As we all know only too well, Panasonic, like most other display solution manufacturers, doesn't settle for just one product launch, but generally rolls out at least a dozen new devices. Well, perhaps not a dozen, but the company's latest announcement sure is a “large” one, since the Japanese firm has just introduced (for now, apparently just in Germany) eight new PDPs, which are part of a whole new family of products, the 11 series, and are meant to be used mostly in public venues.

The estimated functioning life is one of the most important issues when we're talking about digital signage, and the new plasma panels from Panasonic seem to be ready to work for a very long time. That's because the manufacturers have pushed the MTBF at around 100,000 hours, which is more than 11 years. Plus, since the glass installed on the new PDPs is ten times more resistant than the one found in regular LCDs, it's pretty sure that these devices will be able to take quite a lot of bumps and shocks.

As mentioned above, the new 11 series is comprised of eight models with resolutions ranging from 42 to 65 inches. Each model provides 18-bit image processing, but the resolution and contrast ratios are quite diverse. Thus, two of the new models, the TH-42PH11EK/ES and TH-50PH11EK/ES, provide 1,024 x 768 and 1,366 x 768 pixel resolutions, respectively, while the contrast ratios are of around 15,000:1 and the brightness levels of 1400 cd/m2.

The rest of the models (scheduled to arrive in December) support 1920 x 1080 pixel resolutions (Full HD) and contrast ratios of up to 30,000:1. Moreover, all of the models from the new 11 series will support DVI-D and dual HD-SDI rack modules, as well as several other functions that can prove to be particularly useful for digital signage, such as the screen menu that can be rotated at 90 degrees for vertical installations, 16:9 PIP support, and text overlay function via the RS-232C interface.

At the moment, no pricing details are available for this family of products, but you can be pretty sure that they'll be a lot more expensive than your ordinary, consumer-grade products.


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