Panasonic TX-P42G20B 42-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p 600Hz Neo Plasma TV with Freeview HD and Freesat HD
Posted by Notcot on Jun 2, 2010 in Home Cinema & Video |
- Screen size 42″”
- V Audio Surround Sound System
- Tuner Type:Freesat HD / Freeview HD
- Smartext with EPG
- PANASONIC Thx Certified Display
Well Where do i start ?
Having owned this now for nearly a month i though i would share my impressions. When i initially set the tv up i was blown away at the difference between my old 37″ LCD and this, what struck me the most was that the colours were very natural and not over saturated, blacks were deep but retained detail and definition and motion tracking was very clear showing no signs of jittering or blurring moving images ( in particular football).
Well a month later and the G20 is still bringing a smile to my face. The TV has actually got better having been run in and the colours and black look fantastic, I use the THX mode for everything although it look a little dark during the day if you turn CATS on (Contrast Auto Tracking System) it automatically adjusts the contrast to make it brighter in daylight which help alot.
Freeview/Freesat HD:
I haven’t had the chance to test the Freeview HD as i am not in an area that supports this yet. However i have tried Freesat and i am very impressed. The G20 does an excellent job of up scaling the non HD channels and The HD channels are simply stunning watching football on ITV HD was brilliant with the pitch, shirts and crowd all rendered perfectly. I have also found that whilst using freesat you can connect to BBC iplayer which is a great feature.
Bluray/24p:
Watching Blurays on the G20 is a joy, it brings the picture to life with accurate colours and motion. With the tv supporting both THX & 24p it results in you watching the picture in the way the director intended you to. I would say that this is the G20s strongest point.
Gaming:
I have found no problems using the G20 for gaming and can happily report that i have witnessed no issues with Image Retention (IR). during the 1st week i refrained from long periods of gaming whilst the tv settled in, after that however i got stuck in to 3-4 hour sessions on Battlefield Bad Company 2 with no issues found at all. Response time I have found is alot better than my old LCD and i have not noticed any phosphor trailing.
Extra features.
-Youtube
Amongst the viera cast features is YouTube which i find great for when there is nothing on TV it gives you full access to youtube with either the full screen option or smaller screen option. entering txt is easy using the same idea as texting on a phone with the remote. the only thing i would like to have seen with the Youtube feature is the ability to view 720p content from Youtube, which at the moment isn’t possible.
-SD/ USB playback
As simple as plug and play with pictures the TV automatically rotates the pictures (landscape or portrait), when viewing videos via the usb the picture quality is very good and even the Mrs was impressed
Hard drive recording
- plug a hard drive in and it will enable you to pause/rewind/record live TV. Only downside i have noticed is that you cannot change channel whilst recording ( you can however change inputs)
Conclusion
I am extremely happy with this purchase having looked at alot of TVs at this price point I am not disappointed. Having being initially a little worried regarding reports of flickering, rising blacks etc I have noticed non of this. one thing i don’t notice but my girlfriend does however is a buzzing noise when you are about 1.5 m away from the TV but with normal viewing it doesn’t bother either of us.
I have given this 5 stars as I feel that it offers fantastic performance at a great price.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is the best TV in this price range and is likely to remain so until Panasonic release an updated model next year. I calibrated and reviewed one of these for a pro review site and was delighted with the final result. The NeoPDP panel means you’ll get blacks, motion clarity, and viewing angle that LCDs can’t touch, plus the THX picture preset means you can have good quality images straight out of the box without further setup. After a few days of heavy usage, the colour on the TV I reviewed measured almost exactly according to TV mastering standards and has remained so since.
Since you can buy Plasma TVs this good at this price, forget LCD and “LED” (LED TVs are LCD displays with a different means of illuminating the picture, they are not a brand new technology, so don’t be suckered into paying top dollar (top pound?) for one). This display completely smokes the contrast and black level (which are responsible for the “richness” of the picture), the colour accuracy, the viewing angle, and the motion clarity of any LCD. Furthermore, Panasonic’s Plasmas do not have any of the image retention problems that some of the cheaper brands do, so you don’t have to worry. If you’re scared of Plasma TV because you’ve been drip-fed scare stories by the kids at your local box-shifting electronics store, then frankly, get over it or miss out!
The Hard Drive PVR feature is also very cool – hook up a USB hard disk to the TV and you can set the TV up to record TV programmes onto it for later viewing. Consider the cost of PVRs on their own and then consider that this TV essentially has one built in…
Also, the TV supports Freesat HD and the brand new Freeview HD.
Rating: 5 / 5
Brought this to replace a nearly 6 year old Samsung 32′ LCD tv, which until I turned the Panasonic on, thought had great picture quality and would I really be able to determine the difference in image fidelity.
This TV really shows how things have improved.
I’m using it to watch Freeview, TalkTalk TV and blu-rays via PS3, and on every level this TV as exceeded my expectations.
I had intended to get an LED backlit model from Samsung or LG, but having seen how slim this model is (not as slim admitedly as the LED backlit models, but slimmer than my old LCD) I decided to take the plunge.
It really is fantastic, I see new depth, and visual clarity in everything this displays, regular TV, blu-rays, xbox games, everything looks fantasic. It makes me want to watch everything I’ve watched again!
I have only one complaint (in two parts) the programme guide does not contain a picture of what you where watching, and it has banner adverts in it, otherwise this TV is brilliant, I haven’t even talked about the online features, wireless, USB recording, dual Freeview HD and Freesat HD, etc.
final word: wow!
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought the 42 inch G20 after reading extensive reviews elsewhere and am absolutely thrilled .
Without boring you to death with all technical comment that is freely available on the net I just thought I would say that this set is superb.
Freeview SD is stunning. I watched saving private ryan last night and the depth of the picture is amazing.
I like plasma as its not in your face like LCD,or as sharp and colours seem more natural.
Blue ray is gobsmackin and even upscaled normal DVD’s like Lord of the Rings are amazing.
Sport in HD fabulous
Sound is OK though to get the best you need a designated AV system
One thing I do notice is that it chucks a lot of heat out, dont need a fire anymore.
All in all a great buy stop agonising and buy one
Rating: 5 / 5
I bought this product a month back and I must say I am more than impressed by the product and the value for money which this Panasonic is giving. In built HDD recorder, USB playback, Youtube etc makes it well worth the money.
The quality of freeview HD is stunning. It was a pleasure to see Harry Potter on ITV HD.
It comes with widgets and hopefully we should see some new ones coming out soon. BBC iPlayer and Skype would be on top of the list. I also wish it would by default play HD version of the Youtube videos rather than low quality versions.
Rating: 5 / 5