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Panasonic Prices and Dates Plasmas and LCDs for Japan

Fri Feb 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Plasma TVs, LCD TVs (all tags)

Details on the US versions of the sets aren't available yet, but we can glean plenty from the Japanese pricing.

There's a three stage cycle to TV releases from Japanese companies and we're at the really frustrating one. The first step is showing off new sets at CES. That's an exciting one. The final step is releasing the TVs in the US - also exciting. Right now, we're at the point where companies are going to be releasing their sets in Japan, which does us very little good. Still, we can get a little glimpse of what to expect from the US releases by what's announced for Japan.

Panasonic revealed that its upcoming VT50 series of plasmas will be hitting Japanese stores on April 20th. the 50" version runs 360,000 yen or $4,664, while the 60" set comes in at 500,000 yen, or around $6,478. Pricing tends to be a bit lower in the US, but don't expect to see huge drops.

LCD TVs will be coming out on March 9th along with GT5 plasmas. Of particular interest is the ET series, which is the first from Panasonic that uses passive 3D glasses.

Source: Engadget

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Panasonic Launches a New 3D Projector

Wed Feb 08, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Projectors, 3D Projectors (all tags)

Panasonic’s new projector offers 3D capability, 1080p resolution, and it's made specifically for presentations in businesses, classrooms, and anywhere else ambient light might be a problem.

The PT-LZ370U offers up 3,000 lumens brightness as well as a 10,000:1 contrast ratio. It boasts the Dynamic Iris Control System, which analyzes the content being shown and automatically adjusts the gamma curve, iris and lamp power to keep the picture nice and even.

You’ll also find Daylight View Premium baked right in and adjusting the brightness of the projector based on the ambient light present in the environment. It’s also equipped with Detail Clarity Processor 3 to clean up your picture just a little bit more.

The PT-LZ370U is available now at a price of $4,499.

Source: eCoustics

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Panasonic Will Restructure in Wake of $9.2 Billion Quarterly Loss

Mon Feb 06, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Sales Figures (all tags)

Part of the loss is fallout from this year's earthquake in Japan, but steep sales decreases caused the rest.

Panasonic may make some impressive TVs but there's one thing they're not making - a profit. The company is down $9.2 billion in the last business quarter, though there are some factors that make that number seem bigger than it is.

One of those factors is the Great East Japan Earthquake, which affected Panasonic and essentially all other manufacturers located in Japan. On top of that, the flooding in Thailand hurt not only the global economy but Panasonic plants as well.

Of course, these tragedies can't account for all of Panasonic's losses this quarter. Sales in all sunk by 14%. The component of Panasonic that takes care of TVs lost 16% in sales due to declines in flat panels and mobile phones. The decrease would have been higher were it not for favorable PC sales.

Source: Engadget

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Panasonic Unveils 2012 Plasma TVs

Mon Jan 16, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, HDTVs, Plasma TVs, CES 2012 (all tags)

Six new series are launching, only one of them lacks 3D.

Panasonic is launching a total of 17 new TVs this year, with sizes and features ranging from the entry-level to the high end.  Every single one of them packs a 1080p resolution, and all but one - the U50 - offers 3D capabilities.

At the top of the six different lines is the VT50.  You'll be able to pick up Panasonic's flagship in 55" and 65" sizes and you'll find everything you've come to expect from a high end television.  You get 3D capabilities, the Infinite Black Ultra Panel for dark blacks, built in Wi-Fi, Viera Connect for your internet apps and 2D to 3D conversion.

The VT50 also packs CALMAN calibration software and an ISFcc calibration mode so you - or someone who knows what they're doing - can get your set looking just right.  It also gives you 8-Train speakers with 3D Real Sound for more immersive audio.  Though if you're buying a top of the line TV you should really shell out for some speakers.

The VT50 and the rest of Panasonic's new plasma sets will be available this year though a specific launch date and price have not yet been set.

Source: Panasonic

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Panasonic Reveals Six New Blu-ray Players - Four of Which are 3D Capable

Fri Jan 13, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Blu-ray Players, 3D Blu-ray Players, CES 2012 (all tags)

The 3D players can convert streaming content from Netflix, YouTube and more to 3D.

While some of the biggest news from CES has been the launch of new TV technologies, Blu-ray players aren't to be forgotten. Panasonic has six that they'll be releasing in 2012, a few of which offer some potentially exciting features.

All four of Panasonic's new 3D Blu-ray players are capable of smartphone control, 24p output for VOD movies, a new processor and the ability to convert 2D content to 3D. That includes DVDs, Blu-rays and anything on Viera Connect aside from Skype, which means 3D Netflix is possible. Three out of the four players also give you a 192kHz/32bit Audio DAC.

