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2M views 18K replies 1K participants last post by  rododoktolos 
#1 ·
This is the first review based on European/British model TX-P55VT65B:

Pros

Superb analogue looking images

Reference black levels

Incredible contrast ratio and dynamic range

Lack of PWM noise and clean looking images

Very good out-of-the-box greyscale

Reference greyscale after calibration

Excellent out-of-the-box colour gamut

Reference color gamut after calibration

Reference level 3D performance

Comprehensive calibration controls

Wonderful motion handling

Excellent video processing

Built-in WiFi, Freesat HD and Freeview HD

Excellent Smart TV platform

Highly effective remote app

Well designed menus and remote control

Attractive design and excellent build quality
Cons

Some DFC

Stand doesn't swivel

Fans might bother some




http://www.avforums.com/reviews/Panasonic-VT65-VT60-TX-P55VT65B-P50VT65B-P65VT65B-3D-Plasma-TV_507/Review.html
 
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#4 ·
I don't like this.


From the review:


"OK, there are a couple of things that could be improved but they’re fairly minor. Despite the fact that Panasonic has seemingly managed to finally nail motion at 50Hz, we could – just ever so often – see instances of false contouring manifesting as magenta and green fringing to edges such as peoples’ cheekbones or on objects of solid white. We’d put good money on the fact that most will never see it and instances are uncommon and usually very fleeting but it is there and at least it gives Panasonic something to work on for in 2014. The only other quibble some might have, is with detecting flicker in brighter scenes. We could see none at ‘Low’ Panel Luminance, a little with ‘Mid’ and lots with ‘High’ but there’s a huge element of personal tolerance at play here so, as ever, we’d advise a demo to make sure you’re not one of the unlucky few that does see it with Panasonic Plasma TVs."
 
#5 ·
Just want to jump in here and annoy some people by pointing out how happy I am to see 40ms in Game Mode. It's a very decent number and the fact that you can toggle it on in your calibrated display mode instead of it forcing you into overblown dynamic contrast mode like the XX50's is amazing news. A professionally calibrated plasma display running at


I'm not surprised about the similar black levels. I was personally expecting to see more or less identical blacks from the ST, GT, and VT this year. I think if there's any additional black to be squeezed out it'll clearly be in the ZT60.


I was a bit surprised about the significant differences in ANSI light output. Dropping from an average of 90 to 72 seemed like a lot for 5" (their GT60 was 50", VT60 was 55"), especially when they have a review of an even larger 65" VT50 putting out over 85 on the ANSI checkerboard. It occurred to me that a 50" TV is technically about 82% of a 55" TV. If you plug that in, 82% of 90 is 73.8, meaning it actually comes out to a relatively linear scale of size to ANSI brightness. I just found this interesting because their reviews of the 2012 series don't suggest such severe losses of brightness on the ANSI checkerboard based on size increases. 65" VT50 gets 85, 50" GT60 gets 90, 55" VT60 gets 72? Maybe someone who knows more than me about plasma technology in general can shed some light on what might be happening here. And more importantly we need to get some measurements on a NA model.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DavidHir  /t/1467563/official-panasonic-vt60-vt65-series-discussion-thread#post_23184957


I don't like this.


From the review:


"OK, there are a couple of things that could be improved but they’re fairly minor. Despite the fact that Panasonic has seemingly managed to finally nail motion at 50Hz, we could – just ever so often – see instances of false contouring manifesting as magenta and green fringing to edges such as peoples’ cheekbones or on objects of solid white. We’d put good money on the fact that most will never see it and instances are uncommon and usually very fleeting but it is there and at least it gives Panasonic something to work on for in 2014. The only other quibble some might have, is with detecting flicker in brighter scenes. We could see none at ‘Low’ Panel Luminance, a little with ‘Mid’ and lots with ‘High’ but there’s a huge element of personal tolerance at play here so, as ever, we’d advise a demo to make sure you’re not one of the unlucky few that does see it with Panasonic Plasma TVs."

From the way it's written it seems like it's an issue specific to 50hz feeds. Not surprising they still can't sort that out since the panels were all designed around the more common 60hz standard. I can't imagine why their TV broadcasts went with 50hz when literally everything else was using 60. It does sound like the overall statement is that 50hz is handled better than it was in the 2012 models.
 
