Panasonic Unveils Flat-Screen TVs

New models include three plasmas and six LCDs, ranging in size from 19 to 50 inches.

J Mark Lytle, IDG News Service

Matsushita Electric Industrial, better known by its Panasonic brand name, will expand its Japanese lineup of flat-panel televisions with three plasma and six LCD models that range in screen size from 19 inches to 50 inches in diagonal, the company says.

The new models are expected to retail for around $1475 for the smallest LCD to $5980 for the biggest plasma display and are due to go on sale in Japan on May 1. There are no plans yet to sell the TVs overseas.

Shunzo Ushimaru, director of Panasonic's corporate marketing division, explains the idea behind introducing a batch of televisions simultaneously. "Plasma TV demand in Japan is expected to almost triple over the next two years," he says, which, if correct, will see the million-unit barrier breached by March 2007.

Emphasizing that models with LCD screens won't be left for dead, he added that shipments for LCD TVs are expected to double over the same period, from 2.7 million by the end of March 2005 to 5.5 million units by the end of March 2007.

The LCD models range from the 19-inch TH-19LX50 to the 32-inch TH32LX500, while the plasma lineup includes 37-, 42-, and 50-inch screens (the TH-37PX500, TH-42PX500, and TH-50PX500, respectively), reflecting Panasonic's belief that anything above 37 inches is plasma territory.

Image-Enhancing Technology

Aside from being the latest lap in a race that has seen Korean and Japanese manufacturers jockey for position to produce the largest consumer plasma displays, the PX500 series features a Panasonic image-enhancing technology and a filter that suppresses glare and provides a more cinematic experience with truer blacks, according to Matsushita.

The two larger LX500 LCD TVs also use this technology to reduce the motion blur common to many LCD displays. They also introduce a new IPS (in-plane switching system) panel that widens the viewing angle to almost 180 degrees horizontally and vertically.

In keeping with Panasonic's recent consumer products, all nine TVs have an SD card memory slot that can be used to view digital photographs or record video clips for playback in other devices. The new models all can handle digital terrestrial and satellite broadcasts as well as analog programming.