Customer Reviews

Panasonic Smart VIERA TX-P42GT30B 42-inch Full HD 1080p 3D 600Hz Internet-Ready Plasma TV with Freeview HD and Freesat HD (Installation Recommended)

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I spent a long time researching TVs this year (as I do most years) - last year I had a P42G20, itself a good TV. Having read through various forums and their numerous threads as well as viewing nearly all the current £1000+ TVs in various shops (I am sure most of you know that the picture quality in retail outlets is not what you will see at home - the first question on the menu is if for home viewing or shop - make sure you press the home option!) If you can, find a shop that has a proper viewing room if you are unsure.

First impressions are the TV is visually stunning (probably a first for panasonic). The bezel having a silver inner surround I thought might be a problem with the TV on, but is not, so please don't be concerned as I initally was. I also like the way the surround fades from black to gun metal around the panasonic logo. The bezel inself is the thinnest panasonic have done (please be aware this is not like lcd/led sets which on some of the expensive Samsung TVs is only mm thick - however personally I like this look better). The thichness of the TV is very thin as well, about half last years models.

A very important note for plasma TVs is the "run in time", for this set it between 200 and 500 hours long to get to the optium picture and calibration (google avforums for information on calibration, which most people will never do, but will make your picture stunning). The picture will noticeably improve over this time (mine is not fully run in but is a huge improvement over "out of the box").

In the menu section the picture options I would leave initially on THX or True Cinema, prehaps a touch of adjustment on the brightness (up) - please note do not use dynamic or make the contrast or brightness to high for the first 200 hours to allow accurate pixel development.

For day time viewing the picture will not be as bright as lcd/led TVs and I would put the CATS option on as will will help compensate for bright rooms. If you need any further info on set up send me a email.

Now firstly the HD picture. My Tv is using the integrated Freesat (this is generally better than Freeview HD) which is stunning, I sit about 11 feet from my TV and now I have adjusted from 42 to 50 inch (so glad I did). The colours are amazing and watching the Belgium GP last weekend on BBC1HD there was no picture lag (sometimes a problem on 50Hz TVs - this is not a "true" 600 Hz TV, no such TVs exist) or pixel problems. Watching Football again there was only the smallest lag on the ball. If you compare this to any lcd/led tv they will not be able to match this performance - try for yourself in large retail outlet and get them to show you HD sport with an lcd/led next to a plasma and you will see. The best sport to watch is golf as the ball moves very fast and there are lots of greens to really test the TV. The black levels (again plasma is best) are as good in my opinion as the Pioneer Kuro G9 (arguablely the best TVs made - and they stopped making them 3 years ago as they did not make a profit even though they cost £2000 to £4000! - I have 2 friends with them so I know what they look like).

SD picture quality is OK - but on any 50 inch TV it is not going to be fantastic - fortunately BBC, ITV and CH4 now broadcast most new TV in HD (but not kids tv). The best way to watch SD TV is to record to PVR or Hard Disk Recorder which has an upscaler built it (most do) and the picture is better, a bit more video looking rather than film looking but smoother - you can also use the various picture enhancements in the menu set up which smooth out poor quality pics. If you intend to watch mainly SD pictures I would not recommend a 50" TV.

DVD picture is upscaled very well, again most players have an upscale built in (when the picture comes on in the left hand corner 576p shows). Although not as good as blu ray it is still pretty decent. I would only replace my very favorite films with blu ray.

Blu Ray - pics are amazing and the sound through an external AV Receiver (buy Onkyo HST5405 all in one about £350) is superb. I watched Transformers as a test last week - picture perfect and the sound through the external receiver was absolutely amazing. All my connections are using 1.4 HDMI cables which means as soon as the tv is switched on av kit, blu ray dvd/hdd recorder all switches on. With the 1.4 version if you have a good av receiver you do not need an optical cable to get full 3d sound.

As well as a dvd/hdd recorder I use a 1 TB external hard drive to record TV using the USB connection. The picture quality is excellent, although you cannot use the THX picture mode - you would need to buy a Humax system. I use True Cinema picture setting which with a bit of fiddling is excellent. As external hard drives only cost about £50 this is the best way to record tv.

I am still waiting for my 3D glass so cannot comment on 3D performance but as I also got a panasonic blu ray player with 7 blu rays free offer including Avatar 3D I am looking forward to when Panasonic finally send some to England!

Overall this is an excellent TV - not perfect, as there is no such TV and until OLED or similar becomes available in the next 5 years then plasma will remain the best option for all large TVs. For value this is probably the best bang for your buck you can get. I could not see much difference to the VT30 which is £400 to £500 more, plus has a bigger surround so takes up more room.

