[Pete]

Thought I'd post a few links to the upcoming Panasonic 10th gen plasmas that I gathered while researching the current gen (specifically, 6u vs. 60u vs. 600u). Might be interesting for those looking for a new plasma right now, and it helps explain the plummeting current HD prices (the 42" 60u is currently $1300 delivered from Amazon, not much more than the IIRC ~$1100 + tax advertised at Best Buy on Black Friday).

First Google hit, a French forum thread from around CES 2007 that yielded the subsequent links.
Panasonic's PR.
Panasonic Viera page of new "Harmonic Slice" bezels.
Panasonic's flash intro of 10th gen 42", 50", 56" line-up.

The main difference (besides 1080p on the bigger models) is the new monochromatic, glossy black bezel. The speakers have moved from the bottom to the side of the screen. Their may be a new video processor, though whether that's only for the 1080p models or simply a rename of the current processing I can't tell. They also mention anti-glare coating on the higher-end models, but I don't know if that's new or improved.

The last link seems to promise "Full HD" (1080p) for the whole line-up, including the 42" model, but the PR link indicates the 42" 1080p is only a prototype and the 42" April release will not be 1080p (it remains an "X" model, whereas "Z" seems to designate 1080p). Whether that means it stays at 10x7 or jumps to 12x7 or 13x7 remains to be seen.

While I don't expect the new 42" model to launch anywhere near the $1300 the current one goes for, it's still interesting to know what's a few months out.

[Ty]

Cool. Panny PDPs have been the price/performance leader for awhile now. I almost got one but needed a panel with better stretch modes since the majority of TV we watch is still SD - it's pretty good on the Pannys but not quite as good as I wanted. So I'm hoping the new 50" from Panny is better in that regard...looking for one now.

[Pete]

That's a good point, actually. Do Panny plasmas stretch 4:3 SD content horizontally to fill the screen, or add black/grey columns, or both? I remember reading something about a zoom limitation with a 4:3 source, but I can't imagine they'd not offer as many choices as possible when it came to SD material, it being still so prevalent.

[Ty]

Originally Posted by Pete

That's a good point, actually. Do Panny plasmas stretch 4:3 SD content horizontally to fill the screen, or add black/grey columns, or both? I remember reading something about a zoom limitation with a 4:3 source, but I can't imagine they'd not offer as many choices as possible when it came to SD material, it being still so prevalent.

Pannys offer a few stretch modes - I can't remember the names Panny calls it. For instance, my NEC has Anamorphic which works well for some DVDs and Stadium, which works extremely well for SD broadcasts. It's just that their best stretch mode wasn't quite up to what I was hoping for at the time. It was back during the 6th or 7th gen mind you, so maybe they've gotten better.

But you also have the ability to use grey side bars if you wish or a Zoom mode but I don't consider that a stretch per se since it's not really scaling any aspects AFAIK.

[Capeta]

Do Panasonic PDPs still have the clayface problem?

[Gubbi]

Originally Posted by Capeta

Do Panasonic PDPs still have the clayface problem?

You just need to disable all the noise reduction junk. It's the same for all modern TVs, PDP or LCD.

Cheers