September 4 - 1:20pm EDT   Hitachi is unveiling a 1.5-inch thick 50-inch plasma display, which heads up the company's new UltraThin 1.5 family of products that also includes 1.5-inch thick LCD HDTVs, at the CEDIA Expo on Thursday. The display, which Hitachi is quick to point out is among the largest and thinnest of its kind, will headline Hitachi's release of plasma HDTVs in the A-, S-, V- and X-series, made up exclusively of 42- and 50-inch displays. While not quite 1.5 inches thick, the new plasma HDTVs will be available with manual swivel stands or remote-controlled powered swivel stands. [full story]

August 28 - 4:35pm EDT   Panasonic on Thursday announced it will show off five prototype plasma display panels that are significantly thinner, more efficient and / or larger than current models at the IFA 2008 show in Berlin, which kicks off Friday. The prototypes will include a 42-inch display that is twice as efficient and therefore uses half the energy of Panasonic’s existing panels of the same size that maintains the same brightness settings. [full story]

August 26 - 4:45pm EDT   Panasonic Japan has revealed specs on its new VIERA PZR900 HDTV line, due out for release in the near future. The plasma TVs include the 42-inch TH-42PZR900, 46-inch TH-45PZR900 and 50-inch TH-50PZR900, all featuring built-in 1TB hard disk drives and YouTube support via their network and Internet compatibility Panasonic calls TV Net. Each TV is capable of 1920x1080 resolution and features a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. The hard drives, in the meantime, allow users to record up to 86 hours of BS digital broadcasts at 24Mbps or 121 hours of terrestrial digital broadcasting at 17Mbps. [full story]

May 20 - 12:35pm EDT   First announced in January, Panasonic's PZ850-series Viera plasmas have at last been given final details, prices and release dates. The sets are luxury models sized in 46, 50, 58 and 65-inch formats, and feature built-in Internet access, allowing users to view YouTube clips or Picasa photos without a separate player or interface. Support for more websites should be added automatically as Panasonic announces them. [full story]

April 14 - 4:55pm EDT   Hitachi has announced a full nine new TVs for the Japanese market, under its Wooo branding. The core of these are the Wooo UT series of LCDs, coming in at 32, 37 and 42-inch sizes. While only the 37- and 40-inch sets support 1080p and Deep Color, all three have 120Hz refresh rates, and a 250GB hard drive. These sets should be out on June 7th, at prices of 270,000, 340,000 and 440,000 yen ($2,669, $3,362 and $4,350). Also out on that date will be the Wooo XVs, which are essentially identical to the UTs, but lack hard drives and in each circumstance are 100,000 yen cheaper. [full story]

March 4 - 12:10pm EST   Electronics multinational Pioneer may be nearing an end to its plasma TV business, according to reports. The Japanese business paper Nikkei reports that the company may completely cease production of plasma panels as soon as this year, and instead turn to ones produced by Matsushita Electric Industrial, the world's largest plasma supplier. Pioneer representative Ema Suzuki, meanwhile, tells the Associated Press that the company is reviewing the nature of its plasma business, given faltering sales. [full story]

January 7 - 3:05pm EST   Vizio recently unveiled its Black Tie LCD TV line and an accompanying home theatre system, as well as seven new plasma HDTVs. The Black Tie lineup consists of the 42-inch SV42LF, and 47-inch SV47LF; the two models are defined by a 1080p screen resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Vizio’s Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation technology can upscale any video framerate to 120 frames-per-second to match the TV’s refresh rate. Four HDMI ports are available for use, with two located on the side for quick connection of HD game consoles or video cameras. The Black Tie series of LCD TVs will be available in July, the 42-inch model selling for $1500, and the 47-inch for $1900. [full story]

December 28 - 12:05pm EST   Next month's Consumer Electronics Show, scheduled for January 7th to the 10th, may see the arrival of some long-awaited TV technologies, according to reports. Laser sets -- which are said to be lighter, less power-intensive and cover 90 percent of the visible color spectrum -- should finally make their public debut, as Mitsubishi has announced a formal unveiling. Models from Samsung and Mitsubishi were originally supposed to premiere by the end of 2007, but unspecified delays pushed the date forward. [full story]