Electronics manufacturer Panasonic announced on Tuesday pricing and availability of its first-ever line of Streaming Media Players. The line-up, which were unveiled last month at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show, features two models -- the DMP-MST60 with Viera Connect and Miracast, along with the DMP-MS10 featuring IP video on demand.
Panasonic has outlined its 2103 Viera lines of LCD and plasma HDTVs, with a wide array of options available for future TV buyers. A total of 32 televisions have been detailed by the company, divided equally between plasma-based and non-plasma, and have been split into five plasma screen series and seven LED-based LCD display ranges.
Panasonic announced it will ship some of its Viera Smart HDTVs that were introduced at CES this month. They include models from the ST50, UT50, and XT50 Plasma series and the E50, ET5, E5, and X5 LED-series TVs. The first of the LED TVs will be sized at 47 inches and ship in March, while 55-inch models are due in April and May.
Hulu on cue has launched Hulu Plus for Japan. The country is the first outside of the US to get Hulu and gives it a very different business model. Plus is the only option in the country and costs the equivalent of $19 per month, almost twice as much as the $8 it does in the US.
In addition to revealing prices for its LCD HDTVs and home theater systems priced this morning, Panasonic has now announced prices for 2011 Viera plasma TVs, soundbars and compact stereo systems. The company offers 19 plasma sets in 2011.
Panasonic on Tuesday announced a few upcoming additions to its Lumix lineup of point-and-shoot digital cameras. The Lumix ZS10 ultrazoom upgrades to a new 14.1-megapixel MOS sensor, a 24mm ultra wide angle lens with 16X optical zoom and 1080p recording. It can also geotag photos and videos thanks to its integrated GPS sensor and related software, and take 3D photos by shooting 20 consecutive shots and using the two best for stereoscopic mode.
Consumer electronics giant Panasonic has revealed its latest lineup of products live from the halls of the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, and Electronista has the details. As expected, Panasonic has big news for its popular line of Viera HDTVs, with a major focus on 3D technology, as well as the addition of a new tablet device that features the same interactive connectivity technology used on the Viera HDTVs.
Panasonic has unveiled a new Viera television, the G3, that allows users to record to removable media. The 42-inch TV provides an SD slot and USB port, each serving as a potential destination for live video recording in HD or SD resolutions. Users can expect five to eight hours of 1080p recording on a 64GB SDXC card.
Panasonic kicked off the week by adding Vudu's movie service to all of its 2010 Viera Blu-ray players. Models ranging from the DMP-B500 portable player through to 3D-capable players like the BDT100, BDT300 and BDT350 can now stream movies up to the 1080p HDX format. It joins Pandora radio, Skype, Twitter, YouTube and several other services.
Panasonic announced on Tuesday it has now allowed owners of Viera plasma TVs to post Twitter messages using these devices. This functionality is also due to arrive soon for the company's Blu-ray players. Viera CAST Panasonic devices can access the Internet.
Panasonic today bowed to pressure for lower-cost 3D TVs with a new set of 3D Vieras. The GT25 series (not yet pictured) primarily shrinks in size to get to lower prices and are aimed at gamers that don't necessarily need large sets. At 42 and 50 inches, the P42GT25 and P50GT25 are both smaller than average but skip the glasses that normally add to the price.
Panasonic on Tuesday made good on an earlier promise to bring Skype video chats onto its Internet-capable Viera HDTVs. At the same time, Panasonic's Skype-enabled TY-CC10W communication camera has gone on sale. Using the camera tied into a compatible Panasonic allows Skype to place free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls.
Panasonic this afternoon set down concrete details for the launches of the VIERA VT25 3D-capable plasma TVs it first mentioned at CES this year. The 50-inch and 54-inch sets are both due the week of May 3rd and will cost $2,600 and $3,000 respectively. The larger 58-inch and 65-inch panels have a less definite June shipping window and will cost $3,400 and $4,300 for the extra screen area.
Panasonic Japan has introduced two new portable VIERA TVs meant to sit in viewer's lap. Each delivers a resolution of 1024x600 from a 10.1-inch screen and carries its own digital TV tuner. The DMP-BV200 has a built-in Blu-ray player, while the DMP-HV100 gets a lower price of entry. The HV100 can play back digital videos from an SDHC card or USB connected device, with support for AVCHD, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, AVCHD and ISDBT, while the BV200 can play back the same plus DiVX, JPEGs and MP3s.
NVIDIA provided a small surprise today as it launched a companion app for home theater PCs. 3DTV Play gives any PC with a modern, 3D Vision-capable GeForce card the ability to output a true 3D image to any TV with both 3D and HDMI 1.4 inputs, including new Panasonic VIERA plasmas as well as LCDs from Samsung, Sony and others. The system works with any set's existing active shutter glasses and doesn't need a format change for games or movies.
