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Panasonic PZ850: So not your father's TV

New HDTV is sleek, huge, and offers instant Web connectivity.

Leslie Katz Former Culture Editor
Leslie Katz led a team that explored the intersection of tech and culture, plus all manner of awe-inspiring science, from space to AI and archaeology. When she's not smithing words, she's probably playing online word games, tending to her garden or referring to herself in the third person.
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  • Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
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Leslie Katz

If you're trying to reduce the amount of time you spend in front of the television, Panasonic's new high-end plasma HDTV is so not the gadget for you. It's sleek, huge (even in its smallest 46-inch iteration), and offers instant Web connectivity.

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The PZ850, part of the company's Viera line, connects to YouTube and Google's Picasa Web album straight from the TV. You can also get weather from five chosen locations and Bloomberg news and stocks that are updated every 15 minutes. Put an SD memory card into the HDTV and you can view high-definition digital still and video images in a 16x9 wide-screen format.

The 46-inch version will be available in June for $3,099, and the 50-inch set for $3,499. The 58-inch and 65-inch versions will be out in the fall. A few of my CNET News.com colleagues met with Panasonic representatives Thursday to see a demonstration of the TV. They brought back pictures, so have a look at our gallery to see the set for yourself.