Free remote control app
The free Viera Remote 2 app, available for iOS and Android devices, is one of the better companion apps out there and well worth a download. Alongside the usual remote control features it also includes handy extras like the ability to use your phone’s keyboard instead of the on-screen TV one for quicker text input and internet browsing.
Panasonic TX-L50E6B
Most interesting, though, is the Swipe and Share feature, which lets you share content between your phone and TV. It works well, taking just a few seconds from ‘throwing’ a video from our iPhone to watching it play on the TV.
It’s a great, simple way to show off your mobile and tablet pictures and videos on a bigger screen, too.
Picture and sound quality
It’s unusual that Panasonic has decided to omit 3D from the L50E6B’s feature list. It seems a strange omission at this price, and leaves it a step behind its competitors in terms of features.
Of course, 3D isn’t for everyone, and there are plenty that won’t miss it as long as the 2D picture is up to scratch. Luckily, Panasonic has done a great job here, with a Blu-ray of the colourful Toy Story 3 appearing bright and detailed.
Edges are well defined and colours look natural, accurate and deep. Blacks are commendable too, particularly for an LCD set: they reach right down to inky depths for dark scenes, yet still keep a strong hold on shadow detail.
Panasonic TX-L50E6B
Contrast is good, and those dark blacks don’t suffer alongside much brighter elements. We did notice a little backlight inconsistency in our review sample (evident when the screen was blank), but that didn’t affect our viewing whatsoever – even in the darkest of scenes.
Motion doesn’t fluster the Panasonic either. The L50E6B copes just as well with slow-panning landscape shots as it does with fast action, and we noticed next to no judder or instability during testing. It was a smooth and enjoyable watch throughout.
The Panasonic’s Achilles’ heel is its sound. We’ve come to expect very little from the audio in skinny sets, but this year has brought with it some pretty big strides in that area. The L50E6B’s thin and unconvincing sound is a step backwards from that. If you want decent audio, a soundbar at the very least should feature on your shopping list.
Характеристики
32 дюйма, Freeview HD, 1,920×1,080, 3D: нет, 3x HDMI
В этом обзоре мы протестировали 32-дюймовую модель в диапазоне E6B, но она также доступна в экранах размером 39 дюймов (TX-L39E6B), 42 дюймов (TX-L42E6B) и 50 дюймов (TX-L50E6B). Все модели имеют идентичные характеристики, за исключением их размеров и энергопотребления. Мы уверены, что качество изображения будет практически одинаковым во всем диапазоне.
TX-L32E6B — первый телевизор Panasonic 2013 года, который мы протестировали, и мы не могли дождаться его использования. Несмотря на то, что это набор начального уровня, такие модели, как TX-L32E6B, всегда являются хорошим показателем того, чего ожидать от остальной части диапазона. Это, безусловно, произвело большое первое впечатление благодаря радикально переработанному интерфейсу Smart TV, интегрированному Wi-Fi и всем функциям, которые мы привыкли ожидать от более дорогих телевизоров.
Как только вы включите его, вас приветствует новый интерфейс «Мой домашний экран», который сочетает в себе прямую трансляцию из встроенного HD-тюнера Freeview с телепрограммой «Сейчас и дальше», а также приложения, виджеты и ярлыки для ваших наиболее регулярно. используемые функции Smart TV. Каждый из них можно поменять местами, переместить или удалить, если он вам не нужен, что означает, что у вас может быть один экран, предназначенный для просмотра ТВ-передач и фильмов, другой для ваших встреч в календаре и третий для просмотра веб-страниц.
BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Netflix, AceTrax и DailyMotion — все они включены, и их легко запускать и использовать. Он имеет полноценный веб-браузер, а также интеграцию с Facebook и Twitter. Он также имеет Skype для видеозвонков, при условии, что у вас есть дополнительная камера Panasonic Skype (TY-CC20W, £ 90 от Currys) для использования. Текст и изображения очень точные, и все кажется невероятно отзывчивым благодаря TX-L32E6B, позволяющему быстро и плавно переключаться между экранами. У него невероятно хорошо продуманный пользовательский интерфейс, картинка-в-картинке практически на каждой странице, и его должно быть достаточно легко понять и использовать. Конечно, если вы просто хотите включить телевизор и избежать всех новых гаджетов, это тоже вариант.
