Panasonic TX-L42D25 Review

Ultra-slim LCD TVs with LED sidelighting are nothing too new, but the TX-L42D25 is the first one we’ve reviewed from Panasonic. New for 2010, the D25 series of VIERA LED LCDs features 200hz Intelligent Frame Creation Pro with Backlight Blinking for improved motion resolution, VIERA Cast internet content, and an IPS (In-Plane Switching) type LCD panel, which enables the HDTV to have better-than-average picture quality when viewed from the sides (compared to other LCD TVs).

Like many of the company’s higher-end models this year, the Panasonic TX-L42D25 also features ISFccc controls, meaning that picture characteristics such as Greyscale, Colour Saturation and Hue, and Gamma, can be calibrated from within the user menus, which will delight video enthusiasts. Let’s see if the Panasonic TX-L42D25 LED TV can deliver a viewing experience that lives up to its slick design…

Note: The specific model we tested was the Panasonic TX-L42D25B which denotes the 3-pin-plug British version. However, high street stores like John Lewis and Comet, and online retailers such as Amazon and Dixons may sell this LED-backlit LCD television as the Panasonic TX-L42D25, Panasonic TXL42D25, Panasonic TX-L42D25B or Panasonic TXL42D25B. All these terms refer to the same TV. Although we did not test the 32-inch Panasonic TX-L32D25 or TX-L32D25B, there shouldn’t be any drastic difference in picture performance.

Design

Panasonic TX-L42D25

Panasonic seems to be experimenting with the chassis design of its most recent LCD displays, and we quite like the results. Whilst the company gave the recently reviewed S20 LCD series a “grooved” look, the Panasonic TX-L42D25 LED LCD TV features a “ridge” surrounding the image, which almost looks as if the LCD screen is trying to break out of the case. This unique design feature appears to have a real sense of depth, but in reality, it’s entirely flat to touch. The chassis is styled in dark silver, which makes a very welcome change to the torrent of glossy black displays on the market.

Panasonic TX-L42D25 Closeup

Of course, the standout design feature of the Panasonic TX-L42D25 is its ultra-slim cabinet design, which is made possible by illuminating the LCD panel with LED side-lights, rather than by traditional CCFL backlighting behind the panel. The edge-backlit LED TV is supplied (non-attached) with a circular tabletop stand; basic assembly is required, but this is a very quick and easy process.

Connections

The Panasonic TX-L42D25 HDTV features 4 HDMI inputs, one of which is situated on the side of the TV (if “side” is an appropriate term for a TV this thin). Older analogue AV interfaces are also supported. As for TV reception, the display stands out by including a Satellite tuner, which affords the TV its Freesat HD functionality. There’s also a Terrestrial aerial input, which allows the TV to tap into Freeview, and the brand-new Freeview HD broadcasts.

For multimedia features, there are two USB inputs, and an Ethernet (wired networking) connector. The USB inputs can be used with the TV’s “HDD PVR” functionality, in which an external hard disk drive can be connected to one of the USB ports and used to record TV programmes. The Ethernet connection enables the Panasonic TX-L42D25 to access VIERA Cast, which is a walled-off online platform.

Rear connections on Panasonic TX-L42D25
Rear: 3 x HDMI, VGA, component, 2 x SCART, aerial, Freesat, ethernet, USB, & audio outs
Side connections on Panasonic TX-L42D25
Side: USB, DVB Card, SD Card, HDMI, Composite video, headphones

Unlike the ultra-slim displays from other manufacturers, the connectors on the back of the Panasonic TX-L42D25 stick outwards towards the wall, rather than being placed so that cables can hang down from the back of the display. This means that the minority of users who are wall-mounting the TV will not be able to place it as close to the wall as they might like.

Operation

The Panasonic TX-L42D25 shares the same menu design as other 2010 Panasonic models, with easily readable fonts and fast navigation. Initially, there are four options available in [Viewing Mode], one of which is “True Cinema”, which has been adjusted by Panasonic to reproduce accurate Greyscale, Gamma and Colour, allowing users to experience video content as close as possible to how it was mastered at the studio.

[Picture] menu [Other Settings] menu
[Picture] menu [Other Settings] menu

A quick visit to the [Setup] menu allows a feature called “Advance(isfccc)” to be turned on, which unlocks two additional viewing modes: “Professional1” and “Professional2”. Both of these modes grant access to a full collection of adjustments, including control over the strength of the LED sidelights’ brightness (labelled “Contrast”), as well as a “P-NR” noise reduction control. Unlike on the S20 LCD series, the Noise Reduction control on the D25 is a less effective 2D filter, which is more effective against cutting off compression artefacts in digital TV broadcasts than it is smoothing out analogue-centric background noise.

[White Balance] menu [Colour Management] menu
[White Balance] menu [Colour Management] menu

The [Advanced Settings] menu houses separate menus for White Balance (Greyscale) calibration, Colour Management, and Gamma. The Colour Management system allows for adjustment of Red, Green and Blue saturation and hue; there is no control over Yellow, Cyan and Magenta on the 2010 models.

The [Setup] > [Other Settings] menu houses other controls which govern picture quality. [Intelligent Frame Creation] can be set to “Mid” or “Max” settings, or turned “Off” completely. There is a [Resolution Enhancer] which subtly sharpens SD material when enabled, and lastly, this screen allows us to disable [16:9 Overscan], so that nothing is lost from the extreme edges of the picture. It is necessary to turn [16:9 Overscan] OFF so that 1080i/1080p signals can be 1:1 mapped to the LCD panel, for the crispest possible HD picture.

Calibration

Greyscale

After initial setup and a warm-up period, we ran Greyscale measurements on the Panasonic TX-L42D25 LED-backlit LCD TV in its “True Cinema” picture mode:

Pre-calibration CCT
Pre-calibration CCT in [True Cinema] mode
Pre-calibration RGB Tracking
Pre-calibration RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs)

Unusually, the out-of-the-box Greyscale tracking had a bias of Red in it (it is much more common for uncalibrated displays to feature a bias of Blue). The error was only around 10%, so it will be visible to users used to looking at perfectly calibrated screens, but a very minor (non-)issue for most others.

The Panasonic TX-L42D25 features user-accessible Greyscale controls in the [Advanced Settings] menu, so perfecting the TV’s performance here was very easy indeed.

Post-calibration CCT in [Professional] mode
Post-calibration CCT in [Professional] mode
Post-calibration RGB Tracking in [Professional] mode
Post-calibration RGB tracking and dEs in [Professional] mode

This process improved Greyscale tracking and reduced errors to negligible levels: typically less than 2 dE. The only exception is the slight peak of Blue at the high end (right on the chart). Normally, we can correct issues like this by adjusting the TV’s white level control, which is usually labelled as “Contrast” in the user menu. Panasonic’s LCD “Contrast” control is actually an adjustment for backlighting (or in this case, side-lighting) intensity, making it an optical adjustment rather than a video processor control. In any case, we are talking about an error of about 5% here, so it’s not really worth worrying about.

Gamma tracking changed subtly following calibration. Before, it measured at around 2.24; after calibration it had raised to 2.27. The Panasonic TX-L42D25 LED LCD TV does feature a “Gamma” section in its Advanced Settings menu, which features five selectable presets. The default 2.2 setting (which yielded the post-calibration result of 2.27) was the most accurate of these, so we didn’t change this setting. In any case, a slight Gamma inaccuracy is a fairly hard to spot error.

