Plasma

Panasonic has revealed at least some of the prices of its upcoming 3D hardware, as well as showing more of its 2010 product lineup.

At a spectacular press and dealer roll-out in Munich, the company revealed that its 50in TX-P50VT20 will street at around £2,000. The larger 65in TX-P65VT20 model will be priced 'closer to £4,000'. Both 3D sets will ship with two pairs of Active Shutter glasses included. Additional 3D eyeware will  read more »

Panasonic has confirmed its 3D plasma and Blu-ray  line-up for the UK and announced its first range of LED backlight LCD TVs, along with updated Freesat and/or Freeview HD Viera TVs. 

All the new plasma models utilise the brand’s proprietary NeoPDP technology, for lower power consumption and improved image quality.  read more »

Samsung has claimed the top slot in the UK TV market for the third year running. New data from research outfit GfK reveals that the brand now commands a 23 per cent market share. 
Andy Griffiths, Vice President of Consumer Electronics for Samsung, says: 'To be market leader for three consecutive years in the flat panel TV sector is fantastic news and reinforces the strength of Samsung's product range.  read more »

The launch of Panasonic’s first batch of 3D TVs is undoubtedly big news at this year’s CES. However, HCC has already had an exclusive, private demonstration of the brand’s 3D plasmas at the Panasonic factory in Kadoma, Osaka. And I've got to say that our behind-closed-doors preview was genuinely eye-popping!

First up was a selection of 3D-enabled Olympics footage displayed on a 103in screen. The same screen has been used by Panasonic on roadshows around the world, including selected cities in the UK. Huge in scale, with a cinematic presence, the monster display still ranks amongst the best I’ve seen outside of a commercial theatre. More significant though was the first look at  read more »

Panasonic has laid claim to 3D leadership at CES, with an extensive range of exciting new hardware.‘We’ve successfully moved from black and white, to colour, to high-definition television. But immersive, totally realistic 3D imagery has been the final frontier,’ enthused Bob Perry, the Senior VP at Panasonic America.

Breaching that final frontier will be 3D screens from the company ranging between 50 and 65ins (TC-P50VT25, TC-P54VT25, TC-P58VT25 and TC-P65VT25). All of these VT25 Full HD 3D sets incorporate  read more »

A new era in personal communication has dawned - Skype is bringing free HD video calling to TVs, including models from Panasonic and LG.

Skype is an internet-based system which offers free audio calling to subscribers, and also supports 720p HD video calls. Now it's been announced at the CES show that manufacturers including Panasonic and LG will be embedding Skype functionality in some 2010 model HD TVs.  read more »

The blazing row over California’s proposed ban on large screen TVs continues to burn bright across the pond - and there seems to be little public support for the Golden State's green initiative.
According to a poll carried out by Rasmussen Reports 66 per cent of Americans oppose any law that would effectively ban the sale of big-screen televisions to save energy.
Only sixteen per cent favor the idea, with 18 per cent are not sure.  When quizzed, 53 per cent of adults declared  read more »

Popular Hi-Fi and AV retailer Sevenoaks Sound & Vision is running a new series of '7 Day Specials', amongst its usual special offers.

Running until November 14 at participating stores (personal callers only, no mail order) the specialist retail chain is offering newly reduced pricing on a host of selected  read more »

What Video & Hi-Def TV Digital Edition #1 is now available online and as a free download!

Home Cinema Choice's sister magazine What Video & Hi-Def TV has put together this e-zine for you to read and/or download, and it's completely free. Inside are reviews of some of the UK's most popular TVs, Blu-ray players and Freesat receivers, plus everything you ever wanted to know about Freeview. And, if you like this edition, nip down the shops and check out the latest issue, which is crammed with reviews, views and news...

To download the entire pdf file of this Digital Edition, go here and click the download button.

Boffins at Onkyo believe they have made a significant breakthrough in the design and performance of digital audio amplification, showing a discrete digital amp module that is just a fraction of the size of previous discrete digital designs.

The new micro-amp (pictured) is 1mm thick and measures 2.5 x 2cm, and has been designed to work specifically with  read more »

Freeview, the UK’s terrestrial digital TV service, is overhauled today, requiring all set-top boxes and Freeview-enabled products to be retuned from midday. Around 18 million homes are affected by the change, which when completed will make Channel Five available to all viewers – as well as create space in the broadcast spectrum to (eventually) squeeze in high-definition services  read more »

Using a TV with THX calibration not only ensures a perfectly tuned picture, but it could also save you money! – that’s the message coming from THX.

A new study by the kings of calibration concludes that a correctly-tuned display can improve energy efficiency by as much as 50 per cent.  read more »

The final specification for 3D Blu-ray is expected to be published in December, the Blu-ray Disc Association announced at its IFA press conference in Berlin. 'This is necessary to allow hardware – both screens and players – to be launched during 2010,' explained Victor Matsuda, the BDA's chairman of global promotions.  read more »

Panasonic has formally teamed up with Twentieth Century Fox to cross-promote James Cameron’s upcoming 3D SF movie Avatar.

On the eve of free teaser screenings of 15 minutes' worth of material from the movie at selected UK cinemas, Panasonic’s Masayuki Kozuka told the Associated Press: ‘We want to get global interest rolling.  read more »

Pioneer has been talking some more about its future without Kuro plasma TVs to the AV trade. Russ Johnston, US executive VP of the brand's home entertainment business group, says the company is going back to its AV roots, embracing a core philosophy ‘focused on engineering excellence and  read more »