Пульты дистанционного управления Panasonic очень четко обозначены, хотя модель с подсветкой здесь отсутствует
Сам набор выполнен в серебре, с использованием матового пластика с эффектом металла. Безель толщиной менее сантиметра с дополнительной прозрачной пластиковой накладкой по нижнему краю. Это удивительно стильно, учитывая используемые материалы, создавая впечатление более дорогого набора. Соответствующая серебряная основа является прочной и устойчивой, но она не позволяет наклонять или поворачивать экран.
Удобно, что на задней панели устройства имеется много входов, в том числе три порта HDMI, компонентный вход и вход SCART, цифровые оптические и аналоговые аудиовходы RCA, Ethernet, слот Common Interface и антенный вход Freeview HD. Есть также два USB-порта, которые можно использовать для воспроизведения мультимедийных файлов, таких как видео, музыка и фотографии. Мы также смогли воспроизвести большинство наших тестовых видео, за исключением собственных файлов DivX и MOV, которые не были распознаны.
Все порты, которые вам понадобятся, но вам может потребоваться 90-градусный кабель HDMI под углом, если вы хотите установить устройство на стену
Неудивительно, что встроенные стереодинамики звучат отчетливо средне. Внутри тонкого шасси нет места, которое в самом толстом месте составляет всего 5 см, для чего-то более мощного, но, по крайней мере, речь звучала четко и достаточно громко для комнаты малого и среднего размера. Тем не менее, существует реальный недостаток басов, и звуки очень высоких частот начинают искажаться, когда вы увеличиваете громкость еще на 70 процентов от ее максимальной мощности.
Panasonic TX-L50E6B: Design and Features
Considering it’s a relatively low-end TV by Panasonic standards, with an approachable £790 price, the L50E6B is a pretty attractive TV. For starters its frame is extremely slim, barely 1cm wide across its top and sides, and only expanding a little along the bottom.
Connectivity is solid, with highlights of three HDMIs, two USBs and both LAN and integrated Wi-Fi for accessing Panasonic’s Viera Connect online service. A fourth HDMI would have been appreciated, but we guess what’s on offer will satisfy most of the relatively mainstream users likely to have the L50E6B on their radar.
Viera Connect is a fair online platform. It’s attractively presented for the most part, especially when you’re exploring it through Panasonic’s inspired My Home Screen interface (which we’ll come back to in a minute), and content levels generally are quite high. However, this content does not include as many video streaming/catch up services as we’d like, given that these are by far the most important features on any online TV platform.
The My Home Screen interface Panasonic introduced for its current TV range is excellent, making it easy to quickly get to the content you most like by allowing you and other members of your family to build – very straightforwardly – personalised home hubs containing icon-based access to only the services you want to populate it with.
There’s also an impressive degree of feature and control support via the Panasonic TV Remote 2 app (available for both iOS and Android devices), including the facility to share what’s showing on the TV with your smart device’s screen.
For a full exploration of My Home Screen and Viera Connect, check out our dedicated feature.
The L50E6B’s screen is, of course, a full HD one. However, it’s only got 100Hz processing to help motion out rather than the much higher ‘Hz’ figures quoted by models higher up Panasonic’s current range.
It’s also the most expensive TV in Panasonic’s current range not to support 3D playback. Though given the apparent lack of interest in 3D from Joe Public we could imagine the L50E6B’s lack of 3D actually looking like a strength to some people. Especially as dispensing with the third dimension has doubtless helped Panasonic keep the L50E6B’s price down.
Picture adjustments include a backlight setting, a series of themed and reasonably helpful picture presets, a Vivid Colour colour booster, an adaptive backlight control with which the TV self-adjusts its luminance according to an ongoing analysis of the image content, and separate standard and MPEG noise reduction circuits.
There’s no proper colour or white balance management though, which is doubtless why the set doesn’t join others in Panasonic’s range in being endorsed by the Imaging Science Foundation pro calibration group.
