Panasonic VIERA TX-P50VT65B review

For this review we tested the 50in model in Panasonic’s VT65 range, but it’s also available in 65in (TX-P65VT65B) and 55in (TX-P55VT65B) screen sizes. All models have identical specifications except for their dimensions and power usage. We’re confident that image quality will be practically identical across the range.

We were blown away by the flagship Panasonic TX-P60ZT65B plasma TV earlier in the year, but its high price and the fact it only comes in a 60in screen size means few people will ever own one. While the fact that Panasonic has stopped further production of its excellent Plasma TVs, means this is your last chance to own one too.

The TX-P50VT65B comes from the VT range, one step down the ladder from the ZT, but it shares many of the ZT65’s high-end features but at a more reasonable price. Just as importantly, the VT range is also available in more than one screen size – 65in, 55in and 50in TVs are on offer – so you should find something to suit your needs (if your needs are big).

DESIGN AND PORTS

Although it has a slightly larger screen bezel, the VT65 looks almost identical to the ZT65 except for a slightly more restrained silver trim around the edge of the set. It has a similarly gorgeous brushed metal stand, too.

As befits a high-end plasma TV, the VT65 has a comprehensive set of inputs at the rear. In addition to the three HDMI ports are twin satellite and DVB tuners, SCART and component video, Common Interface and SD card slots, a digital optical audio output and three USB ports. One of the three USB ports conforms to the faster USB3 standard. It also has an Ethernet, but given the VT65’s built-in Wi-Fi there may be no reason to run a cable from your router.

The VT65’s frame also has room for multiple speakers. As well as twin 5W mid-range drivers,
Panasonic has added a 10W subwoofer to provide a little extra bass. It’s fairly weak, but the extra bass is a definite improvement over nothing at all. We weren’t left wanting more volume, but for a proper cinema experience a set of dedicated surround sound speakers is still recommended.

INTERFACE, ONLINE AND REMOTE

Panasonic’s Smart Viera homescreen is apparent as soon as you switch on the TV, giving you five customisable pages to fill with reminders, weather updates, web bookmarks and shortcuts to on-demand TV services. You can link to a DLNA media server such as a PC or NAS, and access your media directly from the homescreen, or play files from an attached USB flash drive. Most of our video files played smoothly, but the TV refused to detect MOV or native DivX clips.

Customisable home screens let you set up the content you most want to hand

The chunky remote control makes it easy to browse the menu screens, and it has a red backlight to help you see its many buttons in the dark. There’s also a second touchpad remote control that gives you precise cursor control to make web browsing a lot easier. However, if you don’t plan on using its cursor control it’s not particularly useful for anything else.

The VT65 also comes with Panasonic’s Touchpen, which lets you turn the TV into a massive digital sketch pad. Although the paint app is basic, we’re wary of encouraging young children to take a pen to an expensive TV. The iOS and Android remote control app is a little more useful, as it lets you control playback from a smartphone or tablet. Having a virtual keyboard makes web browsing and chatting far easier than with the remote control.

IMAGE QUALITY

Panasonic’s plasma TVs are renowned for their image quality, and the VT65 is fantastic. It appears to use the same panel as the ZT65, only with a different screen coating that means the VT65 can’t quite match the ZT65 for deep blacks, but in our eyes there’s such a minor difference between the two that it will only matter to the most eagle-eyed film fans.

Throughout our testing, dark scenes had a gorgeous amount of depth and detail, making some of Star Trek’s space battles look fantastic in a dark room. It’s not quite at the same level as the ZT65, but it comes incredibly close.

Colour accuracy is also superb, even before you enable the professional-grade ISF calibration settings from the menu. There’s a small amount of room for improvement out of the box, but it’s very minor and you would need to pay a professional installer to improve the white balance, gamma and colour management significantly.

Even standard definition TV managed to impress thanks to excellent image processing, although it still can’t rescue the lowest bit rate Freeview channels such as Dave or BBC News; these still suffer from compression artefacts. Multi-strength frame creation smoothes playback, and you can choose between slightly smoother TV and soap opera-style video. The standard brightness, contrast, sharpness and colour sliders, choice of colour temperatures and colour gamut modes are all present and correct.

We could still spot some dithering onscreen, which is an unavoidable side effect of plasma technology, but from the average viewing distance it’s unlikely to prove distracting.

As for 3D playback, Panasonic’s active shutter glasses did a great job producing convincing depth effects in Avatar and there was little crosstalk. The screen is more than bright enough when using the THX 3D setting, but you’ll get the best results with the curtains drawn. Two pairs of active shutter glasses are included in the box but you can buy more (TY-ER3D4ME, £44 from John Lewis) if you need more for family viewing.

CONCLUSION

If you’re shopping for a specific screen size then Panasonic hasn’t given you any choice, with the ZT and VT ranges sold at different sizes; but if any of the VT sizes suit you then it provides far better value for money. The Panasonic Viera TX-P50VT65B might not have all the online features of its rivals, but picture quality is outstanding for films and games.