Panasonic EDTV is top Plasma seller

You read that right, we said EDTV, not HDTV. EDTV, which stands for Extended Definition Television, is one of the eighteen television formats considered "digital television". EDTV could be summarized as a step above analog television, but a step or two below high-definition television due to its 480p resolution. True HDTV begins at 720p resolution, for example.

Needless to say, the highest resolution and picture quality doesn't always equate into the best seller. In this case, the top-selling plasma for the last twelve months ending in June is the Panasonic TH-42PD25UP. This 42-inch PDP unit features a 4,000:1 contrast ratio and features 840 x 480 resolution. DVDs on a progressive scan player look super-crisp on an EDTV since DVDs are recorded at the same 480p resolution.

Panasonic implemented wise strategies to make this a best seller. They worked with the retailers to educate them on PDP's and more importantly, to help modify consumer perception that Plasma is inferior to other digital television display technologies. Early generations of PDP's brought on a bad name due to contrast issues, lack of brightness and concerns around life of the unit. Panasonic focused on the last aspect by having the sales reps push the fact that the newest PDP's have a 60,000 hour screen life. Smart move, Panasonic!