[Phil Hinton]

Panasonic’s stand measured around 100 yards long by 40 yards wide and was the focal point at the top of the main Central Hall at the LVCC.

The first thing to stand out was their panel displays placed along one long wall containing Plasma on the left and the LCD screens to the right. On show in the Plasma area was the company’s 103” model which we have seen on a number of occasions now, plus their new models for 2008 including THX certified screens. The LCD area contained screens from 28” to 50” sizes with all containing the new Viera active controls.
To be honest the LCD screens on show were full of processing errors and motion artefacts, obviously they spent the money on the stand and not on correct set up. The colours and contrast from the screens also looked like they were set to the showroom settings. In other words they performed well below the standard we are used to seeing from Panasonic screens of the past. The new features available look like worthwhile features, especially on the THX certified screens which should help people achieve an acceptable picture to almost D65 levels. Disappointing performance on the stands, it’s a good job we know they should look better with some love and attention spent on them.

The main flag waving item was Panasonic’s 150” plasma screen, officially the largest in the world. I was told that this was a viable product and that orders were being taken, however like the 103” I cannot see many actually being sold, especially in the UK. Even in the high end custom install market you could quite easily achieve the same or larger screen size using something like a high end projector and high contrast screen for less money that the £60,000 it is likely to come in at (don’t forget the possible £15,000 delivery charge if you need the help of a crane unit like some installs). Even though it is unlikely to find many owners in the market place, you cannot deny that it was a major attraction for everyone who saw it and the stand was packed out at times.

Panasonic were also giving in-depth demonstrations of the BD Profile 1.1 standard on the stand, showing what their new BD machines are capable of with compatible profile BD discs. Some of the extras on show were clearly gimmicks and we have seen this stuff on HD DVD for some time now as standard.

[Phil Hinton]

Also seen was the 32gb SDHC card (which allows 5 ½ hours of 1080p video to be stored) as well as the first BD-R discs and recorders.

To round off the stand was a demonstration of the companies very popular LCD projectors with the PT-AE2000 attracting the most attention. Overall a good stand and line up from Panasonic but very little in the way of revolutionary products.

A full interview with Panasonic can be found in the Home Cinema Podcasts from the show which you can find here.