CES 2009

Despite their entry-level status, the X1 plasmas look a lot like their more-expensive cousins.

(Credit: Panasonic)

Of the 42 individual models of plasma and LCD TVs that Panasonic announced at the 2009 CES, the X1 series lives on the bottom rung of the totem pole. That didn't stop the company from endowing the plasmas with so-called Infinite Black technology, however.

The Panasonic rep we talked to explained that Infinite Black caused the TVs, when displaying a completely black screen, to basically fade down to nothing, as if the TV was turned off. The new entry-level panels also improve upon the contrast-ratio spec for the entry-level PX80U series from last year, doubling it from 15,000:1 to 30,000:1. The result should be excellent black-level performance for a relatively low-buck display.

There will be two screen sizes in the series, the 42-inch TC-P42X1 ($899 street) and the 50-inch TC-P50X1 ($1099). Both will be available in February.

Notably, the X1 series lacks the improved efficiency of the company's higher-end panels, which are dubbed NEO PDP and supposedly consume half as much power as last year's models to produce the same light output. Since the X1's are merely 720p resolution (technically 1,024x768 for the 42 and 1,366x768 for the 50), however, they'll probably still be more-efficient than a non-NEO 1080p model.

Panasonic plasma TVs photos

The Panasonic Z1 plasma measures just 1 inch thick, leaving little room for wired connections.

(Credit: Panasonic)

The epic battle between plasma and LCD manifests itself in numerous ways--Hz oneupsmanship, contrast ratio and viewing angle specs, lifespan claims--but until now, panel depth was a frontier comfortably dominated by LCD, with ultrathin models like the Hitachi UT37X902. Now Samsung and Panasonic aim to claim that frontier themselves, the latter with the new inch-thick Z1.

Panasonic's press material uses the term "Z1 series," which indicates to us that the company is planning other screen sizes with inch-deep panels. But for now the only size the company sees fit to announce is the 54-inch TC-P54Z1, due in summer for an undisclosed, but surely sizable, chunk of change.

Thin panels pose a number of design quandaries, such as where to connect the cables. Panasonic solves the problem by supplying a separate AV box, with a tuner and connections like HDMI and component-video, which streams audio, video, and control signals to the panel wirelessly. The company uses a 60GHz millimeter wave radio system that sounds similar to the one employed by LG for its wireless displays, and like LG claims the ability to transmit full, uncompressed 1080p video.

Aside from Digital Cinema Color, the Z1 incorporates all of the features of the thicker V10 models, including improved 24p compatibility, VieraCast; the power-saving, high-contrast, NEO PDP panel; "infinite black;" and a 600Hz sub-field drive. Check out our V10 series write-up for more details.

Panasonic plasma TVs photos

Panasonic VieraCast screenshots

The one-pane-of-glass design marks Panasonic's TC-P50V10 and TC-P54V10.

(Credit: Panasonic)

The ability to properly deal with native 1080p/24 content is a big deal to some videophiles, because it guarantees that a display can capture the correct cadence of film. Panasonic tried and failed to implement 24p with its plasmas last year, but, according to the company, it has improved its processing for this year with the V10 series.

The four-model V10 plasma lineup includes the 50-inch TC-P50V10 ($2,299 MSRP) and the 54-inch TC-P54V10 ($2,699), both due in June, as well as the 58-inch TC-P58V10 and the 65-inch TC-P65V10 (both $TBD), due in August.

Panasonic's V10 models feature so-called 24p Cinematic Playback. Update March 13: According to Panasonic, the V10 and Z1 models will refresh at 96Hz, which should eliminate the flicker in 24p mode that we complained about last year in our reviews of the PZ800U and PZ850U models. On the other hand, the G10 and G15 lines of plasmas will refresh at 48Hz, which was the cause of the flicker we saw last year. In any case, we're looking forward to seeing for ourselves.

The other big step-up feature over the company's G10 series is Digital Cinema Color, which was featured on the PZ850U series from last year. It's designed to faithfully reproduce the Digital Cinema color space, which is wider then the Rec 709 color space of the HD standard. We prefer a color space that most closely matches the color of the original content, however, so we're pleased to see Panasonic has also added THX-display certification on the V10 series, which in our experience comes very close to Rec 709.

