CES: Panasonic Unveils 2013 TVs; New Smart TV Interface - Page 14

It's a risk given that Panasonic has not released final pricing yet. Either the dealer is risking taking a hit, or Chris just agreed to pay the difference should there be one. Also, not sure why you would pre-order it. It's not like they will be impossible to get once they come out. Why part with your money months in advance? He will not get his TV any sooner than anyone else.

I wouldn't think it should be that expensive, as it relies on the PSIP data broadcast from the TV stations' OTA signal. And since they are upgrading the menu interface, I was hoping they would include this basic feature that is found on other manufacturers models. But nevertheless, their pic quality is very good and I am looking forward to seeing the new models hit stores.

We do if we want to be rewarded with some home cooking

Randy, Panasonic Pro Plasma series is for the videophile who has surround sound and cable boxes but they also like the custom optional modules and interfaces that plug in the bottom of the panel..the consumer models certainly do not have better picture quality.

eg:TH-65PF30U

http://www.panasonic.com/business/plasma/index.asp

I was actually looking yesterday at the commercial displays and noticed the 152"!

Now there's something for people who complain there's nothing over 65"!

:-)

everything is a scam so I always expect some of this.

I figured many of us as "big bang theory" type of nerds with no female contact.

It would seem taht way with some of the posts you see, but many are married and or have constant female contact. There are some that post and make me think about it though ;-)

It could be a situation where Chris is guaranteed to one of the very first, iniital shipments that the store gets in....where that number of ZTs could be very limited until the following shipment that comes weeks later, etc.

One of my few complaints with (or wishes for) my 2012 Panasonic is the lack of OTA channel info. I have a 2008 67" Samsung DLP that shows the channel station, show title, and a large show description. I have a tiny 2009 Samsung LCD TV in a spare room that shows this plethora of OTA information. I turn on my brand new Panasonic plasma TV and am surprised at how often I accessed channel info and now can't. I see no reason they shouldn't provide the ability to display this information.

For those that saw the ZT at the show what might I expect to see as a real world plus/minus on moving from an 8G kuro to the ZT when it is available? The shootout stuff is interesting and helpful but it is daily viewing that interests me and my black level retention, color uniformity, image uniformity, sharpness, etc. have all stayed pretty solid since day one. I know it is just a bit of a wag until they ship but any ideas?

I see that as a poor investment of resources on Panasonic's part. Most people dropping $2K to $3K for a plasma are not cable-cutters.

I left a 9G kuro (5020) for a Panasonic TC-P50GT50 and have not looked back. A number of folks dumping 9G elites have said they enjoy their VT50s equally.

I am the owner of an Elite Pro 150fd 60"......also,a VT30 65" and I can tell you that my wife and I feel the Panny surpasses the elite,in our opinion in PQ,etc...I am extremely pleased with the Performance of the VT30(professionaly calibrated by Chad B)..who did a marvelous job BTW) and,for the life of me,I cannot see the ZT being superior enough for me to dump the VT in order to drop 4K or so...the difference in PQ would have to be jaw dropping,and,IMO,ithat won't happen.

I don't think you can make that correlation. I of course don't know this for a fact, but I would venture to guess that most cable-cutters still care about picture quality and are willing to pay for it, especially with access to quality HD OTA channels along with access to non-TV HD media, like Blu-rays, high quality streaming, home media server content, and high definition gaming. But I agree that Panasonic probably doesn't see the ROI value in it or else they would have done it... unless they have simply and ignorantly overlooked this functionality, which I doubt. Still a bummer and lack of something simple that would make anyone who uses it happy they have it.

+1...great post. Its not ALL about the blacks...people get so cought up with that. I gave up my kuro for a panny last year and have not looked back.

It's not a feature I need, but plenty of videophiles almost exclusively watch Blurays.

Also, not all plasma's cost that much. The 55" UT50 is $849 now, the 50" is $600 something. So even with your logic, there would be more cable cutters buying the lower end models at discount prices late in the year etc.

But it mostly is (as contrast ratio is the most important aspect of PQ, and this is directly affected by how deep the blacks are, followed by other aspects like color accuracy and resolution down at the bottom).

And what's this about the VT30 being better than the Kuro 9G? That is an atypical finding, unless the increased screen size made the difference for your seating arrangement. I hope the latter was calibrated before making that assessment at least.

Vt IMO has a better overall pic than the kuro. Is it as black? No, but overall better.

That is a nonstarter for me unfortunately, because I watch in a dark room. That's why I'm anxious to hear how deep the ZT goes.

works for me... i would be happy to pay 4500.00 for the 65zt60 if it's worth it.

Even if I am unable to make the trek, I am anxious to hear/see the longstanding opinions of calibrators/reviewers like D-Nice and David Katzmaier, as they seem to have a similar fondness and appreciation for the Kuro even up to 2012. That would probably be enough to push me over the top (plus the black level measurements).

Thanx for the comments on VT and hope about the ZT. I am glad to hear the positive comments. (I didn't want to start a kuro vs the competition re-throwdown.) I also would like to hear D-Nice, UMR and others chime in if they have news or as they see the ZT product.

There aren't many "of you" though, so they better sneak in the MSRP at under $4,000. Also, Sammy won't be on the sidelines. Hopefully they will put pricing pressure on Panny.

You make the dangerous assumption those prices are profitable...