1080p Plasma HDTVs Coming from Pioneer, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Hitachi
By Chris Boylan
If pixel counts were all that mattered, then plasma television makers would be in serious trouble right now. As technology giants such as Sony, Samsung, Toshiba and Sharp ramp up production and distribution of Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) LCD sets, plasma televisions are suffering from "pixel envy" with their 1366x768 and 1024x768 native panel resolutions. Of course, plasma manufacturers draw the consumer's attention to things like black-level reproduction, and the display of fast-moving images - areas where plasma displays are still superior to the best LCDs. But Plasma manufacturers know - numbers matter.
To specs-obsessed gear-hounds, it can be difficult to drop $2,000 or more on a 50-inch plasma flat panel, when a comparably priced LCD model sits next to it with twice the number of pixels. Of course, as with digital cameras, pixel count is
not the only important specification in an HDTV. In fact for many television owners (at "average" viewing distances), the difference between 1366x768 and 1920x1080 panels may not matter very much. But still, early adopters and home theater-philes like to think they're getting not only the best
looking set, but bragging rights to the best specs as well. And this is where the newest class of 1080p plasma sets comes in.
Update: View the
lowest price on Panasonic's
TH-50PZ700U 1080p plasma HDTV.
Pioneer's PRO-FHD1 is one of the few 1080p plasma sets available today.
Of course, there are some 1080p plasma sets on the market already, notably Pioneer's PRO-FHD1 ($8,000) 50-inch model, which is prohibitively expensive for widespread adoption and doesn't even include a tuner at that price. Panasonic also offers a 103-inch 1080p plasma panel. But at $69,999, it's no great bargain either. For plasma display technology to regain the market perception of being the best television technology on the market, 1080p models will be essential, and at more competitive price points.
At CES, Panasonic announced three new 1080p plasma models to join their current 103-inch (TH-103PZ600U - $69,999) and 65-inch (TH-65PX600U - $9999) models already available. The new models include the 58-inch TH-58PZ700U and 50-inch TH-50PZ700U, both expected in April of this year (prices TBD). Panasonic also showcased a prototype of the world's first 1920x1080 42-inch plasma, but this model had no model number, street date or pricing associated with it. Panasonic will also continue to offer 720p plasma models into 2007 and beyond, in order to remain price-competitive with comparably sized LCD models.
Panasonic's new 1080p plasmas at CES.
Panasonic's press conference featured a mock interview with Jeff Cove and "Mac" Makita of Panasonic, explaining why plasma is the best technology for HDTV: 1) plasma is better for watching sports (better moving image reproduction) 2) plasma is best for movies with its better contrast and black reproduction, 3) plasma is best for watching with friends and family due to its wider viewing angle than other technologies, 4) best investment for the long term - current plasmas were stated as having an average of 60,000 hours to half brightness (that's 27 years of viewing at six hours per day) and 5) plasma is the most ecologically friendly solution with no lead or mercury used in the production process. Of course, they didn't mention the ecological impact of power consumption (plasmas use 1/3 to 1/2 more power than comparably sized LCD panels) but hey, if that bothers you, then put solar panels on your roof.
Pioneer offered a glimpse of their new 60-inch 1080p plasma in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile Pioneer was at CES doing demos of its latest 1080p creation, a 60-inch plasma flat panel which has yet to be named or priced. They demonstrated the new 1080p model side by side with their own PDP-6070HD plasma set - a beauty in its own right. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the new 1080p model blew away the also excellent PDP-6070. This new 1080p model from Pioneer produced the finest video image at the show, bar none. I shudder at the thought of what the price will be, but there are always people out there willing to pay for the best, and the best they shall have if the production model matches the prototype in picture quality.
And in the "cost-no-object" category, Fujitsu was also on-hand showing off their Aviamo P65FT00AUB Plasma TV, another fine specimen of flat panel high definition television technology with a 1920x1080 pixel panel, housed in a beautifully designed frame. The price? A cool $17,999. Is it worth it? Is a Ferrari 360 Modena worth $140,000? You decide.
Fujitsu's Aviamo P65FT00AUB offers large screen 1080p plasma perfection to those with the means.
In the more "realistically priced" 1080-line plasma department is a new 50-inch model from Hitachi, the P50H401 ($2499). The new set is expected to ship this month (February, 2007). Although the vertical resolution of the panel is a full 1080 pixels, the set's rectangular-shaped plasma pixels mean that its horizontal resolution is only 1280 pixels (not the full 1920 pixels of a "true" 1080p set). Still, the set's 1280x1080 resolution means it has nearly 1.4 million pixels, 300,000 more than the average 50-inch plasma, and plenty of detail to represent high definition programming. The Hitachi set's internal video processor scales input signals in 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i formats to fill the widescreen 16:9 panel with proper image geometry respected.
Of course, LCD technology isn't standing still either with many picture quality advancements being made on the liquid crystal front. 2007 promises to be an interesting year in the LCD vs. Plasma flat panel display battle.
