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Panasonic showed their huge 103 inch plasma again but now it’s actually for sale. More interesting to most people was the complete line of 1080p plasmas at 42, 50, 58, and 65 inches. These new panels are claimed to be nearly burn-in proof and offer a lifespan (to half brightness) of 60,000 hours or 27 years at 6 hours per day. The previous silver styling has been replaced by solid black. Panasonic, totally committed to plasma in larger sizes, will soon have the ability to make 11.5 million panels per year. Below 37 inches, LCD will continue to prevail.

Toshiba announced a major expansion of its REGZA LCD flat panel line for 2007, and a number of new performance enhancing features to be employed throughout the broad line. Why, you ask? While projection TV overall is in decline, LCD sales were boasted as being up 132% and anticipated to climb in 2007.

LG was the first press event of the day, and at 8AM the assembled press corps was suitably bleary-eyed. But the big news (which had broken a few days before the show) drew a huge crowd and kept all of them awake. Oh, LG did announce 12 new 1080p displays, including 9 LCDs and 3 plasmas. But it was their Super Multi Blue player that shook up the opening of the 2007 CES.

In case you're wondering why I snapped a photo of Pioneer's electronic door sign, it's because they wouldn't let me take a picture of the new plasma technology I'm about to tell you about.