Panasonic tx-pr50vt50

Design and connections

The TX-P65V50 is a mammoth TV, and while it’s often difficult to make a screen this size look stylish, Panasonic has managed to achieve just that. A single sheet of glass covers the front, running from edge to edge and framed only by a strip of chrome that runs around the outer rim. As a result, the television looks very sophisticated and stylish. Bear in mind though that at 42.5kg it is very heavy, so you’re probably going to have to call in the experts if you want to wall-mount it.

There are four HDMI ports and three USB ports mounted on the left-hand edge.

This TV certainly isn’t found wanting when it comes to ports. On the left-hand edge you’ll find the four HDMI ports, and above these are three USB sockets along with an SD memory card reader. The remainder of the connections are all found on the rear and include RF and Satellite inputs for the Freeview HD and Freesat HD tuners, as well as an Ethernet port for the online services. However, as Wi-Fi is built in, you’re unlikely to need the Ethernet port at all. The rear panel also has mini jack inputs for component and Scart connections, which require the use of the supplied break out cables.

Digital media and Internet features

The other benefit of the dual-core processor is that apps seem to load slightly faster and are smoother to use, although the difference in this regard between Panasonic’s dual- and single-core processor TVs is hardly significant.

There’s a good range of smart apps, but it’s missing some big hitters such as Lovefilm.

The interface for the smart TV platform could do with a spruce up as it looks a bit blocky and there’s rather too much lag in the transitions between the different pages of apps. A 3D-style layout is used, with grids of apps stacked on top of on another. As you add more apps across multiple grids however, the stacks start to feel on the cumbersome side, and navigation between layers becomes tedious.

The TV packs a fairly exciting lineup of apps, including the likes of BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Daily Motion and Vimeo. There’s also support for movie services such as Acetrax and Netflix, as well as news and sports apps form the BBC. Naturally, Facebook and Twitter are all present and correct, and there’s even a joint app that overlays feeds from social networks onto whatever happens to be playing — so, for example, you can follow what people are saying while watching The X Factor. Nevertheless, it’s missing some big hitters that you’ll find on competitor’s Smart TV platforms such as Lovefilm, Demand 5 and ITV Player.

The TV also packs a full web browser, although it’s a bit torturous to navigate a website using the remote — even the touchpad one. If it seems like too much effort, you can always use Panasonic’s iPhone and Android apps to catch and throw web pages straight from a phone or tablet to the TV’s web browser — and Flash is supported, so it can play video on some websites.

Panasonic’s built-in media player has also been improved, so it will now happily play video formats like MKV and DivX either locally from USB drivers or by streaming them from a PC across a network.

Panasonic TX-P50VT65 – Design

The VT65 sets itself apart from the GT60 immediately thanks to its ‘one sheet of glass’ design that’s bound to turn heads.

The screen’s bezel is wider than the frames you’ll find wrapped around your average LCD TV these days, but surely this isn’t that big a deal to anyone who really cares about picture quality? Provided, of course, the Panasonic TX-P50VT65 delivers the picture quality we expect it to. Plus the extra bezel width has allowed Panasonic to build a pair of front-firing speakers into the frame, raising hopes of a superior audio performance.

Our examination of the exterior also uncovers a pop-up Skype camera tucked behind its upper edge – something not included on the GT60 series.

We expected the Panasonic TX-P50VT65’s connections go one better than those of the GT60 set by introducing a fourth HDMI, but it doesn’t. Three is adequate, we suppose, but we hope Panasonic reverts back to four HDMIs – at least – with its 2014 TVs.

2D picture quality

If there’s one thing you want a quality TV to get right, it’s picture quality and fortunately the TX-P65VT50 comes up trumps in this area. It actually takes a while to get accustomed to a screen this big, as its gargantuan dimensions give it a cinematic feel, but there’s a lot more to the pictures on this set than mere size.

The black levels are truly amazing, and are arguably the best of any TV on the market at the moment. As it uses plasma technology, the TV doesn’t suffer from problems associated with LED screens, such as backlight inconsistencies and haloing around bright objects. The black levels help to give pictures a richer feel with much sharper contrast, making movies a real pleasure to watch.

The VT50’s pictures are about as close to cinema as you’ll get from a TV.

While it doesn’t have the ultimate brightness levels of many LED models, the TX-P65VT50 is a good deal brighter than last year’s plasma screens from Panasonic. This in turn helps to give its colours some much-needed extra punch. The finer gradient control on this model over the ST50 and GT50 sets means that dimly lit scenes in movies are handled with more refinement too.

