Review: Panasonic TX-P42V20

Panasonic's V20 sets deliver most of the premium picture quality features developed for its top-end VT20 3D series without costing as much or limiting you to massive screen sizes. The P42V20 reviewed here, for example, is a 42in model for the reasonable sum of �1,200.Elsewhere in the lineup you'll find a 50in version, while the step-down G20 models offer more affordable 50in, 46in and 42in options. The G20 series uses a slightly watered down version of Panasonic's contrast-boosting Infinite Black technology, only has two speakers versus the three in the V20 series and doesn't ship with the Wi-Fi adaptor included with the V20 models.The S20 series is cheaper still, comprising the 50in TX-50PS20, 46in TX-P46S20 and 42in TX-P42S20. But this doesn't use Panasonic's latest NeoPDP technology, sticking with last year's less developed version, and so marks a considerable step down in quality.At the bottom of the Panasonic pile is the X20 range, which doesn't use NeoPDP technology at all, and so is definitely only to be considered if you really can't afford one of the much superior NeoPDP models.As suggested in the Overview section, the key thing about the V20 series is its use of Infinite Black Pro technology. This drives the key High Contrast Filter component harder to deliver richer, deeper, and more consistent black shades, thereby helping the all-important contrast performance. The fact that the P42V20 ships with a USB dongle enabling it for Wi-Fi integration with your home network is also an advantage over the step-down G20 series, though it's a pity that Panasonic couldn't manage to build its wireless abilities into the main TV chassis like Philips and Sony have with some of their current high-end models.The V20's three speakers, meanwhile, are arranged in an interesting 2.1 configuration, versus the usual two-channel approach sported by the step-down G20 series.Given that making the V20 Wi-Fi requires the use of a USB dongle, it's good to find the P42V20's connections including two USB inputs, so that one is free for multimedia duties include playing back photo, audio and video files from storage devices, and recording broadcasts from the set's built-in HD tuners to USB hard-disk drive (HDD). Our efforts so far, though, have found that only the Buffalo JustStore Desktop HD-EU2-UK USB HDDs ? as recommended by Panasonic ? seem to 'handshake' properly for recording.Twin tunerThe eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that we referred to 'HD tuners' a couple of paragraphs ago. This wasn't a typo: the P42V20 joins other mid-to-high-end Panasonic TVs this year in sporting both Freeview HD and Freesat HD tuners. No other brand that we're aware of is offering comparable HD broadcast support, with the combination of terrestrial and satellite options ensuring that you'll be able to receive free hi-def programming wherever you live in the UK.Other connections of the P42V20 point toward further interesting features. There's a single HDMI v1.4 input alongside three v1.3s, for instance, which enables the audio return channel function permitted by the v1.4 spec. Just to be clear, the v1.4 input does not offer any 3D capability.Then there's the Ethernet port. Now a pretty much universal feature on high-end TVs since it was made part of the Freeview HD/Freesat HD spec, the one on the P42V20 does way more than just provide access to whatever interactive features the free-to-air HD broadcasters might send your way. For a start, it also enables you to access and stream files stored on a PC, provided that PC has a DLNA function. But also enables Panasonic's ring-fenced Viera Cast internet browsing system. After falling rather behind the recent online offerings of Samsung and Sony, Panasonic has closed the gap a little by adding the movie purchase/rental service AceTrax to its platform. This enables you to store stuff you've bought or rented on an online 'cloud' for streaming into your TV when you feel like watching it.There's Skype support, too, as well as Eurosport news, YouTube, Picasa, DailyMotion and a weather channel. None of which lifts Panasonic into the premier league of online service providers, but it's a lot better than nothing and Panasonic deserves further credit for its extremely usable web interface.Panasonic has been strangely reluctant to furnish its TVs with extensive calibration tools in the past, but the P42V20 bucks this trend with a passably flexible colour management system and a degree of gamma control. The fine-tuning options are now sufficient for third-party endorsement from both THX and the Imaging Science Foundation, the latter ensuring that you can arrange for an ISF expert to calibrate the TV if you wish ? something we'd strongly recommend.The extensive feature list also includes a full HD panel resolution, which is quite important considering no other plasma manufacturer has managed to fit 1,920 x 1,080 plasma cells into a 42in screen. Elsewhere, Panasonic's 600Hz Sub-Field drive system, is on hand to reduce judder and enhance stability, while a Resolution Enhancer does a very respectable job of upscaling standard definition, provided you use it on its lowest setting.One last point worth covering is that the V20 doesn't feature the fast plasma cell decay technology featured in the VT20 series, arguably because it doesn't really need it given that its pictures aren't having to keep up with the demands of the sequential frame 3D format.The P42V20 is impressively easy to use for such a well-specified set. The onscreen menus make up for a rather old-fashioned appearance by being generally simple to follow.The remote control is both comfortable to hold and, with one or two exceptions, thoughtfully laid out.The only criticisms concern the way some key picture adjustments are tucked away in a rather obscure sub-menu, and the way the main Menu button on the remote control is relegated to a tiny button tucked away at its upper extremity, making it harder to find than it should be.The improvements in picture quality heralded by Panasonic's 2010 NeoPDP system have led some of the brand's recently reviewed plasma screens to be compared to Pioneer's legendary, but now defunct, KURO plasma. High praise, and likely no accident, given that Panasonic got its hands on much of the Pioneer expertise when the latter company pulled the plug on plasma.Happily, the P42V20 continues the rich vein of form, managing to be even better, in fact, than the already outstanding G20 series we've covered before.As is usually the case with Panasonic plasma TVs, the single most outstanding aspect of its performance is its black level response. Dark movie scenes or games are delivered with shades that really do look black, rather than having to struggle through the grey clouding