Panasonic TX-L47ET60B review

The ET60B fares much better in terms of picture quality, although it’s much more of a mixed bag than Panasonic’s plasma models. Unlike the entry-level Panasonic TX-L32E6B, which uses MVA technology for its display, the TX-L47ET60B uses an IPS panel. This means support for 3D and excellent viewing angles, but it also means slightly inferior black levels. It has slightly greyer blacks than we’d like, and mediocre contrast.

Panasonic’s True Cinema picture mode is fantastic, so it should come as no surprise that we used it to test Full HD Blu-ray content. The more in-depth colour management system is available for anyone who likes to tweak things further, but it copes impeccably out of the box with accurate colours and plenty of detail. We did spot a little bit of light leaking from the bottom corner, and its shadow detail could be better, but it’s on par with similarly priced TVs from other manufacturers.

The TX-L47ET60B’s 100Hz panel copes well during fast moving scenes, with minimal judder, although there’s still some noticeable blur during very rapid motion. Enabling Intelligent Frame Creation (IFC) can help smooth these scenes for standard definition and broadcast footage, but is best left off for Blu-ray because it produces an unrealistic sheen and small tears around moving objects.

The TX-L47ET60B uses passive 3D. This means no light flicker, much less crosstalk (there was a small amount visible during testing) and only a slight drop in brightness. However, horizontal lines are noticeable if you sit too close to the set and fast-moving objects suffered from similar artefacts to those seen with Intelligent Frame Creation enabled. It’s a shame Panasonic only bundles two pairs of 3D glasses with the TX-L47ET60B, as many other manufacturers provide four pairs of passive 3D glasses.

The L47ET60B isn’t cheap, and although its smart TV system is a major improvement over last year’s models and the number of extra features is impressive, passive 3D doesn’t give it the edge over the less expensive E6B model. It’s still a very competent TV, but we recommend buying Panasonic E6B-series TV instead, such as the Budget Buy-winning Panasonic Smart Viera LED TV TX-L32E6B.