Panasonic intros two professional-grade plasma panels

Panasonic announced this week the availability of its new 50-inch TH-50PH9UK and 42-inch TH-42PH9UK professional plasma displays. The TH-50PH9UK and TH-42PH9UK have a suggested list price of $3,995 and $2,995 respectively.

The 9-Series professional plasma displays feature 16-bit digital signal processing with up to 3,072 steps of gradation, a high contrast level (10,000:1), and the industry s highest contrast ratio (400:1*) when measured in typically bright lighting areas.

Advanced performance improvements include a new Real Black Creation color-enhancing feature, an automatic Contrast Management System, and a high-precision Motion Pattern Noise Reduction circuit.

With weight reduced by up to 15% over previous models, the 9-series models feature a broad range of environment-friendly functions that help minimize energy consumption. Offering a 60,000-hour service life, the 9-Series models are also designed with a new propriety phosphor technology that enables them to last longer and significantly resist burn-in as effectively as or even better than CRT displays. The 50-inch and 42-inch 9-Series plasma displays offer ultimate flexibility for business and professional applications and are perfect for use in virtually any AV, PC or interactive environment. The units feature three multi-function input slots concealed at the back so users can connect different combinations of optional terminal boards and customize the displays according to their system needs. The 50-inch and 42-inch displays come standard with a TY-FB9BD Dual video board and a TY-42TM6A component video board occupying two of the input slots. Improved optional terminal boards are also available, providing greater flexibility for applications ranging from presentations, videoconferencing, in-store display, multi-screen displays and even for use with IT systems. The improved CAT5 transmitter now includes a new switcher function (model KE811CT) that allows users to change the plasma displays from up to eight individual sources, and control up to 128 plasmas at the same time from a single location. The new PLUG-VC251 PC terminal board, a powerful plug-in PC that enables users to run Windows XP operation systems and software directly from the plasma, has also been updated with a faster processor.
Other enhanced features include an advanced dual picture mode, remote system monitoring functions and easy vertical display capabilities. The 9-Series plasma displays also feature new built-in image-enlarging functions for powerful, customized multi-screen displays systems and can now be configured in a variety of combinations from 1×4, 2×3 up to a 4×4 construction (16 displays).