Panasonic 3D Ready Plasma HDTVs now in stores

Panasonic Canada has announced that its new 3D-capable plasma HDTVs, which were first announced at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are now available in stores.

The Viera VT25 series of plasma televisions starts at $3,000 and consists of four models ranging in size from 50 to 65-inches.

3DTV models announced include the: TC-P50VT20 - 50 inches; TC-P50VT25 - 50 inches; TC-P54VT25 - 54 inches; TC-P58VT25 - 58 inches; and the TC-P65VT25 - 65 inches which will sell in Canada for $3,000, $3,500, $4,000 and $5,000 respectively.

Each model will ship with one pair of 3D active shutter glasses. Each additional pair of 3D glasses will cost $150.

In addition to 3D capabilities, all four VT models will feature: Viera Cast, an Internet programming package which lets internet enabled users to access to information and communication capabilities such as Bloomberg News, Google’s YouTube, Picasa; Image Viewer, which lets users view still photos and videos from an SD flash memory card and Skype Video Calling when used with Panasonic’s Skype enabled cameras (sold separately).

To complement the VT series of plasma televisions, Panasonic also announced the arrival of the Panasonic BDT350, a fully featured Blu-ray Disc player which features DVD video upscaling to 1080p resolution, dual HDMI outputs, 7.1 channel analog outputs, Viera Cast and Wi-Fi capability. The DMP-BDT350 will sell for $600.