56 PANASONIC TX-37LZD85 1,100 Approx www.panasonic.co.uk
Slick and sizeable, Panasonics latest 37in LCD comes with IPS Alpha panel technology
HOME CINEMA CHOICE JUNE 2008

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Panasonic enters 100Hz territory
With Motion Picture Pro2, Panny has added 100Hz processing to its top-end LCD TV. Rik Henderson discovers if its worth the fuss
he general public seem to be pocketing 32in LCD TVs like theyre going out of fashion. The thing is, they are. Its 37in models that are the new, er, black. Piano black! The rise in popularity of the 37in LCD TV is rapid. Its a big atscreen; cinematic yet generally affordable. Its certainly big enough for the majority of the UKs living rooms, and allows those with less-than Albert Hall-esque capacity to experience something more akin to home theatre. In short, 37 is a magic number for LCD manufacturers. Its also the girth that plasmaspecialist Panasonic feels is better served with LCD as a technology. While the company has previously served 37in-snafing TV buyers with plasma, thats now a prohibitively-expensive technology for screens below 42in. Theyre still able to manufacturer them, but such tellies cant remain competitively priced in comparison with their LCD peers. Hence the switch. And in many ways it matters little. The Full HD, 1080p24-capable, 37LZD85 is a cracking set. Mostly.
wondering what the differences between the two are Well, its 100Hz, basically. Motion Picture Pro2, the fancy name for the tech as employed here, is in evidence in this set and not on its sibling. In all other respects they are identical. Actually, theres one other disparity; price. So, is the frame-rate doubling picture processing worth the extra 100 (a pound per Hz)? That actually depends on what youll use the screen for. If youre a devout gamer or footy fan (or, like me, both) then youll probably turn the mode off so often its barely worth having in the rst place. Unfortunately, and this is a standard complaint with the technology involved, while Motion Picture
Product: 37in Full HD LCD TV with Panasonics Motion Picture Pro2 100Hz processing Position: At the top end of Pannys LCD range and just above the almost identically specced, but 100Hz-free 37LZD80 Peers: Toshiba 37Z3030D Philips 37PFL9732D Samsung LE37A656A
Pro2 undoubtedly reduces smearing and judder on fast movement, caveats
include the occasional doubling (or tripling) onscreen of a football, for example. And with HD games actually being rendered in real-time at 50-60Hz (as with the Xbox 360), it strikes me as lunacy introducing interpolated frames that neednt exist. But if youre more likely to spend your time viewing normal digital broadcasts, DVDs and HD movies, like a majority of people, then the system works a dream. A simple visual test of switching it on and off during movie playback, which I performed with the Blu-ray edition of Dragon Wars, illustrates
some of the benets. Theres a lot of fast action in that movie, and a hell of a lot of crisp-edged CGI effects. With the mode switched off, the fastest panning shots break up a touch and edges can smudge and shiver. The problems are less severe than with a vast majority of rival screens, but enabling the 100Hz option brings instant results; smoother motion and less stutter. More dramatic improvement, while using Panasonics proprietary version of the picture processing wizardry, is in evidence during regular television viewing, specically with channels or shows that use horizontally-scrolling text. Info channels, such as Sky Sports News, often employ a roller across the bottom of the screen, which is the arch enemy of LCD. Its renowned to twitch and convulse like a sack of cats, but not so with the processor working its pixie magic. This may even provide the justication to warrant the extra shekels.

