Pattern pending
A test pattern to assess motion resolution developed by the Advanced PDP Development Centre, featuring an ever-decreasing graticule grid, confirms this excellent performance. Scrolling horizontally at 6.5ppf (pixels per frame), image definition is clear to 1080 lines. There’s a small amount of picture fizz, but this is not identifiable in live footage.
All the usual suspects on the remote
Increasingly the speed of the pattern to 12.5ppf results in no loss of detail. A secondary test pattern, comprising scrolling Japanese and English text, remains clean and crisp at 100, 50 and 30 per cent brightness. You want a TV for sports? This is it.
I was also pleased to see THX certification for both 2D and 3D content. Certification boils down to a particularly well-judged picture preset which optimizes the panel for 2D movie watching, and some effective auto compensation when you don 3D glasses.
Preset options
Last year’s Panasonic plasmas were the screens to beat when it came to 3D, and this year their performance is looking even better. The spectre of 3D crosstalk has been reduced to the point where even classic double imaging test sequences fail to present problems. One reason for the lack of double images may well be down to the introduction of some newly developed fast switching phosphors.
Next page: Spec savers..?
COMMENTS
I have said it before and I'll say it again........
............without *any* glasses bundled this is in practice, sold as is, a *2D* TV - and a rather pricey 42 inch 2D telly at that. Fortunately we upgraded to a 55 in Sammy just before the producers started this shell game with 3D tellys. We won't in all likelihood upgrade again until they get OLED fixed - ie a genuine advance in display tech that is actually worth paying for.
EPG Ads?
That's the reason Panasonic are out of the reckoning for me...
Flicker = Fail?
Does it still flicker like a bitch? Could stand watching the last model for more than a few minutes.
Shame it still has the 50Hz bug
inherited from last year's models and still not fixed.
Lack of 3D glasses and ads on EPG
If I was British, the lack of glasses and ads in EPG would mean one thing to me: "Greedy UK management.".
If you won't bundle some cheap glasses, don't add 3d or add some 50 pounds to price and add them. These guys (whoever manages UK) makes Panasonic look like some el cheapo Taiwan no name manufacturer. Some hardware state of art which doesn't deserve it.
To that OLED fan: Plasma doesn't need OLED technology and it is affordable, even in such high end.
