panasonic

The beauty of slender OLED televisions might be enticing, but their price tags aren't. And according to Panasonic, that will continue to be the case for the time being.

Company President Kazuhiro Tsuga told reporters in Tokyo today, according to Reuters, which was in attendance, that he does not believe OLED pricing will match LCD televisions "for a considerable time." According to Reuters, he didn't provide a road map on when the televisions might come down to a far more affordable level.

OLED televisions have become the most sought-after sets in the marketplace. The devices are … Read more

The Consumer Electronics Association, the organization that runs the Consumer Electronics Show, announced today that Kazuhiro Tsuga, the newly appointed president of Panasonic, will deliver the CES 2013 opening keynote speech.

"Panasonic is one of the largest and most dynamic consumer-electronics companies in the world, and I congratulate Mr. Tsuga on his official appointment to president of Panasonic Corporation this morning," CEA Chief Executive Gary Shapiro said in a statement. "We are thrilled to have Mr. Tsuga take the stage for his opening keynote at the 2013 International CES, and we look forward to hearing his vision … Read more

Sony and Panasonic have announced a partnership designed to mass-produce OLED panels for large displays and televisions.

According to the companies, they will jointly develop OLED panels with help from their respective technologies. That will result in reducing the total costs of production, potentially making OLED panels more affordable to vendors looking to bring the technology to future sets, the companies say. Mass production should begin at some point next year.

Sony and Panasonic have been rumored to be in talks about OLED production for a while now. Both companies have lost the LCD market, and Panasonic's focus on … Read more

When I reviewed the Panasonic TC-PVT50 series, I was annoyed to see that the latest software update caused a banner ad to appear for a few seconds whenever I turned on the TV. It disappeared quickly and only popped up upon power-on, but it was still obnoxious. The first thing I wondered was whether I could turn it off.

Happily, Panasonic built in a way to disable the advertising. It's a simple, albeit buried, menu command. Here it is in a nutshell.

What a week for Panasonic. Of all the products CNET reviewed this week, the company scored the best ratings for both the most expensive gadget and the cheapest. There must be some sort of award for that. (Actually, there isn't, but there should be.)

The Panasonic TC-P65VT50 (affectionately known around these parts as the "VT50") is a 65-inch plasma TV that nabbed the hardest-won praise of all: A glowing review from our own David Katzmaier. Katzmaier gets right to the point in his review, explaining that the whole line of TVs in the VT50's series have &… Read more

Zoom lenses sell cameras these days, so it's no surprise that manufacturers are doing everything they can to get longer lenses into increasingly smaller bodies.

A 3x or 5x zoom lens used to be the standard for ultracompact cameras -- those measuring 1 inch thick or slimmer -- but in 2012, you can easily find a skinny point-and-shoot with a 10x optical zoom.

The frontrunner here is the sub-$250 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX150 thanks to its excellent features, fast autofocus, and the quality of its pictures and video (though its color accuracy could be better). Most of the category consists of sub-$200 cameras, though, so there are several options if you're just looking for a simple pocket camera with a long lens.… Read more

Panasonic's troubles have been well-documented over the last several quarters, but now the company could be planning to lay off employees at its headquarters in Osaka, Japan, according to a report.

Panasonic currently employs about 7,000 people at its headquarters, but if recent claims are true, that figure could soon drop to 3,500, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing sources. The Journal's sources say that the layoffs will include early retirement, and some employees might be moved to other divisions.

Last month, Panasonic outlined plans to reorganize its operation by cutting down its current five … Read more

OK, so only the middle pair is actually universal, but all three pairs of active-3D TV glasses on my head, and compared below, will work with all 2011/2012 Samsung 3D TVs, as well as with 2012 Panasonic 3D TVs.

So if you have one of those 2011/2012 Samsung or 2012 Panasonic TVs and want to watch 3D sources, you actually, for the first time ever, have a real choice in spectacles. The question then becomes, "Which ones should I buy?"

The short answer is, as always, "What do you want?" If you just want to get 3D capability as cheaply as possible, the Samsungs are a shoo-in. If you're willing to pay more for better comfort and durability, I'd recommend the Panasonics. The more expensive Xpand glasses appeal to a smaller niche than either: people who actually anticipate regularly watching active 3D on multiple TVs (namely, ones incompatible with those Samsung or Panasonic glasses) in addition to their primary 3D television.

The shorter answer is "I like the Panasonics best." If you're into 3D enough to actually be buying 3D glasses for the whole family, it might make sense to grab a pair or two of the Panasonics as primary ("daddy" and/or "mommy") glasses and as many Samsungs as you need for other viewers. For 2012 Panasonic TV owners who just want to dabble in 3D, the $20 Samsungs are as risk-free as you can get.

Check out the full reviews, arranged in order of rating below, for more detail. I also listed current Amazon pricing (Xpand's $20 RF dongle will be widely available in four weeks).… Read more

Electronics retailer Value Electronics held its first 2012 flat-panel TV picture quality shootouts last weekend. The event was won by the Panasonic TC-P65VT50.

Panasonic's best plasma TV for 2012 beat out five other contenders. In descending order of average score (see the scorecard below), they were the Samsung PN64E8000 plasma, the Sharp Elite PRO-60X5FD LCD, the Samsung UNES8000 LCD, the LG 60PM9700 plasma and the Panasonic TC-L47WT50 LCD. Despite a lower average score, the voters gave the Elite second place overall however, ahead of the Samsung PNE8000.

The Panasonic VT50 outscored the others in color accuracy and general content … Read more