DId you know Panasonic started make TVs 56-years ago? Since that time and under the companies vast corporate umbrella, it has produced more than 300,000,000 TVs. The company claims it’s the first manufacturer to hit that milestone and who are we to disagree. There is certainly a Panny bean counter buried deep within a cubical garden that keeps track of these items. All we know is the company’s TV division is going strong and totally committed to plasma TV development. Hopefully the CE company will still be around to mark the next hundred million mark.
Today Panasonic in Japan announced [JP] it has created the world’s first full HD plasma home theater system capable of displaying 3D images. The company also said the technology will be showcased to the general public next week at the CEATEC 2008 exhibition.
In a product demonstration for the Japanese press, Panasonic used their flagship 103-inch plasma TV, which is the biggest of its kind in the world, and a Blu-ray player that is capable of displaying full HD images with separate views to the left and right eye.
Panasonic claims one Blu-ray disc is sufficient for storing the 3D video material, which the player decoded in real-time. Users need to wear polarizing glasses to get the 3D experience. Pricing and availability is currently unknown, but I will try the system out next week and try to track down technical details.
For the first time ever, Pioneer is going to start selling LCD TVs here in the States starting next year. This cames after years of battling the endless plasma verse LCD war. The two sets, already on sale in Europe, are a 37- and 32-inch with the LCD panels coming from Sharp. I wouldn’t expect anything groundbreaking from the LCDs as Pioneer still probably wants to keep the focus on the companies awesome plasma options, and are simply selling these as additional options. Plasmas do give the best picture experience from a flat-panel possible thanks to the deep blacks and white whites, but sometimes because of lighting issues or customer ignorance, LCDs are preferred.
I’m here at IFA in Berlin, a stone’s throw away from my temporary base of operations in Barcelona. The show itself—think CES, just run by a bunch of well-dressed Europeans—starts this weekend, but a few companies are having hip-hip hooray press conferences a bit early, announcing new products then quickly putting them back behind a curtain, saying how great they are, etc. Panasonic did as much today, showing off a few items that might interest you.
First up, a 58-inch “neo PDP” plasma TV that’s only 1-inch thick. (Neo-PDP is an unreleased, next generation plasma technology that’s twice as efficient as current plasma TVs. Power consumption is cut in half, cabinet profiles can be reduced, etc. Everyone wins.) It’s still only a prototype, so Panasonic’s not talking release dates or prices quite yet. Basically, it was an opportunity for the Panasonic guy to hold up a €2 coin to demonstrate how thin the TV is.
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Panasonic announced today in Japan [JP] they will release three Viera PDP TVs in this country starting September 10.
All models (42, 46 and 50 inches) of the new PZR900 series will house a 1TB HDD for recording terrestrial and digital TV programs, which can then be copied on DVDs or Blu-ray discs. From September 30, Japanese customers will also be able to view YouTube videos on their Panasonic TVs.
Panasonic’s PZ850, on sale in America for quite some time now, features the YouTube function already. At this point, it’s unclear whether the PZR900 series will also find its way over the pond. The new TVs are Panasonic’s first plasmas with built-in hard drives.
All models are full HD (of course) and feature 3 HDMI, 2 i.LINK , 4 component and 2 S-Video ports each. Prices: $5,000 for the 50-inch TV, $4,300 for the 46-inch model and $3,800 for the 42-inch plasma.
Someone is buying VIZIO HDTVs. They might be mid-tier products. but their generally great prices probably helped rocket the flat-panel maker to the top of Inc. 5000 list. The company reached the peak by having the greatest revenue per employee, with a whopping $1.9 billion total in ‘07. VIZIO was also noted #4 for Gross Dollars of Growth and #9 for total revenue.
