Panasonic wants to be synonymous with 3D TV.

The consumer electronics giant intends to lead the 3D movement, from start to finish: production, relationships with Hollywood, standards, rendering technology, and finally TVs and sources.

“Panasonic will continue to be at the leading edge for the industry” for 3D, said Fumio Ohtsubo, president of Panasonic, during a keynote address at CEATEC Japan 2009 near Tokyo.

During the expo, Panasonic shrugged off the 100-inch Full HD 3D plasma TV demonstrated at CEATEC 2008 and CES in January 2009.

Instead, the company touted its development of a more realistic 50-inch 3D display. Like its 2x counterpart, the 50-inch plasma features full HD, with alternating 1080p images for the left and right eyes

Ohtsubo boasted, “It’s the smallest size up until now.”

That’s a claim that few vendors seek, but the 50-inch TV represents a more mainstream implementation of 3D technology – and a challenge to boot.

“It is easy to make a big screen,” says Hiroshi Miyai, director, High Quality AV Development Center for Panasonic. “The larger the screen has become, the higher the 3D depth quality.”

It is more complicated to achieve “real deep black and unsaturated brightness” on a 50-inch screen but Panasonic is delivering just that, Miyai says.

New phosphors and high-speed impulse control from Panasonic enhance its plasma 3D images, according to Miyai. The company’s active shutter glasses also impact the experience, minimizing cross-talk that results in dual images.

Panasonic 3D suite with protoype active glasses, 3D Blu-ray player and disc

What Will 3D Cost?
Meeting with CE journalists from around the world, Miyai declined to discuss the size of TVs that Panasonic ultimately will bring to market, nor the price of those screens.

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Julie Jacobson - Editor-at-large, CE Pro

Julie Jacobson is co-founder of EH Publishing and currently spends most of her time writing for CE Pro, mostly in the areas of home automation, networked A/V and the business of home systems integration. She majored in Economics at the University of Michigan, earned an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and has never taken a journalism class in her life. Julie is a washed-up Ultimate Frisbee player with the scars to prove it. Follow her on Twitter @juliejacobson.