+ Vibrant, realistic colours; detailed sounds
- Outperformed by LCD displays
LCD and plasma technologies tend to occupy different areas of the TV market, with plasma covering 42in and up and LCD coming in smaller sizes. The market’s changing, though, and plasma is being squeezed out by increasingly bigger and better LCDs.
Panasonic knows a thing or two about making great LCD TVs but it hasn’t given up on plasma. To prove it, this 37in, £799 model sits squarely in the territory dominated by LCD technology.
It looks a lot like Panasonic’s LCD TV range, with its minimal, glossy black styling. A door below the screen flips down to reveal a smattering of controls, various analogue inputs and an SDHC slot for displaying digital photos on screen. There are three HDMI, two SCART and component inputs around the back.
Plasma technology excels for contrast and motion, and the TH-37PX80’s impressive 0.001ms response time and 15,000:1 contrast ratio deserve respect. The latter is the true specification of the panel, and not some cooked up “dynamic” value used by LCDs in an attempt to compete with plasmas. However, converting these specs into genuine benefits isn’t so straightforward. There is certainly no sign of streaking of moving images but this isn’t a problem for modern LCD TVs either. Meanwhile, the wide contrast, which gives deep black levels against vibrant whites, is only relevant when viewing the TV in a darkened room. In ambient daylight, plasma panels are more reflective than LCDs, and look dark grey rather than black when switched off. As such, LCDs are capable of deeper black levels in a lit room.
The disadvantage of this TV compared with similarly priced LCDs is its 1,024x720 native resolution, which is short of 37in LCD’s 1,366x768 or 1,920x1,080 pixels. This is not to say that HD video looks blocky or blurry, but 37in LCDs look a little more detailed. The TH-37PX80 is harder to fault for colour, with vibrant but natural tones across the spectrum, although we found that Panasonic’s LCD TVs were a little better at resolving detail in vivid colours. Image quality from the
Freeview tuner and standard-definition sources such as DVDs was excellent, and the eight-day programme guide is particularly smart looking.
If you want a Panasonic TV – and there are plenty of reasons why you would – this is one of the more affordable ways of doing so. However, we’d be tempted to spend a little more on a Panasonic 37in LCD, or less on a rival brand.
They say: Outstanding moving picture resolution and beautiful colour reproduction together with brilliant sound and easy operation.
We say: Little to criticise, but at this size we’ll stick with LCD, thanks.
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