Features
The decision not to include 3D in the spec seems logical from a pricing perspective, because adding it would require a different panel along with faster processing.
Manufacturers may finally be admitting that 3D is no longer the draw they predicted it would be. Even if you do want 3D on a Panasonic screen you have to be prepared to go passive rather than active.
Other areas of the Panasonic TX-L50E6B’s specifications that may cause concern are the basic 100Hz (plus backlight blinking) refresh rate, the absence of a Hexa (dual-core) processing engine and 24p Blu-ray playback, the non-Clear Pro filter, the lack of ISFF calibration modes and an inability to use a USB connected hard disk as a PVR.
Voice control, which appears on more expensive models, is probably not worth sweating over, being often as effective as a megaphone in a vacuum.
In two areas the Panasonic TX-L50E6B’s spec is happily almost on a par with most of the screens above it. The slimline design looks terrifically classy, using the ‘super narrow’ bezel that, seen from the front, is just 5mm (0.2 inches) wide.
The glass of the nicely non-reflective screen masks the 5mm-wide black border that appears when the screen is switched on, helping to boost contrast at the edges. Along the bottom edge is a translucent, slightly curved plastic strip that offsets the screen’s square edges.
Another area of near-parity between the Panasonic TX-L50E6B and its otherwise better equipped siblings is in terms of its smartness. The screen features a customisable home screen, a web browser, built-in wireless networking and access to the HTML5-compatible Viera Connect smart TV portal.
Finally, connectivity is also almost identical, with the standard Viera provision of three HDMIs, plus there are two USBs, headphones, optical audio out and an Ethernet port, and the usual legacy analogue fayre.
The handy Panasonic SD card bonus is absent. Note that the HDMIs are all rear-facing, which is fine for stand mounting but does limit how close you can fix the screen to a wall — depending on the thickness and stiffness of your HDMI cables.
Naturally, a standard remote control handset is supplied, but the Panasonic TX-L50E6B can also be operated using Panasonic’s revamped smartphone and tablet app, including the clever Swipe and Share feature that enables you to send pics and videos from your portable device to the TV or stream content in the opposite direction (from a USB drive), without even turning the TV on.
Second screen viewing is not available, partly because the TV only has one tuner.
Features and connections
Better thought out is Panasonic’s smart TV offering, which is one of the best we’ve seen from a manufacturer this year. The innovative My Home Screen layout is easy to use, and its customisation options are a nice touch, but you get just Netflix and BBC iPlayer for movies and TV catch-up.
It could do with a few more big-name apps to rival Samsung’s class-leading Smart Hub.
Set-up is a breeze thanks to Panasonic’s simple menus. They’re responsive, too: there’s never any waiting around wondering if you’d clicked something or not.
Panasonic TX-L50E6B
Broadcast TV is catered for via the Freeview HD tuner, but there’s no Freesat tuner included as on some other Panasonic sets.
Other connections include a Scart connector, an optical digital output, component and composite video inputs, a headphone jack and two USB ports, not to mention an ethernet port for wired internet connections.
Wi-fi is built-in too, so your TV doesn’t need to be near your router to access online services. You’ll also be able to take advantage of easy content sharing between compatible devices on the same network.
Panasonic L50E6B: Set Up
The L50E6B is pretty much a no-brainer to get up and running. Its onscreen guidance to initial installation is first class, and even extends to an interactive tutorial on the new My Home Screen interface that should awaken even the most technophobic users to the potential the system has to offer.
The lack of ‘heavy duty’ picture adjustments also means you only really have to worry about what noise reduction, backlight, contrast and adaptive backlight settings to go for. Based on our time with the screen the main things we’d suggest are that you keep the noise reduction options completely off for HD content, that you use the adaptive backlight feature on its low setting for movie viewing, that you set the backlight down to around its mid point for dark room viewing and around 70 for bright room viewing, and that contrast sits somewhere in the mid-80s.
How we test televisions
We test every TV we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Used as the main TV for the review period
Tested for more than a week
Tested using industry calibrated tools, discs and with real world use
Tested with broadcast content (HD/SD), video streams and demo discs