The product launch season has started: despite the “recession” (which, in any case, we’re supposed to be emerging from) new products still need to be promoted, and so today, we headed off to Digital Post to see the local unveiling of a couple of top-of-the-range Panasonic plasmas.

The launch took place at Digital Post in Epsom, a state-of-the-art video facility with all the gear and people skills to render the very best results.

The presentation took place in Digital Post’s movie theatre, where the two princely new Panasonics were set up for our viewing pleasure.

The Premiere Home Theatre Plasma Series comprises the 50-inch TH-50VX100,  and the 65-inch TH-65VX100U.

These panels are shorn of any visual bells or whistles or decorative trimmings, and don’t even have speakers, because it’s assumed that they’ll be installed as part of a decent surround sound home theatre system, or even as part of a complete smart home fit-out.

Rick Hayward (Divisional Manager Broadcast and Display Systems for Panasonic NZ) explained that what the Premiere plasmas are all about is providing simply the best panels available to those for whom cost isn’t an obstacle. In the same way that hi-fi buffs will fork out the readies for a product of superior quality, the Premiere panels provided the potential for as close to picture-perfection as is possible at this point in time, together with absolutely no cost-cutting and an attention to every detail that simply doesn’t exist with mass produced televisions.

Of course Panasonic are aware that they’re up against preconceptions in the NZ market that have been built up by the availability of really crappy (but big!) low cost panels in certain outlets. It’s hard to convince people that there are real gains to be made in spending quite a few thousand dollars more for a panel.

Still, he reckons that in Australia the Premiere models are rolling out of stores at the rate of about 30 per month, so in NZ it’s hoped that the panels will find at least a few happy owners every week.

The cost for these big beauties? The 50-inch retails for around $12,000, while the 65-inch is a cool $20 grand. Compare this to what you’re getting for other “luxury” brands like B&O, and the Panasonics might just start to look like a bargain.

The specs? The Premieres deliver full HD 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) resolution and a 60,000:1 contrast ratio, as well as an “industry-leading” colour gradation level of 7,160 steps. What this means is that when you’ve got a picture that goes from light into shadow, the viewer will see much more detail rather than just murky blackness.

Speaking of blacks, the Premieres have a “Dynamic Black Layer that reduces pre-discharge to one-sixth of conventional models. A newly-designed phosphor material process technology and optical filter allows for an expanded colour range that covers 120 percent of the HDTV standard.” (Yes, that is straight off the press release, because I forgot to bring my pen and paper to the presentation).

More info: “Panasonic’s 18-bit digital signal processing produces a detailed graduation from light to dark, with faithful expression of subtle colour differences. The moving picture resolution of over 900 lines reproduces clear, crisp and smooth images for impeccable reproduction of fast-moving scenes”

Well, the proof is in the pudding, and what we saw on these panels (scenes from movies along with sporting events) were just stunning. Rick pointed out the TV’s “Night” and “Day” modes and how many LCDs have over-bright screens that look great for about 10 minutes, until you start to feel fatigued. The Premieres can be set to a brighter pitch for day-time viewing, and a more subdued hue for night, and that has to be a good thing.

After Rick, Nigel Beale of Masterpiece Calibration (a business dedicated to carefully setting up TVs in people’s homes), explained the kind of things he can do to tweak the Premieres. Essentially, it’s worth getting an expert in to carefully go through the menu system (with special gear set up to get it just right), and the full job takes around 4 hours. When Panasonic sell one of the Premiere TVs, the customer gets this chap’s expertise (and setting up/tweaking) session for free.

Tone will be reviewing one of the superb Premiere panels in due course. Keep your eyes peeled. GARY STEEL