What can we expect from 2013 Panasonic Plasmas? - Page 29

I have no idea what you just said there. Not a word. Translation, please.

EDIT: OK, figured out this much:

"BR" is bedroom .
Why the period after "tv"? itchy typing finger I guess, should be comma.
You have an ST30 and it only goes as low as .008 so you wish it would go lower?
Not sure about the next line. You mean people are illuminated from the reflected light off of the screen? If so, what about that warrants a "cool" smilie ()?
"LR" stands for living room. No idea about the rest.

I'm exhausted.

Movies at your local theater are being distributed digitally and this is the last year that Film will be distributed. I am curious just how good are the digital projectors that these theaters use specifically color reproduction and black levels. Not sure if they can accurately project the black hole a SFX company and their artists dreamed up. How close or far are current plasmas with these projectors?

Well, like I think everything could be a bit better than what I've got, but the point is any upgrade has cost. And there is no way a year's worth of upgrades would convince me to switch. But that's me. Others like to upgrade often. I used to be that way. Now I have some "rules": computer ideally every 3 years or so, TV every 5 years or so, car every 4 years or so. That's about the frequency I can tolerate. I'm a fast upgrader on my phones at the moment and maybe on my tablets....

I rarely watch in the full dark. For movies, we go for "dim".

Barth2k, I go for full dark. The ABL limitations of the Kuro make that tolerable to the eyes for the most part (blessing in disguise).

ABL...a blessing in disguise????

Where's the tar and feathers?

Oops.

Yes, in that case, I must agree.

Panasonic Europe Conference on Nice:
KRP600 VS ZT60 VS VT50







Thanks to HDTV Test for the pics.

By David Mackenzie • Monday, 11 February 2013, 5:27 pm GMT

Panasonic has officially launched its “Beyond The Reference” ZT60 plasma for the UK and European markets this afternoon. In a bold move that is designed to lay a lingering ghost to rest, the Japanese manufacturer actually demoed the much-anticipated plasma TV side-by-side against a now-discontinued Pioneer Kuro KRP-600A which is widely considered by many video enthusiasts to be the best flat-screen television of all time (until now).

Panasonic TX-P60ZT60 (ZT60) holds its own against Kuro challenge


Obviously, we won’t know for sure how the new Panasonic plasma compares to the venerable and sorely missed Kuro, but the fact that the company is directly pitting the two head-to-head certainly demonstrates confidence in the product, to say the least.

In European markets, the Viera ZT60 series will only be available in one 60-inch screen size, that is the Panasonic TX-P60ZT60 (or TX-P60ZT60B in the United Kingdom). Unusually for Panasonic, the brand is directly addressing the enthusiast market with the ZT60. We learned today that the display will ship with a premium booklet which carries individualised serial number as well as signature of the project’s lead engineer. There will be also gold-plated “plaques” on the back, and prominent exclusive branding when the television is turned on.

What’s more, we noticed that the Pioneer Kuro model on exhibit was beginning to be affected by a red tint in the blacks (uneven across the screen surface), which some users have reported. Obviously, we can’t say for sure how the TX-P60ZT60 will hold up over the long term, but it’s reassuring to know that enthusiasts may finally have a viable replacement for their aging TVs.

The ZT60 was also joined by the Panasonic VT50 series, an HDTV we rated highly in terms of black-level performance (at least in some of its picture modes). Obviously we’ll need to wait for review units before we can put it to science, but the black level of the 60ZT60 looks considerably better than last year’s best Panasonic plasma series, and subjectively assessed, is on par with the last-gen Kuro KRP-600A.

The Panasonic ZT60 uses a refined manufacturing process dubbed “Air Gapless Technology” (AGL) which does away with the air gap inbetween the front glass and the plasma panel – the two are now bonded together. Although we had no complaints about internal reflections on the VT50, it’s another reminder that Panasonic is pulling out all the stops to deliver a premium product.

There’s also a new red phosphor which extends the colour gamut, although all Panasonic plasmas have managed to fully reproduce the Rec.709 HDTV gamut for the last few years, so this impressive engineering feat is not necessarily of much use to those of us interested in accuracy. 30,720 steps of gradation are also promised for silky smooth images free of tone jumps.

Pricing has yet to be set in stone, but is said to be around the £4000 mark. The Panasonic TX-P60ZT60B is set to hit UK shops in May.
Edited by Glashub - 2/11/13 at 10:31am

To be honest the dark room images... All look dark. But if you look really closely the (far left) of the three, is the darkest.