Gamma curve in [Professional] mode Gamma tracking in [Professional] mode
Gamma curve in [Professional] mode Corresponding gamma tracking

Colour

As a higher-end model, the TX-L42D25 features Panasonic’s new Colour Management System. Tucked away in the “Advanced” screens and available only on the “Professional” viewing modes, it gives control over the Hue and Saturation of red, green and blue.

Prior to calibration, the colour performance of the Panasonic TX-L42D25 was already very good. Cyan, yellow and green were very slightly off-hue, and yellow and green were also very mildly oversaturated. After Greyscale calibration, the secondary colours moved closer to their ideal targets, meaning that the lack of Secondary colour control in the CMS was essentially a non-issue. Using the CMS controls, we were also able to bring Red, Green and Blue closer to their targets. Adjusting the Green Hue control eventually began to simply desaturate instead, suggesting that some component in this LED TV is not capable of 100% accurate reproduction of green (something we confirmed by noting the same behaviour even in “Dynamic” mode even with the colour turned up to full). The end result of configuring the colour management system controls is highly accurate colour with only a few minor inaccuracies:

Post-calibration CIE chart in [Professional] mode
Post-calibration CIE chart with reference to HD Rec.709

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels None
Screen uniformity Excellent
Overscanning on HDMI 0% with [16:9 Overscan] set to “Off”
Blacker than black Passed
Calibrated black level 0.17 cd/m2 usable
Black level retention Stable in [True Cinema], [Professional] and [Game] modes
Primary chromaticity Very Good
Scaling Excellent
Video mode deinterlacing Excellent: 3/3 bars smooth on HQV test
Film mode deinterlacing Failed 3:2/2:2 cadences in all resolutions
Viewing angle Excellent for an LCD TV, but lightness around edges visible on black screen
Motion resolution [Intelligent Frame Creation] “Mid” or “High”: 800; “Off”: 300
Digital noise reduction [P-NR] is a 2D filter, makes very small difference
Sharpness Defeatable edge enhancement; full Luma and Chroma detail
1080p/24 capability Accepts 1080p/24 video signal; no telecine judder
Input lag 35ms in all modes, compared to a lag-free CRT

Power Consumption

Default [Normal] mode 108 watts
Calibrated [Professional] mode 80 watts
Standby 1 watt

The power consumed by the Panasonic TX-L42D25 will depend on how it is configured. In all picture modes except for [True Cinema] and the two [Professional] modes, the TV varies the intensity of the LED lighting to match the average picture level of the video signal (so darker scenes will cause the lights to dim and consequently causing them to consume less power, and brighter scenes will cause the lights to raise). Likewise, if the “C.A.T.S.” (Contrast Automatic Tracking System) mode is enabled, the lighting will be raised or lowered depending on the ambient light.

In the modes which feature constant light output, the power consumption depends on the “Contrast” setting.

Picture Performance

Viewing Angle

As a higher-end Panasonic LCD display, the TX-L42D25 uses an IPS Pro panel. IPS is renowned for its ability to retain a high quality image when the panel is viewed from the sides, when compared to typical VA-type LCDs (which exhibit quite severe colour desaturation and loss of contrast when viewed from an angle). The Panasonic TX-L42D25 holds onto its colour properties when viewed off-axis, but as usual, contrast still takes a slight hit. Bright scenes get very slightly dimmer at extreme angles, whereas pitch-black scenes viewed in dark rooms begin to look much lighter. Sadly, no LCD panel is immune to one (or more) of these problems, and the D25’s off-axis viewing is much better than most.

Black Level

Some sources (Panasonic included) have hinted that the black level of LED sidelit LCD displays should be superior to that of a standard CCFL display, but this writer has seen absolutely no evidence for this theory in testing. The Panasonic TX-L42D25’s light output can be controlled by its Backlight control (labelled “Contrast”), meaning that blacks (and whites) can be almost as dark as you want them to be. I found them sufficiently deep for daytime viewing of most content, but as is the case with any LCD TV, I found myself missing my own Plasma display in darker conditions.

On the whole, the overall contrast ratio of the Panasonic TX-L42D25, whilst not unusual for an IPS-based LCD TV, was still less impressive than several traditional CCFL-backlit LCDs, meaning that the D25’s image quality does seem to take a small hit in the name of style and thinness. LCD television has never been renowned for its black level, and while the TX-L42D25’s is by no means bad when compared to the competition, prospective buyers especially concerned about black level in darkened viewing environments would be better served by an alternative display technology (it starts with a “P”…)

Motion Resolution

There were few surprises when assessing motion resolution. With its [Intelligent Frame Creation] mode switched off, the Panasonic TX-L42D25 managed about 300 perceptibly separate lines of resolution, which is a standard figure for an LCD panel not being driven by some sort of frame interpolation system. With the control set to “Mid”, motion resolution jumped to around 800 lines, which is a significant improvement. (The “Max” setting did not manage to improve on this number, but apparently would increase the risk of processing artefacts, so we saw no point in using it).

Of course, the usual caveats of increasing frame rate via motion vector interpolation apply. While the system was unquestionably beneficial for high motion content such as news channel tickers, sports material, and video camera generated footage, it made Film content look pretty silly, so we disabled it here. Given that Film material running at either 23.97fps (or 25fps in the case of PAL TV) does not really reveal the limits of LCD’s low motion resolution, turning the system off for Film content and on for Video is really a win-win situation. In fact, Panasonic should really consider given the remote control its own dedicated “IFC” button for this purpose, as most users are likely to tire of constantly changing the setting via the menus and simply leave the control set to mirror their viewing preferences (On for mostly Video material, Off for mostly Film).

Standard Definition

Having witnesses the strengths and weaknesses of the rest of Panasonic’s 2010 lineup, there were few surprises at all with SD content on the TX-L42D25 LED-backlit LCD television. Film mode detection is still non-existent for both SD and HD material, meaning that an upscaling player is still required for the best results from your DVD collection. However, deinterlacing quality does appear to have been improved over the last mid-range Panasonic LCD that we reviewed here at HDTVTest, as the TX-L42D25 managed to render all three rotating bars on the HQV test disc as smooth, except for some small misplaced pixels at the edges of the most extreme angles.

Scaling, as with the rest of the 2010 Panasonic displays so far, is spectacular and up to the same standards as some high-end AV receivers and video processors: every single pixel of SD sources is represented in the final scaled HD image, with almost no overshoot (ringing) to be seen, despite everything still looking incredibly crisp (content permitting, of course). It was only last year that Panasonic’s handling of 480i/576i content was remarkably blurred, so this is a huge leap in a very short space of time.

Likewise, SD content delivered via the TV’s digital terrestrial and digital satellite tuners didn’t have any TV-induced flaws. While the picture quality of most SD TV channels is a long way away from “good”, this is not the fault of the TV, which is masking the flaws almost as much as possible and is not making poorly compressed digital TV material look any worse than it has to. The TV’s highly accurate Greyscale, Gamma, and Colour chacteristics meant that the inherent low resolution and poor compression were the only real issues with SD broadcasts. The aspects of the picture quality that the Panasonic TX-L42D25 itself had control over were very good indeed, and from a far enough viewing distance where these issues are masked, the TV’s strengths really shone.

High Definition

The Panasonic TX-L42D25’s video circuitry has no major issues with high-def content. It represses jaggies in interlaced HD content (1080i) just as well as it does with 480i/576i SD (and of course, the end result is perceptibly better due to the fact that any slight line twitter in 1080i content will, by nature, be less visible than on SD). Like with SD, there is no film mode detection for 1080i sources.

The best-looking Blu-ray Discs looked very nice indeed on the Panasonic TX-L42D25 HDTV, after the small adjustments we made to the “Professional” mode (which included turning down Sharpness, disabling “16:9 Overscan” and “24p Smooth Film”, and of course, using the Greyscale and Colour calibration controls in the Advanced menu).