#8 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamHD  /t/1467563/official-panasonic-vt60-vt65-series-discussion-thread#post_23190001



Just checked out a 60" VT60 at Video Only. Needless to say, I'm sold. Contrast and shadow detail were both phenomenal (even off the crappy cable feed they were running.) Looked better than any TV there, including the F8500 (IMO). Now I've just got to decide on a 60" or 65".....

Thx for the first impressions Adam
 
#9 ·
Good old Video Only. This says a lot that you like the image considering their showroom is full of ambient and fluorescent light. At least the Bellevue store is like that. This does sound like a winner this year. I cannot wait so see it in person in a dedicated room with less light. Thanks for the posting Adam.
 
#10 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamHD  /t/1467563/official-panasonic-vt60-vt65-series-discussion-thread#post_23190001



Just checked out a 60" VT60 at Video Only. Needless to say, I'm sold. Contrast and shadow detail were both phenomenal (even off the crappy cable feed they were running.) Looked better than any TV there, including the F8500 (IMO). Now I've just got to decide on a 60" or 65".....

That sounds really good, although I heard similar things about the vt50 last year...and contrast and overall detail was the weakness of that set. I know for sure that the vt50 has no where near the contrast and detail the f8500 has and I didn't read about any significant technology changes made to improve on that issue. If it has the same "standard definition effect" the vt50 had, forget about it : )
 
#11 ·
They actually DID have a VT50 in the store, as well. Unfortunately it was only in the 55", and in a different area in the store. The VT50 was right next to the 55" ST60, though. Got a good comparison between those two. EXTREMELY similar picture between the ST60 and the VT50. They pretty much looked like the same tv. So, with the VT60 being a step up in PQ over the ST60, that's an indication of how the VT60 looks in comparison. The VT60 was positioned next to the Samsung E8000 (2012) and the Samsung F8500. Blew the E8000 out of the water, and was on par with, if not better than the F8500. The F8500 was definitely brighter, but the VT60 had more shadow detail, and more "pop", through (what seemed to be) better contrast. Me and my wife also are not the biggest fan(s) of the aesthetics of the F8500. Don't really like the grey color. The fact that it also is $500 more for a F8500 over the VT60 (gotta love that fixed pricing...) didn't help the F8500 either. Before anyone says I am a samsung hater, my current tv IS a C8000 Samsung, and I love the PQ. Anyways (back to the VT60) like I said earlier, this all WAS though a crappy feed, and obviously in a light-filled showroom, so things would obviously change at home, or in a light controlled environment.... Which made me very excited. Can't wait to see this baby in better conditions, with a better source (blu-ray) feed. As far as aesthetics, it's very classy. I was worried about the "speakers" on the side, but they are almost laughable at how slim they are on the bezel. They literally were about half of my fingertip width. I really like the stand. Almost makes me not want to wall mount the TV, when I finally pick it up... Almost. Haha. Hope this input helps some other people. It's all just my naked-eye opinion, but I think the VT60 is a beautiful TV, and I can't wait for more "pro" reviews to start showing up on the web.
 
#12 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamHD  /t/1467563/official-panasonic-vt60-vt65-series-discussion-thread#post_23191236


They actually DID have a VT50 in the store, as well. Unfortunately it was only in the 55", and in a different area in the store. The VT50 was right next to the 55" ST60, though. Got a good comparison between those two. EXTREMELY similar picture between the ST60 and the VT50. They pretty much looked like the same tv. So, with the VT60 being a step up in PQ over the ST60, that's an indication of how the VT60 looks in comparison. The VT60 was positioned next to the Samsung E8000 (2012) and the Samsung F8500. Blew the E8000 out of the water, and was on par with, if not better than the F8500. The F8500 was definitely brighter, but the VT60 had more shadow detail, and more "pop" though (what seemed to be) better contrast. Like I said earlier, this WAS though a crappy feed, and obviously in a light-filled showroom, so things would obviously change at home, or in a light controlled environment.... Which made me very excited. Can't wait to see this baby in better conditions, with a better source (blu-ray) feed. As far as aesthetics, it's very classy. I was worried about the "speakers" on the side, but they are almost laughable at how slim they are on the bezel. They literally were about half of my fingertip width. I really like the stand. Almost makes me not want to wall mount the TV, when I finally pick it up... Almost. Haha. Hope this input helps some other people. It's all just my naked-eye opinion, but I think the VT60 is a beautiful TV, and I can't wait for more "pro" reviews to start showing up on the web.

