By Shivaun Hales

Panasonic unveiled its 2012 TV line-up to the Australian market yesterday, a range that the company believes will accommodate growing consumer demand for sharing content around the home.

Panasonic introduced 23 new plasma and LED LCD TVs ranging in size from 65-inches to 24-inches. The new models feature passive 3D technology, and 12 out of the 13 new models feature IPS.

Sharing content around the home

Panasonic general manager marketing, Richard Tassone said “shareability” sums up the new direction for the company’s latest home entertainment range.

“It includes the ability to more easily move content in real time between Panasonic and non-Panasonic devices,” Tassone said at the event yesterday.

Pansonic’s new Viera plasma range includes 13 LED LCD models, eight full HD 3D models, one HD 3D model and one full HD 2D model.

The plasma range comes equipped with DLNA capability and the VT50 and ST50 series feature built-in Wi-Fi, giving users the ability to stream multimedia content around the home using other devices such as a tablet, smartphone or another TV.

Tassone said consumers are now watching a range of entertainment via multiple devices. Citing a Panasonic survey of 500 Australians, Tassone said 65% of consumers shift entertainment from one device to another.

“Australians want to watch what they want, when they want, and however they wish,” he said.

Follwing this trend, Panasonic has focused on ease of use and increased consumer control. The new Smart Viera Remote App for smartphones allows users to “tap and flick” entertainment content stored on smartphones or tablets straight to the Viera TV.

BigPond, Quickflix provide movies on-demandface

Panasonic’s cloud platform, Viera Connect, has welcomed new content, with the company yesterday revealing a new partnership with BigPond Movies. 2011 and 2012 Viera TVs can now gain access to BigPond’s extensive movie library.

From April 17, Quickflix and Panasonic will be offering streamed movie content and TV programs for a monthly subscription fee.

Encouraging the multi-tasking trend, Panasonic has also added a web browser and a social networking TV feature to the new range.

Picture quality has received a significant boost, with Panasonic claiming its plasma screens are 30% brighter than the 2011 range, with the same power consumption. The IPS LED LCD TVs feature high contrast images and fast response times through an improved panel performance and advanced backlight scanning.

Panasonic’s 2012 TV Range

LED LCD

WT50 Series (Full HD 3D LED LCD) – June 2012

TH-L55WT50A (55 inches) – RRP $3,499


TH-L47WT50A (47 inches) – RRP $2,849

DT50 Series (Full HD 3D LEC LCD) – June 2012

TH-L55DT50A (55 inches) – RRP TBA

TH-L47DT50A (47 inches) – RRP TBA

ET50 Series (Full HD LCD LED) – April 2012

TH-L47ET50A (47 inches) – RRP $2,049


TH-L42ET50A (42 inches) – RRP $1,649

ET5 Series (HD 3D LED LCD) – April/May 2012

TH-L55ET5A (55 inches) – RRP $2,399


TH-L47ET5A (47 inches) – RRP $1,749


TH-L42ET5A (42 inches) – RRP $1,399

E5 Series (Full HD LED LCD) – April 2012

TH-L42E5A (42 inches) – RRP $1,099


TH-L32E5A (32 inches) – RRP $799

X50 Series (HD LED LCD) – April 2012

TH-L32X50A (32 inches) – RRP $699

X5 Series (Full HD LED LCD) – June 2012

TH-L24X5A (24 inches) – RRP $489

Plasma

VT50 Series (Full HD 3D Neo Plasma) – June 2012

TH-P65VT50A (65 inches) – RRP $5,999


TH-P55VT50A (55 inches) – RRP $3,799

ST50 Series (Full HD 3D Neo Plasma) – April/May/June 2012

TH-P65ST50A (65 inches) – RRP $3,999


TH-P60ST50A (60 inches) – RRP $2,799


TH-P50ST50A (50 inches) – RRP $1,749

UT50 Series (Full HD 3D Plasma) – April/May/June 2012

H-P60UT50A (60 inches) – RRP $2,499


TH-P55UT50A (55 inches) – RRP $1,999


TH-P50UT50A (50 inches) – RRP $1,399

XT50 Series (HD 3D Plasma) – April 2012

TH-P50XT50A (50 inches) – RRP $1,199

U50 Series (Full HD Plasma) – June 2012

TH-P50U50A (50 inches) – RRP $1,299