Stephen Withers
Thursday, 30 August 2007 12:42
Your IT -
Entertainment
Page 1 of 2
Panasonic has launched a raft of new home entertainment products to coincide with spring sporting events.
The new range includes HD camcorders, plasma TVs, a video projector and a still camera.
The company's full HD (1920 x 1080) camcorder duo features the smallest model of its kind on the Australian market. The $A1899 HDC-SD5 records onto SDHC or SD memory cards (up to 180 minutes on an 8G card), and is able to transfer recordings to an optional $A299 DVD burner.
The HDC-SX5 ($A1799) gives the choice of recording to SDHC/SD cards or diretly to dual-layer 8cm DVD.
Both models use the AVCHD format and feature 3CCD sensors (as used in the company's pro HD cameras), a three-second 'pre-record' buffer to help capture events from the beginning, optical image stabilisation, Leica lenses, an LCD with 170-degree viewing angle and adjustable brightness, and a 1.7sec startup time when recording to memory card.
Playback options include HDMI (including support for VIERA Link with compatible TVs) and direct from the SD card (on selected VIERA TVs). Both cameras are supplied with HD Writer 2.0 for editing clips and saving to disc in DVD-Video or AVCHD formats.
The three products will be available in mid-September, with the $A249 8G SDHC memory card following later in the month. A 16G version is expected by the end of the year.
You'll need something to watch those HD home movies, so what about Australian's first 58in plasma? The TH-58PZ700A ($A9899) and its 50in sibling the $A5499 TH-50PZ700A will be available in September, followed by 42in ($A4399) and 65in (price to be announced) models in October and November.
"Panasonic is the first brand to introduce a 58in plasma panel in Australia," said Paul Reid, director of Panasonic Australia's consumer electronics group. "This new screen size perfectly bridges the gap between the 50 and 65-inch models, to meet the demand for the big-screen Plasma experience."
All four models feature 1080p, 68.7 billion viewable colours, panel life of 100,000 hours, HDMI, VIERA Link, SD/SDHC memory card slot, Advanced Smart Sound Speaker System and SRS TruSurround XT.
Maybe you want an even bigger screen? Read on for another option, plus details of the new member of the Lumix range.
LATEST HEADLINES FROM YOUR IT