Hi , thanks for info. All panels were set on the torch (dynamic or vivid) mode?
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by greenland  /t/1467563/official-panasonic-vt60-vt65-series-discussion-thread#post_23190817


Tweet from FlatpanelHD. They have just received a VT60 for testing, so expect their full review after they have calibrated it, in a few days time.

They said the same thing about the ST60, 9 days ago, so I wouldn't hold my breath...
 
#17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamHD  /t/1467563/official-panasonic-vt60-vt65-series-discussion-thread#post_23191236


They actually DID have a VT50 in the store, as well. Unfortunately it was only in the 55", and in a different area in the store. The VT50 was right next to the 55" ST60, though. Got a good comparison between those two. EXTREMELY similar picture between the ST60 and the VT50. They pretty much looked like the same tv. So, with the VT60 being a step up in PQ over the ST60, that's an indication of how the VT60 looks in comparison. The VT60 was positioned next to the Samsung E8000 (2012) and the Samsung F8500. Blew the E8000 out of the water, and was on par with, if not better than the F8500. The F8500 was definitely brighter, but the VT60 had more shadow detail, and more "pop", through (what seemed to be) better contrast. Me and my wife also are not the biggest fan(s) of the aesthetics of the F8500. Don't really like the grey color. The fact that it also is $500 more for a F8500 over the VT60 (gotta love that fixed pricing...) didn't help the F8500 either. Before anyone says I am a samsung hater, my current tv IS a C8000 Samsung, and I love the PQ. Anyways (back to the VT60) like I said earlier, this all WAS though a crappy feed, and obviously in a light-filled showroom, so things would obviously change at home, or in a light controlled environment.... Which made me very excited. Can't wait to see this baby in better conditions, with a better source (blu-ray) feed. As far as aesthetics, it's very classy. I was worried about the "speakers" on the side, but they are almost laughable at how slim they are on the bezel. They literally were about half of my fingertip width. I really like the stand. Almost makes me not want to wall mount the TV, when I finally pick it up... Almost. Haha. Hope this input helps some other people. It's all just my naked-eye opinion, but I think the VT60 is a beautiful TV, and I can't wait for more "pro" reviews to start showing up on the web.

giddy...giddy....
 
#18 ·
Well I am pretty much set on buying this in the 65" variety. I would have to see a pretty good difference between this and the ZT for the extra $500. What is the best price we could expect to see around release? Will everyone stay at MSRP, or can we expect a few hundred off of that within a month or so? I don't remember how fast the VT came down in price last year as I wasn't really in the market at that time. I can't wait to see this beauty in person!
 
#19 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mbyrnes  /t/1467563/official-panasonic-vt60-vt65-series-discussion-thread#post_23193875


Well I am pretty much set on buying this in the 65" variety. I would have to see a pretty good difference between this and the ZT for the extra $500. What is the best price we could expect to see around release? Will everyone stay at MSRP, or can we expect a few hundred off of that within a month or so? I don't remember how fast the VT came down in price last year as I wasn't really in the market at that time. I can't wait to see this beauty in person!
I've seen one in the wild. I'm not sure if we are supposed to discuss pricing here (we will see if my post gets deleted), but at my local store, the price on the 60" was $500 below MSRP, and the 65" was $600 below MSRP. I'm thinking this will be the universal "sale" pricing on this model, once everyone gets them in stock...
 
#20 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamHD  /t/1467563/official-panasonic-vt60-vt65-series-discussion-thread#post_23193893


I've seen one in the wild. I'm not sure if we are supposed to discuss pricing here (we will see if my post gets deleted), but at my local store, the price on the 60" and 65" were $500 below MSRP, on each. I'm thinking this will be the universal "sale" pricing on this model...

especially since I think they just made the announcement that they were leaving the plasma TV market this week




Warren
 
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