Panaosnic&39's GT30 series is the comapny&39's second-best plasma and the least-expensive with THX certification.

LAS VEGAS--THX Display certification has been one of the saving graces of higher-end Panasonic plasma TVs over the last few years, making up for the relatively inaccurate color and sparse picture settings available in other modes. Among the company's lineup of 2011 plasmas, THX is available starting on the GT30 series.

It's unclear from Panasonic's press material whether that THX picture mode is available for both 2D and 3D sources, like that of LG's plasmas including the PX950 series.. In any case we expect it to be adjustable, unlike THX on LG, and provide an accurate picture without too much fuss.

The GT30 is missing many of the step-up extras found on the flagship VT30, including an "Infinite Black 2" panel, 24p playback and an included pair of 3D glasses. Given the performance differences between the G25 and VT25 from 2010, we don't expect the GT30 to deliver as impressive a picture as the flagship VT30.

With the exception of THX, the GT30 seems to have essenitally the same picture quality specs as the less-expensive ST30, so those two might be closer in performance. Of course there's no way to know for sure until we can review one.

Otherwise the GT30 and ST30 have similar feature sets, including 3D capability and the Viera Connect Internet suite. Check out the writeup of the ST30 series for more details.

Pricing was not announced for the GT30 series, but it will be available sometime this spring.

Panasonic TC-PGT30 series features:

Panasonic TC-PGT30 series models: