Panasonic WT60 Series. (Image source: Panasonic.)
Panasonic may be making losses that are forcing it to sell some assets to raise capital, and is rumored to cease plasma TV research and development, but you couldn’t tell from the slew of TVs it has just announced at CES 2013. To be precise, it has unveiled 16 LED TVs and 16 plasma TVs.
Let’s start with the new Viera LCD TVs. All 16 of them are LED-backlit LCD TVs. Key features in the higher-end WT60, DT60, ET60, and E60 Series of LED TVs include My Home Screen, which lets individual users create their own personal home screen, so that they can quickly access their favorite content; Swipe & Share 2.0 to aid streaming and sharing of multimedia content with smart devices; and Voice Guidance that uses text to speech functions to verbalize text content as it appears on your TV. The WT and DT60 Series models also have Voice Interaction, which allows you to use voice commands to control the TV via the Smart Viera Touch Pad Controller or a smartphone that has the Viera Remote 2 app installed.
Here's a table summarizing the 16 LED TVs:
Series | Sizes | Key Features |
WT60 | 47-inch, 55-inch | 1080p, 2D-3D conversion, local dimming, Clear Panel Pro, 3 HDMI ports, 4200 BLS tech, built-in camera, ISFccc Calibration Mode with Advanced Calibration |
DT60 | 55-inch, 60-inch | 1080p, 3 HDMIports, 3 USBports, dual-core Hexa Processing Engine, 1920 BLS (55-inch model), 1200 BLS (60-inch model) |
ET60 | 50-inch, 55-inch | 1080p, 2D-3D conversion, wireless LAN, 3 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports, 720 BLS |
E60 | 42-inch, 50-inch, 58-inch, 65-inch | 1080p, dot noise reduction, 3 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports, built-in wireless LAN, 240 BLB |
EM60 | 39-inch, 50-inch | 1080p, media player, 2 HDMIports, 1 USB port, dot noise reduction, 240 BLB |
XM6 | 32-inch | 720p, 2 HDMI ports, 1 USB port, dot noise reduction |
B6 | 32-inch, 39-inch, 50-inch | 720p (32-inch model), 1080p (39-inch and 50-inch models), 2 HDMI ports, 1 USB port, dot noise reduction |
On the plasma TV front, there are also 16 models announced, and they range from 42-inch to 65-inch sizes. The flagship series is the ZT60, which sports a Master Studio Panel for amazing black levels and a 'Beyond the Reference' level of image quality, and a new Louver filter for improved light transmittance. Other key features in the Viera ZT60, VT60, and ST60 Series models include My Home Screen and Swipe & Share 2.0. Together with the S60 Series models, they also support an optional Touch Pen accessory, which lets users add their own writing to photos on screen and transfer them back to their smart devices. However, only the ZT60 and VT60 Series models support Voice Guidance and Voice Interaction. In addition, the ZT60, VT60, and ST60 Series models come with built-in wireless LAN, and the VT60 even comes with a built-in camera.
Here's a table summarizing the 16 plasma TVs:
Series | Sizes | Key Features |
ZT60 | 60-inch, 65-inch | 1080p, 3D, Touch Pad Controller, 3 HDMI ports, 3 USB ports, built-in wireless LAN, web browser, 2D-3D conversion, Studio Master Panel, 3000 Focused-field Drive, DCI 98% color space, THX in 2D and 3D modes, ISFccc Calibration Mode with Advanced Calibration, 100,000 hours before 50% reduction in brightness |
VT60 | 55-inch, 60-inch, 65-inch | 1080p, 3D, Infinite Ultra Black Panel, Touch Pad Controller, 3 HDMIports, 3 USBports, 3000 Focused-field Drive, THX in 2D and 3D modes, ISFccc Calibration Mode with Advanced Calibration |
ST60 | 50-inch, 55-inch, 60-inch, 65-inch | 1080p, 3D, Infinite Black Pro Panel, 2500 Focused-field Drive, 3 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports |
S60 | 42-inch, 50-inch, 55-inch, 60-inch, 65-inch | 1080p, Online Movies service, built-in wireless LAN, 600Hz Sub-field Drive, media player, DLNA, Viera Link, 2 HDMI ports, 2 USB ports |
X60 | 42-inch, 50-inch | 720p, media player,600Hz Sub-field Drive, Game Mode, 2 HDMI ports, 1 USB port |
The 2013 Viera LED TVs and plasma TVs will be available from spring of 2013 and February 2013 respectively. No prices are given at the moment.
To know more about the the enhanced personalization features on the new TVs, check out this article.
Source: Panasonic.
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