CES: Panasonic Unveils 2013 TVs; New Smart TV Interface - Page 10

Dont believe THX for a second.

I mean after 100 hours this 50V10 THX certified display turned into a light grey un-certified THX display.

I feel your pain defdog99, I gave my G10 to my parents and bought a KRP-500M. The G10 after the THX color fix had nice, natural looking colors with light grey black levels.

As far as the ZT60 goes, people that have seen it in a dark room next to VT50 say it is noticeably blacker . The aged 65"VT50 at the Value Electronics had MLL of 0.002 ft/l so maybe the ZT60 can get in the 0.001 range.

There were many trends going against them making a "Kuro killer". The trend to thinner, more power efficient panels. The downward price pressure. Many reasons why it would be an uphill battle to match Kuro at the prices Panasonic could command in the marketplace. I think they have done a pretty decent job with the plasma with what they have had to deal with. And as I said before, which may have been in the other Pana CES thread, just because they haven't made a "Kuro killer" doesn't mean they haven't used said patents. Furthermore, a lot of those patents may have become irrelevant with the thinner more energy efficient panels required today. Pioneer made a great panel, but they couldn't make the business work. Panasonic is making sets on par with the Elites, or better in certain aspects, and they are still in business. Samsung, really? The F8500 is the first promising panel to come out of Korea in some time.

Sounds more like a story about how your local store isn't doing very well. Maybe Panasonic pulled their product from them.

Not necessarily. Seems they carry every major brand but that one at this juncture, and one of the reps insinuated the volume discounts weren't enough for them to continue carrying them (of course he would likely not know/admit that it was Panasonic who pulled the plug...though I can't imagine the reason since Panasonic is in the business to sell, and there aren't many brick and mortar stores in the area, and the store in question has the most real estate dedicated to television in the whole county). I hope they begin carrying 2013 models as there is only one Best Buy in town (not a Magnolia), and it's a satellite store at that.
Edited by vinnie97 - 1/11/13 at 12:03am

I guess I was just trying to point out that nobody really knows what happened. It could have gone either way. If it took them most of the year to move through a single display though, I have doubts about their ability to move units. That said, without Panasonic being UPP like everyone else they are certainly a less profitable brand to carry.

Could be the clientele or maybe the reps aren't that educated or are just LCD aficionados/hacks? The lack of UPP could also very well be it (by the way, I edited that post about a dozen times...please refresh to see the latest iteration, lol). Nonetheless, it was my best chance to see a VT50 in the flesh, and I am disappointed that opportunity never came.

If this years Panasonic 55" ST60 can do 16ms/1 frame of input lag(which i highly doubt...) like the S30 & ST30 from 2011 than I'm on board....Eventually. XP
The 2012 1080p panny's had a brighter picture, wider color gamut and deeper blacks than the 2011 models as expected, but in my experience they were awful for gaming. The S30 is miles
better in terms of input lag, the difference is night and day.

Anyways, the input lag will be the deal breaker.

in terms of the longevity of Plasma, I'm a single point of reference.

Until yesterday, I didn't understand that Plasma's had antiglare coatings, and definitely didn't know that varied in terms of models going up the range.
The vendors aren't doing themselves any favors with the critic feature descriptions and long model numbers that even this tech-geek misunderstood.

It's like someone looking at my Subaru - and saying that's cool, what is it?
My answer- it's a subaru fjd45ffhe5556, but you might want to look at a subaru fjd45ffhj5556 too. sure they'll remember that.

or think apple ipod fjd45ffhe5556.

Is there any scientific proof/testing to validated the ST50 vs ST30 input lag statement? I game a lot so input lag is of importance to me. I purchased a 55ST50 last November. I'm running it through its paces as I am still inside the return window (January 31).

I'm curious about that as well - it seems like just a few people have been raving about ST50/GT50 input lag - if it was really that bad, I think we'd hear from more owners.

For 2013, there's an S60.
near as I can tell, it's a ST60 without the app or 3D.

IS there any reason someone who doesn't want the 3D (and of course any apps) wouldn't choose to save $900 and get the "S" model ($difference @ 65") ?
What else, if anything, changes between the models? I do still want/need very good reflection filtering....

Was there ever an S50?


*** damn , I'm excited!

update:
Edited by scott911 - 1/11/13 at 9:45am

Where can I find the MSRP's for the new S60 line? I'm curious what the 55" and 60" retail for.

-Guru

on the Panasonic web site - they are already listed for pre-order.

Initial MSRP:

TC-P42S60 $729
TC-P50S60 $899
TC-P55S60 $1,099
TC-P60S60 $1,299
TC-P65S60 $1,899

TC-P50ST60 $1,299
TC-P55ST60 $1,599
TC-P60ST60 $1,899
TC-P65ST60 $2,799

So far they haven't released prices for the VT60 or ZT60.

