# 2013 Panasonic Panasonic Viera HDTV Lineup



## Jungle Jack

Hello,
Thankfully, there will be 2013 Panasonic Plasmas. It appears Panasonic has done away with the GT Series while slotting the ZT Series above the VT Series. And with the ZT and VT it is now a 3000 FFD and 30,720 lines of gradation as opposed to 2500 FFD and 24,576 lines of gradation. It does not appear to me that the new PDP's differ much from the 2012's aside from a new GUI.


Here is the link:http://www.panasonic.com/promos/ces...era-television_CES-2013-04_pna_50003_01072013
And the ST60 is now showing available for Preorder:http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/viera-televisions-smart-viera-hdtvs
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## typ44q

From other reviews I have read the new ZT was the star of the show as far as real products that will go on sale and cost less than a new car...

Glad to hear that Panasonic is still pushing plasma technology.


----------



## tripplej

I wish Panasonic would make 70 or 80 inch plasma's! 

Man, those would be nice but I suspect price and technology most likely preventing them from building it for the masses!


----------



## tonyvdb

tripplej said:


> I wish Panasonic would make 70 or 80 inch plasma's!


My understanding is that they wont because Shipping costs are to high for a screen that size and weight and they had issues with getting rid of the heat generated internally by that size of display. I also heard that the power consumption of a plasma that size was getting to high.


----------



## Robert Zohn

typ44q said:


> From other reviews I have read the new ZT was the star of the show as far as real products that will go on sale and cost less than a new car...
> 
> Glad to hear that Panasonic is still pushing plasma technology.


Correct, Panasonic's new flagship ZT60 looked beautiful at CES. Other than the normal exhibit they had a private room set-up that was totally absent of light with the VT50 next to a ZT60 and the black level and color saturation was superior on the ZT60 series. 

Let's hope production performs as well if not even better.


I just listed a limited (my first 48) *pre-launch sale on my dedicated 2013 Panasonic site*. These prices are below MSRP. I had not noticed any other sites with prices yet. 

-Robert


Jungle Jack said:


> I am so glad to see you posting here! I have given much praise to your GT50 Settings and remain astonished at how great the TV looks. Not surprising to find out some unscrupulous retailers are planting a false flag in regards to the ZT60 pricing.


Yes, I agree excellent calibration setting! Thanks Black Ops for sharing.

-Robert


----------



## Robert Zohn

My friend and expert panelist at our HDTV Shootout evaluation events, David Mackenzie who is also an editor at HDTV test just wrote this article on Panasonic's ZT60. "Panasonic TX-P60ZT60 (ZT60) Holds Its Own Against Kuro Challenge"

The competition is heating up. Great year for high-end PDP buyers.

-Robert


----------



## tele1962

Q&A with Panasonic UK:


----------



## KelvinS1965

I wonder if they have finally sorted out the 50Hz bug for us UK buyers? Since my projector is my 'critical viewing' display I've not bothered updating my now 5-6 year old 40" Sony LCD TV. As it's fed by a Lumagen VP it has an unfair advantage over the internal tuner's picture, hence why I've been slow to upgrade, but I could be ready to change it for a Panny plasma this year.


----------



## ericzim

I purchased a 50 inch Plasma Panasonic 3 years ago and have been extrememly happy with the quality of the product. I can only imagine that Panasonic has maintained the quality through 2013's production models and am anxious to see them at my local retailer.


----------



## Robert Zohn

Here's the latest information on *Panasonic's ZT60 series* and the *VT60 series*. The links will take you to my downloadable .pdf data sheets.

-Robert


----------



## beefo

Do any Panasonic owners play a lot of videogames? The ZT is high on my list of contenders at the moment but I may wait it out till next year to see if I should stick it out for new tech. I want to try to wait till there's a very clear upgrade worth springing for as my ln52a650 Samsung has held up rather well over the past few years. Anyways, I play a lot of games, most sessions last around 2-4 hours at a time and I want to make sure I wouldn't run into any major issues with burn in. A friend of mine bought a vt50 this year and burned in an image the first week but he also played like a 10+ hour FIFA marathon. Thanks for any help, guys


----------



## Robert Zohn

You'll be ok if you break-in the panel for about 150 hours to stabilize it. Another good precaution when the panel is new is to run full motion video, or the break-in slides or the anti-retention scrolling bar just after a static image was left on the screen for 2 or more hours. This is even a good idea after a proper break-in. 