I’d expected standard-definition broadcasts on Freeview to look rougher than a builder’s hands, but the VT50’s picture processing actually does a very competent job of upscaling standard-definition material. The better-quality channels on Freeview actually look perfectly watchable at this screen size.

Things do begin to break up a bit if you try watching low-quality YouTube clips or the low bandwidth Freeview channels, but on the whole its upscaling is very impressive. Motion is handled beautifully too, and HD movies are so sharp you’ll need to be careful the pictures don’t slice your eyeballs.

Audio quality

Big, cinema-style pictures need big, powerful audio to accompany them, and luckily the TX-P65VT50 doesn’t disappoint in this area. Panasonic has added a mini subwoofer to the rear of the TV, which helps it to deliver fatter sounding bass that you could get from most flatscreen models. The distance between the two downward firing stereo speakers mounted on the bottom of the panel also helps to widen the stereo image, making it sound broader and more enveloping.

Hardcore movie fans are of course likely to twin a screen of this size with a surround sound system, but if you don’t want to splash out on extra kit, the built-in audio provided is more than meaty enough to allow you to enjoy even the most bombastic action movie soundtracks.

Panasonic TX-P50VT65 – Interface

A superbly detailed and comprehensive set-up routine introduces you to all the multimedia features the Panasonic TX-P50VT65 has to offer, with day-to-day interaction taking place through Panasonic’s remarkably friendly new myHome Screen interface. This delivers a trio of themed hub screens providing streamlined access to different types of content. Plus it lets you create with remarkable ease a series of your own home screens – one for each member of your family, perhaps – containing direct links to only your own favourite apps and content.

The flexibility and user-friendliness of myHome Screen really is a revelation, and as such provides many lessons other more inscrutable smart TV systems would do well to learn from. Read our full Panasonic My Home Screen smart TV review for our in-depth examination of Panasonic’s 2013 smart TV system.

3D picture quality

The VT50 comes with two pairs of Panasonic’s active specs. These have been redesigned and are a good deal smaller than the company’s previous eyewear. As a result they’re lighter and more comfortable to wear.

Panasonic has reduced the size of its active specs making them more comfortable to wear.

The general rule about 3D is that it’s more impressive the bigger the screen size — something which is borne out on the TX-P65VT50. The sheer scale of this model’s 3D pictures make them a joy to behold, but add in the fact that pictures look very crisp and sharp, and suffer from practically no crosstalk and you’ve got a cracking screen for watching 3D. In fact, the only slight downside is that its 3D images look a little bit darker than what you’d find on many LED TV sets.

Panasonic TX-P50VT65 – Features

When it comes to content, however, it could be better. The Panasonic TX-P50VT65 doesn’t support LoveFilm or Blinkbox, for instance, and the only catchup service carried is the BBC iPlayer. However, the interface is friendly, there’s a good selection of utility and gaming apps, and you do get both Netflix and Acetrax film and TV services, among other more minor platforms.

As for the touch pad remote, while we like the idea, the reality is rather spoiled by the fact that the pad section is too small, uses a circular shape not well matched to the rectangular shape of your TV screen, and doesn’t respond naturally to your finger movements.

This flawed touchpad is positively brilliant, though, when compared with the nonsensical Electronic Touch Pen feature you get with the Panasonic TX-P50VT65. This allows you to doodle away on the actual screen of your new TV with a provided electronic pen. But frankly we can think of no earthly – or at least non-puerile – reason for walking over to our TV and scraping away at its surface. So let’s just move swiftly on to something more interesting.

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

Характеристики

50 дюймов, аналоговый, Freeview HD, Freesat HD, разрешение 1,920×1,080, 3D: да, 4x HDMI

В этом обзоре мы протестировали 50-дюймовую модель в линейке VT50, но она также доступна в 55-дюймовом (TX-P55VT50) и 65-дюймовом (TX-P65VT50) размерах экрана. Все модели имеют идентичные характеристики, за исключением их размеров и энергопотребления. Мы уверены, что качество изображения будет практически одинаковым во всем диапазоне.

Как только мы вытащили монолитный VT50 из коробки, стало ясно, что компания старается произвести впечатление. Его минималистский черный ободок с контрастной серебристой отделкой является огромным обновлением по сравнению с предыдущими моделями и придает телевизору потрясающий, но простой вид. Сама панель покрыта антибликовым покрытием, которое Panasonic называет Infinite Black Ultra. Это делает фантастическую работу по уменьшению отражения света, даже в ярко освещенной комнате. Мы смотрели на 50-дюймовый VT50, но у вас есть выбор модели 55 дюймов (TX-P55VT50, £ 3094) или 65 дюймов (TX-P65VT50, £ 4000), если вы предпочитаете дисплей большего размера.

