Panasonic Smart VIERA TX-P42ST30B 42-inch Full HD 1080p 3D 600Hz Internet-Ready Plasma TV with Freeview HD

This is my first Panasonic TV (or 3D TV for that matter) and I've been very impressed with it. Having done a fair amount of research on 3D Tv's this seemed like an affordable option. This is the 2nd generation 3D Tv that Panasonic have come out with as far as I know and there are improvements - the first generation are VT20's or GL20's. The main difference as far as I am aware to the older versions are that Panasonic have developed technology to reduce crosstalk which occurs when you are viewing material in 3D and it's not looking quite like it should (each active pair of glasses basically show separate images to each eye making it seem as though something is in 3D but fails to happen properly during crosstalk).
This ST30 model is missing DNLA (which allows for easier and better networking with your other multimedia items in your household, and better looks from it's more expensive brothers GT30 and VT30. It also has faster-switching phosphors, reduced power consumption and a new screen filter.

Out of the box
When you get your brand new shiny 3d TV, the first thing you will need to do is attach the base stand to the actual TV. You can do this on your own but is a little tricky. There is a forked prong that fits into the base and you screw this in but make sure that you look for the black plastic cover before you attach it to the TV which was found separately at the bottom of the box with mine. The TV then slots onto the forks and you screw this on. The TV can then swivel on it's stand to about 35 degrees either way from straight ahead .Unlike the Panasonic flagship the ST does not come with any 3D glasses so you'll have to buy your own. I've got the Panasonic TY-ew3D2ME Rechargeable Active Shutter 3D Glasses for GT and VT Plasma Range - Medium which work perfectly.

Setting up
The initial auto set up attempts to connect to internet immediately so ensure you have either your ethernet cable in or alternatively you can connect wirelessley (i connected via ethernet cable so haven't tried wireless connection yet. After this the TV searches for analogue channels.

Looks
The TV looks good although those of you that like sleeker designs may want to view picture differences to the GL or VT versions which have more elegant frame but this didn't bother me. I found it odd that the 2d-3d conversion is only currently found on the remote control. Talking about the remote control it isn't particularly nice lookikng or sleek and has a very tacky silver plastic feel to it. This doesn't bother me again but those of you who are ultra image concious may want to avoid this model. There are 4 HDMI slots, a component connections, SD card slot for immediate viewing of pictures from your camera and USB connections for charging. I've still got to try connecting an external hard drive to see if I can record content and playback but I'm not sute if it's capable of this.
There is no PC connection but this doesn't bother me and I've heard that plasma tv's aren't great for pc use anyway.

Picture quality
The picture quality is very clear and bright with a little tweaking with contrast, brightness etc. The hd content really shines (we have virgin and may upgrade to ensure we get as much hd channels as possible now). We watched the original clash of the titans in hd and the quality was absolutely superb

Use
The default when turning on is analogue tv but you can change this to AV. As we have all our connections on AV channels , virgin hdmi, ps3 xbox360, apple tv.

3d use
As I mentioned earlier this version has better screen compared to 20 version which reduces cross talk when viewing 3d. Those who don't already know and haven't tested at their local Currys/pc world 2d-3d conversion just gives depth to the picture, so don't expect things to jump out at you as this will only happen with 3d specific content. Playing on my Xbox360 is reasonable using 2d-3d conversion- I tried Call of Duty black ops on the Xbox which was fantastic - in case you didn't know you can go to options and select to use Stereoscopic 3D. Some parts of menu are more obviously layered and gameplay is very good in 3D although you need to get used to the new perspective for aiming.. I watched 3d tron, Legend of the Guardians to test 3d properly which was just as good as 3d at the cinema. I've not tried 3d on ps3 gaming yet but there are titles out there that supprt 3d like revamped Batman Arkham Asylum. I updated my ps3 to view 3d bluray - do this by going into "display settings>video output settings" then set up the HDMI view and Voila, it should say that it now set up for 3D bluray movies.

