Panasonic TC-P50VT20 3D HDTV review

[bandphan]

Garys got some good things to say

http://hdguru.com/panasonic-tc-p50vt20-3d-hdtv-hd-guru-exclusive-first-review/1391/

 

[billy p]

My only quip would be each set comes with a pair of glasses...each additional pair @ $149....

 

[BruZZi]

We calibrated the user controls in Custom mode and measured a white level of 32.39 ft lamberts white and .004 ft lamberts black level for a contrast ratio 8097.5 to 1. (The black level reading is about one-half of reported out of the box black levels of the 2009 V10 series). In THX mode (factory default user settings) respective measurements were 31.5 ft lamberts and again an impressive .004 ft lamberts black level.

Great, black level is about half of what the average 2009 Models can do (Well that's before any black level rising). Better than the 8G Pioneer Models (0.005ftL) but still not as deep as the 9G Pio's (0.001ftL).

.

 

[bandphan]

Great, black level is about half of what the average 2009 Models can do (Well that's before any black level rising). Better than the 8G Pioneer Models (0.005ftL) but still not as deep as the 9G Pio's (0.001ftL).

.

Is .004 really that much better than .005 The 9gs closed in on ∞ My 8g still preforming well, and the only times I really can tell a diffeernce is on Bluray material. My 1150 does a better job at displaying 720p native HD than the 141

 

[BruZZi]

Is .004 really that much better than .005

In a totally dark room the difference should be very minimum.

With ambient light = same.

The 9gs closed in on ∞

Still not "0"

MLL's of some 9Gs can go even lower than 0.001 ftL => 0.0009 ftL - 0.0006 ftL .

.

 

[FirstReflection]

The biggest problem here is that, once again, the black level WILL rise and, once again, Panasonic says it is "normal" and won't be doing a thing about it!

While Panasonic reps might be saying that the rise in black level will be "more gradual" than what happened with the 2009 models, the fact remains that after 1500 hours or so, these 2010 plasmas will display the same sort of black levels as a regular CCFL LCD!

Is that the end of the world? No. Plenty of people are still watching CCFL backlit LCDs from 2008 and are perfectly happy with that level of black. But the point here is that you are buying one thing and then ending up with another. If the deep black level is one of your main reasons for buying a Panny plasma (and I truly believe that it is for a lot of people), then it just seems rotten to me that you are basically guaranteed to lose that aspect of the display's performance after a relatively short amount of time.

All of that said, if you are willing to accept that your black level will actually be closer to 0.025 rather than 0.005, the other aspects of these Panny plasma displays are still better than the performance you will get from any LCD.

When it comes to off-angle viewing, motion resolution, screen uniformity and the overall 3D effect with 3D content, there seems to be no question that these Panny plasmas will outperform ANY LCD option.

One final concern of mine is the lack of a second layer of glass over the plasma panel. I pretty much have one, and only one, complaint about my Pioneer KRP-600M Kuro, and that is the audible buzz. All plasmas buzz. And my Kuro doesn't really buzz any louder than any other plasma. But the buzz from my Kuro is more noticeable than with other plasmas because it has no second layer of glass and, as such, the buzz actually emanates out the front!

With almost all other plasmas, the buzz is really only audible out the back and top. But without a second layer of glass, the operational panel buzz comes right out the screen itself with my Kuro. I would suspect that these 2010 Panny plasmas might have the same audible buzz problem now that, they too, have no second layer of glass to block the sound!

 

[Patrick_Wolf]

While Panasonic reps might be saying that the rise in black level will be "more gradual" than what happened with the 2009 models, the fact remains that after 1500 hours or so, these 2010 plasmas will display the same sort of black levels as a regular CCFL LCD!

The rise in black level seems really stupid. The "gradual change" must have been implemented to maintain the same PQ as the display "ages". Which is what the 2010 plasmas should fix.

If not and the black level rise is inevitable, then I don't see much reason to buy one at all.

 

[Gov]

I am really starting to think that this MLL rise is not something that Panasonic can easily fix especially because the 2010 models will be doing it too.
In 2011, Panasonic will reportedly be releasing displays that will truely exceed the Pioneer Kuro's on all levels.
I guess we all have to stay tuned

 

[inmypjs]

So are they going to call it the Panasonic KURO?

I hope it looks like the Kuro too, simple bezel, elegant and sleek. Panasonic makes the ugliest TVs with that lip in the bottom that they will not get rid off (and is still existent in their top of the line VT20) which makes the TV look cheap. And also get rid of that piano black finish! Matte black should be the new black.