Panasonic Intros 42-inch, 1080p Plasma TV

Matsushita, under its Panasonic brand - plans to launch the world's first 42-inch plasma TVs offering full 1080p resolution. They'll hit Japan April 27.

Matsushita—doing business under its Panasonic brand—has announced that it will introduce the world’s first 42-inch plasma television set (Japanese) that offers full 1080p (1,920 by 1,080 pixel) high-definition resolution. The TH-42PZ700 units are scheduled to go on sale in Japan April 27 at prices ranging from ¥410,000 to ¥430,000 (about $3,550 to $3,620). The move lets Panasonic compete with LCD television makers who’ve been able to offer 1080p resolution at these (comparatively) small sizes; until now cramming 1080p resolution into 42-inch plasmas has been a difficult (and expensive) proposition.

Matsushita is the world’s largest maker of plasma televisions, and plans to roll out 25,000 units a month for the Japanese market. The company also plans to introduce the PZ700s overseas—including in the North American market—although general consensus is that Matsushita will keep the 42-inch model in Japan, and instead offer a 50-inch version in the United States, alongside lower-resolution plasma displays.

In Japan, the 42-inch model (Japanese) is available with either a bottom-mounted speaker or stereo side-mounted speakers (accounting for the price difference, above): the systems can also play AVCD video directly off SD/SDHC memory cards, letting consumers move media directly off Panasonic’s high-definition camcorders and straight to their televisions; no word yet if that feature will make it to the U.S. market. The units also sport 3 HDMI ports, 2 iLink/1394 ports, four composite inputs, three S-Video inputs, and Ethernet.