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Can the extra dimension move plasma back into the home cinema spotlight? Steve May thinks so
Spex appeal: The 3D eyewear has a decidedly futuristic look

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Nothing fancy: Panasonic hasnt much changed the menu design of its AV products for years, and still favours a familiar boxy approach

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Tech Labs (TX-P50VT20)

Specifications

Test card

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Tech Labs (DMP-BDT300)
Cutting-edge: The DMPBDT300 is the most advanced BD player yet from Panasonic

Blu-ray 3D champ

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56 PANASONIC TX-P50GT30 Approx 1,800 www.panasonic.co.uk
Product: 50in plasma TV with built-in second-gen active 3D playback and extensive multimedia functionality Positioning: Mid-range with 42in and 46in GT30 models also available Peers: LG 47LW550T; Samsung UE46D7000
The GT30s NeoPlasma enhancement produces dynamic images that punch out of the screen
HOME CINEMA CHOICE AWARDS 2011

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REVIEWS 57

Keeping 3D active pays off
Panasonics debut second-generation 3D plasma TV reminds John Archer what all the active 3D fuss is about
anasonics new active shutter P50GT30 3DTV doesnt exactly get off to a great start you dont get even a single pair of (100 a pop) active spex with the TV. Compare this with the seven free glasses currently being given away with LGs passive 3D TVs, and you can see why some people might nd the latter technology attractive. But my mood quickly improves with the eye-catchingly slim design that feels like its been hewn from a single metal sheet. Whats more, by adding a metallic silver trim to both the inside and outside of the bezel, Panasonic has actually given its latest plasma TV some style. Blimey. The brand has also gone for broke with the sets connections. The four HDMIs should be enough for even the most forward thinking of AV systems, while multimedia fanatics will lap up the three USBs, D-Sub PC port, SD card slot, and LAN port, the latter being able to receive les from networked DLNA PCs. The USBs can take an optional wi- dongle, play back a wide range of photo, video and music les, or be used to record from the sets Freeview and Freesat HD tuners to most USB-powered hard-disk drives. The SD card slot can show photos from digital cameras, while the LAN slot also gives access to Panasonics new Viera Connect online portal. The apps count is bound to increase over time, since the portal is built using a cloud approach and with an open development platform.
Checking out the portals current content via its slightly unwieldy burrow down onscreen menu system reveals a solid, rather than inspired, suite of utilities. Highlights include: BBC iPlayer, Skype, the AceTrax movie purchase/rental platform, YouTube, and Eurosport.

Screen cred

Third-party endorsements seem to be increasingly important these days, and the P50GT30 has two: one from calibration guru the Imaging Science Foundation and another from THX. The former relates to the screen having plenty of video calibration tools, including passable colour management and middling gamma controls. The THX accreditation, meanwhile, points to simple quality, with the TV earning its THX seal of approval for both its 2D and 3D pictures. Theres also a THX picture preset that proves a ne default setting for HD movie viewing. For motion handling and stability, the P50GT30 combines 600Hz sub-eld drive technology and Panasonics Intelligent Frame Creation (IFC) system, which interpolates extra frames of image data to reduce judder. Last years equivalent GT20 plasma models delivered a great combination of value and performance, but the GT30s pictures instantly look far better. I was initially quite surprised by this. Partly because of how good the GT20s were for their money, and
partly because its a mid-range model rather than a agship one. But the more I looked into what might be behind the improvements, the more it became clear how much effort Panasonic has put into revamping its plasma technology for 2011. In fact, rather than squeezing all this NeoPlasma information in here, well be going into it in further detail in our next issue, so watch this space. There are two areas in particular where the P50GT30s pictures surge ahead of its predecessor: brightness and colour. Brightness levels are in a different league and colours look more vibrant and saturated, adding up to a picture thats much more dynamic and punchy. This does

