Review Rumour has it there’s some footie competition on the box right now that certain folk might want to watch in HD. If you’ve got a set with a DVB-T2 tuner you can view these all-important games on the BBC and ITV Freeview HD channels without having to shell out for an expensive subscription. However, most manufacturers have been holding back their T2 tuners for their more expensive sets, but Panasonic has resisted this temptation and shoved one inside the rather affordable Viera TX-L32S20B.

Panasonic's Viera TX-L32S20B with footie Freeview HD on-board

When it comes to design, Panasonic’s sets rarely stand out from the crowd apart from a few higher end models like the rather attractive TX-L32D28. Sadly, the TX-L32S20B doesn’t manage to rise above design mediocrity, but it’s not for want of trying, as Panasonic has added both a blue-ish hue that arcs across the bottom of the chassis and a pimply textured finish that runs around the main bezel. However, the impact of these touches are rather neutralised by the set’s overly angular shape and the downright chunkiness of its chassis, which is over 80mm deep.

Nevertheless, that chunky design means there’s plenty of room for ports and sockets on the side and rear, where three HDMI ports are joined by a set of component inputs and two Scart sockets. There’s also an optical output to allow you to send digital audio from the Freeview HD tuner to an external surround sound amp.

Although there’s an Ethernet port on the rear, it’s currently unused – although it may be used for IPTV updates to the Freeview service in the future – so you don’t get any support for Internet widgets or DNLA media streaming. This is disappointing, as similarly priced sets from the likes of LG now come with these features as standard. And while the TX-L32S20B does have an SD card slot on the side, this can only be used for viewing JPG pictures and AVCHD/SD video files, so it isn’t all that useful.

At least setting up the TV is a breeze and the HD channels are automatically tuned alongside the standard definition ones, as long as HD broadcasts are currently available in your area – you can check for this here.

Alas, the Ethernet port is left unused

Using the set in East London I had no problems getting strong reception on both the standard and high definition channels and was impressed by the picture quality of the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 HD broadcasts on Freeview, as they compare favourably to their Freesat HD counterparts.

Unfortunately, like other sets in the Panasonic range, the TX-L32S20B uses the Guideplus+ EPG rather than the standard Freeview one. This rather annoyingly shows web-style advertisements on the main EPG screen alongside the programming info. That said, at least the EPG is easy to navigate using the chunky remote control and it also has a decent search option to help you find upcoming shows and movies.

Adverts on the EPG are as welcome as a poke in the eye

So far, so average, but where the TX-L32S20B rises above the competition is in the picture department. It uses one of Panasonic’s IPS-Alpha panels so it has a wider than normal viewing angle, which may come in handy when the family is crowding around in odd positions to the TV to check the latest goal-keeping calamity. Furthermore, this panel offers Full HD resolution to make the most of the onboard HD tuner.

It’s hardly surprising then that the TX-L32S20B looks most impressive when dealing with HD pictures. BBC HD from the onboard tuner looks fantastically sharp with impressive edge detail. And although the set’s picture tweaking options are a tad limited, it’s not such a big deal as the refreshingly natural looking picture presets show off the TX-L32S20B’s sophisticated touch with colours.

Skin tones look strikingly natural, and the colour palette is vivid without descending into the realms of garishness. Blacks are also impressively deep considering the fact the set uses standard, rather than LED backlighting.

Slap on a Blu-ray disc with fast motion and you’ll also find that its 100Hz engine does a good job of keeping motion looking impressively smooth. That said the 100Hz processing is best used on it’s mid and low settings, as the higher option is more intense and tends to add a slight shimmer to parts of the image in fast moving scenes.

Limited picture tweaking options compared to the higher end Viera models

What’s more, while cheaper sets usually do a poor job of upscaling SD Freeview channels, the TX-L32S20B’s V-real processing engine handles this job with aplomb. Edges are sharpened nicely to add the illusion of extra detail without introducing much in the way of extra noise.

Unfortunately, audio performance isn’t quite as refined as picture quality. The S20B’s small 10W speakers aren’t able to muster up much in the way of bass, so set pieces in action movies tend to sound rather flat. That said, they are perfectly acceptable for more standard TV fare, such as news and soaps.

Worth shopping around for

And the TV is relatively kind on old Mother Earth too. In cinema mode it drew around 69W, while in the brighter and harder driving dynamic mode, it ran at around 102W, and on standby it used less than a watt.

Verdict

The Panasonic TX-L32S20B has a list price of £749, which is rather high for the range of features on offer. However, it can already be picked up for around £600 online and in larger stores and is likely to fall by another £50 - £100 once World Cup fever subsides, because that’s the subsidy manufactures are putting on sets with T2 tuners right now. At that price point it becomes worthy of serious consideration due to its excellent SD and HD performance. ®

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