I have not included all the many other functions this TV does such as wi fi etc etc as they are not the main reason for getting a TV

One final point, which is very important, if you are buying now the Firmware should be 1213.000, this seems to have fixed some fluctuating brightness issues some people experienced with the first batch of TVs - again email me if you want to know how to do this, it is simple.

If you read reviews this has pretty much cleaned the board this year. The latest What Hi Fi has the best ever TV review (for what thats worth) - I'll give you one guess which set won.....

Buy this TV - I know there are 2 poor reviews, but if you look at the 42" reviews they are all 5 star. With the right audio equipment, cabling, running in and fiddling with the set up this will make your viewing experience the best you can get......until next year

Didn't originally intend to spend this amount on a TV but glad that I did. HD picture is great, as is SD. Viera Connect is a bit of a let-down, it really needs more apps. Got the TV connected to Freesat, Freeview and Sky HD and also found that I could connect up my old Tivo using the one scart provided. The remote is intuitive and there's plenty to play with in the menus.

Bought the Netgear N600 wireless usb adaptor from Amazon and this worked straight away without the need to set it up with the accompanying CD. Also bought compatible 3D glasses on ebay but have tried them only on the 2D to 3D application (for which you need 3D glasses) and they work ok. However there is a noticeable dimming of the picture when using the 3D glasses although you do get used to it.

There are two small cooling fans at the back of the TV and I haven't noticed any noise from them, but as this TV consumes approx 300W they are obviously necessary to dissipate the heat from the inner workings.

Very pleased with my TV, a pleasure to use it.

Great picture out of the box. Once calibrated even better!
3D has very little ghosting and looks so much better than the cinema.
I've experienced no image retention / burn.

Nice online features for I player, U-tube, Facebook and the like.

Connected to my PC film and music library very simply, not had a problem playing back any content yet.

HD content (TV or Blue Ray) looks stunning.

I don't use the DVB-t, DVB-S tuner or speakers, so couldn't comment on the EPG or sound quality.

Really pleased I saved myself £1000 over a LED screen.

Only dropped a star as it does'nt come with a pair of 3D glasses, which are good but very expensive!

Well its a Panasonic Plasma so its bound to be good especially since Panasonic now own Pioneer's Kuro patent's?
Well it does not disappoint, Panasonic have blown Sony, Samsung, LG and others away with this years line up of the ST30, GT30 and VT30.

Sure there's only 3 manufacturers now making plasmas (Panasonic, Samsung and LG) but Panasonic is the only one the devotes its time to plasma more and it shows. Panasonic once again prove that plasma is superior to LED TV's, 3D is better, better black depths, better viewing angles, no motion blur and better colours.

Nice, stylish design with a metal frame giving super build quality and its thin. Sure it may not look as cool as a Samsung but the picture quality surpasses any Samsung LED TV. Until there's no true LED or OLED TV, Panasonic Plasma will always win hands down.

Pros:
- Amazing black levels, no TV this year will achieve black levels as good as this Panasonic Plasma, except maybe the VT30 but the black levels of this TV are already by far better than last years TV's.

- Super high contrast ratio giving more depth and better colours than LCD or any LED TV.

- No annoying buzzing like last years plasma.

The three fans on the back are quiet

- The TV does not get hot, mine stays cool after 8 hours of constant TV a day.

- Image retention is near to none unlike LG and Samsung Plasmas.

- No problems with 50Hz (thanks to the new IFC setting) like the VT20 last year, not that I saw and I looked closely on football where it happens the most according to people when the camera pans on the field.

- 24p, blu ray playback is super smooth! HD 1080p picture quality is absolutely brilliant. Dark scenes look amazing, all the tiny detail can be seen and the IMAX scenes of The Dark Knight have never looked better on any TV (The Dark Knight is my test blu ray).

- Gaming is awesome too, no input lag whatsoever and no Image Retention or extremely very little IR which can only be seen if you put your face up close to the TV, even after an hour of gaming where counters from games stay on the screen.

- Sound is ok, really good for normal TV users as its loud, no complains there. The Music setting is the best.

- Connections face to the left or bottom so no wires stick out the back if you want to wall mount it, the connections are quite deep in so you don't have to worry about wire or wire head sticking out the side.

- USB, SD card slot.

- 24Hz(1080p/720/blu ray films) and 60Hz(PS3 gaming) viewing is flawless and 50Hz(Sky) viewing has not shown any issues yet.