Plasma's have much less input lag time and deliver better image quality when in low ambient light.

-Robert


----------



## beefo

Thank you for the advice, Robert! I do spend most of my time watching movies and broadcast and I've always loved the look of plasma but that's always been my main concern as a gamer.


----------



## mvision7m

beefo said:


> Do any Panasonic owners play a lot of videogames? The ZT is high on my list of contenders at the moment but I may wait it out till next year to see if I should stick it out for new tech. I want to try to wait till there's a very clear upgrade worth springing for as my ln52a650 Samsung has held up rather well over the past few years. Anyways, I play a lot of games, most sessions last around 2-4 hours at a time and I want to make sure I wouldn't run into any major issues with burn in. A friend of mine bought a vt50 this year and burned in an image the first week but he also played like a 10+ hour FIFA marathon. Thanks for any help, guys


I have a professionally calibrated 55VT30. I've played up to about three hours straight give or take of Modern Warfare Black Ops II with no issues whatsoever. I broke my set in properly when it was new. I've also played Madden 13 at a couple hours per session and while I have had some temporary (I'm talking ten to fifteen minutes at the most) image retention on occasion that worried me at first, it did go away. 

I can't wait to start reading in depth reviews of the ZT60. I didn't jump on a VT50 because like you, I wanted to wait until there was a huge improvement in performance. One that will finally lay the 9G Pioneer Kuros to rest for good and reign supreme as the new, true king of HDTVs. I would love to see Panasonic fulfill that promise since I understand they secured so many Pioneer patents and engineers.


----------



## beefo

mvision7m said:


> I have a professionally calibrated 55VT30. I've played up to about three hours straight give or take of Modern Warfare Black Ops II with no issues whatsoever. I broke my set in properly when it was new. I've also played Madden 13 at a couple hours per session and while I have had some temporary (I'm talking ten to fifteen minutes at the most) image retention on occasion that worried me at first, it did go away.
> 
> I can't wait to start reading in depth reviews of the ZT60. I didn't jump on a VT50 because like you, I wanted to wait until there was a huge improvement in performance. One that will finally lay the 9G Pioneer Kuros to rest for good and reign supreme as the new, true king of HDTVs. I would love to see Panasonic fulfill that promise since I understand they secured so many Pioneer patents and engineers.


Thanks for the input, man! I guess now the question is: jump on a ZT at launch, or give it a year to see what oled and 4k do? I figured Sony would use the ps4 as a 4k vehicle and it does sound like it will be able to output video but hasn't clarified if that will be 4k blu ray, upscaled 4k, streaming or downloads. They said it'll have a "massive hard drive" so I guess we'll find out around e3


----------



## realzven

Robert Any news of the st60 ? 

I Can't wait your review


----------



## ericzim

I am a big fan of DLNA and would like to see a list of supported file formats for the new series or perhaps a review on these new Panasonics that will include testing the formats.


----------



## Robert Zohn

Link to a very nice Engadet/Panasonic NYC 2013 product showcase event.

-Robert


----------



## Jungle Jack

beefo said:


> Do any Panasonic owners play a lot of videogames? The ZT is high on my list of contenders at the moment but I may wait it out till next year to see if I should stick it out for new tech. I want to try to wait till there's a very clear upgrade worth springing for as my ln52a650 Samsung has held up rather well over the past few years. Anyways, I play a lot of games, most sessions last around 2-4 hours at a time and I want to make sure I wouldn't run into any major issues with burn in. A friend of mine bought a vt50 this year and burned in an image the first week but he also played like a 10+ hour FIFA marathon. Thanks for any help, guys


Hello,
I have been playing around 1-2 hours (sometimes way more) of Halo 4 a day for the past month or so on my 60GT50 and I have not experienced even a trace of IR let alone Burn In. That being said, I did baby the TV during the first roughly 200 hours and never have exceeded 88 on Contrast and no higher than mid 50's in regards to Brightness. However, this affords for a plenty bright picture in my experience with the GT50.

