Panasonic 3d Tv

[joz]

Last night I had the opportunity to get along to Panasonic's Gala 2010 unveiling at Jeff's Shed.

With some tasty nibbles and some of Yarra Valley's lovely reds on arrival I was quite happy.

After the initial mingling we were all escorted into a theatre of sorts where we were entertained. Here the MC kept things rolling.The stage was set up with a huge scaffold like the old "Celebrity Squares"show.Remember that?

Within each square was were dancers,a DJ and singer "Paris Wells" Although I havn't heard of her really before I was pleasantly surprised, she was very good.

A very clever light and projection display with the entertainers kept us amused.

Also because we are in Melbourne I suppose no major event is complete with a footy celebrity.

Enter Kevin Sheedy!

After about 10 mins of light hearted footy chit chat he left ( I wonder what guest appearance fee would be?).

Finally onto the exhibition, more yummy nibbles and more red.

Now I must say Panasonic really know how to put on a show and set up displays.

Each item that that they sell was set up beautifully to highlight their capabilities.

But at this show although everything was there my interest was the 3D TV's.

And boy they did not disappoint.

The styling of the new TVs is very closely link to the previous models and the family resemblance is still there.But this series is much nicer even if IMO they could have looked even better, the Pana styling leaves me a little underwhelmed.

But it was the 3D that we were all there to see and boy it works and works well!

The two demos I viewed were of Avatar BD movie and the game on X-Box.Actually I was surprised that the actual game is 3D capable straight out of the box already.

The game looked very very good indeed with both the 3D effect and motion handled very nicely.

But its was Avatar the movie that got my really drawn in.The 3D effect with the amazing depth of field was a winner.No it was not all about the cheesey Cummin at Ya SFX.This was all about supurb detail color and depth of field.Two big thumbs up from me here!

Anyhow those glasses.

Surprisingly easy to wear I thought.Pana is using the active variety which are powered by those 10c sized little battery things.I put the little buggers through some paces.I walked around the screen seing whether they still worked well of to the side, far enough that I could still just see the picture. Then turning my head 90deg to the side, well this is the way I watch tv most of the time and not sitting upright all prim and proper.

They passed my little tests with out loosing any performance (where's the thumbs up emoticon).

Anyhow as I gazed aroung the room to the other 3D tvs the glasses took just a split second to sinc into that TVs 3D transmission. Then as I turned to talk to someone the signal is broken and they become just normal glasses but as soon as I look at the TV again within a split second they refocus on the 3D and are ready.

Now it seems that these new 3D tvs will make even better 2D tvs with all the extra processing power behind them and also now that Pioneer have shut down their plasma manufacturing. Panasonic have picked up all the brians that were left stranded and wanting to keep their work going.

Oh and the latest 50" 3D Plasma will have a RRP of $3200.

Not sure where their big guys are going to be placed dollar wise, should be interesting.

Anyhow my experience last night was nothing short of being impressed.

But would I buy one?

Don't think I could ever go back to a tiny 50-60" after running a PJ.

Edited April 21, 2010 by the joz

[DR.ZOIDBERG]

I heard Pana was one of the best 3D TV's going around atm (well compared to Samsung) But was I would be worried about is playing video games on a Plasma, burn in would worry the hell out of me

[OakenShield1]

Interesting, thanks for the review, not as bad as I was initially led to believe...

I'm not worried in the slightest about burn in so it's anon-issue for me personally.

[KOAZ]

below is an interesting read:

http://www.channelnews.com.au/Display/Plasma/J4P8T4S3

[joz]

I forgot to add that the new panels have a barage of internet conectivity including Skype to keep up with the likes of Sammy and LG.It will keep the techies wanting all the bells and whisles quite happy.

Also new to these panels is the fact that they are much more energy efficient thus narrowing the gap between these and the LED/LCD brigade.Lots more stars.

[CCRider]

noted on the website that they have screen filters as well.

[Gester]

Thanks joz for the review! That's a good first impression. I just really am interested in how the Panasonic Plasma and the Samsung Plasma (Not LCD/LED) as it obvious that the Plasma's dont have the issues that the 3D LCD Samsungs currently have such as ghosting, blurring, poor viewing angles etc.

[DR.ZOIDBERG]

When playing Video games on these new plasmas, do they still suffer from burn in, if you leave it for awhile. Thats why I only own LCD but I am not up to date with my plasma knowlege

[Gialandon]

Just went to the panasonic webpage and did a compare between the VIErA TH-P50VT20A(3d tv) Vs VIErA TH-P50G10A:

A couple of things which struck me:

Native contrast is 40000 for both models

Dynamic contrast is 5mill for the 3d tv and 2mill for the G10.

Also no Teletext for the new 3d tv. Why? This is annoying, i do like to use the subtitle function in teletext occasionaly.

