2010 was touted to be the year of 3D TV and Panasonic aren’t a firm to miss out on the latest trend, so they have just announced their latest Viera 3D Plasma HDTVs for your enjoyment. The TC-P50VT25 (50 inch) and TC-P54VT25 (54 inch) models will be available shortly in early May, while only a month behind their big brothers, the TC-P58VT25 (58 inch) and TC-P65VT25 (65 inch) will be out in June. All the models feature the following bits and pieces

* short-stroke phosphor technology delivering full HD 3D imagery
* Active Shutter Eyewear to allow the brain to interpret the images as a Full HD 3D image
* Additional pairs of Panasonic 3D Eyewear are available at retail with an SRP of $149.95
* Infinite Black Pro Panel - A new phosphor technology that produces deep blacks (5,000,000:1 native contrast)
* THX Certified Display
* VIERA CAST WiFi with Skype Capability
* 600Hz Sub-field Drive
* 1080p Lines Moving Picture Resolution
* 24p Cinematic Playback
* two USB Ports
* PC Input

Of course the main feature is the price tag and they are as follows for the four models

TC-P50VT25 - $2600
TC-P54VT25 - $3000
TC-P58VT25 - $3400
TC-P65VT25 - $4300

Whilst these prices aren’t what you might call cheap, 3D is of course the latest thing and if keeping up with the Joneses is your game then these Panasonic VIERA VT25 3D HDTVs may just allow you to get ahead of them for once.

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We’ve not really taken a look at camcorders before, but that’s something we’d like to change at Our Picks. So first up is a not-so-cheap yet feature-laden offering from Panasonic, the Hi-Def HDC-HS700K with Leica lens. The unit sports true 1080p HD recording and a high performance Leica lens with 12x optical zoom. Here’s the full run-down on Panasonic’s video-taking beauty

* 240 GB HDD
* SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card
* Recording Format 1080/50p
* 9.15 megapixels (3.05 megapixels x 3)
* F1.5(WIDE)/2.8(TELE)
* Optical Zoom 12x
* Focal Length 3.45-41.4mm
* Filter Diameter 46mm
* 35mm Film Camera Equivalent 35.0-420mm (16:9) [Motion Image], 35.7-428mm (3:2), 35.0-420mm (16:9), 38.8-466mm (4:3) [Still Image]
* Image Stabilizer POWER O.I.S.
* Still Picture Recording:3:2 14.2 megapixels (4608 x 3072), 8.6 megapixels (3600 x 2400), 5.5 megapixels (2880 x 1920) [3:2]
Still Picture Recording:16:9 13.3 megapixels (4864×2736), 8.3 megapixels (3840 x 2160), 5.3 megapixels (3072 x 1728) [16:9]
Still Picture Recording:4:3 12.2 megapixels (4032 x 3024), 7.7 megapixels (3200 x 2400), 4.9 megapixels (2560 x 1920), 0.3 megapixels (640 x 480) [4:3]
* Auto/Manual focus
* White Balance options - Auto/Indoor1/Indoor2/Sunny/Cloudy/White Set
* Microphone 5.1ch Surround, Zoom and Focus Microphone
* mini HDMI output
* USB 2.0 Hi-Speed port
* Microphone (stereo mini) port
* Headphone (Stereo mini) port
* Accessory Shoe
* Weight (w/o Battery) approx. 450g
* 65 x 69 x 138mm
* Effective Pixels Motion Image: 7.59 megapixels (2.53 megapixels x 3)[16:9]
Still Image: 7.89 megapixels (2.63 megapixels x 3 ) [3:2]
7.59 megapixels (2.53 megapixels x 3) [16:9]
6.96 megapixels (2.32 megapixels x 3 ) [4:3]
* Leica Dicomar Lens
* 3.0 Wide LCD display

The price tag on the HDC-HS700K is $1400, so its not for the financially faint-hearted but if you are looking for a great HD camcorder, then Panasonic may just have the one for you.

Source: Panasonic

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Got some cash left over after Christmas? Well, we realise the answer to that question’s probably no, but just in case you have here’s a little New Year treat for you. The Panasonic DMP-BD60 may not sport the best Blu-Ray player specification in the world but at $127 over at Amazon who can complain too much. For those of you still keen here are those specs

* Viera Cast connecting you with YouTube, Picasa, Weather.
* BD-Live
* SD Card Slot and USB slot
* 1080p Upconvert
* Audio Output Mode: Stereo
* 16.9 x 9.8 x 1.9 inches
* 5.7 pounds

As usual with a Panasonic product it sports Viera Link enabling you to control all your Panny gear with one remote. It also has a 24p mode too. So not the most well-endowed Blu-Ray player in the world but the price tag is pretty cool at $127, so if you’re keen stroll on over to Amazon.