Of course, these changes also benefited 1080i material coming in via Freeview HD and Freesat HD (the Panasonic TX-L42D25 is equipped to handle both). Due to the on-the-fly video compression, low horizontal resolution, image filtering, and lower bit rates used for broadcast HD content, none of it stands much of a chance of being anywhere near the quality of the best Blu-ray titles, but again, the Panasonic TX-L42D25 edge-backlit LED-based LCD television did what it could with what it was given.

Console Gaming

The Panasonic TX-L42D25 lagged by about 35ms in all picture modes. This is a fairly standard number for an LCD TV, but it’s unusually good for an LED-based screen based on what we’ve seen lately. For whatever reason, many 2009 LED sidelit displays feature large amounts of input lag (the worst being around 100ms!), which meant they were not the best displays to play video games on. On the other hand, 35ms is a figure that’s completely in line with most traditional LCD TVs — in fact, it’s faster than a few of them.

This means that video games will feel slightly unresponsive (if you have a non-lagging reference), but 35ms is still on the better side of acceptability.

Conclusion

Concluding reviews of LED sidelit LCD displays is somewhat difficult, because above all, they are an effort in improving aesthetics first, and picture quality second (if at all). Whilst the buying public appears to be enthusiastic about the novelty of ultra-slim displays, when placed in the corner of a room, their aesthetic benefits are unlikely to be too visible.

Of course, looks (and their value) are in the eye of the beholder. With the TX-L42D25, Panasonic has succeeded in producing an LED LCD TV which retains most of the strengths of the company’s traditional LCD TVs. In comparison to the S20 LCD series which we reviewed nearer the start of the month, the ultra-slim Panasonic TX-L42D25 has marginally more accurate colour (after calibration), very slightly inferior Greyscale tracking, and higher quality deinterlacing of SD video material.

Given that other LED side-lit products have exhibited severe screen uniformity issues, something which the Panasonic TX-L42D25 is free of, this makes it a strong contender in this category. Of course, buyers should remember that they are paying extra money for style over performance when compared to traditional LCDs. For readers already sold on a slim display, Panasonic’s offering has the least issues we’ve seen on an edge-backlit LED LCD television to date.

Recommended

101 comments

  1. Is there any difference in deinterlacing quality to other Panasonic VReal Pro 5 products ?
    Does “full Luma and Chroma detail” means accepts 4:4:4 YCbCr ?

  2. Good review. I couldnt find anywhere in the review how slim the panasonic set is. If there are more strengths in the LED tv compared to competition barring the black levels, why is it only still recommended TV and not highly recommended?

  3. Thank for review. It’s very good that in Panasonic LED TV you can completly disable global dimming – something that is not possible in Samsung LED TV.
    I’m waiting for L42G20 review. This TV is cheaper (CCFL backlighting), but I think that all other parameters will be the same as D25 series.

  4. Thanks for this review David, surprised it arrived so early :)

    Nice to see that Pana have kept the lag to a minimum…was quite worried about the outcome but 35ms is fine for me and most mortals :)

    Any calibration settings for us? I know its not universal, but always a good starting point for us users….

    Looking forward to HDTV’s review of the VT20…hopefully by the end of May???

  5. David Mackenzie

    We’ll do what we can!

    @Rastl: not sure how it compares to other products with this branding, I can only really mention other TVs specifically – sorry.
    Full Luma and Chroma bandwidth was tested with the Spears & Munsil BD test disc, so that is a 4:2:0 source.

    @Audiphile76: pricing and my own personal opinion of super-slim TVs. Readers will of course decide the value of a product for themselves.

    OK, so here are the calibrated settings that came from *OUR* Panasonic TX-L42D25. Remember that simply copying these settings into your own TV will not get you a calibrated TV; calibration is when your individual unit is tuned to your individual system. It may improve the picture from the out of the box state, but if your own TX-L42D25’s performance is not the same as ours, then it may well make the picture worse. Tread carefully:

    Basic:
    Picture Mode: Professional
    Contrast: set according to ambient light in the room.
    Brightness: +2 clicks from middle
    Colour: leave at default
    Sharpness: 0 (all the way to the left)
    C.A.T.S.: Off
    P-NR: Off
    Picture Display: On (of course!)

    White Balance:
    R-Gain: -4 (4 clicks to the left from middle)
    G-Gain: 0
    B-Gain: -4

    R-Cut: -10
    G-Cut: 0
    B-Cut: +6 (6 clicks to the right)

    Colour Management:
    R-Hue: 0
    G-Hue: +2
    B-Hue: 0

    R-Saturation: 0
    G-Saturation: 0
    B-Saturation: -3

    Gamma: 2.2 (default)

    16:9 Overscan: OFF
    Intelligent Frame Creation: Off for Films, Mid for Video

  6. Thanks for the review. Could you give us an idea of the sound performance? I mean is it as bad as the samung 2009 7 series?

  7. David Mackenzie

    It didn’t stick out as being bad. I emphasised low and high frequencies with the TV’s graphic equaliser to give the sound a little bit more weight.

  8. Interesting review – thanks, I’ve been holding out to compare this set with some of the recent Sony’s. Did you try any of the USB recording features and the Viera Cast internet stuff? User-friendly and useful or a gimmick to bump up the cost?

  9. VIERA Cast works well enough for checking out YouTube videos once in a while, and the Skype part of it seems really cool (but will need the separate Panasonic camera, which I believe is going to be about 100 UK Pounds).

    I didn’t try the USB recording features – I don’t have a hard disk that Panasonic’s TVs like!

  10. Basilio Martinez

    Gracias por tus excelentes análisis y comentarios. Tus análisis siempre son muy útiles. Yo elegí mi primer LCD gracias a ellos (hace un año). Yo ahora necesito comprar otra televisión de 42 pulgadas. Y yo tengo mis esperanzas entre dos de los nuevos modelos LCD de Panasonic: éste D25 LCD Led, y el muy próximo G20. Yo esperaré a que usted haga el análisis del nuevo G20 para yo tomar una decisión final. Yo no pienso en la “estética”, o en modelos estrechos, o en un menor consumo de energía. Yo solo busco la calidad de imagen (y del sonido).
    Pero yo ahora le hago a usted una pregunta. ¿Cree usted que, realmente, son superiores los Led a los Lcd no led, si solo pensamos en la calidad e imagen?

  11. Basilio Martinez

    Thank you for your excellent analyses and comments. Your analyses are always very useful. I chose my first LCD thanks to them (one year ago). I now need to buy another television of 42 inches. And I have my hopes between two of the new model LCD of Panasonic: this D25 LCD Led, and the very next G20. I will wait to that you make the analysis of the new G20 for me to make a final decision. I don’t think of the “aesthetics”, or in narrow models, or in a smaller energy consumption. Me alone I look for the display quality (and of the sound).
    But I now make you a question. Do you believe that, is the Led really, superior to the Lcd non led, if alone we think of the quality and image?.
    (You should forgive my not well English one; I`m a Spanish of Spain and I speak little their language, but I understand the written text better).
    Basilio

  12. David Mackenzie

    Hi Basilo,
    Thanks for the comments, please forgive my poor Spanish ;)
    From the ones we’ve seen, LED sidelit LCDs do not give better picture quality, just a slimmer design. LED *backlit* LCDS can potentially give better quality, but they too can have problems. So, you should look at the Panasonic G20.