Мы сразу заметили разницу во время наших тестов качества изображения. Съемка в стандартном разрешении выглядела разумно благодаря некоторому эффективному шумоподавлению, но контент с высоким разрешением был тем, где он действительно сиял. Детали цвета были невероятно яркими, даже в темных сценах, где мы всегда могли выделить мелкие детали. Даже когда остальная часть сцены была абсолютно черной, потери четкости никогда не было. Яркость все еще немного отстает от самых ярких ЖК-дисплеев, поэтому вам нужно смотреть при приглушенном освещении, чтобы получить абсолютно лучшее изображение, при этом VT50 — заметное улучшение по сравнению с прошлогодней моделью в нормальных условиях освещения.

3D-изображения были удивительно тусклее, чем 2D-изображения, но этого следует ожидать при использовании очков с активным затвором. Panasonic включает в себя два в коробке, каждая дополнительная пара стоит £ 51. Движение было плавным, и было очень мало признаков перекрестных помех, с эффектами глубины, действительно выпрыгивающими из экрана.

Его подключение ввода / вывода также отлично. Он имеет четыре HDMI-порта, фирменный SCART, компонентный и композитный адаптеры, цифровые и аналоговые аудиовыходы, Ethernet, три USB-порта, а также тюнеры Freeview HD и Freesat.

Он также имеет встроенный Wi-Fi, и вы можете транслировать контент с сетевого ПК или NAS с помощью DLNA. У нас не было проблем с воспроизведением всех наших тестовых файлов, включая файлы MKV и DivX. Вы также можете воспроизводить мультимедиа с подключенных USB-накопителей и превращать их в PVR для записи программ.

VIERA Connect — это еще одна причина, по которой ваш телевизор можно подключить к Интернету, поскольку он предоставляет широкий спектр услуг, связанных с Интернетом, от BBC iPlayer, YouTube, фильмов по запросу и инструментов социальных сетей, таких как Twitter и Facebook. У этого также есть веб-браузер. Просмотр веб-страниц с помощью пульта дистанционного управления может быть довольно сложным, поэтому компания Panasonic поставила второй пульт с сенсорной панелью вместе с традиционным контроллером. Это намного проще, всего с несколькими кнопками, но делает перемещение курсора по экрану намного более интуитивно понятным, чем с помощью клавиатуры.

VT50 — феноменальный телевизор, независимо от того, придерживаетесь ли вы готовые предустановки или не торопитесь, чтобы правильно откалибровать изображение. Его основным конкурентом является его собственная конюшня, потому что менее дорогой модельный ряд ST50 — Panasonic Viera TX-P42ST50B — это просто гораздо лучшая цена. Оба набора имеют почти идентичные функции и возможности подключения, с незначительными расцветами дизайна и несколькими продвинутыми режимами изображения, разделяющими их. Если деньги — не предмет, VT50 любого размера — фантастическая покупка, но набор ST50 — лучшая ценность в целом.

User interface and EPG

One thing is for certain when it comes to Panasonic’s TVs: you don’t buy them if you’re a fan of flashy menu systems. The menus are definitely the worst thing about the VT50, as its dated onscreen graphics look out of place on what is otherwise a very advanced TV. On the plus side, the simplicity of the menus does mean they’re easy to navigate, as the layout is very straightforward. Unlike on some of LG and Samsung’s sets, there aren’t multiple ways of accessing the same features.

The menu system looks dated compared to those on competitors’ TVs.

Panasonic has fortunately put some work into improving its EPG. The advert placeholders that muscled their way into the EPG on last year’s models have been removed, so there’s a tad more space on the screen for displaying upcoming programmes.

The presentation is still a let down though, as once again the text and graphics look very unsophisticated. It’s also lacking a live video window and doesn’t keep the sound running when you open the EPG, with the result that you quickly lose track of what’s going on in the show you’re watching whenever you check out the guide.

The TV comes with two remote controls. The standard zapper is attractive and thoughtfully designed. It’s reasonably large and has comfortably sized buttons that are intelligently laid out, so that all the key features are within easy reach of your thumb.

Panasonic has also added a second touchpad remote control. This is much less successful as a means of navigating the menus however, and I found it fiddly to use for all but the most basic tasks.