Panasonic TV Reviews – Plasma

Hello – Rick Fletcher here with Panasonic TV Reviews – Plasma. This is a review site for the “GT” series TV’s, please click on the appropriate link below to view the Panasonic Viera plasma “GT” series TV’s on-line, complete with technical specs and additional user reviews:
Panasonic Viera Plasma 3D 50″ Model TC-P50GT30
Panasonic Viera Plasma 3D 55″ Model TC-P55GT30
Panasonic Viera Plasma 3D 60″ Model TC-P60GT30
Panasonic Viera Plasma 3D 65″ Model TC-P65GT30

Specifically, I’d like to share my experience with my new Panasonic Viera Plasma 3D 60″ Model TC-P65GT30 TV. As I mentioned in previous posts, I was a dedicated LCD fan until a recent trip to Best Buy, where I learned about the differences between plasma and LCD TV’s. I was so impressed with the Panasonic picture (when placed next to a competitor’s LCD), I purchased the set and have been enjoying it in my home for about 4 weeks. The purpose of this review is not to quote all of the technical specs, but rather to share my experience with actually owning the set and watching actual high definition broadcasts. Let’s face it – the only source you usually get to view on a TV in a store is Blu-Ray. While you can make a lot of determinations regarding picture clarity, color, motion and other aspects, wouldn’t it be nice if you could view actual high definition broadcasts in the store? If you’re like me, network and cable broadcast content makes up the lion’s share of your viewing, so here’s how the Panasonic TC-P60GT30 set performed in front of this reviewer’s eyes at Panasonic TV Reviews – Plasma.

Appearance
Right out of the box this set looks great – the plastic border is almost flush to the screen, with a thin silver border which works quite nicely – not overdone like some brushed aluminum-looking borders or lit up brand names.

Stand
The TV was easy to set up and attach to the stand, but the stand doesn’t swivel (which would have been nicer). No biggie – it’s easy enough to point it where you want, but if you plan to change the direction the TV is facing with any regularity this may be a problem. Possible work around – mount it to the wall where it can be easily swiveled and as an added bonus is out of the way!

Inputs
I was careful to choose a set with the right type and number of inputs – it seems like more and more electronic gear is connecting to the TV these days (Apple TV, Blu-Ray, cable/satellite box, etc.). We’re also plugging USB drives with videos and pictures into our TV’s, and connecting them to the internet. This set handles all of these scenarios (and more) with the following inputs:

• 4 HDMI
• 3 USB
• Local Area Network (LAN)
• Composite Video
• PC
• Audio
• Digital Audio

Internet Connectivity
Having an internet-connected TV is becoming more and more desirable these days, so it was an important “must have” on this set. There are two ways to connect today’s TV’s to the internet: built-in connectivity for wireless or wired internet, or purchase an internet adaptor for about $70 and plug it into one of the USB inputs. This set comes with built in internet connectivity, and following the on-screen prompts had me connected to my in-home wireless network in no time.

Picture
Let’s face it – today’s TV’s are, for the most part, providing spectacular picture and sound quality compared to just a few years ago. I currently own three LCD TV’s and one brand new plasma. Even after watching the plasma in the family room, I can go into the study and watch an LCD TV which has a quite beautiful picture. But there are a few differences I wanted to share with you in this review:

• Motion scenes – you’ve undoubtedly noticed how LCD sets are coming out with 120Hz and 240Hz refresh rates. All plasma TV’s have a 600Hz refresh rate, resulting from the way technology is employed to create the image. I’m not too sure how it all works, but I do know that a scene on a 120Hz or 240Hz LCD set looks unnatural, kind of like a soap-opera TV show. The same scene on a plasma TV does not look like a soap opera, yet doesn’t suffer from image “ghosting” or judder which can be observed on LCD’s during intense motion scenes. It was quite eye-opening to see action scenes without the “motion artifacts” I saw on LCD TV’s – much better!
• Colors – plasma sets are known for their ability to recreate colors more faithfully than LCD TV’s – kind of like Mac vs. PC in rendering colors (Mac color rendering doesn’t vary from machine to machine like PC’s do).
• Adjustments – to be honest, I had purchased a competitor LCD TV recently and could not adjust the set to my liking. The pre-installed video modes were not satisfactory, and when I tried to adjust colors, brightness, etc. manually I just couldn’t get there. This Panasonic TC-P60GT30 allows plenty of manual adjustment and I easily dialed it in to fit my eye. New for this year is THX mode, which after bumping up a few brightness settings (brightness = +69, CATS = ON), results in the most realistic flesh tones of any mode.
• Internet and TV apps – the Panasonic Viera line of plasma TV’s for 2011 come with a VieraTools menu and a VieraCast menu – both activated with a button on the remote. The VieraTools menu displays the following icons along the bottom of the screen: 3D, THX, Viera Connect, Media Player, DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance, for connecting other devices to the TV), VieraLink (for controlling other devices to the TV remote), and ECO (where you can set the TV to automatically turn off). The VieraCast menu allows access to photos, videos, music and the home network. In the home network menu, there is access to several apps including YouTube, Netflix, Pandora and Hulu. Here’s a video demonstrating the built-in menu:

Here’s the links to view these TV’s on-line:

• TC-P50GT30 (50 inch)
• TC-P55GT30 (55 inch)
• TC-P60GT30 (60 inch)
• TC-P65GT30 (65 inch)

In conclusion, I was compelled to write this review after a great experience at Best Buy – they spent a lot of time teaching me about plasma and LCD technology (fyi – most of them own plasma sets). As a result, I’ve had the best possible experience with the product in my home. I hope you found this review useful – feel free to contact me at rick@panasonictvreviewsplasma.com with any questions – I’ll be glad to help!