While I would never claim VIZIO flat-panels are the top of the line, they generally are a nice set. If the company is racking in that much cash while keeping prices down, kind of makes you wonder why other manufacturers prices are so high.
via MarketWatch
Just ahead of CEDIA, Samsung just announced five new LCDs and three plasmas to the global market. Specific model detail is low on availability but we do know that LED technology is going to be incorporated for a more energy efficient process. While LED backlit exactly ‘bleeding edge’ anymore, we are finally seeing the tech seep down into the general market. The sets should run at 120Hz, be equipped with DNIe Pro, and feature Samsung’s proprietary local dimming tech. Price hasn’t been announced just yet, but these sets should see store shelves by the end of this year.
via TechOn
Pioneer’s stunning PDP-LX6090 Kuro plasma was just recognized at EISA by winning “European Plasma-TV 2008-2009.” HD enthusiests have known for a while that the Kuro line of plasma TVs are top notch and now there is a blue ribbon to prove it. The blacks are, well, black and guess about the whites. Yeah, they are white. The judges agrees.
Thanks to an amazingly low black level – Pioneer calls it KURO – this set’s contrast ratio is sky-high. The result is an impression of immense depth and crisp detailing, to a level and quality not seen before on a plasma TV.
It’s to bad that big box stores jack up the brightness and contrast on their sets. Doing that destroys what HDTVs like this one is all about. Anyways, congrats Pioneer. You sure do know how to make one hell of a HDTV.
So if a Panasonic VIERA plasma’s screen has a half-life of 42-years, that states that the screen will loss all it’s brightness in 84-years. Or 2093. Or when George Bush VI takes office. Or when we might finally have flying cars. Or when…you get the idea. CEPro presents an interesting question on this claim, “Will you die before your TV?”
Hmmm. So even if the half-life of the plasma dictates the life of the unit, that would mean a 25-year old in 2008 will be boring his grandkids with home movies later. Kind of like how many of us gathered around the Grandma’s ‘ol wooden console to enjoy M*A*S*H.
Still, are current TVs going to last that long? Let’s see. There are power surges, cracked screens, broken buttons, theft, random issues, and just plain boredom. Some sets just might make it through our current economy and well into the next recession, but chances are, you’re not going to die before your TV.
image source: CEPro
Most gadgetphiles know that plasmas use more energy than LCDs but the Australian government want all of their citizens to know too. The government is rolling out a system currently in place for other household appliances but aimed this time at televisions. The vast majority of plasmas aren’t going to fair very well, and even some might be banned from sale. A Panasonic director indicated that none of their models will be banned but most of their models will score around a “three-star” if current models where graded; their LCDs would come in around a “four-star.”
This new regulation begs the questions when is something like that going to happen here in the US. With some states banning even incandescent light bulbs because of their energy usage, what’s to say high-consumption gadgets aren’t next?
Series 9 is pictured above
Announced earlier today were updates to four of Samsung’s varying HDTV lines. First up is the Series 6 LCD HDTVs that feature ToC (Touch of Color), you know, the red bezel on top of a 40,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, full 1080p picture, and Auto Motion Plus 120Hz technology. A flash memory drive is also onboard so you can drop in music and images via USB port. The Series 6 630 HDTVs will be available next month in 40-, 46- and 60-inch models. Prices and specs after the jump.
Keep reading for more info on Series’ 7-9 with the latter being the cream of the crop as they say.
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The HD Guru recently reviewed the 50-inch Pioneer Elite Kuro PRO-111FD and, after putting the $5,000 premium plasma through its paces, called it “simply the best” HDTV he’s ever tested. Why so good, you ask?
Well, the black levels are so dark that the HD Guru’s current test equipment couldn’t even measure them, the energy consumption levels are pretty admirable, and the color saturation has improved over previous models. The Pioneer isn’t cheap, though, so you’ll have to decide A) If you have a lot of money and B) If you have a significant other who will let you spend a lot of that money on a TV. I have neither.
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The San Fran band The Bad Hand apparently think whatever squalling coming out of this Spencer’s Gifts plasma ball can be approximately linked to the making of music. While I’m very accepting of all sorts of musical genres, I feel that someone needs to kick this thing hard and fast, thereby releasing the tortured soul of Frank Zappa back into the Outworld.
via MusicThing
If you’re like me, you’re extremely cheap. And that means you put off buying everything until it’s ridiculously low-priced or used. That means waiting a long time usually, but the payoff is that you get everything those other jokers got, plus more, for a quarter of the price. For instance: this Vizio 32-inch 720p plasma costs $600, exactly a quarter what my parents paid for a much poorer quality one a couple years ago. Plasma is no longer the leading technology, of course, but I’m not as much of a stickler about that.