    But, you may want to wait a little longer for our next review :)

  13. Thanks for the review David, does this mean a review of the V20 is around the corner? My Loewe 32″ CRT is hanging on by a thread…..I need to replace it shortly!
    Regards, Paul.

  14. Many thanks for the review, I have been looking out for this TV since its release at Munich in February. My understanding was that as well as using ethernet to connect to the router you can also use wireless. I assume that you use a WiFi dongle connected to the USB port. Do you have any information on this set up. I believe that as the TV is not a PC then the driver is built into the TV and that you will probably have to buy a Panasonic WiFi dongle. Any info appreciated.

  15. David Mackenzie

    Yes, that’s right, you can use a Wifi dongle.
    You will probably have to use Panasonic’s own dongle, but I can’t confirm that.

  16. Basilio Martinez

    Thank you very much David for your response.
    Of course, I eagerly await its assessment of the G20. I will not take any decision to purchase until that time. I have great confidence in his professional discretion.

  17. I’m in the market for a new 37” TV and have been waiting for the Panasonic 2010 range to hit the shops.
    I have physical limitation, the space in the living room is only 99cm wide. So it’s a 37” or small case 40”.
    Finally got hands on of the new Panasonic TX-L37D25B LCD/LED on Sat 1st May.
    Ideal 92cm case width, great spec TV just what I’ve been waiting for but didn’t like the aesthetic looks, you eyes keep getting attracted to the grey effect suround which does look like it’s got a uneven bulge in it. It’s a huge distraction.
    Should I try and ignore this aesthetic finish and go with the spec.

    Or consider alternatives:
    Panasonic TX-L37G20 LCD ~ expect same spec (100 or 200 Hz) minus LED (not so thin) ~ not sure when avaialble ?
    Panasonic TX-L37V20 LED/LCD ~ (100 or 200 Hz) not sure when available (anyone know?)
    Panasonic TX-L37X20 Plasma ~ again not sure when available?

    Even looked at the Samsung UE40C6530U LCD/LED good looks, spec OK (case width 96cm ~ small bezel/surround)

    BUT is it as good as the Panasonics?

  18. “But, you may want to wait a little longer for our next review :) ”

    Care to enlighten us on this David? Any idea when this might be up or can you give us a hint as to what it might be?

  19. A big “thank you” to David Mackenzie for this review.

    My search for a new television has only just started and it is a veritable minefield.

    This review helps to set a few early benchmarks.

    I was about to buy this “blind” but I think further research is called for.

  20. Hello, blacks are really 0.17 cd/m2???

  21. Georgi Georgiev

    Yep, indeed – is it really 0.17cd/m2 ?!? Doesn’t sound like “usable”, more like “no black, just gray” :-).

  22. David Mackenzie

    Yes – black level has never been a strong point of IPS panels.

  23. Due to various conflicting reports re refresh rate on this model i.e. 100hz or 200hz, I contacted Panasonic & this is the response.
    In response, the D25 LED/LCD television has 100Hz Intelligent Frame Creation and a 100Hz backlight blinking (BLB) system. The two combined give a much clearer, sharper and more detailed picture with smooth moving objects and no artefacts. End result some sort of “super” 100hz?

  24. Basilio Martinez

    David, I have another question for you. It is very common for other brands of LED televisions tend to “saturate” in blue, “Azulene” image. Have you noticed if D25 Panasonic has that “default” or is able to manage it better. Another criticism of television Led color is “off.” How do you jam it television, the image tends to “clear”?.

  25. David Mackenzie

    @Ray: that’s a pretty good description. Regardless of how many “hertz” the marketing people want to slap on it, the important thing is how many lines of resolution it can resolve in motion.

    @Basilio: would you be able to re-phrase that question? The greyscale and colour, before and after calibration, were good on this TV.

  26. Basilio Martinez

    My not well English… is My question simply: there is not saturation of the blue color in this television?. Many televisions Led (Samsung, Philips, etc), they have the tendency to it turns the colors something “blued”, and also the colors something “out.” Have I been able to explain to myself now?.

  27. @ David: The Panasonic website says the unit has a moving picture resolution of 800 lines.
    http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/VIERA+Flat+Screen+Televisions/VIERA+Flat+Screen+TV+%28Ireland%29/TX-L42D25L/Specification/4723193/index.html?trackInfo=true
    A friend of mine was the G10 model & raves about it. It’s a shame that Panasonic don’t sell the G20 model (with sat tuner) in Ireland.

  28. Hi, Is it possible to record signal from satellite tuner on hdd?

  29. @RudLO: On the Panasonic product profile page, it mentions that an external HDD can be connected via USB & used as a PVR. I also understand from posts on other sites that not all external HDD will be compatible & that the drive will have to be formatted prior to first use with the TV.
    Along another line I’ve been looking at the G20 series but I’ve been told that Panasonic don’t have a Plasma with a free to air satellite receiver built in available in Ireland & that my only option is the G10, X20 or S20, neither of which have FTA satellite. They say that they can’t sell a “freesat” TV in Ireland due to licence, yet the D25 (with built in satellite) is available here! Confused? The G20 seems to be a great TV @ a few hundred euro less.

  30. David, is it possible to switch of the dynamic adjustment of the backlight depending on scene (depending on bright an dark parts)? If I understand it right C.A.T.S. is only for for switching off the ambient light sensor, isn’t it (that’s the explanation in the manual)? It would be nice if it is possible to switch off the dynamic reguation depending on visual content.

  31. Has anyone yet bought one of these (D25)? Please post comments if you have.

  32. David Mackenzie

    @Nemi: sadly not. It’s either on or off.

  33. That means C.A.T.S. is for both – switching of the ambient light sensor AND switching of backlight adjustment from scene to scene depending on blacks and whites?

  34. From what I understand C.A.T.S and the Intelligent Scene Controller are two seperate functions on the tv. The former can be turned off via the picture menu, the latter can not (it does not have an option.)

    Having said that, I have recentley bought a D25 and when the C.A.T.S is off, there is no noticeable fluctions in backlight between different scenes – but then again I didn’t notice any with the C.A.T.S, except when ambient light in the room was altered. My conclusion is that the Intelligent Scene Controller is very subtle and unobtrusive.

  35. David, can you clarify below from the gaming section:

    “This means that video games will feel slightly unresponsive (if you have a non-lagging reference), but 35ms is still on the better side of acceptability.”

    What about the low ms time given by the manufacturer (2ms)? According to specs it should be more than enough to play fast action games on PS3 etc.

    I bought myself a D25 that’s why the curiosity! Thanks!

  36. David Mackenzie

    @Dirk: we get this question a lot: 2ms is the time the manufacturer claims it takes for the liquid crystals on the panel to change colour.
    But, input lag is a different measurement, it’s the time it takes the video processor to even deliver those commands to the LCD panel in the first place. Manufacturers don’t quote it.

  37. @placemat Thank’s thats exactly what I want to hear. I have ordered it now. I think the way how the itelligent scence controller works is depending on the mode (dynamic / true cinema and so on). That’s my experience from older Panasonic TVs. I will try it if I have it.
    But in every test from this TV I have only read something about switching off C.A.T.S (ambient sensor) and no word about the quality of the intelligent scene controller. If there is no backlight switching depending on scene it would be also nice for me, but I don’t thin so. ;)

  38. I have bought the TV and my expiriences are:
    C.A.T.S in Germany called eco is responsible for activating or deactivating the ambient light sensor. You can see how it works if you place your finger on the sensor in a bright room.

