CES 2009

People rightly say Panasonic builds some of the best plasma's out there. Friends ask, I say "Pioneer or, if you're on a budget, Panasonic."

So if you were wondering, Viera means a "new visual era." It now applies to all their LCD and plasma displays.

Their top series, the PZ85 plasma is of course true 1080p in 42", 46" and 50" sizes. Panasonic claims a contrast ratio of 30,000:1, features a game mode, an SD memory card slot and Viera link, a way to hook your Panasonic TV to other Panasonic products.

Panasonic didn't really announce anything to elevate them above their also-ran status in LCD flat panels, though, with a new 37" inch (1080p, 1,200:1 contrast and 10,000:1 "dynamic contrast") coming out this spring.

No pricing was announced for any of the new models, probably because the way things are going, they'd have to cut them by them anyway.