Gizmodo
Today in New York, Panasonic showed off the Viera flat-panel TVs it launched at CES, including its badass flagship PZ800 and PZ850 plasma sets and its premiere LZ800 LCD, all coming this summer at prices to be announced. During the meeting, Panasonic also confirmed officially that it was no longer in the rear-projection business, owing to a price crunch in flat panels that basically drove any discount value out of the chunkier projection sets. Bottom line: people would rather pay $3K for a smaller and thinner set than a larger but fatter one. Panasonic also addressed the issue of OpenCable (aka OCAP aka Tru2way) two-way CableCards.
Two-way CableCards basically mean that the cable box, with all its features including VOD and PPV, is built into the TV. Right now, the CableCard in a TiVo or Media Center PC will only get you video. Panasonic will integrate OCAP into its mid-level PZ80 line, in 50" and 42" models this summer. Though the list prices for the TVs without OCAP are $2499 and $1599 respectively, the price of OCAP itself will be quite noticeable. Though there are some shared-chip advantages to integrating the set-top box, Panasonic still says "it'll be the cost of a cable box built into a TV," so like, not cheap.
Panasonic is currently testing with Comcast in five markets, and are building this to spec with CableLabs and all of the cable companies, but that's no guarantee that any carrier will be ready to deploy when the TVs are, so get ready for cranky customer service operators and a lot of educational consumership. That is to say, you might have to teach your cable carrier about this new technology. [Panasonic 2008 Viera Lineup; CableLabs OpenCable]
Comments
boo.hoo.
(hopefully they'll continue to make/distribute/sell replacement bulbs)
No a 50" TV will be $3000 instead of $1000. SAd day for the consumer.
Now that everyone wants a DVR this will be a useless tech anyway. Why don't they just focus in a wireless add-on for the cable box? Then you could upgrade your box anytime. Or make some kind of cable box standard size that would snap onto the back of the TV.
I mean $2500 instead of $1000. Still a big jump.
@ANoel: The should be focusing on better bulbs like LED or LIFI.
@fastm3driver: Wireless add-on for the cable box? The whole point of STBs like TiVo is to bypass the cable box by using cablecards, which stop ComCast and co from locking you in to their DVR services. Also, standard size cable box? What happens when TVs get another slim-down to OLED? No one likes boxes sticking out of their TVs...
@fastm3driver: i think you are missing the boat here. we can cut out the middle man all together by just putting the hd dvr in the tv. no more renting cable boxes either. also projection tvs need to die. lcd and oled are the future.
Projection TV's do not need to die yet. You may not want them, but I intend to buy the 67" Samsung (LED) when it comes out next month. I have a wall of modular cabinets and shelves, so the RPTV will fit inside it nicely. Why spend a lot for a flat panel, then stick it on a base cabinet that is the size of an RPTV anyway?
For $2300-ish, I get a lot of real-estate. I can't see flat panels catching up for a LONG time. The Sammy is only about 14" deep.
I also do NOT want my DVR embedded in my TV. If the TV dies or simply needs repair - one LOSES access to their saved programming.
No, the DVR of the future will be more central, and able to farm programming out to any TV in the house. That way, I won't have to keep 3 TiVos :)
Personally... I've had a 1080p LCD and a (2) 720p DLP TVs.
Both 720p TVs performed better than the 1080p LCD on color fidelity and black levels. Were they as "bright"? Nope, but both TVs did better on "SD" signals and 1080i signals (in other words, all of TV) than the 1080p.
For the record, I had one DLP that croaked after three years (wasn't the bulb) and the 1080p set for two weeks (which I had to replace three times due to them breaking... that whole price crunch in the article isn't accounting for quality). I replaced it with a Samsung 50" on sale for less than a grand, had it for a year and a half with no issues (knock on wood).
The only reason that DLP/Rear-projection is getting pushed out is because it's not as profitable for the retailers and the manufacturers. That doesn't mean that LCD/Plasma is "better" for the consumer.
Awsome photoshopping! Or should I say 'painting'?
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