Specifications

3D: YES Active shutter HD Ready: YES including 1080p/24 Tuner: YES Freeview HD and Freesat HD Component video: YES one input (rear) HDMI:YES four, including v1.4 options PC input: YES one D-Sub Resolution: 1920x1080p Sound: 20W Brightness: N/A Contrast ratio: 5million:1 Dimensions (off stand): 1,177(w) x 753(h) x 58(d)mm Weight: 25.5kg Also featuring: 600Hz; Viera Connect service; USB media playback (MP3, JPEG, HD video support included); Intelligent Frame Creation processing; NeoPlasma technology; DLNA support wi-fi dongle option; THX/ ISF; colour and gamma management; noise reduction
AWARDS 2011 HOME CINEMA CHOICE

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58 REVIEWS

Tech Labs

Power consumption: Watts

300 400
White screen: Defaults to a CATS mode, which uses a sensor to adjust brightness according to ambient light
Test footage: With volume maxed and CATS on, average consumption with a movie is good for 50in plasma

TV Contrast: Ratio

Claimed 5million:1 Actual 44,000:1 Picture: No way near the 5million:1 claim, but in THX mode with CATS on we measured 44,000:1. Switching CATS off lowered it to 8,000:1 with an increase in luminance

Colour accuracy

Good-looker: Panasonics 2011 plasmas feature an improved bezel design
much to counter the most familiar complaint raised against the brands plasma panels, namely that they look rather muted versus the aggressive images produced by most LCD TVs. The extra brightness and colour vibrancy also, of course, has a hugely positive impact on the P50GT30s 3D capabilities. For, where last year the GT20s 3D images lacked colour punch and lost considerable shadow detail in dark areas, the GT30s colours remain much more believable and eye-catching with Panasonics active shutter glasses installed on your nose. And dark areas appear much less hollow.

Black joy

Underlining the P50GT30s marked colour and brightness improvements is a further familiar plasma strength: an excellent black level response. Having deep, naturally toned black colours present in the same frame as bright, colourful elements without having to compromise the images overall brightness level (as you do with most CCFL LCD and edge-LED TVs) produces an extreme and consistent contrast range thats a joy to behold. Whats more, theres none of that nasty backlight inconsistency you can get with LCD TVs, especially the edge-lit ones.
Black levels hold up superbly when watched from a wide angle, too, contrary to our experience with the vast majority of LCD TVs. Colours, similarly, retain
their saturation levels over a much wider viewing angle than you get with LCD TVs. Yet more good news nds the P50GT30 delivering a stunning sense
of the sharpness and detail with both 2D and 3D images the latter fact providing a timely reminder of why active 3D was originally created. Finally, plasmas advantage over LCD when it comes to response times is also superbly evident in terms of the images almost total freedom from 3D crosstalk and complete lack of motion blur. Theres some judder at times, particularly when watching camera pans in 50Hz PAL material. But if this bothers you it can be addressed via the IFC system, which can be used on its Medium setting without generating too many unwanted side-effects. Joining the mostly stellar P50GT30 pictures is a satisfying audio effort. Theres not as much power and dynamic range as Id hoped for, especially at the bass end, but the soundstage is open and clear, with good treble detailing. Do I have any downers on the P50GT30s performance? Well, some LCD TVs, especially Samsungs, still deliver slightly more shadow detail with 3D, but only at the expense of more crosstalk. Also, Panasonics 3D glasses still remove considerable brightness from the picture and are probably the most uncomfortable ones Ieve used. Finally I spotted signs of image retention if I left a bright image element stationary on the screen for even just a few minutes although these issues should diminish over time, and can be removed easily via a provided screen wipe feature. But lets not get caught up on the negatives, because relative to the P50GT30s many and outstanding talents, the bad stuff doesnt amount to a hill of beans

Presets: In normal mode, both Warm and THX hit 6,000K. Courtesy of manual white-balance adjustment, 6500K is possible Cool: 9,400K Normal: 7,000K Warm: 6,000K THX: 6,000K

VERDICT

Panasonic TX-P50GT30 1,800 Approx Highs: Great build quality; stunning pictures with either 2D or 3D Lows: No 3D glasses included; minor image retention concerns; 3D pictures much less bright than 2D Performance: Design: Features:

Overall:

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