Panasonic on Monday revealed that its first 3D HDTVs [subscription required] should be on shelves this Wednesday with aggressive discounts. The plasma sets will get special placement at Best Buy and will also be heavily discounted compared to their Japanese versions. Where Japan's 50-inch VIERA VT2 model will cost about $4,760 in local currency, the US equivalent will sell for $2,500, or just over half the price.
At a press conference in Japan on Tuesday, Panasonic revealed it will soon begin shipping the first 1080p 3D plasma HDTV in the industry. The VIERA VT2 Series is made up of the 54-inch TH-P54VT2 and 50-inch TH-P50VT2. The sets rely on included 3D active shutter glasses, which use batteries to quickly block out each lens alternatively.
Panasonic in Japan introduced two new ranges of plasma HDTVs, with its VIERA G2 and S2 series. The G2s are said to have image quality that is nearly a third better than the outgoing G1 range, and offer a contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1 thanks to Panasonic's new PDP Black panel.
Skype ventured into new territory today with both a higher resolution and support through HDTVs. The company's beta 4.2 app brings 720p video chat and allows for much higher detail than in almost any mainstream messaging app. Using HD is currently limited to Windows and needs both a webcam capable of 720p as well as a dual-core 1.8GHz processor and 1Mbps Internet access; Mac details aren't available, but most features migrate with future releases.
Panasonic this morning gave all of its Viera Cast Blu-ray players support for Amazon's Video On Demand service. The feature gives the company's more advanced disc readers from 2009, including its portable reader, the option of streaming purchases and rentals directly from the reader without needing the storage for a complete copy. Using VOD isn't dependent on having a matching Panasonic TV (which already supports the feature) and supports HD with a sufficiently fast connection.
HD Guru on Thursday revealed unannounced pricing for the Panasonic 2009 TV line-up, including the flagship 1-inch thick 54-inch Z1 plasma. The panel of the Z1 uses the company's Neo PDP technology and gives the set a 40,000:1 contrast ratio along with low energy consumption. The TV achieves its thin profile thanks to a separate HDMI receiver that sends signals to the display wirelessly. The TC-P54Z1 is due to ship this June, priced at $6,000.
First announced in January, Panasonic's PZ850-series Viera plasmas have at last been given final details, prices and release dates. The sets are luxury models sized in 46, 50, 58 and 65-inch formats, and feature built-in Internet access, allowing users to view YouTube clips or Picasa photos without a separate player or interface. Support for more websites should be added automatically as Panasonic announces them.
Claiming to mimic the design of its Viera line of Plasma televisions on a handheld device, Panasonic has introduced the P905iTV, a new sliding handset featuring "one-segment" mobile TV on Japan's DoCoMo network. The device offers frame conversion technology from 15 frames to 30 frames per second on 3.5 inch full-wide VGA large screen. The new handheld's screen has a contrast ratio ratio of 4000:1 and uses "LCD Artificial Intelligence" which adjusts the brightness of a display automatically and LSI based on "UniPhier" for mobile phone for power saving. The phone also features 3G international roaming and HSDPA, autofocus 2.0 megapixels camera with six-axis image stabilizer and link functions to audio and visual equipment.
The BBC is strongly considering offering its iPlayer web video service through the revamped Apple TV, says the company's technology director Ashley Highfield in his Internet blog. Apple's shift from purchase-only videos to a rental model would allow the British network to mimic the functions of the website while providing a more comfortable TV environment, he says. While the shows could still be free to watch, the Apple TV's system would avoid copyright issues by automatically clearing episodes after their viewing period is up, a feature that show producers currently "insist" upon for the website.
Turning its attention from its CES releases, Panasonic on Friday released two entries in its DIGA high-defnition video recorder lines. The XP12 and XP22V are both capable of transcoding HDTV from their digital over-the-air tuners into the more efficient AVCHD (H.264) video format, allowing more video to fit on either DVR's 250GB hard drives without losing perceived quality. Each can also record this video at its full HD size to single- and dual-layer DVD-R discs to preserve them for later viewing on the recorder or any other device that can play AVCHD from normal discs. The XP22V adds VHS recording, Panasonic says, though whether these videos will remain at HD sizes is unknown.
Panasonic opened CES with a thorough reworking of its Viera HDTVs and a new Blu-ray home theater to match. The new line now includes both LCDs and plasmas under the Viera name but is topped by Panasonic's traditional focus on large-screen plasma screens. Joining other HDTV makers, Panasonic's PZ850 will be Internet-connected and have access to Google features such as Picasa photo albums and YouTube videos directly from the set. It will also match the best sets at CES this year with a 30,000:1 contrast ratio, four HDMI connectors, and pro-grade image adjustment. Versions will be available in a smaller 46-inch size along with 50-, 58-, and 65-inch parallels.