- I can not stress how amazing and beautiful blu ray films look. Its EXACTLY how the director wanted you to see the film. You will be wow'd when you first watch a blu ray.

- SD quality is very good.

Cons:

- No 3D glasses supplied so you will have to pay over £100 for one pair of 3D glasses. I guess not including these keeps the price down for people who want a TV first and then 3D.

- No wifi dongle included but Viera Connect at the moment isn't so good anyway, has iPlayer and YouTube but they buffer way to much so might as well use my PS3 to view iPlayer or YouTube as it has no problems.

3D is flawless, no crosstalk, no ghosting and no loss of signal from glasses to the TV where as there are problems with other manufacturers.

Reviews on internet are saying the 3D on this TV is flawless and possibly the best of any TV so far. So I tried out Superstar Dust 3D on PS3 and it is absolutely amazing, out of the other demos on the PS store, this is the best and truly shows of the TV"s 3D capabilities.
Also the TV can achieve a really high brightness which helps a lot in 3D mode!

As of right now, I haven't tried the USB HDD recording. Playback of video files from a USB HDD is flawless, it plays MKV files flawlessly, no problems with motion.

The TV has many other neat features which can be seen in the manual or Panasonic's website.

If you're looking for a 46" TV, then no doubt this is the BEST 46" TV on the market. The 5,000,000:1 contrast says it all, no LED TV can achieve a contrast ratio that high yet hence why Samsung or Sony and even Panasonic in fact don't state the contrast ratio as its around 1,000,000:1.
Panasonic are the leaders in plasma technology.
However if you're looking for a 42" or 50" TV, go with the Panasonic VT30 models as they come with wifi and two pairs of 3D glasses and a few other features so make up for the price difference.
Either way, you can't go wrong with Panasonic this year. I love this TV. The best 46" TV on the market.

Also if you're looking at the 42" or 50" version of this TV as there's no 46" version of the VT30, I'd just get the Panasonic VT30 version unless you like the design of the GT30 and don't want the extra included features but for a 46" TV this is the way to go!

In summary, the best 46" TV on the market. For this price you can not go wrong.

Quick Note: The two big stores (who's name both start with C) don't do this TV justice, they're all paid to promote LED TV's, which by the way aren't even LED, they're still LCD with a LED backlight.

Best 42" and 50"+ TV of 2011 - Panasonic VT30 models
Best 46" TV of 2011 - Panasonic TX- P46GT30B

Also if you have any questions, just drop a comment and I'll gladly help.

Edit:-
I stick to my 5* review for now, I've read over on the internet and AV Forums about people starting to have issues with the GT30 and VT30 models from the green tinge, loud buzzing, loud fans, brightness fluctuations etc
I'm thinking these are hardware issues and not software related. I for one haven't experienced these issues yet and I hopefully won't as I'm really picky when it comes to small issues, if one pixel was dead on the TV, I'd know about it and it'd drive me crazy.
Also I want to say I got this TV from C*met the week it was available in the UK so I have a TV from the first set of delivery to the UK, I think these issues are on some of the later TV's being shipped around the world?

I bought this to watch the Rugby world cup. It has a freesat tuner built in and I connected this to my old Sky dish (no adjustment required) and I was able to get HD from Freesat including the rugby on ITV-HD. Stunning picture, no motion blur at all, really sharp. By far the best TV picture I have seen. I have connected Netgear N600 wireless adaptor, works well and have also added usb hard drive Buffalo Ministation 1TB USB. This also works very well, simply set up the recording from the TV guide with a couple of clicks. No need for extra recording box unless you want to watch one channel and record another. Haven't connected blue ray yet, can't wait to see that! Its quiet , no noise that I can hear, warmish to touch (same for all plasma tvs). Its attractive to look at too. Not interested in 3D and therefore have not tried it. Highly recommended.

Superb picture and suprisingly good sound from inbuilt speakers (unless it's a "loud" movie I don't use my surround sound). Extremely easy to set up and no problems in use. Used in conjunction with a Panasonic BD recorder it's a truly splendid combination. I can't recommend it highly enough.

This is my 2nd Panasonic Plasma and I have to say it's really very good. Picture quality is outstanding on High Def sources and pretty good on standard def. I'd tried a Samsung LED panel before opting for the GT30 and the difference couldn't be more obvious. The GT30 delivers CINEMA quality pictures. Sound is also pretty good. Excellent range of connections on the back although the HDMI connectors are vertical so you may want to invest in some right angled HDMI cables if you don't want loads of stuff protruding from the rear. Has built in freeview HD (works great) and FreeSat receiver as well (also works great). EPG for both is a little ugly but functional. Also supports playback from USB and HDD and recording to HDD direct from broadcast which is quite nice.

