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.
“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.
