs and LDs.
October 1984: Releases the world’s first car CD player.
December 1985: Introduces the 40-inch projection monitor.
June 1990: Introduces the world’s first CD-based GPS automotive navigation
system. October 1992: Introduces the world’s
first 4x CD-ROM changer. June 1996:
Tokorozawa Plant earns ISO 14001 certification.
Pioneer inaugurates and launches Pioneer Karaoke Channel, an Astro satellite
television channel for music video and karaoke programming consists for
nightclubs. December 1996: Introduces DVD/CD player
and the world’s first DVDCD compatible player for home use.
May 1997: Starts supplying digital satellite broadcast set-top boxes in
Europe. June 1997: Introduces the world’s first
DVD-based GPS automotive navigation system.
October 1997: Introduces the world’s first DVD-R drive.
November 1997: Introduces the world’s first OEL-equipped car audio product.
December 1997: Introduces the world’s first high definition 50-inch plasma
display for consumer use. June 1998: Introduces the world’s first
DVD-based GPS automotive navigation system featuring 8.5GB dual-layered DVD.
January 1999: Introduces new corporate logo.
April 1999: Starts supplying digital CATV set-top boxes in the U.S.
June 1999: English company name changed to Pioneer Corporation.
December 1999: Introduces the world’s first DVD recorder compatible with the
DVD-RW format. March 2000: Shares of Tohoku Pioneer are
listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Second Section.
June 2001: Introduces hard disk-based GPS automotive navigation system.
July 2001: Introduces the global brand slogan “sound.vision.soul”.
November 2002: Introduces GPS automotive navigation system with a wireless
communication module. November 2002: Introduces a DVD recorder
with hard disk. March 2003: Introduces in the U.S.
digital CATV settop boxes with high definition TV signal reception
capability. September 2003: Total shipment worldwide
of PC-use recordable DVD drives surpasses 5 million units.
July 2004: Introduces the Pioneer DVJ-X1, the world's first DVD player for
professional DJs and VJs. October 1, 2004: Pioneer Plasma Display
Corporation starts operation. January 2006: President Kaneo Ito and
Chairman Kanya Matsumoto, son of the company's founder, leave their posts to
take responsibility for the recent poor performance of the maker of DVD
recorders and plasma TVs. Vice President Tamihiko Sudo is appointed the new
president, effective from January 1 by the board of directors.
December 2006: Pioneer closes its car audio division in Singapore.
January 2007: Pioneer displays their 9 mm thick concept plasma, as well as
their "extreme contrast" concept plasma July 2008: Pioneer develops 16-layer
Blu-ray Disc capable of storing 400 GB. November 2009: Pioneer moves its head
office from Tokyo to Kawasaki. September 2009: Pioneer announce two new
players to their DJ equipment portfolio, the CDJ-900 and CDJ-2000.
March 2010: Pioneer stops producing TVs. May 2010: Pioneer releases two new DJ
software controllers, the DDJ-S1, and the DDJ-T1.
May 2011: Pioneer announces the release of the Smart Concept Car with a full DJ
setup. October 2011: Pioneer officially
released a new 2-channel DJ controller called the DDJ-ERGO at the BPM Show
2011. May 2012 - Pioneer introduced Cyber Navi
AR-HUD, the world’s first automotive navigation system head up display to
project augmented reality using RGB Laser virtual retinal display
technology. August 2012: Pioneer officially launches
the XDJ-AERO, Pioneer's first wireless DJ system that plays music from
smartphones and tablets via Wi-Fi. April 2013: Pioneer officially launches
the DJM-750. September 2014 : Pioneer would sell its
disc-jockey equipment business to private equity firm KKR & Co LP for
about 59 billion yen($550 million). Brands and devices
Pioneer — car electronics Pioneer Elite produces premium
electronics that are usually higher in quality and price. Most Pioneer Elite
branded electronics have the gloss black "Urushi" finish.
Pioneer Elite products include AVRs, Laserdisc players, CD players, DVD
players, plasma computer monitors and televisions [Now discontinued], and
rear-projection televisions. Pioneer Elite debuted their first Blu-ray Disc
player, the BDP-HD1, in January 2007. Pioneer released the first 1080p plasma
display, the PRO-FHD1. In Summer of 2007, Pioneer released the
Kuro line of plasma displays, that the company claims has the best black levels
of any flat panel display which leads to greater contrast, and more realistic
images. Kuro means black in Japanese. Carrozzeria — car electronics
Pioneer Premier — high-end car electronics [Now discontinued]
TAD — Technical Audio Devices. Primarily noted as a manufacturer of high
efficiency audio loudspeaker components and complete speaker systems for the
commercial sound reinforcement and recording studio markets. The base for
US operations is located in southern California, with limited
design/manufacturing done on site. Operations commenced in the early 1980s
and continue to this day with a limited offering of speaker components and
expanded offering of consumer speakers and electronics.
Pioneer DJ — DJ equipment Pioneer Premium Audio- a brand of
factory-installed OEM premium sound systems for GM vehicles: Chevrolet
Cobalt, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain,
Pontiac G5, and Pontiac Torrent as seven-speaker premium sound systems, and
a premium sound system for the Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series compact pickup
trucks. Pioneer Karaoke Channel
Pioneer Karaoke Channel is a satellite television channel that features Asian
music videos and karaoke 24 hours a day. Pioneer and Malaysian satellite
broadcaster Astro officially launched on January 1996.
Devices The GPS device Pioneer Avic, includes
TMC features. See also
Car audio and universal steering wheel control interface
CDJ Automotive navigation system
List of Japanese companies List of phonograph manufacturers
Geneon DVJ-X1
List of music software References
External links Pioneer Corporation
Pioneer global network The Exclusive Online Audio Museum
"TheVintageKnob" Technical Audio Devices Laboratories