Dynamic contrast doesn't mean to much. Native contrast is the same, seems like won;t be much differance in quality. the screen is however smaller and lighter.

[Bubbear]

Also no Teletext for the new 3d tv. Why? This is annoying, i do like to use the subtitle function in teletext occasionaly.

Teletext is no more in OZ - shut down last year except for closed captioning - only needed on analogue broadcasts. Subtitles are a function of digital broadcasting - teletext not needed.

Bubbear

[Owen]

Just went to the panasonic webpage and did a compare between the VIErA TH-P50VT20A(3d tv) Vs VIErA TH-P50G10A:

A couple of things which struck me:

Native contrast is 40000 for both models

Dynamic contrast is 5mill for the 3d tv and 2mill for the G10.

Remember manufactures CR numbers are meaningless, you will get more like 6,000:1 when new and less than 3,000:1 after 1000 hours or so out of the Panasonics.

The dynamic contrast feature on the 2010 model Panas is known to cause visible problems and I’m not sure it can be disabled.

[Gialandon]

Remember manufactures CR numbers are meaningless, you will get more like 6,000:1 when new and less than 3,000:1 after 1000 hours or so out of the Panasonics.

The dynamic contrast feature on the 2010 model Panas is known to cause visible problems and I’m not sure it can be disabled.

Good point. I'd really like to know how much better the new panels are compared to last years . From the native contrast ratio, doesn't look like their is any improvement. I'm actually considering getting a new tv as my current samsung LCD is dying. Thankfully Samsung has given me a full refund, just in time for the new models. The question is wait for the new panies (live without tv for another month or so)? gor for the new samsung plasma's or buy last years pana models, probable the g10 or maybe v series.

[Ramskii]

Good point. I'd really like to know how much better the new panels are compared to last years . From the native contrast ratio, doesn't look like their is any improvement. I'm actually considering getting a new tv as my current samsung LCD is dying. Thankfully Samsung has given me a full refund, just in time for the new models. The question is wait for the new panies (live without tv for another month or so)? gor for the new samsung plasma's or buy last years pana models, probable the g10 or maybe v series.

Im in the same situation as you. Tossing up between waiting a few months for the 50V20 or VT20 or go with the current 50V10 which is going for a nice price atm. The V10 has that obvious rising black issue that could make me paranoid down the track which is the only reason i havent purchased it as yet. The V20 out in May though looks to be a disappointment with no THX and the removal of the glass sheet. Explains why its rrp is $2499. Decisions! Help me decide lol

[spalmills]

Anyhow my experience last night was nothing short of being impressed.

But would I buy one?

Don't think I could ever go back to a tiny 50-60" after running a PJ.

how many wines did you have again? Im not sure if i would be relying on someones impressions that may or may not have been distorted by alcohol consumption. Although maybe thats how some of the reviews are actually done these days

Just kidding to the original poster - or am i

[stunz]

Im in the same situation as you. Tossing up between waiting a few months for the 50V20 or VT20 or go with the current 50V10 which is going for a nice price atm. The V10 has that obvious rising black issue that could make me paranoid down the track which is the only reason i havent purchased it as yet. The V20 out in May though looks to be a disappointment with no THX and the removal of the glass sheet. Explains why its rrp is $2499. Decisions! Help me decide lol

I have a feeling we are in a large boat.

I too im deciding between 50V10 50V20 and 50VT20. I want to see actual retail pricings, and also whether panasonic will do another promotion before/after the new models go on sale..

The Glass panel front is very tempting and definitely a big missing feature on the new models..

[likwidsh0k1503561232]

I have a feeling we are in a large boat.

I too im deciding between 50V10 50V20 and 50VT20. I want to see actual retail pricings, and also whether panasonic will do another promotion before/after the new models go on sale..

The Glass panel front is very tempting and definitely a big missing feature on the new models..

We're gonna need a bigger boat

+1 on choices, promo and

glass panel - http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?s=&...t&p=1541125

[Tweet]

But why would anyone want to buy into a 3D TV right now when there is only 1 or 2 3D movies available if that ?

If this 3D technology ever gets a foothold it will be many years before any sizable catalogue of 3D movies will be available, and with the predictable markup. The hardware won't sell itself regardless of its capability, it needs to be user friendly and that means software, and as it stands at the moment there is precious little.

C.M

[andys]

But it was the 3D that we were all there to see and boy it works and works well!

The two demos I viewed were of Avatar BD movie and the game on X-Box.Actually I was surprised that the actual game is 3D capable straight out of the box already.

The game looked very very good indeed with both the 3D effect and motion handled very nicely.

But its was Avatar the movie that got my really drawn in.The 3D effect with the amazing depth of field was a winner.No it was not all about the cheesey Cummin at Ya SFX.This was all about supurb detail color and depth of field.Two big thumbs up from me here!

