So as I understand it, Pioneer is going to stop making the actual physical plasma panel/displays at the end of 2009. To date they have made their own. Now they will subcontract.
They will continue to make Pioneer brand plasma monitors/sets - meaning with their own electronics, GUI, feature set and cosmetics. I have not seen anything about whetehr they will keep their current model nomenclature (Kuro, Elite) or use the occassion to introduce new models.
Personally I am not concerned and I own one - Pioneer has been in this game a long time and I am sure parts and support will be available for some time.
ISF. Yes they do come and fiddle around. The results are "not subtle". Unless you have a great eye and have spent an inordinate amount of time on set-up, your set will look markedly better.
You can expect richer blacks with more shadow detail, more accurate flesh tones and greens, and cleaner whites. This is done by adjusting/maximizing the color space, fine tuning the gamma and a myriad of other details.
As one added bonus you will learn a lot about your unit since most ISF techs want you there with them while they do the set up.
As the other added bonus the tech will (probably) look at all your sources and make any adjustments necessary to the menus. Make sure you negotiate this as part of the service
They will give you a written record of all the settings so if you want to tweak or try other recipes you should be able to get back to where you started. (Note some of the adjustments cannot be made without specialized gear - obviously you will not be able to tinker with those.)
Other then that - what all of the previous posters said applies =)
