3D Or Not, Panasonic Made The Best Big-Screen HDTV Sets In 2010: Poll

The best large-screen HDTV displays in 2010 – both with and without 3D capabilities – came from Japanese TV manufacturer Panasonic, according to readers who participated in our year-end poll. The Panasonic VT20 and the Panasonic V20 plasma series were voted as the best 3D TV and the best non-3D big-screen (40″ and above) HDTV respectively, despite concerns raised by some quarters over the 50hz motion handling, black level retention, and long-term black-level performance of Panasonic plasma televisions.

An online survey was sent out to 5,554 HDTV Test subscribers, of whom 1,063 responded by voting for the HDTVs they thought reigned supreme in each class this year. The poll ran from the second week of December to Christmas, and the collected data was then analysed to see which HDTV displays were deemed as 2010’s best in the eyes of the public.

Best 3D TV 2010

With most TV manufacturers fighting tooth and nail throughout this year to get a head start in the emerging domain of 3D technology, the 3D TV sector became perhaps the fiercest battleground. And it was Panasonic who emerged victorious in the first round: its VT20 series of 3D plasma TV displays topped the “Best 3D TV 2010” category among the first generation of 3-dimensional HDTVs.

Best 3D TV 2010

The Panasonic VT20 received an impressive 39% of votes from our readers, despite facing strong competition from the Sony HX903 local-dimming 3D LED LCD TV (which came second with 9% of votes) and the Samsung C9000 3D-ready edge LED LCD HDTV (in third place with 7% of votes).

The positive attributes which probably clinched it for the Panasonic VT20 plasma 3D TV are its inherently fast motion response time (that results in less crosstalk during 3D viewing compared to LCD-based 3DTVs) and its ability to produce supremely deep, Kuro-like blacks. In fact, the Panasonic TX-P50VT20 we reviewed back in May was the first HDTV outside the elite group of now-discontinued Pioneer Kuro plasmas to walk away with our “Reference Level” award.

Best HDTV 2010 (non-3D, 40-inch and larger)

On the non-3D front, Panasonic NeoPDP plasma HDTVs led the pack again, with its high-end V20 series winning the category after securing 41% of our readers’ votes, followed by the mid-range Panasonic G20 at 10%.

Best HDTV 2010 (non-3D)

Indeed, we “highly recommended” both the Panasonic TX-P42V20 and the Panasonic TX-P42G20 in our reviews, because of the plasmas’ extremely deep blacks, excellent greyscale tracking, accurate colours, crisp motion, and low input lag. While plasma display technology has seen its market share dwindle over the past few years, it appears that plasma TVs still have the beating of LCD televisions (be them LED-backlit or not) when it comes to pure picture quality… at least for 2010.

So well done to Panasonic for bringing out several corking plasma HDTV displays this year. It will be interesting to see if the company can sort out the niggling issues on its plasmas next year, or if other TV makers will be able to raise their game. Roll on 2011!

4 comments

  1. Polls prove nothing and are of little value. If you’ve been on the bad end of a V20 this year or a G20, or VT20 you won’t be so praiseworthy of Panasonic,
    I had two bad V20s and am not laughing this end, and dealer’s can be bloody difficult!!

    The 2010 sets were flawed when it comes to handling 50hz motion, sound was dreadful, as was the buzzing heard from the viewing distance!! And let’s not forget floating blacks and awful false contouring!!

    Plasma can be good but there were plenty of lemons rolled out from Panasonic this year : possibly a panel lottery? who knows? Subsequently Panasonic issued revised BA models – what did they fix ? hmmmmmmm

    Panasonic needs to try a lot damn harder, when Joe Public can see red/green faces with its substandard sets : it has a lot to answer for!!
    However we know it doesn’t really listen ergo the rising blacks fiasco on their 2009 NeoPDP models – no fixes for that were there? Nor for the issues people encountered this year – other than an apologetic refund! What!??

    I dissauded my parents from buying a V20, they are over the moon with a 2009 model a 50″ S10 and at a bargain price (ex dem stock on eBAY).

    I myself went for a knockdown price 46″ Z1 – it has its own issues courtesy of currently revised firmware :-( but on the whole is a better allrounder than the dire V20s I had!! :-p

    User experience counts for more than polls or any reviews – it has to perform in your living room, not on some far away test bench!!

  2. Hi there Darren;

    Good post mate. What you say is true (the general argument) but in particular issues around Panasonic, which had made me hold off purchasing a Plasma from them (looking more keenly at Samsung and LG now) – will hold off though for a while.

    More and more these days (with the advent of online in particular) you really really do need to take reviews as a starting point of analysis – not the end point…

  3. Looking to buy 65 inch 3d hd tv.
    Recommendations?

  4. Thanks to competitive price I bought two of these units also…one for the living room and the other the bedroom. I don’t have a buzzing noise on my sets and the contouring/blacks are not a problem for me. Frankly I don’t know how Darren managed to buy two such poor quality sets, but hey that’s his review of the V20. I myself love the sets and even my friends with the edge-lit LED tvs are a little envious of the picture quality. The sound quality is not any different from what I experience with LCD tvs, including two that I own for the dining area and den. Again though I don’t have any discernible buzzing even close to the plasma sets.