Panasonic quits analogue telly

If you’ve been cowering in your lounge, petrified of the digital revolution, we’ve got some bad news – Panasonic has become the first major TV manufacturer to put an end to its analogue manufacturing.

Matsushita Electronic, of which Panny is the brand name, will stop developing analogue from next month and will channel all its telly energies into the digital market.

The news is hardly shocking considering the mushrooming popularity of digital, although according to its reports around a third of Panasonic’s sales are still of the analogue variety.

The UK’s switch off of the old school medium may not be until 2012, but the next-gen revolution will move up a gear this year with the launch of high-def broadcasts from Sky and the BBC.

Besides, Panasonic doesn’t want to get sidetracked making stone age tech when it could be concentrating on making 103in, HD-ready sets like the one unveiled at CES. It’s also just announced plans to build the world’s largest plasma display plant in Japan.

With Konica Minolta and Nikon both scaling down their traditional film camera operations, there’s clearly no room for sentiment in this brutal tech world.

If the news has sufficiently panicked you into getting a new TV, head over to Panasonic’s website here for info on their fine range.