Viera cast & online facilities
One thing that you should note about online facilities - don't expect too much. There are limited basic applications like facebook, flickr, basic games like chess, youtube, video online movies only via Acetrak (don't expect to be able to view regular web pages or LoveFilm) because there isn't anything like Safari or Internet explorer. Acetrak and one or two other apps are the only online video rental apps available which is disappointing. You'll have to join and prices are comparable to virgin on demand. If you have an alternative like apple tv like I do, I would advise you to stick to this. If you don't have any rental services like Sky or Virgin, Acetrax is a convenient alternative. Viera cast isn't great to navigate as there are 8 apps per page and no way of rearranging them which is frustrating as i just won't use some. It's in it's infant stage at the moment and I hope that Panasonic will take time to develop this area.

All in all this is a superb TV for the price and is packed with lots of great features. It does miss out on features that the GT or VT models have like DNLA networking etc but to me these aren't desperately needed. To some it may seem clunky but to me it looks stylish. It's very thin and the quality of image is brilliant whether on TV, Xbox360 or PS3. I'm really glad with it and that I didn't have to purchase another 3D bluray player as my PS3 was able to play 3D content with a software update and display setting tweak. Worth a look but do some extra review research.

UPDATE
I've recently tried connecting a hard drive directly to the TV via the USB port and you can perform slideshows of pictures to music (default music is Panasonic's own but you can choose a folder or file on the hard disc to play too). You can also play video content on your Hard disc directly although the file formats are limited (i've only successfully played H.264 format which is the format of video for Apple TV/Iphone/Ipod etc and didn't like .mov files)

The Panasonic P50ST30B Plasma Television is at face value a very nice piece of equipment. It had full 1080P high definition capability, displays full HD 3D, produces deep blacks, deep colour and very nice picture quality.

Unfortunately it also has two glaring problems that are so obviously unacceptable in a TV costing as much as this model does that I wonder how Panasonic have the nerve to even consider marketing the set.

The first of these is a sudden and highly distracting shift in brightness in certain scenes. Panasonics customer services department call it a feature, I call it a very obvious and totally unacceptable design flaw that makes the set virtually unwatchable. Imagine if you will an audio device that randomly alters the volume and how annoying that would be and you will have some understanding of how frustrating an apparent brightness shift would be on a video display.

The second issue which my ST30 has is random patches of green on some areas of the screen which are particularly visible on greyscale images. This is also visible in colour images, depending upon the colour of the image being displayed.

I am deeply disappointed with this TV set and would not recommend it to anybody until Panasonic UK have the decency to recognise the flaw in their product and takes steps to address the issue. Panasonic in the US are doing just that and are hoping to issue a firmware update. The same update is needed in the uk but I cannot see that happening when the company refuses to recognise the issue.

Stay well clear!

UPDATE: Panasonic UK are are now achnowledging that FBr is an issue are are collecting data from customers as well as investigating the issue at their factory. This is a great step forward and Panasonic UK deserve recognition for doing so.

UPDATE 2: Panasonic have now released a Firmware update 1217 which many people say solves the FBr issue that has plagued the ST, GT & VT sets. Kudos to Panasonic for taking the issue seriously and working to come up with a solution, Thank You!

I have both a LCD tv and this panasonic plasma! This plasma tv is better picture quality than the LCD because of its deep rich colours and amazing definition also this tv has amazing features. I was looking at this and the model above it but it wasnt worth paying around £300 for the model above that only has a few added features like freesat which i wont use and also dnla laptop connecting thingy. The only reason i dont advise this tv for a bedroom is that it can make a very,very slight buzzing from its internal power supply on standby and if ur in a bedroom it would drive me crazy(many might not hear it but my hearing is sensitive). Perfect for a lounge as you wont notice it there. Best tv i have ever bought, totally amazing. I bought mine from comet who are currently doing a deal on this tv for £500 with 2 free pairs of 3d glasses and a half price wifi dongle which is a MUST to have with this telly as the viera cast features with internet are great!!!! Highly recommend, i researched thouroughly before buying. Go to comet...