Hello – Rick Fletcher here with another review from Panasonic TV Reviews – Plasma. This review applies to the following Panasonic Viera Plasma models:

• TC-P50GT30 (50 inch)
• TC-P55GT30 (55 inch)
• TC-P60GT30 (60 inch)
• TC-P65GT30 (65 inch)

If you would like to look at these models on line (and read more reviews from actual owners), please click on the size set you’re interested in above.

In 2011, Panasonic followed up their successful 2010 year (voted best plasma TV) with the Viera line of plasma and LCD TV’s. If you look up the definition of the word Viera, you’ll find “Viera is a female given name – means “faith” in Slavic elements, though it is sometimes associated with the Latin word verus “true.” I couldn’t agree more – faithful, true reproduction of the image seems to have been accomplished in the new line of Panasonic Viera plasma TV’s!

To be honest I wasn’t a fan of plasma TV’s until recently. I guess it’s because I remember too clearly when plasma sets were susceptible to screen burn-in. In fact I have even seen some sets in bars that exhibited the unmistakeable ghost-type burnt in image. The plasma sets also seemed to always have highly reflective screens, which I have been able to avoid by purchasing LCD TV’s. Seeing all the items in a room (and myself) reflected in the screen has always been a big detractor to me.

This perception changed forever during a recent (Aug. 2011) visit to a Best Buy show room, in particular the “Magnolia” room where higher end LCD and plasma sets were on display. My youngest son had just joined the Marines so we had “donated” one of our LCD TV’s to the cause. This resulted in a shift of sets in the house and a vacant spot in the family room just begging for a new TV – what was I to do?

To make a long story much shorter, my wife and I spent the better part of an afternoon comparing LCD sets with plasma models. Many of the LCD sets we liked had the same reflective screens as the plasma models – turns out your choices diminish greatly when you want the matt/non-reflective screen. Also, we learned all plasma sets have a refresh rate of 400 Hz, as compared to a maximum of 240 Hz on the best LCD sets. This factor surprised me, and I slowly realized the Panasonic plasma sets exhibited none of the judder and other artifacts displayed by the LCD sets during motion-intensive scenes.

The salesman at Best Buy went the extra mile for us, at times bringing in cables to get the right signal on the right sets, allowing for side-by-side comparisons. If only we could use actual TV broadcasts to compare pictures, rather than a DVD signal. Still, we could make accurate comparisons and we became new fans of plasma technology. As it turns out, many of the pros have plasma TV’s in their homes and tell me they are convinced it’s the best picture available today.

For a complete review of my new Panasonic Plasma TC-P60GT30 60 inch TV, please check out my next post!

Here’s Part 1 of my two-part video review (Part 2 will be in my next post):

The “plasma”, “LCD” and “LED” designations for today’s flat panel high-definition TV’s are indicative of the differing way in which the image is generated and displayed on the screen. Simply put, “plasma” TV’s generate an image by manipulating the electric current on the xenon and neon-filled pixels contained in the TV screen.

Plasma TV Technology

LCD (liquid crystal display) TV’s are utilizing the same technology that has been in use in PC monitors for some time. LCD panels are constructed of two layers of a glass-like material, which are polarized, and are “glued” together. One of the layers is coated with a special polymer that holds the individual liquid crystals (not actually liquid, kind of a soap bubble type material). Varying electric current is then passed through the individual crystals, which allow the crystals to pass or block light to create images. The crystals do not create their own light and depend on a light source like a fluorescent bulb to create the image. LED (light emitting diode) TV’s are simply LCD TV’s which use a light emitting diode to supply the light, rather than a fluorescent bulb.

LCD TV Technology

When selecting a TV, here’s some important differences between LCD/LED and plasma to keep in mind:
• Plasma is available in larger screen sizes
• Plasma renders deeper blacks
• Plasma renders more accurate colors
• Plasma delivers better motion tracking (all plasma TV’s have a refresh rate of 600 Hz, compared to LCD refresh rates of 240 Hz, at best)
• Plasma TV’s run a little warmer than LCD’s
• LCD/LED TV’s perform better at higher altitudes
• LCD/LED TV’s have a brighter image, making them preferable for use in bright viewing rooms
I personally had been avoiding plasma TV’s because of a problem they used to suffer from: possible screen burn-in (a permanent impression left on the screen from letting a static image display for too long). This problem has been eliminated with the implementation of “orbiting pixel” technology and preventative software built into the new models.
To sum up, unless you plan to use your new TV in a brightly lit room, you may want to consider plasma, especially for the smooth motion rendering and the rich, accurate colors!
Like all other TV companies, the plasma models are offered in a variety of sizes. Traditionally, the plasma models have been built in larger sizes than LCD’s, but that gap has now basically closed at the consumer level. Plasma still wins the battle for largest TV: 152 inches (made by Panasonic) compared to the largest LCD TV which measures a mere 108 inches (made by Sharp)!