3D playback is also pretty good although I've only had limited use of this so far... certainly the independent reviews online for it's 3D performance rate it very highly.

Also features VIERA Cast (now called Connect I believe) which has an 'app' portal for the TV (if you have a wired CAT5 network connection - or the WIFI dongle - this has to be purchased separately though). Works fine and has things like iplayer, although I would say that the Samsung has the edge with it's Smart TV implementation which had more apps (such as Lovefilm).

Screen reflection has been an issue on some older plasmas but I'm happy to report the coatings on this TV mean this is kept to a bare minimum..

Negatives :? Some people have complained about issues with brightness control. I don't seem to be suffering any major issues but it's certainly been reported elsewhere (search for FBr and Panasonic on google). The only other thing of slight annoyance is FAN noise. There _are_ some small fans which are used for cooling which can be audible very occasionally. If this is something you think could bother you I'd suggest demoing one of these in a quiet environment to see if you think it would be an issue. Certainly, it didnt bother me but we're all different.

Overall I can heartily reccommend this TV. Great picture, reasonable sound and feature rich. Also has loads of 'expert' settings so you can fiddle to your hearts content if you are into 'calibrating' your TV :-) Also THX certified if that means anything!

As always, demo in the real world before purchasing...it's a must. Some people seem to like the vibrancy of LED/LCD tv's but personally I'd rather have uniform backlighting and deep blacks any day... A great TV for SD/HD/BluRay.

The GT30 SHOULD BE a top plasma, and there's a great deal to like about it, but like its VT30 brother it suffers from a serious problem which is likely to all but ruin your viewing experience. Namely its inability to transition smoothly from dark to bright scenes and vice versa (another reviewer referred to it as 'contrast shifts'). Instead of a clean transition the set has to think about it a moment, during which time you'll get on-screen shifts in brightness as the TV tries to adjust, and its EXTREMELY distracting and annoying. It's almost as though with every shift from light to dark someone is trying to compensate by adjusting the brightness levels using a remote.

It's actually a function of the way the screen is designed to be driven, so that less power is delivered when a darker picture is being delivered, but in practice it works very badly, with a significant delay being obvious while the set decides whether to dim the brightness or not. If the shift was instantaneous it wouldn't be an issue.

This problem has been reported on AV forums all over the Internet, and in the USA Panasonic are now sending out field engineers to solve the issue by flashing the onboard EPROM (there's no firmware download to correct it). Unfortunately, in the UK Panasonic are doing NOTHING to correct it, leaving the poor customer saddled with a TV that displays an annoying and frustrating flaw while claiming that the TV is performing to spec. Which is absolute nonsense, because nobody would design a TV that caused such annoying brightness shifts in content! And the problems are EXACTLY the same as those being suffered by North American customers, and which are now being fixed.

I STRONGLY caution people not to buy a GT or VT Panasonic plasma until this problem is addressed by Panasonic, because you will be frustrated beyond belief by this fault, and there is currently no way to fix it on the UK models.

You can read more on this issue by Googling 'Panasonic Fluctuating Brightness' or read reviews on Amazon.com of the TC-P50GT30, many of which explain just how bad this problem is.

Having purchased a lemon in the form of the ST31B, (Review posted) I upgraded to the GT30B. Initial impressions were good. The TV has a nice chrome trim around the screen which you would think is distracting but is not in fact. It also has a very nice jet black bezel which fades into a gun metal grey around the Panasonic logo bottom centre. It really is a very nice effect. Its a nice looking TV and quite thin for a Plasma too.

Connections are on the back left hand side and face left. Some say the connections are too near the edge making cabling visible but this is not an issue I have found. Connections include 3 USB ports & 4 HDMI ports, a free sat connection, useful if your cable TV or sky box fails, a Scart connector, an RCA input, component input (Y, Pb, Pr) and an RF connection too. A Lan connector is also provided for a cable or wireless dongle to take advantage of Viera Connect as well as firmware updates. Digital Audio out via an optical connection is available (PCM/Dolby Digital/DTS Fiber Optic) and RCA.

The first thing I noticed when I switched on the set was a visible green blob down the left side of the screen. This was the exact same issue I had with the ST31B but since these blobs can fade in time decided to live with it for a while to see if it improves. Filling most of the screen height and around 6 inches wide it affects grey scale images and skin tones in particular, giving a green tint to both types of image in this area of the screen. Less severe green blobs were visible elsewhere too but I am pleased to note that they are slowly fading away.

