Aug
25
Panasonic announced the VIERA Full HD 3D Plasma TV range with the introduction of the Panasonic VIERA GT25 series expand. This 42 “piece of entertainment that focused stereoscopic 3D display in her living room, where the TC-P42G25 want to go for a relatively affordable $ 1,699.95, while the larger sibling, the 50″ TC-$ P50GT25 expensive 400.
Expect both models to See market later this month, and things more expensive for those who will be based on 3D display arm to be disappointed to know that they are to shell out more dough Active 3D shutter glasses such as purchase would have been available separately.
Jul
28
Samsung begin selling the Samsung PN50C490 and Samsung PN50C680 3D Plasma TV Series in US. These Samsung 3D HDTVs were announced for South Korean market. The Samsung 680 series are available in two models, 50-inch and 58-inch format, while the Samsung 490 series in 50-inch.
Both Samsung Plasma HDTV 3D are now available for pre-order through Amazon.com with a $ 1,099 price tag (50-inch Samsung 490-series), $ 1,600 (50-inch Samsung 680 series) and $ 2,300 (58-inch Samsung 680 ). The Samsung C680 active 3D shutter Plasma TV has 4 HDMI ports, one USB port, a 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and Samsung’s Internet and DLNA Allshare supported.
Jul
08
The 42-inch, 1080p Viera TX-P42S20B sits at the lower end of Panasonic’s NeoPDP range of plasma TVs. It still has one of the company’s high-end panels, though, offering great black levels and incredible response times. Apart from a built-in Freeview HD tuner, the TV is largely free from the sort of extra features seen on higher-end models, making it ideal for people who care about actual picture quality, rather than flashy extras.
The TX-P42S20B is available now for around £770.
Freeview HD happiness
As with some of Panasonic’s other TVs, the TX-P42S20B has a built-in Freeview HD tuner, but doesn’t make a massive fuss about it. In fact, unless you’ve checked the Panasonic Web site, or actually pay attention to signs in shops, you might never know that the TV can get free, over-the-air high-definition channels.
The TV makes as little fuss about tuning into these HD channels as the box does about the feature in general. All you do is turn on the TV, let it automatically tune itself, and tell it you’re in a house, not a shop. Then you’re away. Telling the TV you’re in a house is important, because it makes the picture less gaudy, and much more suitable for home use.
Viera Cast off
Panasonic hasn’t opted to include its Viera Cast system in this TV. If you don’t know what we’re talking about, then you probably won’t care about its omission.
The TX-P42S20B is a reasonably handsome set, and its HD pictures are beautiful
If you are saddened by the lack of Panasonic’s IPTV and widgets interface, then at least you can take solace in the fact that Freeview HD will probably get access to the BBC’s iPlayer at some point. It’s also possible that Channel 4 and ITV will launch their own catch-up TV services on the platform at some point in the future.
HDMI 1.4
The TX-P42S20B is also fitted with an HDMI 1.4 socket. On this TV, it serves no purpose other than offering an audio return channel. This is actually a really useful feature, but you’ll need an AV receiver that’s compatible with HDMI 1.4 before you can make use of it.
If you have all of the equipment, this feature will allow your TV to send audio, via HDMI, to a surround-sound decoder. This is especially useful for HD channels, which transmit Dolby Digital 5.1. On a ‘normal’ TV, sending this audio would require an optical or coaxial audio output, as well as an extra cable to clutter up your lounge.
With a 3D TV, HDMI 1.4 also allows the TV to detect when a 3D signal is being sent, and allow the screen to display it properly. But this TV isn’t a 3D-ready model, so the benefits of HDMI 1.4 begin and end with the audio return channel.
HD is pretty as a picture
There’s one downside about the arrival of HD on Freeview. It makes standard-definition channels look like a dog’s dinner. But that’s hardly Panasonic’s fault, and, to give the TV credit, it does a good job with a pretty dreadful picture, offering a decent amount of detail and reasonable colours.
Switch to BBC HD, ITV HD or 4HD and your eyes will almost certainly be delighted by what they see. Be aware, though, that, of those channels, BBC HD is the only one on which you’re guaranteed HD all the time. We watched some HD election coverage on the TV, and were truly blown away by the sharpness of the picture. Children’s TV also gets a wonderful boost too, because of the vivid colour that HD brings. We just wish there was more HD on UK screens.
Hooray for Blu-ray
If Freeview HD looks good, Blu-ray looks mind-blowing. We loved District 9 in 1080p on this TV. We opted to turn off the 24-frames-per-second smoothing mode — to get the most cinema-like picture — and that resulted in a small but bearable amount of judder. With the smoothing feature turned on, the picture looks much more fluid, but somehow loses some of the authenticity of film. It really comes down to individual preference, though, and we encourage you to play with the settings to get the best set-up for you.
There’s a movie-optimised mode too, and it produces a good result with films. It mutes the colours slightly, but we’re not fans of ultra-bright colours in the case of most movies. That’s not to say that the movie mode spoils the richness of the landscape in movies like District 9 – it just more closely mirrors the projection experience of seeing a film at the cinema.
Sound doesn’t suck
Although the speakers on the TX-P42S20B are the kind we don’t like –small and badly positioned — we didn’t hate their audio. We noticed that the HD channels were much quieter than their SD counterparts. Panasonic provides an offset volume tool to help with this, but we still found the difference to be quite annoying.
For most day-to-day listening, the built-in speakers are just fine. They’ll also cope reasonably well with movies, but you won’t get the best sound unless you invest in an external speaker system.
Conclusion
The Panasonic Viera TX-P42S20B really offers nothing to complain about. It’s also decently priced, although, for a couple of hundred pounds more, you could lay your hands on a 50-inch LG 50PK590 plasma TV, upon which we recently bestowed an Editors’ Choice award. If you do opt for Panasonic’s TV, you’ll have our blessing — it’s a great choice for general use.
Source: cnet
Jun
30
LCDs are now soaking up a larger and larger percentage of the market, and it’s been hard slogging for plasma displays. But that doesn’t faze Panasonic. As the sole remaining major Japanese plasma manufacturer, it offers a huge range of models. Yes, Panasonic also does LCDs, but only in smaller sizes. If you see a Panasonic HDTV that’s 46 inches or larger, it will be a plasma.
While those of us who cover the field recognize the dramatic advances in LCD technology in the last few years, many of us appreciate the things that plasmas still do better than LCDs. Exhibit A is the subject of this review—the new Panasonic Viera TC-P50G20.
Inside and Out
Panasonic’s G20 series is strictly 2D and offers 50- and 54-inch models. As of this writing, they are exclusive to Best Buy stores. If you shop for either set elsewhere, you’ll have to opt for another Panasonic line. The G25 models appear to be nearly the same as the G20s and include identical prices for sets of the same size. The only differences are the addition of a Viera Link connection for a home network camera on the G25s, as well as additional 42- and 46-inch G25 models. Both lines are THX certified and ENERGY STAR qualified.
The TC-P50G20 has a relatively plain, gloss-black bezel. At 3.5 inches deep (without stand), it isn’t a member of the thinner-isin club. Along with Panasonic’s higher-end models, this set is equipped with the company’s newest Infinite Black Panel (Infinite Black Pro in the 3D designs). According to Panasonic, this updated screen filter is better at rejecting reflections and offers deeper blacks.
There are five preset Picture modes: Vivid, Standard, THX, Game, and Custom. Each of them (including THX) is individually user adjustable and assignable to different inputs. But the settings are global for each mode; you can’t tweak them separately for each input. I recommend that you use the THX mode for your most critical viewing, as I did. (more…)