硬件风云--PIONEER 先锋

What makes us so serious about the pursuit of pleasure? The answer is simple: souls are at stake. Since Pioneer's origins in 1938, our company has proven to be as true to its name as it is to its mission to "move the heart and touch the soul" of the world's most discerning connoisseurs of entertainment. To this day, our legacy of leadership helps keep us at the forefront of breaking developments. From creating the speakers that first established the Pioneer brand as a standard-bearer in audio, to our introduction of the Laser Disc format that first paved the way for optical disc entertainment, up to the launch of DVD players and Plasma Displays embodying the latest incarnation of digital home theater innovation, we have always held ourselves to a higher standard, much to our customers' appreciation. As we enter an era in which digital technology enhances the potential of music, movies, and other entertainment to reach a wider audience than ever before, future possibilities are limited only by how far our imaginations can go.

The history of audiovisual entertainment owes a large debt to the dedication of innovators through the decades. For all of the effort, however, the reproduction of sound and vision has, for the most part, represented a mere shadow of reality. Until the advent of the digital revolution, that is.

The latest technology allows people to get as close as possible to sights and sounds as they occur in nature, as if straight from the source. Moving impact and precise detail remain intact, without alteration or degradation. The implications of these developments are only starting to be realized, but promise to reach more deeply into more of our leisure and working lives.

Pioneer plays a primary role, from research and development to marketing and distribution of DVD, plasma display, satellite broadcast, data communications and audio equipment based on future-ready digital signal processes.

For example, Pioneer's high-efficiency electro-emission device (HEED) for flat-panel displays emits electrons in cold cathodes 30 times more efficiently than its more conventional displays can. In developing the first organic electroluminescent (EL) displays, we set new standards of thinness and viewing angle range for the next generation of such displays. Also, we are developing high-density DVD discs, while leading efforts to create rewritable DVD (DVD-RW) standards, in order to lay the foundation for greater DVD disc potential.

Our passage into a new century presents an excellent opportunity for us to take stock of our standing in our industry, where we want to go from here, and how we intend to get there.

As much as we appreciate that the pace of change in our industry is accelerating, at least one timeless ingredient will sustain us through the ride: the spirit of innovation that has always kept us at the top of our game.

In keeping with the expanding reach of our products into the homes and offices of more and more customers throughout the world, the work of running Pioneer has been divided among three Companies for Home Entertainment, Mobile Entertainment, and Business Systems, respectively. Each in its own way advances Pioneer's progress toward new generations of entertainment and communication with digital audiovisual equipment at the core. We're also developing software suitable for all of our systems.

Our innovations in the realm of DVD are only the start of a new beginning. We're perfectly positioned to continue outdistancing our competitors with products that embody new, different, smarter approaches that take technology where it's never gone before. Three corporate divisions devoted to personal entertainment and communication at home, on the road, and at work keep Pioneer adept at adapting a solid core of equipment and software for new-generation applications.

At our research, design, and manufacturing facilities, everything is geared to user-friendliness and reliability, from what we produce to how we go about producing it. The same exacting standards applied to quality control and after-sales service help ensure that every component that leaves our factories works and keeps working exactly as intended, wherever in the world that people enjoy what Pioneer provides.

True, the resources that Pioneer devotes to research & development, manufacturing, sales, and other activities upon which our business depends are ultimately dedicated to customer satisfaction. This involves everything from selection of the most appropriate manufacturing site for each product, to quality control assurance at our facilities, all of which have earned or aim to earn ISO 14000-series, ISO 9000-series, QS 9000, or other global standard operating classifications. Moreover, our R&D facilities in three major regions — North America, Europe and Asia — accommodate specific local needs as they apply to Pioneer products.

But taking care of business means more than making and promoting products. In developing a broader outlook, we aim to share with the world our sense of wonder as an agent of change — a long-term objective that makes sustenance of societies, nature, and communication the ultimate priorities.