    The scene by scene change of the backlight is depending on the used mode. In dynamic and standard mode the intelligent scene controller is on and is changing backlight level depending on blacks and whites in the current picture. You can check it with a black picture – press the menu button when the Panasonic displays the black picture – you will see a change of backlight level in standard and dynamic mode because the menu is shown. In all other modes the itelligent scene controller is off. That means in true cinema, game, professional 1 and professional 2 mode there is no backlight changing depending on black and whites percentage in the picture. I think that is a very good solution.

  39. I have purchased one of these today, excellent set.

  40. can anyone resolve the difference between the TX-L 42D25B and the 42D26B?

    seems Comet do the 26. ( Maybe just colour of the frame).

    Is there also a 25E and if so what is the difference.

    This tv seems to be advertised as 200hz in some places. is it?

  41. I am looking for a decent TV with low input lag, as I play Xbox360 (PES, Top Spin, etc.) and Wii. Plasma is not an option because the size I need is 37″ or 40″.

    This TV is a bit overpriced, but as far as I know it is the only 37″ or 40″ TV released this year with decent input lag.

    => Do you know any other option in this price range or below ?

    Thanks in advance for your reply.

  42. Hey Shaun,

    The 42d26b is the exact same TV – just Comets exclsuive model number. See Comet’s own on-line Q&A’s for confirmation.

    Thanks

  43. Purchased the 42/D25 on 04/06. Very impressive set. Handles DVB-T & DVB-S very well – excellent FTA HD & blu-ray is awesome. Out of the box the picture is a little dark & blacks are just “too” black – no shadow detail. Used the calibration settings above & results are much better. Yeah a little overpriced as mentioned above but the free blu-ray player softened the blow.

  44. I bought this one yesterday… but if I’m overall satisfied, I’d like to know what you mean by “screen uniformity”? For colors, it seems good… but in full dark scenes, I observe some “less black” halo in some places the lower part of the screen, especially on the lower right side: Some kind of “side clouding” due to side led backlighting?

    I’ve no experience on what should be expected as “good” for such a LCD panel given the limitations of this technology… But seeing this and as your last words were “Given that other LED side-lit products have exhibited severe screen uniformity issues (…) Panasonic’s offering has the least issues we’ve seen on an edge-backlit LED LCD television to date.”… maybe mine could also have something wrong?

    For me quite noticeable and I don’t know how this could be avoided, because pressing a bit with the hand the grey plastic sides of the screen (not the screen itself) make this default appear more or in some other places of the screen: So this may be triggered by assembly or just maybe the temperature of the plastic pressing more or less the LCD panel with dilatation!

    For the good stuff, that’s on the other aspects a good screen: Colors, artifacts on quick scenes that made me reluctant to changing my old Sony Trinitron since years… even the tricky part of upscaling DVD from an old (analog outputs only) player is on par with what can handle my PS3.

    Thanks in advance for your answers about these black side halo? I’d like to know if it’s worth annoying the shop with that!?

  45. “screen uniformity”? – especially on the lower right side: Some kind of “side clouding” due to side led backlighting?”

    Thats exactly the effect. In every color and grey level (for example from a testdisc) the screen should show an absolute uniform picture. Especially with black it doesn’t but that’s an effect nearly every edge lit TV does have.

    “For me quite noticeable and I don’t know how this could be avoided, because pressing a bit with the hand the grey plastic sides of the screen (not the screen itself) make this default appear more or in some other places of the screen: So this may be triggered by assembly or just maybe the temperature of the plastic pressing more or less the LCD panel with dilatation!”

    That’s my opinion also. You can try to buy get a new one but it’s likely that the next TV will have the same or similar problems. I have calibrated two D25 now and they both had this problems. On the other hand the colors are great and HD looks awesome.

  46. Thanks for your confirmation than this is led-edge problem… Panasonic, with full les arrays cost so hight, should have kept ccfl on full bak panel for this product!

    Otherwise, the compromise is very good… but that could have been excellent.

  47. I am interested on this screen uniformity question. I purchased this set from comet few weeks ago. The model number is different D26 rather than D25. This set has black surround otherwise all specifications are the same. I watch this uniformity issue carefully with both SD, HD and DVD films. I did not notice any such artefact on this set. I did not try with Blu-ray. I am not sure if this is the common problem or this varies with set to set. To me the black level seems perfectly black at least visually.

  48. Hi,

    I’m interested on buying this tv -first due to the excelent review posted here, and second for the prices – i don’t think you can find any other led tv with wifi, internet content, dlna, sattelite, usb, image quality and so on for that price-. Now i have two question to clarify yet:
    1- Is there any difference between D25B and D25E models? here (spain) you can find both, and i don’t know what the differences are and which one i should select.
    2- could anyone that has the tv check and confirm what kind of video files support through the usb port? i don’t think this tv reproduces .mkv files, but i would like to know.
    i’m also a little worried about the uniformity issues reported..but i have tryed to detect it on others edge-lit led tvs (samsumg, lg, sony..), and i didnt notice it -maybe my eyes are not ready for that ;)

    many thanks,

  49. For the uniformity issue, check by selecting an unconnected AV input: You should then see (in a low light environment) it clearly. It does not depend on the source (TV, DVD…), this is a backlight diffuser or LCD panel issue.

    For supported video files: Only divx/avi it seems… I still have to use the PS3 to watch h264/m4v.

    As well, for internet content, you have to go through panasonic portal that restrict access to useless things except some videos from youtube that look very bad on a screen this size… or the on-demand video panasonic is on business with!

    DLNA? As I still need the PS3 to decode unsupported codecs… I don’t use it!

    I think TV makers should concentrate on the image quality… not putting a (very bad) computer in a TV set.

  50. When do you expect to do the review of the L42V20? Will it be different it’s input lag than the L37V20? Thank you.

  51. For the uniformity issue I experience, see this test… It’s in croatian bug there’s a photo of the issue (in “Uniformnost ekrana” chapter):
    http://hdtelevizija.com/2010/05/16/recenzija-lcd-panasonic-tx-l42d25e-106-cm/all/1/

  52. Basilio Martinez

    I have been able to see yesterday in operation this televisión D25 in 42”. It is a great television!. I think that it is one of best television LEDs that there is in the market (for my, superior even to the last of Sony and Samsung). It is very surprising the quality that Panasonic has gotten with its first Leds. Alone there is a thing that is not so good: the sound. This is an eternal problem. The makers are all concerned ones to make narrow televisions, and this alone way they can put small speakers.
    I hope the new G20 is better in the sound. I have compared the dimensions of the speakers, and the G20 they are two bigger centimeters (16 in front of 14), and the cone is also a little deeper.
    (By the way, and although this it is not the place to say it, one of the differences among the plasms G20 and V20, are also the speakers. The V20 has 3 speakers. You can to see it if they compare the characteristics in user’s manual).
    Many people hope it is in market and that we can read their critic.

  53. End of my uniformity issue: I got my TV back to the shop and they gave me a new one.

    On the new one, a few more light can still be seen in some places (always at the lowest right corner) in very low light environment on a dark image… but much less than the first set: This is the limits of the LCD technology maybe and this is no more an issue.

    I finally found the first one issue too disturbing on dark films (trying Star Wars made my decision) and I had until today to change it: I’ve been more lucky this time!

