First Panasonic 3DTV review in, great blacks and the best 3D anywhere
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted March 11th 2010 7:56PM
posted March 11th 2010 7:56PM
While the rest of us wait to try out the latest 3DTVs that went on sale this week for ourselves, Gary Merson took a trip with his test equipment to Panasonic's NJ headquarters. The good news is that the 2D picture quality was better than last year's model and in fact the black level reading was one-half of the V10's out of the box performance. So as if getting a better HD picture for less money wasn't enough, Gary says the "the 3D image (is) outstanding with considerably more brightness and pop than the motion picture theater 3D movie experience." So yeah it is the best 3D experience you can get anywhere.
Yes but how long will the black levels remain like this?
Panny all the way
No joke, Panasonic has become a must have as far as I'm concerned.
Panasonic broke my heart with their 2009 plasma' rise in black levels and apparently, the 2010s rise in black levels as well, just more gradually.
I wonder if the 3D will eventually go away as time passes too.
I won't buy another Panasonic TV anytime soon. Once you buy one of their sets, they don't care about you anymore. Not good business practice. No wonder they are being sued.
You obviously don't understand how televisions get darker over time... Give em a break they boosted the voltage a little too high I'm sure moving forward they will tweak those behind the scenes settings back.
@(Unverified)
Panasonic obviously doesn't understand how televisions get darker over time. If they did, they wouldn't have put out their TVs like they did, which angered a lot of people on the net. Especially since they boast about their black levels. There's a difference with the screen losing its brightness over a hundred thousand hours of use compared with the black levels getting brighter over just 1,000 hours.
And Panasonic already said that they weren't going to fix any of the 2009 sets ... unless something happens with the class-action suit. According to Panasonic, it was as designed. If it were as designed, why didn't it happen on older sets and why did they make it better for their 2010 models? Why haven't people complained about their Samsung black levels? Why did CNET lower the ratings of these sets by a star since this news came out?
@Meekermoloko according to the people who found these errors its really only noticeable if you only watch in a completely dark room, and even after the black levels change they are still deeper than LCD.
I've had my 42" G10 for over 6 months and i have not noticed any changes.
The drastic change apparently does not affect every set. However, this makes me feel better about getting the extended warranty. Anyone buying a panny in the future should fork over for the same.
@Mez Jr
That's part of the issue here.
Will Panasonic consider it a fault that can be fixed and indeed covered by a warranty?
That's not what Panasonic appears to be indicating from what I've read.
@(Unverified)
Actually you are the one does not understand that they increased their initialization voltage too high. And they have not fixed it. Now they have a lawsuit against them and many angry customers.
Had they fixed this, it would be considered a non-issue with 2010 sets.
@Bervick
all large corporations have pending lawsuits against them...
With Panasonic deliberately making the picture worse in terms of black level, and for no apparent reason, I will not buy any of their products again.
@(Unverified) Every plasma increases voltage over time to compensate for aging phosphors. Higher voltage equals lower black levels. This is just how plasma work. The thing Panasonic did wrong was to up the voltage too aggressively. 2010 Panasonics will do this more gradually, but they will still do it, and so will Samsungs and so will everyone else who produces Plasmas.
I want to buy my first 1080P TV this year and I want the best.
I was gonna get this Panasonic model, but the whole black level increase issue is a real downer.
So what should I do folks, get the Panasonic or Sony's upcoming Local-Dimming LED model?
Big surprise, Panny is the best again. They've always been with TV, now they are with 3D. It's not really news anymore. And don't give me that "rising black level" crap. Even with that issue, they're still the best. It really doesn't scare me.
@truelove79
What's so disappointing is that through clumsy (and likely unnecessary) software implementation, Panasonic has created a problem that is quite easily avoidable, yet so far they appear to be quite stubborn about rectifying the issue.
@Darren Pillans Yeah, I still don't care.
@truelove79
Maybe you would care if you had spent $1500 on a new TV and found out that the company that sold it to you doesn't back up their advertising and doesn't rectify design flaws.
What good are great blacks out of the box when they double within a couple months?
The 2010 models have reportedly gone up in as little as 300 hours from 0.0065 to 0.0098fL Doesn't look like they fixed anything. Good luck to all you early beta testers, i'm not wasting my money on a Panasonic product ever again.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=18277579&postcount=6621
The source is HD Guru. The same source that crowned the 2009 model. HD Guru is where Panasonic ADVERTISES.
He's probably rehearsing the song in the shower. Lots of lather.
----
I think I did it again.I made you believe
We're more than just friends.
Oh, baby;
It might seem like BLACK crush,
But it doesn't mean
That I'm serious.
'Cause to lose all my senses...
That is just so typically me.
Oh, baby; baby.
Oops!
... I did it again.
I played with your heart.
Got lost in the game.
Oh, baby; baby.
Oops!
... You think I'm in love.
That I'm sent from above...
I'm not that innocent.
....
Panasonic pop-up ad appears
I'm sure the Pannys are great, but don't forget about Samsung, especially their plasmas. There was an issue last year with their Cinema Smooth feature (96 Hz, 4:4 pulldown) pushing black levels higher when receiving a 24 Hz signal, but that has been rectified with firmware updates. The colors absolutely pop, and HD movies and games look stunning on it. Find someone with a PS3 and pop in the latest Final Fantasy to see what I mean. I'm sure this year's plasmas, as well as their 3-D displays and LED LCDs, will grab a significant share of the market.
And I have yet to experience any image retention, even when leaving an image paused for several minutes.