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Panasonic TC-P42ST30 Viera 42 Plasma HDTV Review

Panasonic is saying their TC-P42ST30 Viera 42 Plasma 3D HDTV can “create an all new viewing experience by putting you inside the action and creating a new world of TV viewing realism”. Whoa…those are pretty big claims. Can they back them up?

Overall Thoughts & Points From Misc. Customer Reviews:

The TC-P42ST30 is Panasonic’s entry level 3D HDTV, but still has a number of pretty impressive features.

This Viera 42 model uses Panasonic’s “Frame Sequential” technology to give you the 3D effect. Basically, images are recorded in 1920 x 1080 pixels. Images for the right eye and the left eye actually flash on the screen itself in a sort of back-and-forth fashion at 120 frames per second. When you don Panasonic’s “active-shutter” 3D glasses, the lenses in the glasses actually open and close in rapid-fire succession, syncing with the images shown on the screen. This is was gives you the 3D “look”. This, combined with 600Hz Sub-field Drive (where each of the 120 frames per second is broken down into 10 individual sub-fields) gives the viewer a pretty unique experience.

Viewing is further enhanced by Infinite Black 2 and 3D 24p Cinema Smoother. Infinite Black 2 is a Viera feature that utilizes improved panels and cells to improve contrast and help blacks and other dark hues retain their deep and rich color. This is supposed to make such dark colors look better in more well-lit areas. 3D 24p Cinema Smoother is a technology that actually creates additional frames. What it does is take two frames, analyze them, and then create an additional frame that supplements the two and inserts it between them. The idea behind this is to make video look much more natural and have minimal (if any) blurring.

Of course, you’ll also get acces to several other Viera features, such as Game Mode (automatically chooses optimal settings for your gaming), Viera Connect (access many internet apps directly on your TV, including YouTube, Netflix, and even Skype), Viera Link (control any sort of audio or video component – home theater, Blu-ray player, etc. – connected via HDMI cable all with just your Viera remote), and the 3D Image Viewer (just insert your SD card into the slot on the TV, and view your personal 3D media).

Customer reviews at Panasonic’s website, Best Buy.com, and Amazon.com are largely all positive, usually with a rating of 4 out of 5 or higher.

Most customers were greatly impressed by the picture, and as long as you had proper media and supporting equipment (HD receiver/PS3/etc and HDMI cables), the TV looked great, be it in 3D mode or 2D mode. Being as this is Panasonic’s entry-level 3D line, it is missing a couple “bells and whistles” of its more expensive counterparts, but most reviewers didn’t miss them – one of which even noting that the TC-P42ST30 actually looked better than one of the more expensive models.

Do note that if you want to experience 3D (which is why you’d purchase this TV in the first place), you will need 3D glasses for every person that will be watching 3D programming at the same time. 3D glasses do not come with the TV, and will have to be purchased separately. Also note that if you want to enable Viera LInk, that all components you want to integrate into the system will need their own HDMI cable, so you’ll need to pick those up as well.

At the end of the day, most customers found this to be an excellent value for the money, and found it to be better than comparable models put out by other companies.

The Panasonic TC-P42ST30 Viera 42 Plasma 3D HDTV comes with the TV itself, a removable stand, remote (with batteries), and assorted paperwork/instructions.

TC-P42ST30 Details and Specifications:

Misc. Details:

• Full HD 3D
• Infinite Black 2 Panel
• VIERA Connect Wi-Fi Ready
• VIERA Image Viewer H.264 with 3D Playback

Product Specific Specs:

• Series: ST30
• Screen type: Plasma
• Screen size: 41.6 inches
• Native resolution: 1,920 x 1080 pixels
• Shades of Gradation: 6,144 equivalent
• 600 Hz Sub-field Drive: Yes
• HDTV display capability: 1080p, 1080i, 720p
• EDTV display capability: 480p
• Speakers: 2 full range, 20W total power, Surround Sound Capable
• Image viewer: Yes (AVCHD/MPEG2/JPEG/MP3 playback)
• Aspect control:4:3, Zoom, Full, Just, H-Fill
• Optional wall-mounting bracket: TY-WK4P1RW
• Multi-lingual menu: English/Spanish/French
• Energy Star qualified: Yes

Connections:

• HDMI: 3 (1 side)
• Component (Y, PB, PR): RCA x 1
• Composite A/V: RCA x 1
• USB: 2
• Wireless LAN Adaptor: WiFi Ready
• Digital audio output: 1 (optical)

Dimensions:

• TV with stand: 26.6″ X 40.2″ X 12.6″ ” (H x W x D); 51.8 pounds
• TV without stand: 25.2″ X 40.2″ X 2.8″ (H x W x D); 44.1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 64 pounds

About the Author

Click here for looks at other Panasonic Viera 42 HDTVs, including the TC-L42D30 and TC-P42X3.

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