  54. when we go to a HD channel on this tv the screen shows 1080i 50hz. Is that correct? ie both BBC HD and ITV HD channel.

    should it not be 100hz and when does it display 1080p?

    thanks,

    shaun

  55. The TV shows the input, not the output

  56. Parmjeet Seehra

    I am having the same screen uniformity issues with the 42D25 and can’t decide whether to try a new replacement or get a refund. I’ve read all LED backlit TV’s suffer from screen uniformity and it’s a case of love it or hate it.
    Upon watching scenes with dark background images or widescreen movies with the black barring I can see the halo like effect on the top and bottom right hand side of the screen and it’s so distracting. Turning to a AV/HDMI channel without signal really shows up the screen uniformity.
    Panasonic UK technical tell me I should see no more than a mm LED edge lighting round the perimeter and that my case sounds severe.
    I’ve now read all LED backlit TV’s suffer from screen uniformity.
    Considering a direction change and go for the 42G20 Plasma TV. Does any have any advise in making a decision?

  57. @Parmjeet:
    You can try to get a new one and experience less severe issue, as I did… But that’s not no issue at all as there is always some uniformity issues in dark scenes seen in a dark room. That’s an LCD issue, only a few manufacturers are able to avoid this, especially with IPS technology: You have Eizo, but price will be 3000$ for a 30″ display!

    So that depends on youy viewing conditions. A plasma does not exhibit such problems… but the hight voltage will generate a noise that will be louder over time (as voltage is automatically tuned up to compensate aging loss of contrast, which is plasma problem!): Sometimes after less than 1500 hours of use (=40 days on continuous use, which is very short).

    Every current technology have issues and you’ll have to make compromise… or pay a very high price.

  58. Hi, on official web site there is only one supported HDD mentioned. Have you tried other ones?

    http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/tv/compatibility/usb/eu.html

    Thanks.

  59. regarding screen uniformity issues, even cinemas get it as most modern cinemas
    use back screen projection, and the use of side lighting which spills onto the edges
    of the main screen.

  60. hi pals
    after searching for a long time I have bought L42D25E Pav LCD LED TV
    and my expiriences are:
    -have not succeeded yet to watch videos on net tv (is possible to ad web adress.?)
    -there are transperant frames especially in action films
    -could someone give us efficient setting esp.for best picture
    thanks

  61. @gaziss.
    You cannot search the net per say, but searches are possible within youtube. Searching via google not possible. I turned my main wireless router repeater function to “on”, hooked up a second wireless router via ethernet cable to tv & viera cast works fine.
    As for trasparent frames, I haven’t noticed this problem, but if you use the settings below you shouldn’t notice any problems & gives a really nice PQ.

    These settings are the results from the test by hdtvtest (shown above)

    Basic:
    Picture Mode: Professional
    Contrast: set according to ambient light in the room.
    Brightness: +2 clicks from middle
    Colour: leave at default
    Sharpness: 0 (all the way to the left)
    C.A.T.S.: Off
    P-NR: Off
    Picture Display: On (of course!)

    White Balance:
    R-Gain: -4 (4 clicks to the left from middle)
    G-Gain: 0
    B-Gain: -4

    R-Cut: -10
    G-Cut: 0
    B-Cut: +6 (6 clicks to the right)

    Colour Management:
    R-Hue: 0
    G-Hue: +2
    B-Hue: 0

    R-Saturation: 0
    G-Saturation: 0
    B-Saturation: -3

    Gamma: 2.2 (default)

    16:9 Overscan: OFF
    Intelligent Frame Creation: Off for Films, Mid for Video

  62. just aquired l42d25e but what kind of digital audio output cable is needed ?

  63. Hello there, I have just purchased this TV, and have a few teething issues that I would love some advice on…

    The HD picture from the Blue ray player seems to

    a: have a strange pixelated ‘halo’ just on the edge of the sharp images against the out of focus images, this is mainly noticeable during a fast hand held scene, very obvious indeed on complex images like a bicycle wheel turning against an out of focus background.

    b; The sharp images are very very sharp and seem entirely unrelated to the out of focus images. Giving films like Bourne Ultimatum the look of a badly lit TV drama! It seems to flatten the subject and give a very un-organic or filmic image. Is this a Blu Ray thing, or a cheap HDMI cable thing, or indeed, a Panasonic LED TV thing?

    Many thanks for your help.

    Tom :o)

  64. David,

    Your reviews are very helpful but there is a lot I don’t understand. How would you decide between Panasonic TX-L42D25 and Sony KDL-40EX703U? They are about the same price.

    I get the impression that you thought the Panasonic was good but that review came ahead of the Sony.

    Please consider sound as well as picture.

  65. Can anyone tell me whether the cadence detection failure actually translates to an everyday problem watching films from a standard SD source (eg ITV/Filmfour), 1080i HD source (eg ITVHD) or DVD source?
    It’s very confusing for us mere mortals to decide if the pictures exampled here:
    http://www.hqv.com/index.cfm?page=tech.cadence
    are actually going to happen when watching it!

  66. @John Dawson: a Digital Optical cable will work.

    @Tom Williams: sounds like you need to turn off “Intelligent Frame Creation” and “24p Smooth Film”.

    @Timothy:
    Basically, you need to decide what’s more important: the richness of the picture (nod to Sony for its higher contrast panel) or picture quality when watched from the sides (Panasonic’s IPS panel means the picture stays mostly the same when you don’t watch from the middle). Sound is about the same on both.

    @Streethawk:
    Those pictures you linked to are a good example, but the problem is less noticeable because most digital TV broadcasts are quite blurry; you won’t be able to see as many jaggies.

    The only exception will be if you have a good upscaling DVD/Blu-ray player connected over HDMI, in which case your DVDs won’t show the issue.

  67. Fair point about the transmission quality. I do wonder whether this will ever improve or if it is an inevitable downward spiral.

    Anyhow, I have to wait for Richer Sounds to get hold of some stock (as I am tied to a refund from them) of this or the Samsung 40C650, between which I am having trouble deciding.

    I do like the idea of a TV I can record straight to HDD from, but then I could get a cheaper TV and a Humax (if I ever find a decent TV on sale at RS and not some unreviewed variant!)

    Tnaks for your help and great reviews as ever.
    SM

  68. I have had two sets in the last month and both have developed the same fault; a very loud buzzing noise when shifting between AV1 & AV2 and also when putting Sky on standby. This is an intermitent fault which appears a period in use. The first set developen the fault after only 48 hours the second after three weeks.

  69. HI Guys,

    Great Review, I am just wondering if this tv is really the works.

    I am looking at this one ( actually bought it 2 days ago and will get it tomorrow) and have been thinking since If I should buy a 46″.

    Is there a better tv under £1100 that is a 46″ compared with this one???

    Let me know asap please.

    Thank you for all your answers and hard work.

  70. great info in your review… just bought txl42 and I’m in the middle of setting it up for my situation. One question regarding the “record to HDD”. Pana’s web page only mentions one HDD tested. Will i be able to run a small portable HDD powered by the USB, and if so which one?
    Many Thanks

  71. hi! i am upgrading my exsisting crt tv (32″) & all this tech stuff is a little over my head – just want to know if this is a good tv to buy or not. have seen some lcd screens & find the picture a little ‘grainy’ for my liking – would this be an improvement on my old crt picture or not & do i need a seperate sound system?? any advice would be appreciated as i’m new to all this latest techno stuff, many thanx

  72. sorry to add to the above, the 2 tv’s i’ve been looking at were this one (panasonic) & sharp lc40le821e.

  73. Hi there, I really like your review.
    I’ve just seen this TV advertised (here in Spain) for 899€ (£784) and the price is on par with 40″ Samsung & Sony TV’s. The difference is that the Panasonic has features that these two don’t include for the same price e.g. VieraCast (web tv), SD card slot, HDD recording and Satelite TV tuner. Also, the WiFi dongle it uses does not have to be from Panasonic. You can use a D-link dongle which will cost you a third.
    What I would like to know is if you can record programs onto a USB Pendrive instead of a HDD ?

