Panasonic Viera TX-P50VT30

Panasonic is busy updating its VT range of televisions, and today's VT30 is the successor to the five-star VT20 from last year.  The picture quality hasn't really changed much from one generation to the next: it's as impressive as ever in both 2D and 3D.  Instead, Panasonic has put a lot of work into improving the design of its 2011 collection.  The new look is very attractive, especially now that the frame has been slimmed from 9 cm on the VT20 to just 5 cm here.  Let's take a closer look.

Build Quality and Design

Like the VT20, the VT30 uses a Full NeoPDP plasma with Infinite Black Pro technology to ensure incredibly deep blacks.  Next up is 3D compatibility and a whole range of other features and tools, including four HDMI inputs, videoconferencing from Skype and an Internet connection using Ethernet or WiFi to access Panasonic's online services or content on your DLNA network.  There's also motion interpolation, THX 2D and 3D, a digital PVR and a media player that you can use via the USB port. 

The media player, though, isn't that much use, as it can't handle devices formatted using NTFS and not many video formats are supported either.  An external media centre would be a much better choice.



Our prayers have been answered: Panasonic has finally given the VT30 a new remote with backlit buttons.  It's wrapped in a thin layer of silicon, which keeps greasy fingerprints at bay.  Things aren't quite perfect though.  The button that turns on the backlighting is in a very awkward place, for instance, hidden below the 'Menu' button, making it hard to find with the lights turned off—exactly when you'd want to use it!




The power adaptor on last year's VT20 made an an annoying sound, and it got louder the brighter the picture on screen.  The problem has largely been solved with lighter scenes on the VT30, but if you mute the sound, you can still hear a quiet hum if you listen carefully.

Image Quality: 2D

You need to make a few adjustments to get a perfect picture.  By default, things are set up to offer an eye-catching display, but it's an entirely unrealistic representation with poor colour reproduction, uneven gamma and a strong blue tinge.

There are two options: THX mode or Professional mode.  With the former, the picture is brighter with 111 cd/m² on a test card made up of 35% white and 159 cd/m² with 1% white, producing a contrast ratio of 6310:1.  The downside is worse gamma (an average of 1.9), which makes a greyscale gradient look too light.  All said, the image quality in 2D is absolutely excellent.

Colour reproduction is accurate with a deltaE of 3.1, meaning the remaining discrepancies are invisible to the naked eye.


Professional mode, on the other hand, is more suited to viewers looking for a Home Cinema experience.  The gamma is better, even if it's still not quite perfect, and the deltaE is lower still at just 2.0.  The downside here is that the contrast ratio falls to 4864:1.  That sounds like a huge drop, but it's hardly problematic as it's invisible to the naked eye.

The traditional problem with plasma TVs is that the image can look a little dark, especially if you're using them in an ordinary, well-lit room.  The viewing angles, though, are very wide and the picture looks great from any direction.

The IFC motion interpolation isn't perfect, and although fast-moving objects look smooth, they're sometimes trailed by visual artefacts.  It's a big problem for some viewers, so it's up to you to decide whether or not to use it.

Ghosting and Input Lag

Responsiveness
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The plasma display is so responsive that there's no trace of ghosting.  We measured a ghosting time of 8.5 ms, making it one of the fastest in our TV tests so far.

The VT30's input lag leaves it just 33 ms, or two frames, behind a CRT monitor, meaning it will suit gamers.

Image Quality: 3D

No doubt conscious of the fact that there isn't much native 3D content out there at the moment, Panasonic has included on-the-fly 2D-to-3D conversion.  Unfortunately, though, the 3D effect is hardly impressive, even when you can see it.  Only a couple of objects appear to be slightly further forward than the background, and given the benefits, it's hardly worth it: we'd stick with real 3D content.

If you do, then the VT30 produces great results: things come flying out of these screen and you get a real sense of depth of field.  And because the plasma display is so responsive and the 3D mode has a 100 Hz refresh rate, there's virtually no sign of crosstalk, the problem of interference between the video streams for the left and right eye.

Here's what you see through the 3D glasses, with the Panasonic VT230 above and the Samsung D8000 below:



We're glad to see that you get two pairs of 3D glasses, but if you want enough for the whole family, you'll have to shell out for a few more.  The good news is that Panasonic makes 3D glasses in three different sizes: large, medium, and kids, but the bad news is that they're more expensive than some of its rivals'...  We can't wait for the prices to fall!

Audio Quality

Not many TVs come with good quality speakers, but the VT30 is one of the select band that does.  The audio it produces is noticeably better than on the majority of models we test, although it won't, of course, replace a dedicated Home Cinema solution like sound bar or a set of 5.1 speakers.

Energy Consumption

Panasonic was keen to boast that the energy consumption of its 2011 plasma TVs has fallen dramatically.  Things haven't changed much on standby, with consumption of just 0.1 W.  On the other hand, the VT30 uses just 235 W while switched on, a reduction of around 30% compared to last year.  That's a big improvement, but it's still higher than the consumption of equivalently-sized LCD TVs.  For comparison, the 55'' version of the Samsung D8000 uses just 112 W.