Panasonic Unveils 50W-inch 1,080p PDP

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 10/4/2005

Tokyo — Panasonic unveiled what it calls “the world’s smallest 1080p plasma display panel (PDP)” at the CEATEC show here.

The 50W-inch PDP prototype offers a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels, 2.07 million total pixels, and a Japanese interface capable of supporting 1,080p source material, although the input is not in use in U.S. products. Panasonic executives could not discuss pricing or plans to bring a similar product to the United States.

In a statement announcing the breakthrough, Panasonic said, “in the past, technical challenges in securing brightness and stable discharge from tiny pixels prevented manufacturers from obtaining 1,080p resolution for 50W-inch and smaller PDPs.”

To overcome the obstacles, Panasonic employed proprietary technology developed for its previously announced 65W-inch 1,080p display, which is scheduled to ship in Japan Nov. 1. The company also says it developed technologies that allow for a thinner rib structure and tinier phosphors.

“The prototype displayed at CEATEC Japan 2005 incorporates a new drive circuit that enables stable light emission. These technologies will enable Panasonic to offer PDPs in many popular-sized large-screen flat-panel TVs without compromising accurate and high-quality images that only PDPs can deliver,” according to company statement distributed here.

Panasonic acknowledged that terrestrial broadcasters in Japan currently deliver only HDTV singles in formats up to 1,080i; however, “as digital HD broadcasting services are spreading and improving in the world, higher quality images, exceeding the current HD broadcasts, are expected to air in the near future,” Panasonic said.

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“The 50W-inch 1,080p PDP offers the same high aperture ratio and brightness as the current 50W-inch HD model,” the company said.

Pixel pitch is listed as 0.81 by 0.81 mm, and the contrast ratio was said to be 3,000:1.

The 1,080p panel is among the highlights of the 2005 show and is competing against new SED flat-panel technologies being showcased here by Toshiba and Canon. Both companies continued to show prototype 32W-inch models but did not deliver a working 50W-inch model that some had expected to see here. Both companies say they continue to expect to market a 50W-inch SED model in the United States some time in 2006.