Hey, look at that -- it's Panasonic's super-hot one-inch thick Z1 wireless HDTV, just cold sitting out for sale in a San Jose Magnolia store. No official availability announcement yet, but we're guessing it's coming soon, right on time for the Z1's planned summer debut. Everyone got their $6,000 ready?

Sure we'd love to see Panasonic mass produce that 4K 150-inch plasma, but so far we'll just have to be happy with a cheaper 103-inch HDTV and the latest model, an 85-inch 1080p display it's showing off at InfoComm '09 this week. All that super size flat panel building experience has been poured into a package that is 99mm thick and apparently 30 percent lighter per square inch than its 103-inch cousin, at a total of 130Kg. This one's coming through business channels to Japan and the U.S. this fall, 'til then you'll just have to live with your 4 x 42-inch matrix setup or for the cost conscious, a projector.

[Via AV Watch & Japan Corp (English)]

Without a doubt, the next big thing in the world of HDTVs is internet capabilities. With Toshiba just shipping its own web-enabled sets this week, LG Electronics is making sure it doesn't fall too far behind by floating a few of its own NetCast models out to the open market. Originally unveiled at CES, these HDTVs are the first from the company with built-in Netflix streaming support, and if you're curious about model numbers, it's the 47-inch 47LH50 LCD HDTV and the 50-inch 50PS80 plasma that are available today. LG tells us that the 42-inch 42LH50 LCD and 60-inch 60PS80 plasma should hit later this summer, but if you're looking to buy now, you'll have to pony up $1,999 for the 47LH50 or 50PS80.

The jury's still out on whether inbuilt DVRs are good for HDTVs, but LG's obviously hot to trot on the whole idea. Nearly a year after first introducing sets with an integrated Time Machine, the outfit is hitting back with two new big-screen plasmas that each posses a 160GB internal hard drive. The X Canvas 50PS70 (50-inch) and 60PS70 (60-inch) panels also boast 600Hz dejudder technology and can record overflow onto external drives connected via USB 2.0. Additional details (price, screen resolution, availability, etc.) are scant, but we'll be sure to keep an ear to the ground.

[Via Akihabara News]

Pioneer's decision to axe the Kuro earlier this year set off a wave of gloomy predictions about the future of plasma, but we've never really bought into it -- and it sounds like the product planners at LG, Samsung, and Panasonic haven't either. HD Guru asked reps from each company for their thoughts on the state of the plasma market, and the responses were pretty similar across the board: plasma remains the connoisseur's choice overall, and it still makes up just about half of 50-inch and bigger sales. Of course, that means that plasma's niche is shrinking and moving higher-end while LCDs more or less take over the rest of HDTV market, but until something like OLED develops into a true competitor we think plasma's around for a while. Check out the full company responses at the read link.

Finding itself in the odd position of selling a suddenly low-end 103-inch 1080p plasma, Panasonic has responded by cutting the price of the professional model TH-103PF10UK by $20,000 to a mere $50,000. Despite waiting over two years to move to a much more reasonable, mass market price the company has racked up over 6,000 installs of the model, with displays starring at the Democratic National Convention, as virtual air hockey tables, on NBC's Sunday Night Football and Beijing Olympics studio, TNT's NBA Playoffs set and more. This seems like a good time to mention the display is also capable of being matrixed in a 5 x 5 video wall -- and at these prices, we can't see why anyone wouldn't. Of course, they could just be clearing stock to bring out the 150-inch behemoth or a more home oriented TH-103PZ800 model Stateside, so weigh your options carefully.

So, there are two ways to look at this: the first is that this television set costs almost as much as many homes, while the second is that it's around $40,000 cheaper than the Euro-conversion price. Specially designed for plutocrats who need to brag that Mark Cuban has the bargain version of their HDTV, Bang & Olufsen's 103-inch BeoVision 4-103 plasma brings along a 1080p panel and plenty of wow. The unit has just been let loose here in America, going on a US press tour and becoming available for special order for those with loads of disposable income. It can be purchased in an array of color options including black, silver, red, blue, and dark grey, though there is a three to four month lead time for each set. The pain? $93,050 on wall mount, $111,805 on motorized floor stand -- though we hear that it's hand delivered by Dos Equis himself.