The 42-inch model costs $800, which I think is a better deal. Both have similar stats and a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. If LCD is more your style, they have some reasonably priced ones along that line as well. These have the 120Hz smoothing technology, which I’d want to see first as some companies’ versions are better than others. Still, 1080p with 120Hz for probably a little over a grand is a pretty decent deal.
The dreadful economy has led to an increase in the number of inexpensive picture tube TVs sold. Likewise, sales of LCDs and plasmas—”dude check out my flat screen”—have flatlined. I guess people value eating and paying the rent/mortgage more than watching “My Name is Earl” in HD.
These numbers come from DisplaySearch, a research outfit that tracks and monitors the the display industry. The good ol’ picture tube was the second most popular display type for the first quarter of this year, supplanting plasma from previous quarter. The reason, of course, is that picture tube TVs are cheaper, and many consumers seem to be motivated to buy a new TV not necessarily to have the biggest and baddest TV in the neighborhood, but to get ready for the upcoming digital TV transition.
And if you’re asking yourself, “Where do they even still sell picture tubes,” may I suggest a visit to Wal-Mart? It seems the mom and pop-killing store still sells picture tubes, and is benefitting from people’s newfound thriftiness.
Apparently plasma TVs are no longer the “it” girl of the tech world, at least not here in the Shining City on a Hill. Shipments of plasma panels increased by 53 percent Q1 2008 compared to Q1 2007, but you’re not likely to notice unless you’re in China or Latin America, where plasma is more popular than LCD.
Why is LCD more popular than plasma here? A big reason is that consumers still think that plasma suffers from burn-in, which is largely a non-issue at this point. I personally own an LCD, but would totally be down with whatever tech can give me the best screen size:price ratio.
Feel free to ask me stupid questions at our fiesta this evening; I have plenty of snappy answers ready for y’all.
We’ve been waiting for OLED to invade the marketplace, but it hasn’t yet. It will, sure, but Panasonic, with AT&T, have another idea, plasma.
Right now you can get a flat-panel HDTV in LCD or plasma, and they each have their strengths and weaknesses (which will be addressed in a future home theater feature), but one thing about plasma is that it’s got more vibrant color than LCD, which has better contrast and is cheaper to manufacture.
On a cellphone screen, though, plasma’s low-power design would actually make it a better choice than LCD for retaining a long battery life.
In addition a plasma vs. OLED war would bring out good ol’ price wars, so we win both ways. I love the future.
UPDATE – It’s a hoax.
Remember how we told you Samsung would be bringing their 3D plasma HDTVs this month? Well, the Series 4 sets are now available in stores. The 42-inch PN42A450 is available for $1,199, and the 50-inch PN50A450 is available for $1,699. Yay!
It’s so rare to actually have actual child-like fun with the gadgets we get in that I had to put together this silly video. The Jasman toys are laser-tag-alike weapons with targets and a shot counter. When you run out of ammo the weapons pop open — the rifle shoots out its overheating fins and the top of the pistol pops up. You can recharge your weapon by pressing a button on the top and you take a few hits before your target stops registering and you lose like the loser you are — that means you, Mike!
Here we see my friends shooting each other while my son cowers in the corner and the dog enters the fray. Good times.
The rifle is $139 and the pistol is $59. I strongly recommend these for a little inter-office laser tag Covenant action.
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As a Wii owner, I’ve been using the Wii-mote sans wrist strap since the thing snapped within a week of using it. Since then, never have I ever had a problem with accidentally hurtling it into my TV. However, that might be because after reading all the horror stories of Wii-punctured flat panels, I picked up a couple rubberized battery covers for some extra traction.
The total out of pocket cost to me for piece of mind was $6.99 plus tax for two battery covers. If you’re looking for the same piece of mind, you might be tempted to purchase similar accessories. Bah, I say. Why not just buy a Wii-proof TV instead and feel content to beat the hell out of it with your game controllers?
Panasonic hopes that you’ll take my advice and purchase its tougher-than-normal LCD screens, which were recently announced in Valencia. The magically coated panels are tough enough to withstand up to 4 joules, which is probably really impressive if you’re into the joule scene. No word yet on price, availability, or consumer interest.
Wii-proofing Panasonic’s plasma TVs [Crave]
