CES 2009

As much as we love plasmas' image quality here at CNET, there's no denying that they're power hogs . However, at CES 2009 we've seen several plasma manufacturers showing off new energy-efficient panels. Like Panasonic's NeoPDP plasmas, the Samsung PNB550 series of plasmas claim to consume nearly 50 percent less energy compared to past models. Here are the full details.

Key features of the Samsung PNB550 series:

• Nearly 50 percent less energy consumption compared to past models
• Ultra FilterBright antiglare screen
• Real Movie (24fps mode)
• Real 600Hz processing
• Energy Star 3.0 compatible
• 50-, 58-, and 63-inch models
• Available in first half of 2009

Like Panasonic, Samsung is touting "600Hz processing." 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. Samsung also announced a higher-end series of plasmas, the PNB850 series. It includes several step-ups, including a better antiglare screen and Internet@TV functionality over Ethernet or Wi-Fi (with an adapter).

Update 03-25-09: Originally this article indicated that these plasmas had a slim, one-inch-thick cabinet design, but that is incorrect. The panels are the standard depth of around 3 inches.

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

LED-backlit LCDs are certainly winning the hype war at CES 2009, but home theater buffs know that plasma TVs often offer better performance for your dollar. Samsung's new top-of-the-line plasmas, the PNB850 series, feature a superslim, inch-thick design and offer the new Internet widgets available via the Internet@TV platform. Here are the important details.

Key features of the Samsung PNB850 series:

• Slim design, about an inch thick
• Ultra FilterBright Plus antiglare screen
• Real Movie (24 frames per second) mode
• Wide color Enhancer Pro
• Built-in Ethernet
• Wi-Fi-ready, with purchase of additional adapter
• Energy Star 3.0 compatible

Pricing and availability of the Samsung PNB850 series (estimated street prices):

• 50-inch 50PNB550 ($2,299; May)
• 58-inch 58PNB550 ($3,399; May)

While we usually see manufacturers print misleading, inflated contrast ratios, Samsung instead only claims "mega dynamic contrast ratio" for these plasmas. The Ultra FilterBright Plus screen is the latest iteration of Samsung's glare reduction coatings, with these sets adding black stripes into the panel to absorb more room light and create deeper blacks. We're anxious to see this in action, as screen glare is still often a problem with plasmas. Wide Color Enhancer Pro is a feature that supposedly matches a source's color space to the HD color space--we haven't seen a feature like this yet, so it will be interesting to test in the labs.

A built-in Ethernet connection enables access to Samsung's new Internet@TV platform, which lets users access Yahoo widgets capable of delivering content from services such as Flickr, Yahoo News, Yahoo Weather, USA Today, YouTube, Showtime, and others. The PNB850 series is also Wi-Fi-ready, but you'll need to purchase an additional adapter. Finally, the sets are compliant with the new Energy Star 3.0 specification, although it seems like almost all 2009 HDTVs are.