So where did they get a 3D BD of Avatar from?

Andys.

[stunz]

But why would anyone want to buy into a 3D TV right now when there is only 1 or 2 3D movies available if that ?

For me its got nothing to do with 3d TV. I couldnt care less if it had 3D or not. But if the 3D version is only a few hundred ($200-300) more then why not?

Even for 2D, the spec is still upgraded (barely) and it has a newer panel (so they say)

[Gialandon]

But why would anyone want to buy into a 3D TV right now when there is only 1 or 2 3D movies available if that ?

If this 3D technology ever gets a foothold it will be many years before any sizable catalogue of 3D movies will be available, and with the predictable markup. The hardware won't sell itself regardless of its capability, it needs to be user friendly and that means software, and as it stands at the moment there is precious little.

C.M

I have read some good things about the 2d to 3d conversion. I havn't actually seen any 3d tv's in store, plan to go have a look this weekend. Personally I don't want to buy a TV for another 6-7 years. Everytime I look at buying anything techno related I always seem to get caught in the hype. The last TV I purchased, I got caught up in the 1080p hype. How often do I watch 1080p movies? not often enough to justify the purchase, most of the things i watch are in 720p.

Would I do it again? probably. It's just good having the option and it does look cool when i do get a BD disk out on occasion.

[andys]

But why would anyone want to buy into a 3D TV right now when there is only 1 or 2 3D movies available if that ?

If this 3D technology ever gets a foothold it will be many years before any sizable catalogue of 3D movies will be available, and with the predictable markup. The hardware won't sell itself regardless of its capability, it needs to be user friendly and that means software, and as it stands at the moment there is precious little.

C.M

Because some brands do 2D to 3D conversion. (Panasoinc's don't). It's surprisingly very good and a great point of difference for those brands that do have it. While there's little content around, it's a great selling point for those other brands. If there was no 2D to 3D conversion there would be litttle point in purchasing a 3D tv right now. I'm kind of surprised Panasonic missed the boat on that one. I'm pretty sure you'll see this feature added to the Panasonics next year.

Andys.

[Fox]

Im in the same situation as you. Tossing up between waiting a few months for the 50V20 or VT20 or go with the current 50V10 which is going for a nice price atm. The V10 has that obvious rising black issue that could make me paranoid down the track which is the only reason i havent purchased it as yet. The V20 out in May though looks to be a disappointment with no THX and the removal of the glass sheet. Explains why its rrp is $2499. Decisions! Help me decide lol

I just purchased a V10.

Part of me was leaning towards waiting for the VT20, but at a $1,300 premium on what I got the V10 at, I think I've done the right thing.

I just couldn't go past that price for the V10 - it's not like it's old tech - the model only reached our shores about six months ago!

And, I thought that if I wait to check out the VT20, and then decide on the V10, I may miss out on stock.

If 3D takes off, and content explodes, I'll jump in a couple of years to a more mature implementation of the technology.

In terms of VieraCast, it's not on the Australian V10, but if you add a Pana Blu-ray Disk Recorder, it has it on there - or just grab a WD TV Live box and enjoy web content through that.

In terms of the rising blacks issue, I'm not worried - it's yet to be a proven issue in the Aussie sets, and the differential is yet to be measured.

Good luck whatever your choice is.

[pheggie]

Because some brands do 2D to 3D conversion. (Panasoinc's don't). It's surprisingly very good and a great point of difference for those brands that do have it. While there's little content around, it's a great selling point for those other brands. If there was no 2D to 3D conversion there would be litttle point in purchasing a 3D tv right now. I'm kind of surprised Panasonic missed the boat on that one. I'm pretty sure you'll see this feature added to the Panasonics next year.

Andys.

The 2d to 3d technology isn't owned by Samsung it's owned by DDD Panasonic could have bought it for a licensing fee, wonder if Sony will have it?

[andys]

The 2d to 3d technology isn't owned by Samsung it's owned by DDD Panasonic could have bought it for a licensing fee, wonder if Sony will have it?

Never said it was??? The Sony also does 2D to 3D conversion, though those who have seen it said the depth is very mild (in comparison to the Samsung). On the Samsung you have a slider (1-10) for the amount of depth you want to add. ("8" seems to be the sweet spot from what I've seen).

Andys.

[pheggie]

Never said it was??? The Sony also does 2D to 3D conversion, though those who have seen it said the depth is very mild (in comparison to the Samsung). On the Samsung you have a slider (1-10) for the amount of depth you want to add. ("8" seems to be the sweet spot from what I've seen).

Andys.

Thanks for that I was hoping it had a depth control. I ordered a 40" LED model entry level. $2497 yesterday. I'm a bit of a mug for anything 3d.