Panasonic Australia, who last year rattled the TV industry when they rolled out advertising that claimed that that plasma TV technology was better LCD, is now set to take it up to the LCD TV makers again.
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“We aim to be highly competitive in both the range of plasma models we offer and the price points we deliver. 2009 is going to be a growth year for digital flat panel TV’s driven in part by Federal Government digital TV advertising and extensive marketing for Freeview enabled devices. We are also loking for 15% growth this year in the flat panel TV market.” said Steve Rust the Managing Director of Panasonic.
Several analysts have told ChannelNews that later this year the flat panel TV market will change from being LCD Vs Plasma to LED Vs Plasma at the quality end of the market with LCD TV’s being squeezed into the bottom end of the market.
Also set to take share in the premium end of the market is OLED TV technology.
David Brand, the Marketing Director of LG, confirmed that LG will have an OLED TV this year with a 32″ model tipped to be launched either late this year or early next year. “We will have OLED TV technology but it will be expensive early on around $7,000 for a TV” he said.
Steve Rust added “We believe that plasma is still the superior flat panel TV technology and the new Viera range delivers exceptional quality. Our superiority in the plasma market is demonstrated in our new range of NeoPDP technology, (Next Generation Plasma Display Panels). We have power savings of up to 40% and we are now in a position to deliver really thin screen technology with our 1-inch ultra-thin and 2-inch super thin Plasma TVs.”
Rust added “Our 2009 Plasma family debuts a new screen size (54-inch), and features a range of HD and Full HD models, offering consumers more choice and greater operation ease than ever before. Across the range Panasonic has incorporated improved connectivity features, such as VIERA Image Viewer, making it possible to view AVCHD movie footage directly from an SD memory card, or turn your HDTV into a giant digital photo frame and view JPEG images from your camera, via the TV’s SD card slot. Intuitive VIERA Link allows for easy-to-use and convenient single remote control operation of multiple Panasonic AV devices via HDMI. “
Panasonic has also launched their first Wireless 1080p HD Plasma in its Premium Full HD range which is the first to meet the strict standards for THX certification.
The market leader in Plasma TV technology, Panasonic last year hired the entire research and development team from Pioneer, who were credited with having the best plasma TV technology with their Kuro plasma engine prior to them exiting the plasma market this year due to massive losses.
“Due to improved 600Hz sub-field drive technology consumers can enjoy the clearest, sharpest fastmoving images in Full High Definition. The new NeoPDP VIERA Plasma models all incorporate a dynamic contrast ratio of 2,000,000+:1 that delivers rich, deep blacks for superior image quality” said Paul Read the General Manager of Panasonics Audio Visual Division.
The new Panasonic Plasma range will range in price from $1,849 for a 42″ HD plasma to TV to an estimated $10,000 for a 1″ thick 60″ wireless TV .
