- SIZE : 42"
- RELEASED : APRIL 2011
- REPLACES : TXP42GT20
- MODEL UP : TXP42VT30
- MODEL DOWN: TXP42E30
- TYPE: NEO PLASMA
- OTHER SIZES IN RANGE : 46" 50" 65"
I have had a couple of weeks to play with the new mid-range offering from panasonic and I have to admit (I seem to say this every year) it is one of the best sets I have ever seen. Pana have decided to engineer plasma to be as thin, if not thinner, than LED televisions from competitors brands. That is why Panasonic describe their new screens "NEO" as in "NEW". They have realised Plasma technology is tarnished as being old, inefficient and unreliable - all of which is far from the reality.
So when I opened the box I was so taken aback by the thinness of the thing I checked the model number in case they had sent an LED in the wrong box. After confirming it was a plasma I had a look at the back for port placement and I am happy to report that for the first time Pana have tucked the ports and inputs into the panel in such a way that connected leads will not poke out the back and ruin a slim wall mount situation. The SCART input has gone in favour of a breakout lead similar to the Samsung method in case you have any SCART items that you want to connect.
There is pleanty there to connect with 4 1.4 High speed hdmi inputs with one sporting the handy ARC feature for your home cinema sound systems. There are two usb connections on the side that you can connect a wireless dongle to or an external hard drive for recording & Playback.
The TXP42GT30 has both FreeviewHD and FreesatHD tuner built in. You can record from either of these tuners onto a usb storage device is you want to. The set will lock its tuner to the channel when recording and you cant flick to the other tuner either - this feature is therefore only helpful if you are going out and want to record something. The set uses propriatory formatting and once the hard drive is formated to the television you cant just unplug it and plug it in to something else as it will need reformatting. Interestingly the drive wont work in an identical Panasonic set as the drive is marked with a unique ID that works with the original set only. Pictures on both the tuners are detailed and rich with colour, although freesat boasts a better bit rate than freeview the difference is not at all noticable.
The image is smooth on broadcast material without looking unrealistic, with 24p bluray/media player things get seriously sharp and move beautifully. There is no sign of halo blur that the new breed of interpolation methods have introduced in recent years. Clearly Panasonic have been investing as much on their processor work as they have on the plasma panel design and responce, the interpolation tech called intelligent frame creation does the trick nicely.
Sound quality is pretty good as far as these sorts of products go, you can expect detailed mid and ear tingling high notes with a bit of bass albeit processed and unnatural. It gets the job done with speech audable even with music backed dramas like CSI. The leader of sound in flat panels is by far and away Philips hands down. You have to hear a philips to believe the thing so if sound is your priority and you dont want a home cinema system then look at one of those instead.
3D is here too you have to buy glasses at £130 per pair but its well worth it IMO. The g30 is the first set I have watched 3D on that actually looks 3D and not like my eyes are slightly crossed. Motion on 3d has been a bit crap really, no such issues here, lovely and smooth with no trailing artifacts on the dragon plunge scene with the avatar 3d bluray a neat feature this year is the ability to fine tune your sitting position and weather you want the 3d to pop out or you want the depth 3d style.
Ill add to this over the next week as im still messing with the settings
Pros
Cheap for what you get
Slim as an LED
Best Picture around right now
FreeviewHD and FreesatHD built in
600hz sub field looks lovely
6 Year guarantee in some stores
Cons
No 3D glasses thrown in
Sound is good, but bettered by Philips
First impressions are favourable - I would own one