    Thanks ;-)

  74. I read in your report the consume of this led is 80W in the professional mode. which is the setting what you used for get this consume? thanks a lot.

  75. Bought a 42D25 the other day to replace my TX32PK2. Out of the box, looked OK, set up quickly. Began to notice motion artifacts on contrasting moving edges. I.E., moving silohouettes. The edge would break up up when moving and it began to really annoy me after shelling out for a decent LCD TV. It was getting to the point of packing it back up and returning it when I thought I would try connecting to the internet via the RJ45 socket and try out the internet capability. Within 10 seconds it said there was a firmware update available and did I want to download it. Updated and since then I have only seen one problem of a motion artifact with a Christmas tree moving out of bottom left frame which might be normal on HD?

    Otherwise, sound is nothing great, picture is good when it is good. LCD TVs are no forgiver of poor quality media and can look REALLY terrible when bad, with bleached skin tones and over saturated colours. Watching the X factor in HD, after each song, there is a wide shot of the stage, this would be excessively dark and did not look right resulting in a small puddle of light in the middle of murkiness. I carried out the adjustments in the page above which seems to have solved this problem. Going to keep trying it for a few days yet to check the contrast artifact problem has been eliminated……

    Oh, one other issue, I was watcing on freesat when the sound and picture locked-up in a 1 second loop and then the TV switched off! What next I ask?

  76. OK, watched The Apprentice last night and my motion artefacts are just the same as before the update. It is happening on camera panning and moving shots. I also turned over from Freesat HD to Freesat SD and the same problem was there on the same programme. It is distracting to me more than most people as I occasionally have to tech review programmes before transmission and look out for drop-out and the like, which this problem looks like. Time to make some phone calls. It would be good to know if anyone else has this problem.

  77. Have you tried turning off IFC. This caused artefacts

  78. Bought TX-L32D25 based on various best buy recommendations and this review, but have to say very disappointed with picture. Although much better after using the settings above (with IFC etc off) I seem to have terrible artefacts for practically any panning shot from any source in HD or SD, especially in one particular vertical strip 1/3rd in from the left of the screen. Made worse because I watch a lot of sport in every football match I find my focus/attention swtiching automatically to the black shadows away from the action every time the ball is moved at pace, no matter how much I try to ignore it.

    My old TX-26LXD500 gave a better picture. Software update and new cables did nothing to change. Only hope now is that my set is faulty and can be fixed / replaced.

  79. I got this TV this week and pleased with quality of image and sound. Modern SD image is good and am waiting for HD Freeview which starts in my area next year.

    One thing I wish the TV did would be when in the TV guide to see the channel continue playing (my 26″ Sony does this), I wondered if this feature can be turned on since there is an empty window on the right side of the TV guide page with “VIERA” written in.

  80. Hi ,

    I would like to buy a new tv led but i m between the TX-L42D25 LED-LCD panasonic and the Samsung UE40C6530. which one is better ? The TX of panasonic is a real led TV or is just a mix of both techonogies?
    Many thanks,
    Mauro

  81. Neither are ‘real’ LED TVs. They are both LCD TVs with LED lighting. There are almost no real OLED TVs out there right now.
    The Samsung will have better black level, but the Panasonic has better viewing angle.

  82. I returned this set due to the backlight being patchy / blotchy. This was most noticeable watching The Ashes – horizontally panning camera shots looked terrible and very distracting. It’s like black smudging, I could barely make out the ball as it was tracked to the boundary.

    It’s a shame LED side lit panels are so poor in this regarding. I’ve gone back to standard LCD and bought a 40″ Samsung C580 instead.

    I would advise if panel uniformity is important to you that you steer clear of side lit LEDs. I’ve had 3 and all have been worse than poor

  83. What USB HDD would you recommend with this set?

  84. I’ve just bought this set and, whilst the picture is generally impressive, the led side lighting is distracting. I think it varies according to angle of view, but I have two semi circular patches at the bottom of the screen just off centre and a halo top right. They extend a good couple of inches into the screen and do water down dark colours in the same area. In addition there is a washing out of the darks in the whole screen when viewed from certain angles – views from the side at eye level when sitting are fine, but if viewed from the side in a standing position ie above and to the side, the whole picture is washed out

    Is this a case of me working out whether I think this is acceptable or is this a particularly badly affected unit?

    Thanks..

  85. I have just bought the Panasonic TXL37D25B after reading many good reviews, including yours. I have just a couple of questions:
    I paid the extra for a 100Hz TV but the spec in the instruction book for my TV does not metion 100Hz and occasionally the text 1080p 50Hz flashes up in the upper left hand corner. Do I need to manually set it to 100Hz somehow?
    I only seem to be able to get a decent picture on Freeview HD channels and DVD input if I crank the contrast and brightness up to +9 or +10. The Dynamic, Cinema and True Cinema settings are much too dark for these inputs.
    The sound is also very low on Freeview HD but OK on SD channels.
    Could they be something wrong with TV?

  86. I’ve purchased this set, based on this and several other great reviews, after a poor experience with a Samsung and very poor input lag.

    My Panasonic has what I feel is very obvious, very poor “glowing” in each corner when dark, which is quite often when you watch blu-rays etc.

    The following links are photos of the issue taken on my iPhone (so not great quality I admit).

    http://yfrog.com/h0trasqj http://yfrog.com/h01yalj http://yfrog.com/hs7mlcj

    Is this normal, do I have a poor set? What other choices are there if this is “normal” for this set, as it’s not acceptable in my opinion.

  87. to mattk:

    i have the exact same problem with my panasonic led tx-l42d25 i have now had it replaced and another sent out which again has this artefact problem especially noticable when watching sports, also there is a very bad uniformity issue with the one i have now worse than the first.

    a guy from came out to confirm the fault on the 1st one so you shouldnt have a problem getting it replaced or refunded as i think you will problem have the same if you get another one as i have which i am now in the process of getting a refund!

  88. I have read various reviews and am more confused by getting a new telly than ever before – i thought it would be easy!! I have read techradar which gave me a good start.

    What i want is a 32″ lcd/led telly to replace my 28″ phillips digital tv (the old style big heavy style) with Freeview and freeview HD, good picture quality, no blurring, internet capability etc
    I am unsure as to what TV to get but narrowed down to the following

    Panasonic Viera G20 (TX-L32G20B)
    Panasonic Viera D25 (TX-L32D25) – also told by a salesman that this was not a popular TV – is this true and if so why not.
    Panasonic Viera D28 (TX-L32D28)

    I was also told in a specialist tv shop that if i bought the telly off the internet i wouldn’t be able to tune the telly or install it, and not get a picture as good as if they came and installed it!

    Any suggestions?

  89. Hi Con

    No LCD (or LED LCD) will give you completely blur-free video. It’s still a problem, for the most part. Plasma is the way to go for clearer motion, if that’s your priority. The LCDs are getting better, though.

    None of the Panasonics are bad LCDs (not any more!), but they don’t have much in the way of a unique selling point, if I’m being blunt. If I was looking for a good value 32″ LCD display, I’d look at the Samsung LE32C530, which we reviewed on this site.

    Finally:

    “I was also told in a specialist tv shop that if i bought the telly off the internet i wouldn’t be able to tune the telly or install it, and not get a picture as good as if they came and installed it! ”

    This sort of outright lying by a retailer is probably why so many people are buying online now – despicable. Which specialist shop was this? If the retailer does ISF Calibrations, the last part (about picture quality) may be true, which is why I ask.