associated to some extent with most other flatscreens, especially LCDs. This immediately makes them more convincing and less tiring to watch, as you're not straining through any grey mist to see what's happening. But also exceptional is the way this inky blackness is achieved without having to rein in the picture's overall brightness as you often have to with liquid crystal screens. This helps the P42V20 reproduce loads of the subtle detail in dark areas that most flat screens simply can't show - a very handy trick indeed if you're trying to spot early the shadowy assassins in the perennially dark environments of the Xbox 360's Alan Wake game. It's this shadow detailing which for us gives the P42V20 its edge over its cheaper G20 siblings.Rich, deep blacks like those on the P42V20 are also important for the foundation they provide for the screen's colour reproduction. As a result, even though the P42V20's pictures aren't as aggressively bright as those of many LCD TVs, they feel at least as dynamic and punchy, as the brightest whites and richest colours are able to coexist within the same frame as the deepest blacks, without the overall brightness level having to be compromised.It's also really pleasing to find that, unlike with LCD TVs, black levels don't lose their depth if you watch the screen from even a very wide angle.NeoPDP prowessAlso crucial to the P42V20's success are its colours. The two successive generations of NeoPDP technology Panasonic has introduced to its plasma screens have produced quantum leaps in the richness and naturalism of the colours its screens can produce. Reds, in particular, are now a million miles from the orangey oddness we'd almost become accustomed to previous to last year's first NeoPDP screens. Also, the old penchant for a green bias to sneak into dark scenes now only appears subtly and on very rare occasions.The P42V20 makes great use of its full HD resolution and impressive video processing, too, to reproduce high-definition pictures of superb sharpness and detail. Plasma's innate response time advantage over LCD also means the clarity isn't troubled in the slightest by resolution loss when showing motion. Even judder is minimised, thanks to the efforts of the 600Hz engine. In fact, the P42V20 gets as near to delivering the 'window on another world' HD purity we always look for as any 42in TV we've ever seen.Although it obviously looks its best with HD footage, though, we should stress that the P42V20 is far from a mug with standard-def. It rescales it very intelligently to its full HD pixel count, in fact, keeping noise to a minimum while adding details and sharpness that doesn't look forced or unnatural. There are still small areas for Panasonic to work on. The Intelligent Frame Creation system that helps reduce judder occasionally throws up an unwanted processing artefact. There is mild, periodic dotting noise on skin tones during horizontal camera pans, those with very light rooms might wish for a little more overall brightness and, as noted earlier, just occasionally there's still a tiny bit of green bias evident in dark scenes. But none of this stops the P42V20's pictures from representing the state of the art, particularly if you're a Blu-ray film fan.The three speakers built into the P42V20's frame don't quite muster the audio majesty we'd hoped they might. Strangely, bass still feels a touch compressed when pushed hard, despite the presence of a dedicated subwoofer. On the upside, the set handles trebles confidently, without undue emphasis or harshness and the triple-speaker arrangement does at least enable the set to go pretty loud without succumbing to distortion or excessive mid-range compression and the soundstage spreads nice and wide.ValueWe can't ignore the fact, of course, that you can buy 40-42in TVs these days for barely half the price Panasonic is asking for the P42V20. But the set's combination of multimedia features and, especially, stellar picture quality, make the price leap worth making if you can afford it.With a heritage and spec sheet suggesting that the P42V20 is effectively one of Panasonic's superb 3D TVs minus the 3D, we expected great things from it even before we'd got it out of its box. And it doesn't let us down, at least where picture quality is concerned. Thanks to its advanced Infinite Black Pro technology, in fact, it even manages to improve on the already terrific images of Panasonic's G20 series, producing the sort of natural, cinematic contrast range and superbly saturated colour palette most LCD rivals can only dream about.Panasonic has even managed, for a change, to introduce the sort of calibration flexibility beloved of AV enthusiasts, as well as offering a suite of multimedia functions - including direct broadcast recording to USB HDD - to help create a cutting edge feel.We likedThe picture quality from the P42V20 is truly exceptional, with its immense and genuine contrast range working wonders on our favourite films and video games. The quality doesn't reduce even if you have to watch the screen from a wide viewing angle either, making it a great choice for people with large families or unusual room layouts.Its sound is decent for a flat TV, too, and we got plenty of mileage out of its various multimedia tools.We dislikedWe can't help but think that a TV as advanced as the P42V20 would have benefited from a slightly more adventurous design, though the grey colour is preferable to Panasonic's usual black. Also, its Viera Cast online platform isn't quite as prolific in content terms as some rival platforms, and the set's fussiness in terms of USB HDD compatibility with its recording option is annoying. Finally, there's a hint of dotting over skin tones and people with lots of ambient light to contend with might wish for a little more brightness from the P42V20's pictures. VerdictWe weren't sure the P42V20 could fit comfortably into the gap between Panasonic's excellent G20 range and the 3D-ready VT20 series - not least because the G20 plasma models have already produced so much quality that we didn't think we'd feel the need for a step-up model. But the P42V20 really does offer a performance boost over its G20 equivalent, and so more than justifies its existence to anyone willing to pay a little more to get the best quality they can.It's a shame Panasonic didn't build the P42V20 into a more glamorously sculpted body, but aside from that it's easily one of the best 42in TVs we've ever seen.Related LinksTechRadar Reviews GuaranteeRead more HDTV reviewsRelated StoriesIFA 2010: Toshiba to show glasses-free 3D in October?Sky and LG announce formal 3D partnership in UKExclusive: Toshiba: Cell TV wasn't right for EuropeIFA 2010: Hands on: Toshiba Regza WL768 reviewIFA 2010: Behind the Sharp video wallAlternative Energy