I did somewhat hedge my bet so to speak by purchasing the TV at Best Buy so that I could also get BB's Product Service Plan (PSP) which is one of the only that specifically covers Burn In. Panasonic's manufacturers warranty specifically does not cover this. However, I am guessing that I wasted around $400 as it stands. I do think running a PDP at max Contrast/Brightness is a dangerous game. It also affords one a gloriously distorted picture that could not be further away from what Video Game Designers, Movie/TV Directors, et al intend the content to look like.
Best,
J


----------



## Jungle Jack

Robert Zohn said:


> Link to a very nice Engadet/Panasonic NYC 2013 product showcase event.
> 
> -Robert


Robert,
Are you going to be in attendance at this event? Sure sounds like it is going to be quite an event with a killer giveaway.
All the best,
J


----------



## Robert Zohn

Hi Jack, I'd like to and requested an invitation. No reply yet.

-Robert


----------



## Jungle Jack

I hope you are able to attend as it truly appears it is going to be quite the event. With the Dow Jones and S&P reaching pre (global recession or whatever) doom and gloom days, I think it is a good sign to see Panasonic doing an event like this. Whoever ends up winning the prize will be mighty lucky.


----------



## Robert Zohn

My wife, Wendy and I were selected to attend ^^ Engadget/Panasonic 2013 event.

-Robert


----------



## Jungle Jack

Robert,
That is wonderful news. It sure sounds like it is going to be quite the party. I cannot wait to read your thoughts on the ZT60.
Best,
J


----------



## Robert Zohn

Jack, I've been told the ZT60s at the event are still prototype units. The very first production ZT60 will be the end of May.

-Robert


----------



## Jungle Jack

Robert,
While I have no doubt that the preproduction ZT60 or 60's on display will be most likely made in Japan as opposed to Mexico and will also I am guessing be calibrated to the nines, my guess would be that the production ZT60's will hew relatively close to what is going to be displayed given the relatively short span between this event and the ZT60's release. However, I absolute defer to your experience on this issue and will at least be hoping that my thoughts are correct.
All the best,
Jack


----------



## Robert Zohn

Jack, all good comments. I'll report back after seeing in the event.

-Robert


----------



## Robert Zohn

I get a ton of email and calls asking me the differences between the new VT60 and ZT60 so I decided to make a comparison chart so everyone can learn this information.

Enjoy!

-Robert


----------



## Jungle Jack

Given there is only a $500 difference between the VT and ZT, I would think the ZT is going to be a big seller.
Granted, the VT comes with a 3 year extended warranty included at the $2999 price, but I still think most will go for the ZT. Amazingly, the 60VT60 only costs a little over $500 more than the 60GT50.


----------



## polakis

So basically its the same tvs except the filter that gives better black in ZT60, right?


----------



## Robert Zohn

polakis said:


> So basically its the same tvs except the filter that gives better black in ZT60, right?


The ZT60 also has the outer glass panel bonded to the substract.

-Robert


----------



## Robert Zohn

Take a look at this beautiful new ZT60 catalog I just put on our Panasonic 2013 website.

-Robert


----------



## mvision7m

CNET posted its video review of the Panasonic TC-P65ZT60 saying it has the best picture quality ever of any TV they've tested, finally surpassing Pioneer's KURO for overall PQ. 

Samsung's excellent F8500 plasma won Value electronic's annual shoot out by a hair mainly because of its ability to achieve much higher brightness levels than the VT/ZTs making it better and more suitable for brighter environments but its the VT60/ZT60s that won the expert vote and that CNET seems to prefer over the F8500 when in less bright or (home) theater like environments. 

Dying to get an in person look at all three, the VT60, ZT60 and F8500. I've been living very happily with a 55VT30 pro calibrated by Kevin Miller for two years and doubt very highly that the F8500's extra brightness would sway me from either the VT60 or ZT60.


----------

