Panasonic TH37PX80 Review

37in Plasma

Picture
Sound
Features
Usability
Value

Possibly the best value plasma package at the time of writing.

HD Ready:

yes

Resolution:

1024 x 768

Rating:

93%

Reviewed: 23 March 2008

Design

First impressions indicate a more refined appearance for Panasonic's TH-37PX80. The build quality of this unit in particular, is markedly improved over its predecessor, the TH-37PX70.

With a slimmer profile, the TH-37PX80 feels much more compact than earlier generations of Panasonic plasmas, while subtle stylistic changes add to the screens appeal. A glossy finish and upward curve at the base of the screen confirm that this is a latest generation offering while still maintaining a conservative appearance that previous Panasonic owners will be happy with.

Features

Connectivity on the PX80 has been improved with an extra HDMI input, taking the total to 3. There is also a PC/vga input along with 2 Scarts and the usual Composite, Component and S-Video inputs. Unusual for an entry level panel, there is also an SD card slot which can, amongst other things, display your JPEG photos.

Screen: 37in 16:9

Tuner: Digital

Sound System: Nicam

Resolution: 1024 x 768

Contrast Ratio: 15,000:1

Other Features: V-real picture processing, Integrated Freeview.

Sockets: 3 HDMI, 2 SCART, Component Video, Composite Video, PC input.

Most notable, the TH-37PX80 now comes with 100Hz processing and contrast ratio is up to a claimed 15,000:1.

Of course, the TH-37PX80 still forms part of Panasonic's entry level range of new plasmas and as such features a 1024 x 768 resolution, rather than Full HD (1920 x 1080) of higher end Panasonic plasmas.

A new feature across the Viera range, 'Game Mode' has been designed to minimize time lag when displaying game images on screen. Synchronizing the game image to the player’s movements Panasonic say creates a more involving gaming experience.

The important part of the package, the panel itself comes in the shape of Panasonic's latest 11th generation of plasma screens, the G11.

Improvements in the performance of this latest plasma offering from Panasonic will be due in the main to the introduction of this new panel. There are no major advances to the V-Real Picture Processing Engine although it has been tweaked in a number of ways, and now sports a 16-bit processor.

Panasonic's impressive 'Viera Link' technology is present on the TH42PX80 and uses high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connections to automatically control similarly enabled devices using a single remote.

Performance

In judging the performance of the TH-37PX80 we placed it alongside its predecessor, the TH-37PX70 and what we consider to be the current benchmark for overall picture performance (around the 40in size category), Pioneer's PDP-428XD.

Immediately apparent was the improvement in black level performance displayed by the PX80. This is no mean achievement considering that the PX70 is a decent performer in this area. When you reach this level of performance in a screen there is no perceivable 'greyness' to the picture, and you need a benchmark such as the PDP-428XD to compare the richness of black levels. The Panasonic is very good in this respect, but what was immediately apparent was that the black levels on the Pioneer are just that little bit more deeper and richer than the Panasonic. Of course, you have to place its performance into context - it cost almost twice as much as the Panasonic.

Having heard that the TH-37PX80 would feature 100Hz processing, we were intrigued. We felt that 100Hz (which inserts an extra picture 'frame' taking the total up from 50 frames per second to 100fps) does improve fast motion action on some panels, Panasonic's TX-32LX70/700 LCD TV's being a case in point, but with the PX80 we are not so sure. We did not see a marked improvement in the TH-37PX80's ability to handle fast motion footage over the PX70. We feel that improvements to the TH-37PX80's performance are attributable much more to the combination of a new panel and subtle change to the V-real picture processing engine.

On the TH-37PX80 V-real 2 has evolved into V-real 3. Extra processing power with subtle improvements to the operation of all aspects of the technology combine to produce improvements in all areas of the TH-37PX80's picture performance.

As expected motion handling is one of the TH37PX80s strengths, with no evidence of smearing at anytime, even with the quickest movie action sequences or sporting action. Although we don't feel that improvements in this area from the PX70 are huge, general reduction of general 'noise' contributes to a more refined performance in this respect.

Extra processing power contributes to a superb colour performance from the on the TH-37PX80, with a level of accuracy and saturation that is class leading for a Plasma screen costing well under £1000. Colours appear deep and natural, and skin tones are always subtle and believable.

With Standard Definition (SD) the TH37PX80 suffers like all plasma and LCDs in that the technology was just not built for SD sources. The TH437PX80 is nevertheless one of the better SD performers, and we perceived the SD picture performance (by nature of a smaller screen size) to be a little better than the TH-42PX80. Sharpness and clarity generally remain intact even with fast motion sequences. The SD picture is not perfect, but easier to live with than most flat panels.

High Definition (HD) on the TH37PX80 is almost faultless, and for a screen in this price bracket this is quite an achievement. Worthy again of particular mention are the superb black levels and the greyscale graduation which seems to pick up every subtlety of shadowy scenes in any situation.

Conclusion

Available on-line for well under £1000 and with additional features over the PX70, the TH-37PX80 represents what is possibly the best value plasma package at the time of writing. Full HD models from Panasonic with the latest image processing technology are more accomplished, but the price to performance equation in this case is hard to beat.