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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The boys at E-Gear have been busy checking out Panasonic’s 50 inch plasma HDTV, the Viera TH-50PZ850U. Here’s the final paragraph of their review

I’ve always liked the performance of Panasonic plasmas, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It delivered the best blacks and colors I’ve seen in this price range, making high definition content truly stunning. The selection of extras on this TV should make it appealing for people who like to play with their gadgets.

So they give it the big thumbs up - here are the details on this Viera model

* 50 inch diagonal screen
* 1920 x 1080 res
* 16:9 ratio
* 30,000:1 contrast ratio
* Handles 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p60, 1080p24 video formats
* 4 HDMI, Component, Composite and S-Video inputs
* 126.7cm x 79.5cm x 10.9cm

The MSRP for the TH-50PZ850U is US$3,000 which sort of lumps it mid-range, so may be a good investment if you’re not after a top-end HDTV.

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Coming in September is a new range of plasma HDTVs from Panasonic, namely the PZR900 Viera series. This new range will consist of three models, the 42 inch TH-42PZR900, 46-inch TH-45PZR900 and 50-inch TH-50PZR900. Each model also sports a 1TB HDD for recording up 86 hours worth of your favourite TV shows from the BS digital broadcasting system in Japan. Yes these suckers are currently only lined up for release in Japan, but they may well hit other shores later in the year. Each model sports the following specs

* 1920 x 1080 HD res
* 30,000:1 contrast ratio
* YouTube compatibility
* 3 HDMI inputs
* Optical digital output

Given a rough currency conversion, the 42 inch will set you back US$3,900, the 46 US$4,400 and US$5,000 will get you the 50 inch big boy. A lot of money for a HD screen, but Panasonic TVs usually match their specs in quality.

It’s also interesting to compare the PZR900 to the PZ850 range. The PZ850s are considerably cheaper yet do not sport the 1TB HDD. The PZR900 50 inch option adds US$1,500 for the extra functionality of the 1TD HDD recorder which seems a touch over the top. So may be a PZ850 unit with a standalone recording option may be a better choice than a similar PZR900 model.

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