Panasonic's whole line of new players get some nice new features, like the ability to play back FLAC files. They also feature what they call "Digital Tube Sound" which helps to simulate the warmth of an actual tube amplifier.

Source: Panasonic

Panasonic Will be Streaming Directly From CES

Mon Jan 09, 2012 at 04:45 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, CES 2012 (all tags)

You can tune in to their press conference as well as Q&As with experts and celebrities.

The Consumer Electronics show will bring you some of the biggest announcements of the year in the home theater market, and while there will certainly be plenty of coverage and live blogging, the second-hand experience just doesn't compare to actually being there.

Panasonic is giving you a chance to experience the event on their live stream, getting you up-to-date information and getting you up close to the action. They'll have experts on hand to answer your questions and celebrities like John Glen who directed five different Bond films and Michael Apted who helmed 'The World is Not Enough.'

It all starts at 3:00pm PST on Monday, January 9th for a live stream of Panasonic's press conference. On the 10th and 11th you can watch eight hours of live CES coverage including a director's panel historically only open to the press.

Source: Panasonic

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Sony, Samsung, and Panasonic Team Up to Work on 3D Glasses Standardization

Tue Nov 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, XpanD 3D, Industry Trends, 3D Glasses, 3D (all tags)

Fully cross-compatible Active 3D glasses are on the way. Wait, this sounds like something we've heard a few times before...

If 3D TV is really going to take off in the way that manufacturers want it to, it's really got to get its act together. The big companies need to get together and make a decision on how to standardize it, or at least make glasses compatible across brands.

The group of Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and Xpand 3D are working together to create glasses that will work with any TV or movie theater that uses the Xpand 3D standard, which, we're assuming, it what's used by Active 3D televisions.

The upcoming glasses will play nice with both IR and Bluetooth enabled RF glasses so you won't have to worry about what your TV or projector uses. Other companies on board with this initiative include Toshiba, Sharp, and Mitsubishi.

Source: Engadget

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Panasonic Announces a New Home Theater Projector

Wed Sep 07, 2011 at 02:00 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Projectors (all tags)

The company boasts a 50,000:1 contrast ratio and 2,800 lumens brightness.

Panasonic's new PT-AR100U isn't going to blow your mind with fancy high-end features. There's plenty to it of course, but it's not one of those $50,000 projectors we've been seeing announced pre CEDIA.

The PT-AR100U, which comes in at an MSRP of $1,999, offers a Red Rich lamp that adds color and is bright enough to work well with different levels of ambient light. Dynamic Iris Pro and Pure Color Filter Pro make sure that you're getting the most accurate picture possible and the Detail Clarity Processor 3 that's built in will help to add detail. You could have guessed that last bit.

Panasonic says that their new projector is nice and energy efficient, reducing power consumption when possible and cutting it to less than a tenth of a watt in standby mode.

You'll be able to pick up a PT-AR100U of your own when it launches next month.

Source: eCoustics

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Panasonic is Building a Sustainable Smart Town

Fri Aug 26, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET
Tags: Panasonic, Industry Trends (all tags)

Not content with just building electronics, Panasonic is making its own city.

The folks at Panasonic are big believers in devices that save energy and alternate solutions to providing power, but up until now that belief has mainly been represented with their electronics. Things are about to change though, as Panasonic is helping to create an entire city.

Panasonic and a handful of other companies are teaming to make the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town (SST) which will utilize energy saving devices and plenty more. The thousand homes in the town will all have solar panels that don’t interrupt the look of the place, home fuel cells and networks laid out in the most efficient way possible.

“After the Great East Japan Earthquake, there is renewed attention for energy infrastructures that are safe and secure with solar power generation systems and storage battery systems installed on a community basis,” says Panasonic.

Source: Home Entertainment Magazine

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Active 3D Television Makers Band Together to Find a Standard

Tue Aug 09, 2011 at 02:00 PM ET
Tags: 3D Glasses, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, XpanD 3D, Industry Trends (all tags)

The partnership says that we can expect to see these new glasses in the market by 2012.

Samsung, Sony, and Panasonic may be competitors, but they all know that a war between active 3D television standards won't be helping anyone, especially with passive 3D tech on the rise. That's why they've banded together with glasses maker Xpand 3D to come up with a glasses technology that works for them.

The new glasses will use RF technology rather than infrared, but will still include IR protocols for backwards compatibility for all 2011 active 3D televisions. The new glasses and standards are expected to roll out in 2012.

"Through this alliance, we all look forward to addressing critical industry issues to enable a better consumer experience across products," says Sony's Jun Yonemitsu. "We believe active 3D technology is the most suitable method to deliver full 1080p picture quality to each eye, giving consumers the 3D experience they most desire."

Source: Sony

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