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Sunday 31 August 2014

Panasonic Viera TX-42AS650B - Special Review

17:51

The Panasonic Viera TX-42AS650 is one in all the cheaper 42-inch TVs on the market. it's all the sensible TV options we'd expect and an excellent deal of image quality settings, too, thus our 1st impressions it seems to be a robust mid-range set.

We're currently terribly aware of Panasonic's tablet-like interface, that is that the very first thing you are conferred with after you flip it on. The TV image is encircled by buttons for apps and widgets like streaming services, clocks and calendars. you'll add and take away these to your feeling, and even produce multiple home screens with completely different content on every. it is a very little unclear initially, except for those wanting to use the device for quite simply broadcast tv, having associate simply accessible link to BBC iPlayer or Netflix are a boon.

The latest generation of Panasonic Viera sensible TVs currently has access to Freesat Freetime, a catch up service integrated into the device's electronic programme guide (EPG) screen. Freetime permits you to scroll back through the EPG so you'll choose a show and watch it, assumptive that it’s accessible on a catch-up TV service. this can be handy if you’ve lost the last episode of Eastenders or enthronement St, as you'll scroll back, choose the episode and watch it while not having to enter a separate catch-up TV app.

Sadly, there’s presently support for 4oD or Channel five catch-up TV within the EPG; we tend to had to open the 4oD and Demand five applications to look at them, and to ascertain these you need to visit another screen. Panasonic says you ought to be able to load 4oD and Demand five shows through the EPG when a computer code update within the late 2014.

CONNECTIVITY

The TX-42AS650 features a big choice of ports, too, with 3 HDMI ports, one in all that is audio come back channel (ARC) compatible. this suggests it will send audio from the TV back to the input’s supply. ARC is handy if you’re mistreatment associate external system, like a soundbar, and need your TV’s sound to play through it while not having to use additional wires. The TX-42AS650 conjointly has Common Interface, element and SCART connectors.

Panasonic TX-42AS650 ports
You can connect the TX-42AS650 to your network via its LAN association or with its intrinsical Wi-Fi. It even has Bluetooth, that is helpful for connecting wireless keyboards to the TV so you'll use numerous apps a lot of effectively. We'd powerfully advocate connecting a Bluetooth keyboard as a result of neither of the 2 equipped remote controls created writing simple. The second device, that features a touchpad for easier navigation, conjointly features a electro-acoustic transducer in-built to that so you'll issue commands by voice, however we tend to most well-liked to use the normal device.

IMAGE QUALITY
We were foiled with the method the TX-42AS650 upscaled commonplace definition broadcast, as we tend to saw plenty of digital artefacts and noise, and that we could not take away these effects with any quantity of image tweaking. Neither the MPEG Remaster nor Noise Reduction settings perceived to create any distinction to the image quality.

Happily, the TX-42AS650 handled HD TV far better, with everything from bright lit quiz shows to documentaries wanting sharp. solely Blu-Ray video required fine calibration. The TV has four planned image modes: Dynamic, Normal, Cinema and True Cinema. The TV can handily keep in mind your selection for every input, thus you'll have a unique color setup for your games console and Blu-Ray player, as an example.

Of the four presets, we tend to found Cinema to be the simplest place to begin, however it required hefty tweaking to suit our desires. There’s an enormous array of changes that may be created, together with the terribly helpful 24p sleek Film setting, that mechanically adds frames to footage shot at twenty four frames per second. we tend to found the "Max" setting provided the simplest results, with onscreen movement showing sleek while not a touch of shake.

Panasonic TX-42AS650 front on
For broadcast TV, Panasonic has associate Intelligent Frame Creation setting, that has identical impact as sleek Film. we tend to watched a soccer match in HD to check this setting, and setting sleek Film to GHB created it plenty a lot of pleasant, with the ball terribly sleek. With different TVs, we’ve found these form of settings will create footage look too sleek, however Panasonic has the balance excellent.

Colour choices vary from easy brightness and distinction settings all the high to color saturation and brightness changes for individual colors. With careful adjustment of all of those settings, we tend to label the screen so it displayed a good ninety six.8 per cent of the sRGB color gamut, up from the ninety per cent it displayed out of the box.

The TV's distinction and black levels might be higher, however. a number of the darker shots in our reference movies were gray instead of black, that isn't helped by the shortage of selective backlighting, a feature found on dearer TVs. Selective backlighting dims components of the screen to spice up distinction levels.

3D

The TX-42AS650 uses passive 3D, therefore the 2 pairs of 3D glasses that accompany the TV do not have to be compelled to be charged. As a result, you won’t have to be compelled to pay such a lot to shop for additional pairs. Sadly, the 3D expertise provided by the TV is not notably smart. we tend to saw plenty of disturbance, an impact wherever you'll see 2 pictures rather than one 3D image, on 3D objects that were within the foreground and within the background. solely objects and characters within the middle of a picture appeared focused .

The 3D impact overall is way less pronounced than you’d see with active shutter 3D glasses, and that we don’t suppose this a tv to shop for for its 3D talents.

The Panasonic TX-42AS650 could be a well-built TV with variety of fine sensible TV options. Image quality is not nearly as good because the best TVs, though. the wonderful Freesat Freetime interface could be a real bonus, however, and can be even higher once 4oD and Demand five support becomes accessible.

If you would like a TV with higher 3D and a minimalist however easy-to-use sensible TV interface, though, we tend to advocate the Sony Bravia KDL-42W829B as another, because it provides slightly higher options for round the same value.

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