Contrasting fortunes

Fancy frame rate-doubling aside, all other aspects of the picture quality are excellent. Ive seen slightly better, especially with the sharpness and eld of depth of high-denition images, but not at this price point. The dynamic contrast does a decent job of adapting levels on the y, (we measured contrast at 1,000:1 with the Dynamic system
JUNE 2008 HOME CINEMA CHOICE

Fast mover

This Panasonics picture props are partly due to another rising fad in the liquid crystal display business; 100Hz processing. Window shoppers may already know that Panasonic has a similarly-specced and designated screen, the LZD80, and may be

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58 REVIEWS

Specifications
HD Ready: YES Full HD with 1080p24 Progressive scan: YES NTSC and PAL Digital TV tuner: YES with CI slot Composite video: YES one on the side S-video: YES one on the side Scart: YES two, both RGB Component video: YES one at rear HDMI: YES three v1.3 inputs PC input: YES one VGA port on rear Headphone: YES one minijack Sound: 10W + 10W Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Contrast ratio (claimed): 10,000:1 (claimed with Dynamic Contrast Ratio) Brightness (claimed): N/A Dimensions (off stand): 943(w) x 606(h) x 108(d)mm Weight (with stand): 23kg Also features: IPS Alpha panel; 100Hz Motion Picture Pro2 processing; x.v.Colour; VIERA Link; SD card slot http: www.techradar.com/321347

Tech Labs

Sound of champions: Panasonics V-Audio technology creates an excellent surround effect
off), and colour delity is as strong as a Texan farmhand. The backlight does glow a bit when ambient light is low, spoiling the edges of black scenes a touch, but Im paid to nit-pick. Id be happy to have a 37LZD85 in my living room. For one thing, Id certainly be able to hook up all my equipment. Where some rival sets can seem a connectivity desert, this Panny, in comparison, is a socket-spattered Amazonian jungle. Its almost over-adorned with the regular jacks, ports and inputs, including three HDMIs that are v1.3 compliant. One of them is side-mounted, so you could end up with ugly cable trails, as are the only composite and S-video ins, but at least theyre handy for HD camcorder and games console hook-up. And theres an SD card slot, compatible with SDHC, to boot. Strangely, though, the one aspect of the entire TV that impresses me most is in audio representation, which is ironic as I rarely use anything other than a 5.1 setup for movies and gaming. But

some time. Theres even an option in the menu to set whether the walls are within 30cm away or not, so the TV can adjust to suit. Although theres no action in the rear, the front soundstage is wide and immersive. Video adjustability isnt quite so well-served. Indeed, a glance at the picture option screen will send tweak-aholics running. There are four picture presets, which include the useless (unless you live in a Comet showroom) Dynamic which makes everything seem so, well, garish and ne-ddling is restricted to standard fare; contrast, brightness, sharpness, colour, etc. It wouldve been nice if there were more advanced alternatives for proper calibration. The panel itself is an IPS Alpha design which translates to excellent off-axis viewing.
Pre-calibration colour temperature on this set was askew, due to excess Blue (118%) (Point A) and reduced Red (87%, Point B). There are no R/G/B levels, but Warm preset gave a slightly cool 6,218K. Contrast measured well Before calibration Colour temperature: 8005K RGB: 87/102/118 Luminance: 48.94fL Contrast ratio: 1508:1 After calibration Colour temperature: 6,218K (Warm) RGB: 108 97/100 Luminance: 44.32fL Contrast ratio: 1119:1

Crunch time

Personally, Im at an en pass as to whether the 100Hz mode is value for money. As a fervent football fan I can live without 100Hz processing even my favourite lm is Escape to Victory. And when Im not tuned into Argentinian soccer at 3am on a Tuesday night, Im probably playing Pro Evo 2008 on my Xbox 360. But Im denitely in a minority. Regular cinephiles will benet from having smoother motion on pictures, and an extra 100 is reasonable if youre already willing to invest a grand. Either way, youre getting a top TV

VERDICT

Panasonic TX-37LZD85 1,100 Approx Highs: Smooth, judder-less pictures; great surround sound effect Lows: Picture foible during sport and gaming (with 100Hz on); a little backlight bleed Performance: Design: Features:
Panasonic has invested a lot of money and time in designing and implementing this clever stereo speaker system and

it shows, (or sounds) V-Audio surround with BBE ViVA HD3D Sound may be far too many acronyms, but it provides the best pseudo-surround effect Ive heard from a two-channel telly in

Overall:

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