The plasma industry may be teetering on the edge of certain doom (okay, so maybe that's exaggerating it... a little), but Samsung's still pushing the envelope. Over in South Korea, the company just outed its latest PDPs, the 850 PAVV lineup. Aside from being 40 percent more power efficient, 20 percent lighter and 120 percent more seductive than the prior generation, the new 50- and 58-inch sets also boast DLNA support, a USB 2.0 socket, DivX compatibility and a rather striking stand. The real kicker? The 29 millimeter depth, which equates to just over one inch thick for those who abhor the metric system. There's no word on when these beauties will hit the streets, but we're guessing Panasonic will be keenly interested in knowing.

This year's edition of the Hitachi Wooo line of flat panels look a lot like their predecessors on the outside (120Hz IPS LCDs, 250GB HDD equipped models with iVDR slots for additional hard drives and Wooonet DLNA network support) but it's what's inside that counts. The four new XP plasma models range from 42- to 50-inches and promise even better contrast ratios, as high as 40,000:1, with better color reproduction and the promise of greater energy efficiency. The ultra-thin 35mm / 1.4-inch thick LCDs are back in four new models, with UWB wirelessly connected tuners, auto sensing/adjusting brightness and aforementioned "eco" power sipping improvements. The relatively fat XP line of LCDs consists of just three displays, but just like all the rest, buyers can still hook up to the 'net and pull down video on-demand or Yahoo! Japan's web TV portal -- features unlikely to make the jump when we see U.S. versions of these later this year. The XP plasmas and LCDs go on sale in Japan later this month or next, while the ultra-thins will be crash dieting until October.

Read - Hitachi, recording double-35mm-thin LCD TV "Wooo UT800"
Read - Hitachi, 7 new plasma / LCD

Okay, so maybe that harshly translated version of Pioneer's recent KURO-related press release doesn't actually encourage prospective buyers to snag a unit while they still can, but it may as well have. Following up on the outfit's curious decision to abandon a product line that was universally adored, Pioneer has decided that just four of its PDPs will stay in production until April 11th. After 3,000 or so of the KRP-500A, KRP-500M, KRP-600A and KRP-600M units have been produced, the lines will be shut down and we'll all be invited to what will undoubtedly be a tear-filled memorial service. The company has also made clear that warranty service will still be provided for an undisclosed amount of time (at least in Japan), but there has yet to be a statement made specifically regarding the North American market.

[Via Slashgear]

Plasma's dying, huh? Go and tell that to Bang & Olufsen. Just in case the 50- and 65-inch versions of the BeoVision 4 HDTV weren't expansive enough, the high-end home cinema outfitter has just pushed out news of an all new addition: the 103-inch BeoVision 4-103. If that number immediately rings a bell, here's a cookie. The 103-inch Panasonic TH-103PF9 panel is indeed the exact one used here, but B&O has obviously spruced up the design, added an automatic rising stand and incorporated the BeoSystem 3 and the VisionClear technology that automatically adjusts colors and brightness. Oh, and it tossed in a B&O logo, which is darn near priceless. Speaking of stickers, the set should be available this July for around €100,000 ($136,220) pre-VAT. Check the demonstration vid after the break.

[Thanks, John]

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.

Despite a sudden lack of support, the plasma ain't dead yet. Just days after announcing its ritzy new Bordeaux PAVV Fabrizio 650 LCD HDTVs over in South Korea, the same company has introduced a new line catering to the unshakable PDP fans across the globe. The Fabrizio PAVV 450 Series includes a 42- and 50-inch version with Sammy's own Crystal Engine, 0.001 millisecond response time, "Mega Contrast," and a trio of HDMI sockets. Outside of that, details are still being kept under wraps, but hopefully we'll know more after these get a US ship date. Wait, these are coming to America, right Samsung?

[Via Akihabara News]

Yeah, we know -- six large for a 54-inch HDTV seems a bit much in today's society, but the same sort of thing was said last September when Mitsubishi threw a $6,999 sticker on its mesmerizing LaserVue set. Panasonic's one-inch thick TC-P54Z1 plasma, which just might be the last of its breed barring production of the NeoPDP concept, will undoubtedly serve a shrinking niche, but for those willing to pay for the best of what's new, they'll be getting an awful lot of sexy for $5,999.95. Speaking of that MSRP, that's the good word from the HD Guru himself, though we've yet to see an official confirmation from Panny. Honestly though, that's about what we reckoned it would list at after seeing it unveiled at CES, so now would probably be a good time to start hunting for any 10 percent off coupons for your favorite B&M HDTV outlet.

[Via CNET]