As you can see from the image above, the 50-inch and the 54-inch members of the series both feature the "one-pane-of-glass" design we liked so much on Panasonic and LG plasmas from last year. The larger models lack that design element, since their increased weight requires more support, according to Panasonic's rep.

The V10 models also incorporate all of the features of the step-down G10 series, including Viera Cast; the power-saving, high contrast, NEO PDP panel; "infinite black;" and the aforementioned 600Hz subfield drive. Check out our G10 series write-up for more details.

Panasonic plasma TVs photos

Panasonic VieraCast screenshots

The G10 series is Panasonic's least expensive set to offer THX Display Certification.

(Credit: Panasonic)

Last year, our Editors' Choice plasma, the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U, earned a good portion of its praise by virtue of excellent color accuracy, which we lay at the feet of THX Display Certification. For 2009, Panasonic has included THX in two series of plasma TVs, of which the most-affordable will be the G10s.

The company's G10 series of plasmas comes in four screen sizes. The 42-inch TC-P42G10 ($1399 street), the 46-inch TC-P46G10 ($1699), and the 50-inch TC-P50G10 ($1999) will ship in March, while the 54-inch TC-54G10 ($2,399), a new screen size for the company, will ship in May.

THX Display Certification consists of a series of hurdles the TVs must clear to earn the all-important THX logo. While we're generally pretty skeptical of a certification program that refuses to divulge the height of those hurdles--aside from vaguely mentioning that they include certain minimum specifications for contrast ratio, color gamut based on the HDTV standard, uniformity, viewing angle, gamma, and still picture resolution--in our tests of the PZ800 and other THX plasmas from LG delivered improved color accuracy, at least.

Update March 13: According to the Panasonic manual unearthed by the folks at AVS Forum, and later confirmed by Panasonic, the G10 models will have 24p compatibility; previously, Panasonic indicated that the feature would be reserved for the step-up V10 and Z1 lines. According to Panasonic, the G10 and G15 lines will refresh at 48Hz, which leads us to suspect that they'll suffer from the same sort of flicker seen on the 24p modes of last year's PZ800U and PZ850U models. The V10 and Z1 lines, however, will refresh at 96Hz, which shouldn't introduce flicker. We'll know for sure when we get the displays reviewed.

New for 2009, VireaCast gets Amazon Video on Demand.

(Credit: Panasonic)

Panasonic's answer to other TV makers' Internet connectivity is called VieraCast, and new for 2009 the company is adding the capability to view content from Amazon Video on Demand. We'd like to see Netflix streaming added too, a la LG, but that's not in the cards so far. Check out our hands-on look at VieraCast for details.

... Read more

Panasonic's S1 series uses half the juice.

(Credit: Panasonic)

Update 3-11-2009: We've posted reviews of three products in this series, albeit with smaller screen sizes: the 42-inch TC-P42S1, the 46-inch TC-P46S1 and the 50-inch TC-P50S1. Judging from their identical specifications, we expect the picture quality of the larger 54-, 58- and 65-inch models to be similar to those of the smaller ones. See the reviews for further information.

As we've been reporting for years, plasmas are much less energy efficient than LCDs. Panasonic aims to level the playing field with its new NEO PDP plasma panel, which uses half as much energy to create the same brightness, according to the company.

The S1 series, the company's least-expensive with NEO PDP panels, will be available in a whopping total of six screen sizes. The 42-inch TC-P42S1 ($1,199 street), the 46-inch TC-P46S1 ($1,499), and the 50-inch TC-P50S1 ($1,799) will ship in March, the new 54-inch size TC-P54S1 ($2,199) will ship in May and the behemoth 58-inch TC-P58S1 and 65-inch TC-P65S1 (both $TBD) will ship in August.

Unlike the step-down X1 series, the S1 incorporates many of the company's most-desirable picture quality enhancements. The NEO PDP panel, in addition to its purported energy savings, offers improved contrast ratio that should contribute to deeper black levels. The S1 series is also the least-expensive in Panasonic's lineup with 1080p resolution, for what it's worth.

