Panasonic Matte Plasma Panels: Update and About-Turn?

Time for more news from Japan. This time our question and answer session was with around thirty head engineers and Panasonic directors. Talk about big cheeses!

We once again got onto the topic of plasma screens, that we think are way too shiny. However, it looks like completely matte panels might not be on the cards after all! In fact, among the 14 journalists visiting Panasonic, it seems that not all of us had the same opinions on the matter.

The visiting journalists came from various different countries: the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Norway and France. Interestingly, the journalists from Southern European countries (including our French correspondent) favoured matte panels while those from Northern Europe—who are perhaps less bothered by the sun (that's one theory that was put forward in any case)—preferred glossy panels. Honestly, when put to the vote it was a 50:50 split!

Faced with such inconclusive results, Panasonic consequently sees no problem with its current product range, which comprises matte LCD panels and glossy plasma panels. There's something for everyone, as far as they're concerned, and it keeps things simple in terms of production. It also keeps costs down, as Panasonic's reps told us that making a glossy LCD is apparently more expensive than making a matte LCD and, similarly, a matte plasma screen is more expensive to produce than a glossy one.

However, they were keen to cushion the blow for us matte screen fans by pointing out that the brand's latest generation of plasmas, or at least the VT30, is much less shiny than the 2010 models. It's true too, as even with the TV switched off you can only see a vague shadow of the people in front of it instead of a full reflection. In any case, we'll be sure to investigate that in greater detail when we test Panasonic's new plasma TVs in our labs.

More from this mammoth question and answer session soon.



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