Panasonic Kicks Off Nationwide 3D TV Tour

17 Mar, 2010 By: Chris Tribbey

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HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Panasonic spokesman Jeff Samuels felt vindicated when he read online reviews of the company’s new 3D HDTVs.

With LCD sets far outpacing the plasma displays sold by companies such as Panasonic, seeing positive press is making Panasonic feel good about sticking almost primarily with plasma. The company is in the midst of a 15-city tour, showing consumers what 3D HDTV looks like.

“There’s a reason Panasonic’s doing this,” Samuels said. “We’re showing what 3D can do, and especially what it looks like on plasma.”

He opined that watching 3D at an angle on an LCD produces poor results, while a 3D plasma can be viewed from the side without any drop in quality.

In Hollywood a steady stream of people wandered into Panasonic’s exhibit, checking out 3D with wired and wireless glasses. Angela Garcia from Hollywood called the results “interesting” but wondered whether enough 3D content was available to justify buying a new HDTV.

“I don’t know what I think of the price either,” she said of the $2,900 price tag for the 50-inch Panasonic Viera 3D HDTV, Blu-ray Disc player and a pair of glasses.

Samuels said the content will come, that the 3D TV technology actually improves standard 2D fare, and that Panasonic’s 3D HDTVs have the ability to turn 2D content into 3D, via a software package from tech company Nvidia.

“It enables more than 500 2D games to be played in 3D, even games not meant for 3D,” said Nvidia spokesman Paul Jastrzebski. “These TVs not only work with 3D, they’re meant to embrace it.”

Samuels said watching the nightly news or “Seinfeld” in 3D may not be preferable, but the ability to turn any sporting event into 3D must be attractive to consumers.

“Seeing is believing,” he said. “When people see what we’ve been talking about with their own eyes, they’re not skeptical anymore.”

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