Sitting just below their top end Z1 plasma range, Panasonic's V series offers an impressive feature list and has the looks to create a stunning centrepiece in any living space.

600Hz Sub-field Drive increases the rate at which plasma pixels refresh to improve High Definition motion tracking. It is worth noting that the figure is not directly comparable to an LCD refresh rate.

Remembering that a video signal is actually a series of still images (frames) appearing so quickly that they trick the eye into believing we are watching a moving image (100Hz = 100 frames per second) - Sub-Field technology adds an extra step to the process. Sub-field drive is the method used to display (or 'flash') the individual image elements (dots) on a plasma panel, 600 times per second (600Hz) in the case of the V10. Panasonic are actually employing some clever technology to 'interpolate' this extra data. The number of frames displayed per second in the case of Sub-Field technology has not actually increased to 600, which is a little confusing.

Whatever the ins and out of Sub-Field technology, the process has the potential at least to produce significantly improved rendering of pictures and in particular a much smoother image.

NeoPDP technology is an important feature of many of the 2009 plasmas we will see from Panasonic. Not only does NeoPDP bring with it the promise of far greater energy efficiency but also a vastly improved picture performance. A faster 0.001ms response time, improved colour reproduction, and greater contrast levels offer the potential for stunning picture performance.

With a built-in Freesat tuner the feature list just keeps on going up. Elsewhere there is an SD card which plays AVCHD movies or your digital still JPEG's. The V10's also come equipped with a Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution along with a healthy 4 HDMI inputs.

Elsewhere there is THX picture certification and the V10 series is DNLA compatible. Panasonic's almost legendary V-real Picture Processing Engine now comes in the shape of V-real 4.

The V10 plasma range come in 32in, 37in, 42in and 50in versions and is available in the UK now.

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