Like all Panasonic plasmas they have "infinite black," which means the sets essentially shut off during entirely dark scenes. The company, in an obvious effort to compete against "Hz"-happy LCD makers, is touting a "600Hz sub-field drive." Here's our effort to staunch consumer confusion: ignore this feature. It basically means plasmas have very good motion resolution, but as usual it's very difficult to discern the difference for most people. The company is using the same anti-reflective filter as last year for all of its plasmas.

Between the energy-efficiency and what we expect to be improved black level performance over the 2008 models, the S1 series seems to strike the perfect bang-for-the-buck balance, since we assume they'll be significantly less-expensive than the company's step-up THX-certified, VieraCast-equipped G10 series and Digital Cinema Color-equipped and 24p-ready V10 series. We're looking forward to getting a review sample.

Panasonic plasma TVs photos

CES has officially begun and we discuss a slew of offerings from the show floor, as well as the Steve Ballmer keynote. Also, Tom is offered the chance to record his voice for TomTom GPS devices. That's a lot of Tom!

EPISODE 887

Ballmer Keynote
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10131585-100.html
http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/ces2009-microsoft-keynote.ars

Windows 7 goes Beta this Friday
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10135791-56.html
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10136418-75.html

Windows 7 might not come in '09
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10135943-56.html

CES Press conference roundup:
Samsung: super thin OLED
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10135532-100.html

Vizio takes the cover off Connected HDTV: Netflix, Blockbuster, Amazon, Yahoo! and more
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/07/vizio-takes-the-cover-off-connected-hdtv-netflix-blockbuster/

Yahoo! recaps a day of setting the Internet-on-TV movement on fire with Widgets
http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/08/yahoo-recaps-a-day-of-setting-the-internet-on-tv-movement-on-fi/

Wall-mountable Blu-Ray player
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10134004-100.html

Audiovox, PlayStation 2 roll out
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10135464-100.html

Acoustic Research Harmony killers
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10133953-100.html

LG’s 240Hz LCDs flash backlights really fast
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10135326-100.html
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10135175-100.html

LG to implement noise-canceling in many of its phones
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10134765-100.html

The Sony P-series Lifestyle PC: Just don’t call it a Netbook
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10131906-100.html

OQO launches world’s smallest Vista PC with OLED screen
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090107-oqo-launches-worlds-smallest-vista-pc-with-oled-screen-see-notes.html

Pols hit panic button as DTV coupon program goes broke
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20090107-pols-hit-panic-button-as-dtv-coupon-program-goes-broke.html

New energy efficiency rules for TVs sold in California
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09%2F01%2F07%2F1946223

E-MAIL
Hey Tom, Molly, and Justin,

I was listening to show 886, and something caught my attention when
Natali was talking about the Giffen good. She said that when demand
increases, price increases when talking about high-priced technology
products. What she was actually referring to is called a Veblen good;
a Giffen good is when the price of an inferior good, a good that low-
income people generally prefer (ramen, bread, etc), rises and those
low-income people end up buying more of that good. A Veblen good is
like a Giffen good, but Veblen goods are generally luxury goods, such
as that new 17-inch MacBook Pro or a Lamborghini, etc. People buy
these Veblen goods at higher prices because it is considered to be a
mark of your financial status.

Sorry for such a long email, feel free to truncate it however you
wish, just wanted to clear that up.

Love the show, keep it up!
Daniel Byon

***********

Hey jamoto,

In Replyness to Daniels Email from Wednesday, I am also a UK listener and would like to say that the BBC does indeed broadcast their tv shows live on the internet. To clarify, the BBC iplayer is where viewers can watch shows from up to 7 days in the past and they also have a bbc watch live service which at this very moment I am watching live tv on the internet and on my terrestrial tv. This was also in place last year so Tom, you do get another correct prediction from 2008.

Chris Hisgrove

***********

Hi Buzz crew,

Tom, did I heard correctly in episode 884 that you'd love to get your voice on a TomTom? That's great news!
An even better news is that you don't even have to license your voice to us. You just have to record a few voice commands, convert them in a TomTom format and publish yourself on our TomTom HOME platform where Buzz-fans from all over the world can download it for free and put it on their TomTom. I'd sure be one of them!

It's a rather easy process for geeks like us and I'd be very happy to assist.