The one in the middle has a bluish tinge to the background - as does the one on the far right. The middle display and far right display don't look at all noticeably different with regard to darkness of the background "black".

The display on the far left is (comfortably) the darkest.

^Good critical eye there. I do believe I'm visualizing what you're describing (or I'm just imagining), but it is rather slight and too close to call. Still holding out hope for the colorimeter measurements.

Hard to judge looking at those pictures since there was no close up shots and off angle axis also notice the differential in the dark and light shades in the hair. I did not notice any blue tinge but I am comparing these on a computer monitor thats LCD which is not known for true black levels that are found on the Elite and XBR 9xx series.

You must have a better computer screen than I do

+1

In fact, the first image, to me, makes it look as though the ZT is darker.

The Kuro is on the left and it looks to me like the ZT and VT have better blacks and we know that can't be true since it is proven that the VT is not at Kuro black levels. Also why the display far right smaller?

Guys i'm WOW when i see the ANSI Contrast of KRP500m: http://forums.hdtvtest.co.uk/index.php?topic=6855.msg28368#new
Incredible...

PS: European VT50 55"

The one on the left may seem darker as it loses some dark detail. Actually on my monitor, the picture in the middle is darkest and has more detail.e.g.I can see the rear windows outline only in the middle picture. Its the middle one that looks best on my monitor.
Edited by besthdef - 2/12/13 at 8:44am

I am viewing on a nearly 6" oled screen so it's quite simple really to see the darkest of the three.

I think the far right is smaller so it's more difficult for some perhaps to see the black background is practically identical to the one in the middle.

Two points are undeniable though.

The display on the far left, the contrast isn't set up as high as the other two - the "material " displayed isn't as bright/blue looking. Although the background of the one on the far left is purer/cleaner.

But most importantly - neither of the three displays is showing a full "black" minimum MLL screen. Probably for good reason.

With all due respect, you could show that picture to 1000 people who watch movies on television, and they'd probably all tell you you're crazy!

You sound convincing though...

I'm still of the belief that if you're trying to highlight the superiority of a specific display, the side-by-side-by-side testing 'may' be a bit biased.

There is a new link at the end that would seem to refute your claims, especially about brightness being "cranked".....

"David Mackenzie on 12 February 2013 6:22 pm

FYI, the settings used on the Kuro:
http://t.co/VNE4AZ4E

As you can see, proper setup has been done."


No offense, but I think you are choosing to interpret the images with a particular bias in order to justify your point of view....

Could someone please explain the fact that the Kuro has MINUS Sharpness settings? I've never seen that before on displays? Thanks.

Its relative and not absolute, my last 2 tv's have the sharpness setting at the same relative point...all the way down. Think about a volume knob..some have the numbers going upwards, some go downwards, some use even only numbers or a 1 to 10 scale, point is that it is relative, so the knob at 12:00 position is generally half the absolute volume. For sharpness having it all the way down usually turns off edge enhancing or sharpening. In my experience and for my viewing ( 90% bluray ) there is no need to add sharpening, and if I do need it, I use my oppo bluray player to tweak that setting as the processor in that is probably superior to the one in my tv.

Guys David Mackenzie interview with Fabrice Estornel...they talk about future of plasma, 2013 line, etc. This video is cortesy of HDTV Test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fDSUMWK6c2E

Thank you, very well explained.

Isnt that for UK? This is the US site.

if fabrice had said this: We exit of plasma business, no 2014 tv's...it's only UK i don't think so...The world is not only USA you know...i know that the site is from USA but here you can find international members

First watch and then criticizes

Some folks have a tradition of pronouncing their disdain even when there is a slight perception of something being off-topic, agkss. Don't fret the naysaying. Thanks for sharing all that you have.

No problem, i know that all members are not so gentle like you and i participate on other forums too. I think that interview was very good because Panny will continue on R & D Plasma in the next years.
Edited by agkss - 2/12/13 at 8:23pm

Its better served on the AVForum, where it would benefit its intended customer base. UK units are different and are manufactured differently.

Description for the AVForums.com website...
"discussion forums based in the UK for audio video enthusiasts."

US customers aren't impacted by UK models do to different requirements.

I doubt that Panasonic would exit the plasma business in the US while keeping it running in Europe.

It's one of the best AV sites in the world, so I have to say that their news stories are relevant.

The model numbers and pricing will not be of interest to US viewers, no.

But everything else will (3D R&D, future of PDP, future technologies, ethos behind ZT60, comparison to KURO etc). The Euro and US units aren't worlds apart and are derived from the same engineering efforts, after all.
Edited by lyris - 2/13/13 at 4:52am