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Available later this month, the PT-AE4000U will be the latest projector offering from Panasonic. Amongst other things, the PT-AE4000U will handle 1:2.35 ratio displays enabling you to enjoy your movie collection in full widescreen. Other features include a Red-Rich Lamp for luminence efficiency, a Full-HD Optimized Optical Sytem for maximum clarity and sharpness, along with a Pure Color Filter to produce deeper blacks and improve purity levels in the three primaries, red, green and blue. Here are some numbers on the Panasonic PT-AE4000U

* Lens F 1.9 - 3.2, f 22.4 mm - 44.8 mm
* 170 W UHM lamp
* 1,600 lumens
* 100,000:1 contrast
* Projection size 40-300 inches
* Throw distance 1.2 m -18.0 m
* 1,920 x 1,080 resolution
* Frame rates of 24, 50 and 60
* Inputs - HDMI, PC, Component, S-Video
* 460 x 130 x 300 mm
* 7.3 kg

There’s no price tag on Panasonic’s site for the PT-AE4000U but according to electronista it’ll be $2,499 which may be a lot but those specs are very impressive so if you haven’t yet invested in a decent projector the Panasonic PT-AE4000U may be what you’ve been looking for.

Source: Panasonic

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CNet have reviewed Panasonic’s 50 inch 720p plasma HDTV,the TC-P50X1, and have come up with a ‘Good’ rating at 3 out of 5 stars. They highlight inaccuracy of colour on the TC-P50X1 as a major negative along with faint diagonal lines in lighter areas, but on the upside is the price-tag and ‘excellent’ black-level performace.

This HDTV reproduces superb blacks and excellent shadow detail, while costing a relative pittance for a big-screen HDTV. Unfortunately, two major problems prevent it from earning higher praise, namely that it suffers from less-than-accurate color and the presence of faint on-screen lines that may be a deal-breaker to sharp-eyed viewers.

I must admit that if anyone reviewed an HDTV and came back with colour inaccuracy then I’d be passing it by. But may be the price tag will seduce some customers into purchasing the Panasonic TC-P50X1. If you are still keen here are the specifications on the unit

* 50 inch 720p Plasma panel
* HDMI , S-Video , Component , Composite
* 48 x 3.7 x 30.3 inches
* 75 lbs
* 720p 16:9 display
* 30,000:1 contrast ratio
* 480i , 480p , 720p , 1080i , 1080p input formats
* SD Memory Card slot for viewing your photos
* 2×10W speakers
* 2 x HDMI input, 1 x Composite video/audio input, 2 x Component video input, 1 x S-Video input, 1 x Audio line-in, 1 x Digital audio output - Rear
* 1 x Composite video/audio input, 1 x HDMI input - Side

So all the figures stack up especially with a US$1,100 price tag, but the CNet review really puts me off. It really is a case of what you get is what you pay for and cutting corners on a price tag usually means the manufacturer has cut corners elsewhere. Unfortunately we have to give the Panasonic TC-P50X1 plasma HDTV a big thumbs down.

Source: CNet

Purchase: Amazon

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The new 2009 Panasonic plasmas are here at last. We’re going to give you the low down on the X1 range mainly because you can actually get your grubby little mits on these suckers right now. The range comes in two flavours, a 42 inch unit, the TC-P42X1 and it’s big brother the TC-P50X1 which sport price tags of US$900 and US$1100 respectively. Here are the details on these models from Panasonic

* 720p resolution
* 30,000:1 contrast ratio
* 3 HDMI inputs
* 100,000 hour panel life
* VIERA Image Viewer with SD slot

These neatly priced plasmas also sport Panasonic’s 600Hz Sub-field Drive which

produces crisp, focused images for sports, dramatic action, and all other fast-moving scenes. Your full-HD movies and games never looked sharper.

So there you have it, large screen plasmas for around US$1000, not bad if you’re bargain hunting for a decent plasma and are not worried about the lack of 1080p.

Source: Panasonic

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Apparently, the DMP-B15 is the world’s first portable Blu-Ray player according to Panasonic. We must admit it’s certainly the first we have seen at our-picks. And the little tyke doesn’t lack any of it siblings’ bells and whistles either

The DMP-B15 provides all the technology found in its stand alone brethren, the DMP-BD60, DMP-BD80 and the VHS-Blu-ray dual player DMP-BD70V.

Which all sounds well and good but who would want of these? We’ve not exactly seen portable DVD players in wide use, except on airlines too cheap to install screens on the back of the seat. So why go out and grab a Blu-Ray portable player? Panasonic are probably just ensuring they have all the niche areas of the Blu-Ray player market covered. Anyway enough waffle from us, here’s the low-down on the Panasonic DMP-B15

* 8.9-inch WSVGA LCD screen
* VIERA CAST™ internet accessibility
* PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus technology
* three hour rechargeable battery
* HDMI connectivity
* HD-Audio compatible AV receiver connectivity
* optional headrest mounting bracket for in-car use
* SD Memory Card slot

For those of you still awake, VIERA CAST

gives the consumer access to select entertainment sites, including Amazon Video-on-Demand, a streaming video service that gives the consumer access to more than 40,000 titles; YouTube™; Google Picasa Web Album; Bloomberg and a weather channel.

and

PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus is a high quality image-processing technology that precisely processes each pixel of the Blu-ray Disc™ video signal in the vertical direction. It reproduces color data with twice the accuracy of conventional systems, resulting in faithful and sharp colors.

Yeah, as you can probably tell we are not enthused by the DMP-B15, portable smortable, just give us a laptop with a Blu-Ray player thank you very much.

For those of you of a differing opinion, you’ll have to wait for a price tag and then wait til May to be able to, err, carry it around with you.

Source: Panasonic

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