CEDIA 2008: Panasonic Sheds Some Light on Its Large, Internet-Enabled Plasma Displays

Internet-enabled, widescreen HDTVs are the latest trend among the manufacturers of display solutions, whether we're talking about LCDs or PDPs, so it's no wonder that they've also made an appearance at this year's CEDIA show. And two of the most interesting (and large) devices of this type come from Panasonic, namely the 58-inch TH-65PZ850 and the 65-Inch TH-65PZ850, offering users the same quality images as all of the other PDPs in the Japanese company's lineup, but also several other extras on the side.

 

Panasonic's IP enabled televisions provide access to on-line content directly from the television with VIERA CAST technology that streams web content directly to the user's VIERA HDTV without the need for an external box or a PC. The customer can access a wide variety of content services, as for example YouTube, Picasa or even Bloomberg, in order to receive local weather updates and gain access to financial data.

 

The PZ850 series features a Pro Setting Menu, allowing the user to access professional calibration software, an improved native resolution contrast ratio of 30,000:1 and a dynamic ratio of 1,000,000:1 as well as an increased luminous efficiency, lead free panels and 100,000 hours to half brightness.

 

The 850 series further expands the capabilities of the SD Card feature by utilizing the H.264 codec to display high definition video recorded on an HD camcorder equipped with the H.264 codec. Digital Cinema Color Re-Mastering is a technology that creates a wide color gamut covering 120% of the conventional HDTV color standard, enabling VIERA displays to reproduce the essential colors for viewing movies. 24p native reproduction, which negates the need for 3:2 pulldown, resulting in a smoother picture, is another feature that provides the best possible viewing experience.

 

Connectivity-wise, besides the aforementioned SD card slot, the devices also feature an RS-232C connection, four HDMI connections and a PC input, as well as an Ethernet connector.

 

As expected, these things will be quite expensive, since the TH-65PZ850 will have a suggested retail price of $6999.95, while the TH-58PZ850 will have an SRP of $3999.95.


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