plasma

Panasonic's 2011 plasma and LCD TVs have just begun shipping, so the company took the opportunity to officially announce pricing and availability today, as well as divulge a few more details about the TVs.

Before you get too excited, however, I'll mention that the company was not talking about its flagship VT30 series, one of our Best of CES 2011 nominees and odds-on favorite to be the best-performing TV of the year. I'm guessing they'll wait until April, when the 55-incher ships, to stage a separate press event all about the VT30.

We've covered the … Read more

Vizio easily bested its competitors in the LCD TV market in the fourth quarter and for all of 2010.

The company shipped nearly 2.9 million LCD TVs in the U.S. during the fourth quarter, capturing 27.6 percent market share, research firm iSuppli reported today. That figure was a 55.5 percent jump from the same period a year earlier.

Samsung nabbed the No. 2 spot in LCD TV shipments in the fourth quarter, shipping 2.1 million LCD TVs and capturing 20.2 percent of the market. The company's shipments were up 22.4 percent from … Read more

In my opinion, the most amazing thing about the TV industry is this: in more than two and a half years, no TV has delivered better picture quality than the Pioneer Kuro line of plasma TVs.

Think about that for a second in the context of consumer technology's typically meteoric better/faster/stronger advancement. In the second half of 2008, when the last generation of Kuros appeared in stores, the now-obsolete iPhone 3G was the biggest deal in the world and the first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1, was a chunky also-ran. Netflix unlimited streaming (January) and Hulu.com (… Read more

Update March 1, 2011: Check out our coverage of Panasonic's Spring press preview for more information.

Thanks to a "well-placed source" who tipped off the HD Guru, pricing on Panasonic's entire line of 2011 plasma and LCD TVs has been revealed.

The timing of the leak dovetails perfectly with the expiration of "ships in time to arrive by the big game" offers by online retailers of heavily discounted 2010 TVs.

Below we sum up the release dates and suggested retail prices of the new plasma TVs. It's worth noting that preorder pricing … Read more

Plasma televisions aren't dead yet.

During the fourth quarter of 2010, worldwide plasma panel shipments were up 9 percent year-over-year, hitting a record high of 5.2 million units, DisplaySearch unveiled today in a study of the global TV market. During the period, plasma makers, including Panasonic, Samsung SDI, and LG Electronics, operated at full capacity and weren't able to keep up with demand, the research firm reported. All told, 19.1 million plasma panels shipped in 2010.

The resurgence of plasma has been somewhat surprising. Back in 2008, some wondered if the plasma business was finished after … Read more

There are few technology tragedies as sad as a dead big-screen TV. Sharp-eyed readers may recall that I suffered just such a misfortune in November 2010, when my nearly 5-year-old 42-inch set dropped dead unexpectedly. At the time, I described the scene as follows:

After attempting to revive the set by turning it off and on, unplugging and reconnecting the power plug, and other basic troubleshooting, I had to face the hard conclusion that my television was dead.

From there, I detailed the research, purchase, and installation process for my new plasma, a 50-inch Samsung 3DTV. That new set has been great, even if the 3D highlight so far has been the 3D Yule Log special on one of Time Warner's on-demand channels. For a complete accounting of how I chose my new TV, you can read the full blow by blow here. I'm sure I could have done some additional troubleshooting on the dead TV at the time, but a good reason to upgrade to a new flat-screen doesn't come along every day, and I was probably looking for an excuse.

Dead, but not gone But the story doesn't end there. I had expected the promised two-man white glove delivery team to not only unbox my new set, but also lug my old, nonfunctioning one down to the the first floor of my downtown Manhattan walk-up building (in exchange for a generous tip, of course). This didn't happen, as one delivery guy stayed with the double-parked truck, while I had to help the other one carry the Samsung up four flights of stairs. After that, owing to a combination of holidays, CES prep, and general laziness, the old set sat undisturbed in a corner of my kitchen, waiting for me to get around to tossing it. … Read more

Editors' Note Feb 4, 2011: Pricing has been revealed. Also, we have preliminary word that THX certification applies to 3D mode as well as 2D.

Editors' Note Jan 8, 2011: The Panasonic VT30 series was one of three nominees for CNET's Best of CES award in the TVs category.

LAS VEGAS--About this time last year we gave the Panasonic TC-PVT25 series of plasma TVs our Best in Show award as the most promising product at CES 2010. At the end of 2010 it still stood out as the overall best-performing HDTV we'd tested all year, and the second-best … Read more

Update Feb 4, 2011: Pricing and availability have been revealed along with preliminary word that THX certification also applies to 3D mode.

LAS VEGAS--THX Display certification has been one of the saving graces of higher-end Panasonic plasma TVs over the last few years, making up for the relatively inaccurate color and sparse picture settings available in other modes. Among the company's lineup of 2011 plasmas, THX is available starting on the GT30 series.

According to a trustworthy leak a THX picture setting is available in 3D as well as 2D modes, much like the PX950 series.. In any case … Read more

Update Feb 4, 2011: Pricing and availability have been revealed.

LAS VEGAS--Today at its press conference Panasonic announced what amounts to a modest number of TV series, and the one placed solidly in the middle is the TC-PST30. Given its excellent feature set, however, this it might hit the value sweet spot.

According to Panasonic's press material, the only thing the ST30 is missing compared with the step-up GT30 is THX certification. Otherwise, both get the "short-throw phosphors" and "Infinite Black panel," which makes us believe that the two might share very similar picture quality. … Read more