Product Face-Offs
Panasonic TH42PZ700E
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| Screen size | 42 inches (106 cm) | ||
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | ||
| HD compatibility (1080i/720p) | Oui / Oui | ||
| HD Ready certification | Oui | ||
| Brightness | NC | ||
 See all specifications | |||
| Contrast ratio | NC |
| Viewing angles (H+V) | NC |
| Response time | NC |
| Sound level | 2 x 15,5 W |
| Connectivity | 3 HDMI / 1 VGA / 1YUV / 3 Péritels... |
| Dimensions (LxHxW) | 1077 x 736 x 330 mm |
| Weight | NC |
 Hide specifications | |
Gregory Bleton
Test date: July 11, 2007
Test date: July 11, 2007
Some progress on burn-in?
Panasonic readily claims that burn-in is no longer an issue for its latest plasma screens. We therefore put this television through the rather extreme test of leaving it on the entire night with a DVD paused.
The morning after, burn-in was indeed present even two hours later in playing a movie.
However, according to Panasonic, this classic plasma defect can be avoided if we follow several basic but rather strict recommendations. Here is their advice: during the first hundred hours of use, adjust to a contrast of only 50 % and also avoid images with fixed logos (something easier said than done). Up until 1000 hours, steadily increase these parameters and after this time, if you have followed these directions, there is no risk of burning. Either way, according to Panasonic, the burning that may occur is never irreversible and you just have to activate the screen saver offered in the menu for it to go away (with a little patience).
Panasonic, one of the leaders on the plasma screen market, lent us one of its latest technological jewels, the TH42PZ700E, which is quite simply the first Full HD plasma television. This product has a never seen before resolution for this diagonal size and technology of 1920 x 1080 pixels for its 42 inches. With this new 10th generation panel the richness of colors promises to be impressive with a max of 68.7 billion in dark areas. As is usually the case for this technology response time isn’t given. The screen integrates several systems designed to improve images such as reduction of defects, automatic contrast control and video noise reduction.
As for connectivity, there are 3 HDMI version 1.2 inputs in addition to a VGA and YUV. The Japanese manufacturer has also added a socket for SD-HC cards on the front. This is a very good point which is generally overlooked by the competition. Finally, there is a digital television tuner.
What can we use this TV for?
When we unpacked the TV, our first surprise was to see the anti-reflection treatment has rendered the panel matte like an LCD (less experienced users might not know the difference). After this, SD sources, for example digital TV, produced rather good results despite a doubling of some edges of objects. Video noise wasn’t too noticeable despite the fact it’s a Full HD screen and this 42 inch did rather well without surpassing an LCD. With HD sources in 1080p, the image gained significantly in sharpness and contrast was slightly reinforced. Despite these improvements, tracking shots don’t display an overwhelming fluidity and we’ve seen better from Sony with its Motionflow.
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The most bothersome however, is the constant flickering regardless of the source. Eye strain started to affect us after an hour in a movie at 50 Hz. With 100 Hz, the situation improved noticeably without really attaining sufficient stability. Note that activation of 100 Hz on this TV, contrary to what happens with LCDs, doesn’t affect reactivity.
After realizing this, we connected the screen to a PC in 1920 x 1080 at 60Hz in order to test its use in the office and on the internet. Clearly this product wasn’t our favorite as readability is far from what can be found on LCDs. In addition, the flickering quickly tires the eyes, even if the total image is displayed without overscanA last word of caution here, if this newest generation plasma does accept signals with 1080 progressive lines (1080p), you will end up with a black screen if you connect, for example, a Playstation 3 in 24Hz.. Panel uniformity isn’t affected by any banding or clouding.
Fine tuning this television
Concerning color rendering, plasmas have the reputation of offering richer and more contrasted colors. With the colorimeter in hand, this is indeed what we measured as a classic LCD TV has a black of 0.30 cd/m² versus 0.17 cd/m² for the TH42PZ700E. Of course, this doesn’t mean color fidelity is good and here we perceived a strong blue dominance. With time and patience we were nevertheless able to correct this to have on our standard 18 colors an average of 4.1 versus a starting 9.6 with the following settings:
Translation: Luminosité=brightness, netteté=sharpness, Gestion de couleur=color control
The main innovation for Panasonic is that the gamut is wider than usual. It’s just too bad that this doesn’t carry over into gradations as nuances are rather ordinary.
The reactivity of this plasma can be compared to screens with a 2 ms response time, which means it is faster than average. As for viewing angles, they are indeed large from the front or the side.
One last practical point, the SD card player functions very well with JPEG images at reasonable resolutions (2 Mpixels max) and beyond this the file isn’t recognized. In terms of noise, this plasma isn’t immune with a slight “crackling” which however becomes inaudible beyond 3m.
The reactivity of this plasma can be compared to screens with a 2 ms response time, which means it is faster than average. As for viewing angles, they are indeed large from the front or the side.
One last practical point, the SD card player functions very well with JPEG images at reasonable resolutions (2 Mpixels max) and beyond this the file isn’t recognized. In terms of noise, this plasma isn’t immune with a slight “crackling” which however becomes inaudible beyond 3m.
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Rather good colors (after adjustment)
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Little video noise on SD sources
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Good depth of black (0.17cd/m²)
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Excellent reactivity compared to classic LCDs
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Complete connectivity with 3 HDMI and 1 SD port
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Twinkling too present whatever the source
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Lack of fluidity with HD sources
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Still a risk of burn-in
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PC use not recommended
This plasma saves itself with satisfactory colors and good depth in black. Unfortunately, its ever present flickering (in 50 or 100Hz) tires the eye and the burn-in can be bothersome.
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