Dh1m makeover for home theatre

If you bemoan the fact your home theatre system and television clash with the decor of your home, Panasonic could have the answer for you.

And, not only can you have a system that matches your fixtures and fittings, you can also own the world's largest TV set yet in production to boot. Not content with producing a 103-inch full high definition plasma display panel (PDP) TV and the prototype of the 150-inch plasma TV, the company has decided to push the boundaries of luxury and high definition PDP to come up with the idea of making a limited edition VIP Designer Series.

The stands of the home theatre system and the cabinet of the TV will be available in seven different decors.

Customer can choose those that match their surroundings the best or even get it made according to their specifications, albeit for a price.

While the cheapest set in the VIP Designer Series will cost Dh184,000 and the most expensive will cost Dh918,000, the sky is the limit where customisation is concerned.

Taeko Danno, Deputy General Manager of Panasonic Marketing Middle East, told Emirates Business: "We realised there is a huge demand for large screen television for both home theatre users and industrial users alike in the UAE as we have sold more than 600 units of the 103-inch plasma in the region, which is about 40 per cent of our global sales.

"So after the success we had with our 103-inch plasma TV, and the enthusiastic response we got for the prototype of the 150-inch plasma TV, we decided to take it up a notch further and make a VIP designer series, too.

"In this series we will be offering our clients a home theatre system and the 103-inch plasma TV in different decors.

"There will be seven different combinations to choose from and customers can customise it even further if they so wish, but for a price.

"For example our 'Gold' model that will be gold-plated can also be made out of 24 carat gold if the customers so wish.

"The idea of the customised stand is to provide the most discerning and wealthy customers a chance to experience high definition large screen television that compliments their taste of style and makes their home or office interiors look extremely luxurious.

"This concept gels very well with our tagline 'Ideas for Life' and we feel that there is a definite market for this product, especially in the Middle East as there are a large percentage of millionaires in the region who can afford such a product.

"The VIP Designer Series will be produced in collaboration between us and a consortium of international space designers, but we can't reveal the name of the company as yet because the project is still in the planning stages."

The company is ready to take orders for the designer series and only 100 units will be made in a year.

The series is not just about bling and decor, as the technology has to be up-to-the-minute for the product to move off the shelves.

The 103-inch PDP with 1,080 progressive HDTV resolution can deliver more than two million pixels of performance.

While in flat panel displays, plasma has technical advantages over other technologies, including LCD, when it comes to making larger size panels that are over 100 inches there are numerous technical challenges.

One of them is maintaining stable discharge and high picture quality across the entire surface of the panel. However, Panasonic has overcome these technical hurdles by developing a new rib and phosphor for these super large panels. The 103-inch panel, equivalent to four 50-inch panels in size, features consistent and uniform discharge, delivering the same accurate images from the centre to every corner of the screen and brightness as the current 50-inch HD model. The panel incorporates Panasonic's 1080p HD high-speed pixel drive.

Danno said: "Since plasma is a self-illuminating device, it offers superior characteristics on several measures including dynamic contrast, true-to-life colour reproduction, quick response time for sports and programmes with fast-moving images and a wider viewing angle, an important factor for large screen display. These features make the plasma panel an ideal device for a large screen TV, and, as a result, global demand for plasma TV is growing rapidly. And now with this designer series we expect it to grow even further."