Panasonic TX-P42GT20B
Conclusion
Panasonic can be a very frustrating company to deal with because for every big thing they do right they drop the ball on some smaller detail that negates all their hard work. For example they introduce professional calibration controls but only include two point white balance and a limited CMS. They introduce a plasma with black levels to rival the Pioneer but mess up the handling of 50Hz material. They introduce reference standard full HD 3D performance but screw up the design of the active shutter glasses. They include video processors with excellent scaling capabilities but despite repeated requests they still can’t include proper cadence detection.
The P42GT20 is a good example of this because there is a lot about this display to recommend including the accurate colours and excellent greyscale, as well as the superb black levels, the reference 3D performance and the THX preset. Unfortunately there are also problems such as the issues with 50Hz, the clipping of peak white, the increased level of PWM noise and the smaller screen size robbing the 3D of any real impact.
This last point in particular is an issue for a 3D display and as a result I suspect the P42GT20 will mostly appeal to gamers because most games are at 60Hz which means the 50Hz issues aren't a problem and the combination of a reasonable price coupled with the minimal lag time and lack of ghosting provides a solid platform for 3D gaming.
Pros
* Good black levels and dynamic range
* Good out of the box performance in THX mode
* Reference greyscale and very good colour reproduction when calibrated
* Freeview HD and Freesat HD built-in
* Reference level 3D performance
* Good build quality
* Excellent lag times for gamers
* Full ISFccc calibration controls
* THX Certified
* One Pair of 3D glasses included with the display
Cons
* The display has a processing issue with 50Hz material that results in artifacts
* Clipping at peak white video levels
* Due to the smaller screen size 3D viewing is less immersive
* There is some PWM noise when viewing close to he display
* There is some visible banding with certain material
* Some users may see flicker from the image
* Still lacks film cadence detection
* Menu design gets in the way when calibrating
* CMS lacks full three way control for colour, hue and luminance as well as no control for secondary colours
* Greyscale calibration only uses as a 2 point control as opposed to the 10 point controls available on some other displays
* 3D glasses not that comfortable
* Extra 3D glasses are expensive
* Lack of content on Viera Cast
* Uses more power than its LCD rivals
http://www.avforums.com/review/Panasonic-GT20-TX-P42GT20B-42GT20-Review.html