All the best,
Jeff from TomTom and long time listener

PS: Love the show

***********

Hey Buzz Crew,

Hope your enjoying CES. I’m stuck in snow snow and more snow…

I was listening to yesterday’s show (1/7) where you talked about a 10
meg max download over 3G for iTunes on the iPhone. While this is
true, I just go to your www and download the mp3. This works fine, so
I’m not sure why AT&T doesn’t block this then?!?

- Bob, the Nuclear Engineer

The 32-inch KDL-32XBR9, along with larger XBR9 models, get Yahoo widgets.

(Credit: Sony)

Sony's first 2009 series of XBR models, three letters that signify higher-end features and performance in the company's TV oeuvre, is equipped with "widgets" courtesy of Yahoo.

Described as "Internet applications...that deliver real-time information" in the press release, the widgets "expand and personalize the TV experience by adding onscreen applications that provide such real-time information as weather reports, stock ticker updates, financial news, Yahoo Video, Flickr images, and additional content."

The XBR9 series consists of four sizes: the 52-inch KDL-52XBR9, the 46-inch KDL-46XBR9, the 40-inch KDL-40XBR9, and the 32-inch KDL-32XBR9. Prices were not divulged, as usual, and availability details were limited to "spring."

Formerly a feature reserved for high-end HDTVs, 120Hz with dejudder is becoming more common at for less money, as evinced by Sony's 2009 KDL-V5100 series of flat-panel LCDs.

The V-series of Sony LCDs is the company's least-expensive with 120Hz processing.

(Credit: Sony)

The three-size V-series includes the 52-inch KDL-52V5100, the 46-inch KDL-46V5100 and the 40-inch KDL-40V5100. Each offers the company's dejudder processing, known as MotionFlow, that we've reviewed in models such as the KDL-46W4100 from 2008. While we're not big fans of dejudder processing in general, some viewers like the smoother look, and Sony's version performs relatively well.

Other features of the V-series include 1080p resolution, four HDMI inputs, a PC input and compatibility with a range of Sony proprietary add-ons like the Bravia Internet Video Link.

Sony is also touting the TVs' energy efficiency, saying they exceed Energy Star 3.0 and highlighting their light sensor and variable backlight features.

The KDL-V5100 sets will be available in spring for prices yet to be determined. Sony also announced higher-end Z-series and XBR9-series models.

Sony HDTVs that will actually ship in 2009

The eco-friendly KDL-VE5 series packs plenty of power-saving punch.

(Credit: Sony)

As Americans become more conscious of TV power consumption, manufacturers are taking full advantage by offering more eco-friendly HDTVs. The KDL-VE5 series is Sony's power-sipping entrant for CES 2009, and includes the ability to turn off automatically when viewers leave the vicinity.

The three-size series includes the 52-inch KDL-52VE5, the 46-inch KDL-46VE5, and the 40-inch KDL-40VE5. As usual, prices were not divulged, and availability details were limited to "summer."

To save power, the VE5s incorporate a new Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (HCFL) backlight that the company says saves 40 percent compared with its conventional backlights. But more interesting, and potentially innovative, is the "Presence Sensor." According to the press release, it "automatically turns off the picture when no one is present in the vicinity after a user-set timeframe. When the sensor detects motion, the TV turns itself back on instantly." We can't wait to test it.

The VE5 models also have an option that consumes nearly zero watts when the TV is left in standby mode. This item shouldn't contribute much to overall energy savings, however, since current standby draws are already less than a watt for most TVs--an amount that's paltry in comparison with a TV's "on" power use. Still, every little bit helps.

More power savers include a light sensor that works in conjunction with an automatic backlight control to dim the backlight in darker rooms. Naturally, with all of these options, the VE5's exceed Energy Star 3.0 handily, and we expect them to be among the most-efficient LCDs of the year.

Aside from the Eco features, the VE5 models seem similar to the company's V-series sets, including 120Hz with dejudder (if our review of the 240Hz Sony KDL-52XBR7 is any indication, 240Hz processing uses a bit more power than 120Hz), 1080p resolution, four HDMI inputs, and a PC input.

Sony also announced higher-end Z-series and XBR9-series models.

Sony KDL-VE5 models

• Sony KDL-40VE5 ($TBD)
• Sony KDL-46VE5 ($TBD)
• Sony KDL-52VE5 ($TBD)

Sony HDTVs that will actually ship in 2009