Panasonic's ultra-thin 54Z1 plasma in the wild

Now that it's official and priced, Panasonic seems much happier to show off its wireless HD-sporting, ultra-thin Z1 series, and it's quite the sight to behold. The 54Z1 we got to look at was very strikingly clad in brushed metal gray -- compared to the regular black of most of Panasonic's TV lineup -- and of course incredibly thin. The wireless HD receiver box was across the room and working flawlessly, and it was nice to see that the included remote is an RF unit, capable of non-line-of-sight channel changing -- it's starting to feel like the 21st century around here! The plasma picture was of course very good, and we're really feeling those Viera Tools icons across the bottom. $6,000 though? That's your call.

Gallery: Panasonic's ultra-thin 54Z1 plasma in the wild

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[schmitt @ Mar 12th 2009 6:15PM]

I'm not sure if I like this gray color scheme...

[rumblejazz @ Mar 12th 2009 8:57PM]

i think there is something wrong with the colour on the screen too, the guy on the left looks a bit blue.

[Nathan @ Mar 12th 2009 6:24PM]

From early press shots I'm going to go out on a limb here and infer that those speakers are removable...Yes?

That's a beautiful television with an equally impressive price tag.

[granny down east @ Mar 12th 2009 6:26PM]

Aw crap, I thought this was today's giveaway.

[iGoon#2 @ Mar 12th 2009 6:34PM]

Our blue friend should be the President of the United States... perhaps he could solve the economic troubles....

[puckotg22 @ Mar 12th 2009 6:53PM]

Crap - I was going to say "McCain is looking good in that shot - but Obama's color is a little off...Maybe they should adjust the tint..."

You basically had a similar idea. Drats! Foiled again!

[bandigolo @ Mar 12th 2009 6:36PM]

Wireless video signal transmitter = win

[zonamanoz @ Mar 12th 2009 6:47PM]

Kelsey Grammer FTW!!

[KilgoreTrout @ Mar 12th 2009 6:52PM]

Excellent tv but not long ago I bought a 60" Pioneer Kouro for half the price, the extra 3 grand could be employed to buy a top notch HTPC or a good 7.1 sound system, or illegal drugs and women of bad repute with which to enjoy your setup.
Not worth the price

[Joseph Mama @ Mar 12th 2009 7:19PM]

So, it's thin... Big deal.

What matters is the picture quality!

The reason we're surrounded by shitty LCDs and to a lesser extent Plasma's is this race to see who can manufacturer the thinnest set.

Have you ever seen a CRT HDTV at 1080P? It makes the latest Kuro look like a piece of shit.

[The E @ Mar 12th 2009 8:05PM]

Would love to get a 50" HDTV CRT, just would need to borrow my neighbor's fork-lift to put it in my living room. My back is still smarting from the time I tried to lift my 36" Wega (225lbs), can't imagine a 50"...sorry, CRT's are just not practical. The future for OLED's is looking bright though.

[Joseph Mama @ Mar 12th 2009 8:16PM]

The "CRTs break my back with their weight" really is a piss poor excuse.

Do you really move your television set so often that WEIGHT is a requirement??? No, really...

[granny down east @ Mar 12th 2009 10:11PM]

My understanding is that CRTs' size are limited by the technology to around 38".
A 50" CRT would be sweet. I have a 37" CRT doing 1080 OTA and it blows me away.

[boe @ Mar 12th 2009 11:00PM]

Thin is nice but as Joseph says - picture quality is the most important - tied directly to size. Any fool can make a teeny 40" or 50" screen look great. Impress me with a picture on a 70 or 80" screen and I'll be thrilled.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Mar 12th 2009 7:33PM]

Is that a C-SPAN still from a broadband stimulus meeting?

[kurt steiner @ Mar 12th 2009 8:02PM]

Too expensive! Wait a couple years and such thin LCDs and Plasmas will be commonplace and much cheaper and OLEDs will be taking over. Sony has a 9.9 mm thin 40" LCD too, which J&R is/was selling for $3299 (down from $3999).

[The E @ Mar 12th 2009 8:04PM]

Would love to get a 50" HDTV CRT, just would need to borrow my neighbor's fork-lift to put it in my living room. My back is still smarting from the time I tried to lift my 36" Wega (225lbs), can't imagine a 50"...sorry, CRT's are just not practical. The future for OLED's is looking bright though.

[ex.ex @ Mar 12th 2009 8:14PM]

I really don't see the need for a wireless TV... I mean, that signal will carry loads of data at a very high frequency - aren't we surrounded by enough radiation sources already? Just but some kind of slimline blu-ray drive on the back of that thing and dump the wireless...

[Al Bundy @ Mar 12th 2009 8:57PM]

the bezel and frame is humongous. whats the point of thin if it dont look sexy? and whats with the fugly base?

[cs35 @ Mar 12th 2009 9:15PM]

Come on Mega Millions!

[Wwhat @ Mar 12th 2009 10:38PM]

What company said they were going to stop making plasma again?
Plasma's are just ridiculous powereaters and you better have a) green power b) american-style low prices for power.

[Sinh Truong @ Mar 12th 2009 11:34PM]

Rediculous powereaters? What TV are you referencing to specifically. Are you spec'n power supplies or actually power use? I would bet money that this Panasonic Z panel would use less power than older traditional LCD's. The neo panels are suppose to use half as much power. My 42" PZ80u has a huge power supply, but when hooked up to a meter it only used up on average about 175 watts. That's pretty power efficient if you ask me... my 47" LCD I bought 2 yrs ago uses about 215 calibrated.