Under the slogan “Built in Genius and Eco Ideas” Panasonic has rolled out an ultra thin 50″ plasma display in Sydney that is just 24.7mm thick and weighing in at only 22kg. They are also set to cut plasma power consumption significantly while lifting the brightness that the screens deliver.
Sharper than past models the Company has admitted that they are set to benefit from the merging of the Pioneer R&D team into the Panasonic global operation.
Masaaki Fujita the Senior Vice President and Director of Panasonics global plasma and TV business unit said in an interview with ChannelNews “We are working on a lot of new technology aimed at delivering more eco friendly TV display systems. We will cut power consumption by half and the Pioneer research and development team are now working at Panasonic on this task however we have not made a decision yet as to whether their KURO technology will be incorporated into Panasonic models. We are still talking about that. We have our own display technology and this has to be considered”.
When asked about the current state of the display market and the move by vendors to OEM manufacturing he said “We aim to increase our OEM business from its current position of 10% to 30% we are investing panel production to achieve this”.
He believes that Panasonic has an advantage across several fronts in the flat panel TV market. Sitting alongside several other Panasonic Japan executives he said that the investment that Panasonic was making in Plasma production and new screen technology was significant. He also said that a key factor going forward is energy efficient TV’s that don’t compromise on display quality.
The senior executives from Panasonic said that the double-efficiency technology forms the base for next-generation PDPs, enabling even thinner profiles, larger screens, brighter images and higher definition and above all lower power consumption.
Their new PDP technology shown in Sydney Panasonic claim open up new possibilities for PDPs. Higher density HD PDP’s that can be used as master monitors for movie studios will become possible through this innovative technology.
The 24.7mm (less than one inch) super-thin 50-inch Plasma TV, for example, is about one-fourth as thin as previous plasma TVs* thanks to the new circuit and drive technology. It weighs only 22 kg, about half the weight of previous models*. This thinner profile and lighter weight give users more setup flexibility in the living room, while also making the unit more appealing when displayed.
A wireless transmission system that Panasonic recently developed and based on a “Wireless HD” standard, will allow users to access HD contents on the TV without wires or Ethernet cable.
These innovations may prove to be only the tip of the iceberg of Plasma’s potential say Panasonic executives. PDP is a relatively young technology as it has only been about ten years since the Plasma TV appeared on the market. In tandem with the market’s growth, the Plasma TV has steadily improved in quality, gained popularity and become a leader in the global market for high-quality, large-screen TVs. Over the course of their development PDPs have established their reputation as displays that excel in high-contrast, color reproduction, moving picture resolution2) and wide viewing angles. However room for improvement remains as the PDP’s full potential is still yet to be realized they claim.
In the future, high definition will become the norm in broadcasting and video recording such as Blu-ray Disc recorder/players. There will be progress in wireless and other peripheral technologies and more convergence is expected to take place between TV and communications technologies. Along with these developments, demand for larger and higher-definition flat-panel TVs will be accelerated. At the same time, industrial applications of PDPs will be expanded further in such areas as the medical, educational and public fields.
When it comes to TVs, Panasonic has become the first company to completely eliminate lead from PDPs. Its Plasma TVs have a long life of 100,000 hours and natural materials are used in the speakers such as bamboo fiber diaphragms.