According to Panasonic website, the S60 does not have the 2500FFD, which can improve motion blur. And since the UT series is eliminated, you will have to step up to the ST60 at a higher price point to get that feature. So you may want to grab a UT now while still available if you are looking for higher end specs at the budget price. As the S60 will be more equivalent to the U50, with no smart features, no 3D, and no 2500 focused field drive. The UT series had more top end features at a lower end price. They apparently want you to pay more for the ST60 to now get th better specs and features. But the ST60 should indeed be very nice.

^Ooh, another eyewitness acct from a vet, color me more excited!

^It's clearly all about perception. This is not the first single sheet panel from Pan actually, and the ZT series is not completely new but reincarnated. I remain hopeful, though I understand your attitude as well because you're less susceptible to be disappointed if you play down the hype.

My EXACT thoughts. I couldnt believe what I was seeing. I was leaning toward an elite, until I saw it in person, it still has lcd flaws, which i cant stand. The only bummer is your expecting these in the summer????

Hi

I am a owner of a SONY SXRD KDS-60A2000 and Panasonic TCP60ST30.
The SONY is going on 6 yrs never had any of the issues that most owners had (green blob - yellow color over entire screen).
However been wanting to purchase a 65 inch Panasonic Plasma to replace the SONY.
Let me just say that the Picture on the ST30 is stunning and the price point for the ST30 was unbeatable.
So with the news of the new 60 series from Panasonic I patiently will wait for the reviews before making my decision.
I will consider the VT as well as the ZT60.

Randy

Was it HH Gregg?? Around spring time in 2012, HH Gregg violated Panasonic's retailer pricing policies and Panasonic ceased doing business with them. We found out about it when people started posting that HH Gregg salesmen were falsely telling people that they dropped the Panasonic line because Panasonic was in trouble and couldn't provide inventory, but it turned out that it wasn't true at all.

But none of that scandal really has anything to do with their 2013 lineup or their future in PDP. Panasonic seems to be more committed to Plasma this year moreso than the other two companies and i think the reduced number of 2013 Samsung and LG models may actually help boost Panasonic sales this year. Panasonic needs to do a lot more marketing and advertising - word of mouth recommendations isn't enough to move product in this competitive world.
Edited by RandyWalters - 1/12/13 at 8:14am

Gone about 8 days and miss all the fun.

• Really like the look of the ZT60
• My GT30 will be almost two years old in the fall, so Ill be watching the ZT60 and F8500
• While THX mode does offer good out of the box PQ, nothing replaces a good calibration and yearly touchup
• Using the GT30 for example, in mid panel brightness, the color LUT's were incorrect in Custom, BUT, in THX mode they used Mid Panel Brightness which is why THX mode was a good choice for calibration. THX mode also had the correct color LUT's so it had the advantage on the non THX model. Granted there was a workaround, but you guys are making THX mode to cut and dry, a lot of which I think comes from I have THX mode and you dont, so people get some angst. If I was buying again, Id get the GT30 and have it calibrated in THX mode. Mid Panel Brightness and proper color LUT's.
• As far as grayscale, in any mode, get a pro calibration and keep it maintained because plasmas do drift.
• Give Panny props for clever marketing. Beyond Reference, gimme a break.

Other thing I need to know is, will a ZT60 fit my GT30 wall mount

You speak the truth. About all of the above. My feeling is that Panasonic will own PDP in 2013. Samsung's F8500 does look promising as well though.

So the ST60 is the same "level" as the ST50 from last year, correct?

GT is now VT
VT is now ZT

Did I get it right?

GT is gone, VT is VT, ZT is new. I don't think anyone can say with any certainty that the ST 60 is the same as the ST50. It is too early to tell.

I don't think so. From what i'm gathering:

U, UT, and GT series is just plain gone for 2013.

ST60 replaces ST50, but design now looks more like the GT50. Re-uses the core 15G plasma panel from last year's ST50/GT50/VT50.

VT60 replacesfor the VT50. Re-uses the core 15G plasma panel from last year's ST50/GT50/VT50.

ZT60 is all new flagship model with it's own new and unique plasma panel and a big jump over the lesser models.

About a month ago AVJ said something to the effect that the ST60 will only be a slight PQ improvement over the ST50, but the higher initial release MSRP price may not be worth passing up a lower priced discounted ST50 now, unless you're more interested in the new models extra features. I get the feeling that the ST60 PQ will be slightly improved through improved software/firmware etc but not enough to justify the higher initial price.

I would like to know more about the new AR Filters that AVJ mentioned some time back but there has been virtually no discussion about since then.
Edited by RandyWalters - 1/12/13 at 9:25am