Advanced Display Technologies Continue to Improve 2D TV Experience, Says Panasonic’s CTO

"You shouldn’t read too much into display technologies,” Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, chief technology officer of Panasonic, told Consumer Electronics Daily at CES Wednesday. Instead of being technology or engineering-centric, the discussion of display technology should be about “what are the applications that make sense,” he said. The market requires a balance of quality and affordability, Tsuyuzaki said.

Tsuyuzaki called 2013 a “transitional year” where consumers are shifting to smartphones and tablets and looking for ease of use and convenience features more than advances in resolution. He cited Panasonic’s new voice-activated and facial recognition features to help personalize the TV experience for consumers.

At the same time, new display technologies are improving the 2D TV experience, he said. “Every time we come up with a new technology, whether it’s HD, 3D or 4K, it has improved the basic 2D benchmark in processing, phosphors and black levels and brightness,” he said. He referred to 3D continuing on a path to be in 50 percent of all TVs shipped, with 7 million 3D TVs shipping in 2012.

On rumors circulating last fall that Panasonic was exiting the plasma business, Tsuyuzaki said the rumors were “from other people, not from us.” He added the company has made a clear statement that “we still are definitely in the consumer television business, period.” Panasonic’s commitment to plasma “remains strong,” Tsuyuzaki said.

Regarding Panasonic’s plans for 4K, Tsuyuzaki said, “we introduced the largest 4K a few years back,” referring to the 150-inch plasma model it showed at CES. It’s still early to start thinking about the production ecosystem and the distribution of 4K TV “especially when you're dealing with four times more information than an HD signal,” he said. The practical consideration of more resolution means different packaged media, different broadcasting standards and “possibly different encryption,” he said. “As a consumer proposition, it’s going to be a while,” he said. Lack of content and affordability are also concerns, he said. “I'm sure someone will sell a few units at a certain price point, but when you're thinking about growing it into a market, it’s important to have not only the display resolution technology but to figure out a path on how you would make it affordable,” he said.

Tsuyuzaki cited Tuesday’s keynote by Panasonic Corp. President Kazuhiro Tsuga disclosing a 56-inch OLED 4K display with a “possible path for how we could make it for an affordable price point.” Tsuyuzaki referred, too, to 4K’s use in niche applications in B2B business, film production and medical fields. In those applications, he said, “we then look at what are the smallest applications that make sense,” citing a 21-inch 4K tablet that would fit those markets.