FBR: That dreaded fluctuating brightness issue that plagues some ST, GT & VT sets. My GT came with Firmware 1213 pre-installed and I have to say FBr was not really an issue. I have seen some brightness shifts in one or two BBC programmes but these were always using hand help cameras so I think they may be a source issue, i.e. camera automatic exposure adjustments rather than an issue with the TV.
I have updated the firmware to 1217 which Panasonic released recently just to be on the safe side. Overall though I have not had any annoying FBr on the GT30B.

PICTURE QUALITY: Green blobs aside, the GT30 produces some of the most stunning images I have seen on a TV. They are not glaringly bright and in my opinion unrealistic like many LCD sets produce, this is not what Plasmas do. They are instead full of contrast, deep blacks and wonderful colours. High Definition images, particularly from Blu-Ray are fantastic.

3D: I purchased the Panasonic Plasma specifically for the 3D feature and have not been disapointed. 3D images, particularly those produced in native 3D rather than post production conversions, have a wonderful sense of depth, not just in terms of elements in the image such as foreground and background objects, but also in terms of people and object shape. People "look" real having shape and curves that 2D images and almost all post production converted 3D images are incapable of producing. Avatar, available from Panasonic only if you buy certain home theatre equipment in addition to the GT30B, looks amazing.

Overall I am delighted with my GT30B. Firmware 1217 seems to have solved FBr for those that previously had it and the green blobs seem to fade as the TV ages. One or two say otherwise so there is a bit of risk in buying a GT30B hence my 4 star rating rather than 5 but I think the slight risk is worth taking in view of what a good GT30B can do.

UPDATE: Sep 2012
A year on and the green blobs I mentioned above have now almost entirely dissapeared. I used to watch shows with lots of white snow such as Ice Road Truckers and snow in the middle of the screen had a distinct green tinge to it.. I watched episode 1 of the new series a day or two ago and noticed that the issue has improved considerably. If I look hard, I can just about see a slight tinge but its much much better.

It's still not a 5 star set, in my opinion no set can be awarded 5 stars if there is room for improvement and since we cannot give half stars my original 4 star score stands. I would say it 90% excellent though.

This set continues to impress me with some stunning images in both 2D and 3D.

The Panasonic PX-P46GT30B is an incredible Plasma TV.

After spending quite some time comparing Plasma televisions from the different manufacturers I finally narrowed my choices down to two TVs, Samsungs D8000 and obviously the Panasonic TX-46GT30B.

Although both products had similar specifications I chose the the Panasonic because it had exactly the features I was looking for and also because I knew having purchased their products before I would be purchasing a high quality piece of equipment that would last!

The TV was quick and easy to set up thanks to the straight forward instructions which were nicely designed to get you up and running in no time at all.

The remote is very intuitively designed with buttons that are clearly marked and well spaced with the actual body of the remote sitting in your hand very comfortably.

The picture quality right out of the box is simply stunning and like many have already said you really need to view it in person to fully appreciate the full brilliance of this TV. Although its probably not until you have one sitting at home that you will totally reveal the true sumptuousness of the images as showroom conditions are quite unnatural.

I found the TV to be extremely well specified with all the most up to date features.. connections.. and latest accredations from all the relevent inustry groups.

As I said I purchased this Plasma instead of the Samsung and after a thorough specification check to find out if these Plasma TVs had the features I was looking for it finaly came down to too things, quality and aesthetics.
The Panasonic just felt and looked solid and although TV stands don't often get a mention in such reveiws considering the trend towards mounting Plasmas on walls I feel I must commend Panasonic for supplying a very well designed stand which is both very sturdy and also quite discrete. Neither of which you could say about the Samsungs Quad legs, the whole design of the TX-P46GT30B just oozes quality and subtle elegance which enables it to simply blend in with its surroundings when its turned off and alows you to watch whats on the screen without being distracted by the frame when its on, unlike the Samsung which in my own opinion felt and looked a bit to garish and its slightly thinner panel just made it appear almost flimsy.

I would recommend any one who is looking to purchase a Plasma TV to go and actually view them at fisrt hand because there really is a big difference in terms of features.. quality.. and styling between the different manufacturers.But I feel that Panasonic is simply way above the level of the competition on all of these grounds.

To sum up my review I would highly recommend the TX-P46GT30B, I am sure it will leave you with a feeling that you
have purchased something that is simply the best and also happy in the knowledge that you have something that will last!

Oh and just one more mention of the picture quality....simply exceptional!