Pioneer to Sell Blu-ray Disc Recorders

Pioneer Corp. will start selling Blu-ray disc recorders in Japan sometime before March 2009, the company said Tuesday, the latest in a string of Japanese electronics makers entering the increasingly competitive sector.

Pioneer spokeswoman Kayoko Tanaka said the decision to enter the domestic Blu-ray market anticipated burgeoning Japanese demand for products in the next-generation video format. No decision has been made on overseas sales plans, she said.

Pioneer will develop Blu-ray DVD recorders with partner Sharp and sell them under the Pioneer brand targeting high-end consumers, Japan's top business daily The Nikkei reported earlier Tuesday. Tanaka declined comment on the details of the report.

Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, and Sharp Corp. dominate Japan's Blu-ray sector, controlling a combined 98 percent market share, according to The Nikkei.

Last year, Pioneer announced a tie-up with Sharp under which Pioneer will buy Sharp's liquid crystal displays for flat TVs. Pioneer and Sharp have also been working together on Blu-ray disc recorders and players.

Pioneer decided in March to stop making plasma display panels in an effort to turn around its money-losing business. Pioneer used to be one of the leading developers of panel technology but has fallen behind bigger companies such as Matsushita and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc.

Electronics makers are stepping up their product offerings with hopes demand will rise with the Beijing Olympics in August and Christmas shopping later in the year.