Matsushita said it is launching four new plasma televisions including a 65-inch high-definition model which will hit the Japanese stores November 1, for less than 1 million yen.

The price undercuts Matsushita's current 65-inch plasma TV, which sells for about 1.7 million yen, and a recently introduced 65-inch liquid crystal display TV launched by rival Sharp Corp with a suggested retail price of 1.68 million yen.

The three new other plasma TVs with screen sizes of 37-, 42- and 50-inches will be sold from September 10 at prices that start from 340,000 yen per unit, the company said.

"We believe that our VIERA plasma TV is becoming a nationally recognized flat TV brand and with the introduction of four new models, we want to make an extra push to sales," said Shunzo Ushimaru, director in charge of corporate marketing division at Matsushita.

"And by offering our flagship PDP TV model at exciting prices, we also want to nurture the large-screen flat TV segment further," he said.

The large 65-inch display of the TH-65PX500 highlights excellent handling of fast-paced movement, dynamic contrast, bright crisp images and natural colors. The model incorporates the latest 1080p PEAKS (Picture Enhancement Accelerator with Kinetic System) panel drive circuit to optimize performance of the plasma display panel.



The high-end model of the VIERA TV line has two built-in digital and two built-in analog tuners. As it has an SD Memory Card slot, users can watch one digital channel while recording another onto the SD Memory Card (in MPEG4 format) without using a separate recording device. They can watch recorded programs on SD-compatible devices such as D-snap SD Multi Cameras and mobile phones.

The TH-65PX500 also consumes 26 percent less power per year compared to the preceding 65-inch HD plasma display TH-65DX300.

The TH-65PX500 has an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) port for an easy single-wire digital audio and video connection.

Panasonic has also added a low-cost and energy-efficient VIERA PX50 digital HDTV series. The 50-inch TH-50PX50, 42-inch TH-42PX50 and 37-inch TH-37PX50 feature the same PEAKS System (a plasma panel, processor and driver) as the higher-models in the PX500 series to ensure picture quality. The new models use up to 43 percent less power per year on average as compared to the PX300 series. The new PX50 models have realized the compact design, reducing the width by 70 mm with speakers being placed below the PDP screen.

The models have an SD Memory Card slot, providing connectivity with other SD-compatible devices. Photos taken with LUMIX digital still cameras can be displayed in a slide show format on the large VIERA TVs.

To meet growing demand for plasma TVs, Matsushita said it has increased its monthly plasma display panel production to 170,000 units from the start of August from 150,000 units previously.

Panasonic brand products maker Matsushita is the world's top seller of plasma TVs, ahead of Samsung SDI Co. and LG Electronics Inc. of South Korea and Japan's Pioneer Corp. in the fast-growing market.