OK, by popular demand, here's a thread which will be a reference of the various plasma HDTV televisions which offer a native 24p mode (24 frames/second). Note that this information is, in some cases, BEST GUESS based on manufacturer's specs, some on-hand reviews and other information available on the Web. Information is not guaranteed.

Why is 24p native support important and who needs it? Well, 24 FPS (frames per second) is the most commonly used frame rate in motion picture films today. 35MM and 70MM analog film cameras generally operate at 24 frames per second. But in the US, most televisions display an image at a rate of 60 frames per second (or 60 fields per second in the case of older interlaced analog TVs). So how do you convert 24 frames into 60 frames per second? Well that's the challenge. You can't map it evenly, so some frames get repeated twice and some get repeated 3 times. This so called 3:2 pulldown process (or 3:2 cadence) can produce jerky unnatural-looking motion known as "judder."

How do you get around it? By getting a TV that supports a native 24 FPS input (typically 1080p, 24FPS or "1080/24p") and then displays that 24FPS input at an even multiple of 24. Supporting the 1080/24p input is not enough to solve the problem. It also must display this 24p source at an even multiple of 24 Hz in order to avoid judder. This way the original frame rate of the film source is respected (each frame is repeated evenly between 2 and 4 times, depending on whether the display has a native frame rate of 48 Hz, 72 Hz or 96 Hz. With this feature, movies take on that smooth "film-like" motion that we're used to seeing in the movie theaters.

Panasonic supports native 24p content only in its highest end plasma HDTV models. The feature is called "Cinematic Playback." In 2008/2009, the supported models were the PZ800 and PZ850 series. In 2009/2010, Cinematic Playback is or will be offered in the V10 and Z1 series. The 2008 models reproduce 24 FPS content at 48 Hz which introduces visible flicker that some people find distracting. In upcoming 2009/2010 models, they are upping that to 96 Hz which should maintain all the benefits of native 24p playback, but without any visible flicker.

We are still researching which plasma HDTV models support 24p content natively, but I thought I'd start off with the "easy" ones and will update this post as new models become available or are confirmed to offer 24p native support. Not all of these models are currently available.

Plasma HDTVs that support native 24p input (along with frame rate)

Panasonic
2008/2009 models:
  • TH-42PZ800U - 42" (48 Hz)
  • TH-46PZ800U - 46" (48 Hz)
  • TH-50PZ800U - 50" (48 Hz)
  • TH-58PZ800U - 50" (48 Hz)
  • TH-42PZ850U - 42" (48 Hz)
  • TH-46PZ850U - 46" (48 Hz)
  • TH-50PZ850U - 50" (48 Hz)
  • TH-58PZ850U - 58" (48 Hz)
  • TH-65PZ850U - 65" (48 Hz)
2009/2010 models:
  • TC-P50V10 - 50" (96 Hz)
  • TC-P54V10 - 54" (96 Hz)
  • TC-P58V10 - 58" (96 Hz)
  • TC-P65V10 - 65" (96 Hz)
  • TC-P54Z1 - 54" (96 Hz)

Pioneer
  • PRO-FHD1 - 50” (72 Hz)
  • PRO-110FD - 50" (72 Hz)
  • PRO-150FD - 60" (72 Hz)
  • PRO-101FD - 50” (72 Hz)
  • PRO-141FD - 60” (72 Hz)
  • PRO-111FD - 50” (72 Hz)
  • PRO-151FD - 60” (72 Hz)
  • PDP-5010FD - 50 " (72 Hz)
  • PDP-6010FD - 60" (72 Hz)
  • PDP-5020FD - 50” (72 Hz)
  • PDP-6020FD - 60” (72 Hz)

Hitachi
  • P50S602 (48 Hz)
  • P50V702 (48 Hz)
  • P50X902 (48 Hz)

If you have any comments, questions or feedback on this post, please post them here in the thread.