  90. Thanks David

    There are so many tv i have also considered the sony kdl32ex713 , kdl32ex503 & kdl32ex703, & panasonic TXL32G20.

    What are your thoughts on these?

  91. Good
    . it works well as DVB-T/S2 TV
    . perfect with Pictures and Video/AVCHD from Lumix TZ10
    . via HDMI a great Computer Monitor
    . all testet USB Discs between 160GB and 2TB work but you should use very short USB cable – only at first try very annoying
    . USB recording Quality is perfect except with poor DVB-T Signal (watch it and reboot!)
    . during recording you can use at least Viera Cast or watch from external Device etc.

    and the Bad,
    Usability of USB Recording very poor:
    – takes the title when recording starts,
    that means: NO title or WRONG title most of the time (because TV-Guide is not in sync with real time schedule)
    – does not show Videos from Sony Ericson Handy/.mp4 or my Sony T9/.mpg
    – DLNA is in an early disappointing state

    I requested firmware update from Panasonic
    + USB Recording: take the title form TV Guide,
    it is what the user intended to record
    + show the real time title in the additional Information (i)
    + add the length of the recording in the primary list
    + improve playback Format Compatibility

    Summary: the all in one idea is not met by the TX-L42D25E.

    Panasonc service responded in time but helpless.
    If there would be a chance for firmware update I would buy the TX-L42D25E again.
    But as there seems to be no chance, I would buy a cheaper DVB-T TV without DVB-S2 and USB recording + dedicated external more usable devices.

  92. Hi David,

    After calibrating the set using the settings you mentioned, I am quite happy with the picture.

    However, I think I would like the picture to be a bit ‘cooler’ . How should I tweak the settings for this?

    Thanks.

  93. Thanks, cool review… but I need to know about dvb-t…does this TV have dvb-t inside?
    if the answer is yes, which version supports dvb-t?

  94. After reading various reviews over Christmas I narrowed down our choice of a new TV to 3, ie. Sony KDL-40EX503U, Samsung LE40C650 or Panasonic TX-P42G20. This was to be our first, long-awaited panel TV since living off donated CRT’s in recent years as each soon died – you’ll see how I’m jinxed with electricals.

    Anyway spotted a sudden big price drop in Sainsbury’s sale for the Pany to £639 and so with it’s extra features (eg. FreeView/FreeSat HD, USB record, network/internet) bought it on-line. It arrived brand new still sealed in box – took it out to find screen was shattered – noticed box had slight indent marks on sides obviously from clamping or fork-lift. Sainsbury’s were then out-of-stock, not getting any more, said were end-of-line. Moaned like hell and got £50 voucher compensation.

    Bought another Pany on-line from Currys at £664 using 5% off code – it arrived sealed while I was at work and the wife accepted it but driver insisted on opening box to check it. When I got home and took it out of box found screen had a 3 inch scratch – not sure if was there from manufacturing or if delivery man did it while poking around in the box (eg. rings or watch on his hand). Sent it straight back.

    Bought another Pany on-line from Tesco at £704 – but when switched on found it had a couple of dead pixels and we saw the plasma screen was far too reflective causing distraction in our room with the lights/windows/patio, it was like looking in a mirror. However, like most reviews we found the picture quality was superb and sound quite good as well – we only have Virgin Media cable giving standard definition at the moment. Sent it back.

    After further reading bought on-line an anti-reflective LCD, the Panasonic TX-L42D25B with side LED’s – because again it was top rated, had same extras as the plasma version and I noticed was quite cheaper than usual at £678 from Dixons using 5% off code. I did not want to get the Samy C650 because on reading and checked in store it has a shinny screen coating “Ultra Clear” which badly reflects. So I set up the Pany ‘D25 during daytime and pictures on SD again superb, sound fairly good, but it was not quite so natural looking as the plasma just being a bit more sharper and more vibrant colours – I thought this was better but wife did not, though of course the matt screen helped greatly with reducing reflections. But then, a problem appeared that first night when I stayed up late to enjoy the technology and it became noticeable in a darkened room. During dark scenes I saw some whiteness patches, especially round the screen edges. On quickly Google’ing and reading some reviews feedback I found some others had this same issue though some not for “backlight bleed/non-uniformity”. Puzzled, I had a closer look at the TV with it tuned to a radio station no picture (black screen) but LED backlighting still on – I clearly saw on the bottom edge each side of centre was 2 semi-circle whitish patches about 6 inches across fading as further away from the edge. There was also a couple of similar but smaller patches on the screen side edges. Looking down the screen from directly above I could see part of the LED lighting along the bottom edge shinning up from gaps between the actual panel and the plastic frame casing ie. like using a torch to shine onto front of the screen. Similar was seen in places at the sides. Basically the edge lighting was not properly enclosed and casting illuminated patches onto darkened screen. I could even push the panel inwards slightly in these places (about 2-3 mm and it rattled) which made the problem much worse. I went into some local super-stores to look at those on display and found some had same issue and some did not. Sent ours back.

    Finally, decided to buy the Sony KDL-40EX503U which now had dropped to typically £599 – bought it online from Sony direct with 5 year guarantee (same deal was available at John Lewis and M&S). It’s up and running, no problems found (yet?) and again has superb pictures with our SD cable, good enough on sound for general viewing not being tinny – we are really pleased with it overall. Out of box set-up was excellent, though I want to try improving the blacks so that they look slightly greyer and show more shadow detail – can anyone suggest best way to do this, which settings to change. I’ve tried using this review by David calibration settings mentioned in earlier post – but blacks still a bit too black and overwhelming on some programmes for us. This issue seems do vary from channel to channel and programme to programme with some being good on blacks and others with over-blackness, so I don’t know if its more to do with the broadcast quality/compression? Any advice appreciated.

  95. Panasonic Buyer

    This TV is fantastic but suffers badly from light blooming at the bottom of the screen. It also switches itself off and on at random particularly within the first hour of switching on.
    I had my TV replaced after 4 weeks and the second set is exactly the same on both faults.
    Yes its a great picture and is packed with features but you don’t expect these kind of problems with a TV this expensive.

  96. I have read the reviews etc. Some issues with light blooming blahblah.
    The model now out by panasonic the TX-L42E30. Release date march 2011.

    Has anyone brought this model and does it resolve some of the niggles with the older model. OR is it better just to stick with the older model.

  97. has anyone else had issue connecting a HD PC via HDMI to the txl 42d25b, I get great picture but no sound? and if so how have you resolved it?

  98. I live on a spanish resort where the tv feed is free to air via a communal satellite….i can receive all the tv programmes through the inbuilt decoder in my panasonic TXL 42 D 25 E….however, i want to record to an old phillips dvd hard disc recorder where the standard connection requires the primary aerial connection to go first to the dvd recorder…..unfortunately, the dvd hasn’t got any decoder so how can i wire up connections between tv and dvd to record tv programmes???….the dvd recorder probably dates from before inbuilt decoders were developed!

  99. David Blakey you can hook up an external hd via usb and record onto that.

  100. Wi-Fi dongle.
    -new post to an old thread-
    Much has been said about the cost of the dedicated Panasonic Wi-Fi dongle (Amazon @ £67.99) which Panasonic maintain is the only one compatible with the D25.
    I came across this Netgear dongle which Netgear verify as being compatible with the D25
    http://www.netgear.com/WIFITV @ £24.25 from Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-RangeMax-Wireless-N-Adapter-WNDA3100v2/dp/B002RLC7WO/ref=dp_cp_ob_rec-ht_title_0
    Works a dream!
    Apparently it has to be the v2 model to work with the D25.

  101. This TV (specifically the TX-L42D25e) has four HDMI inputs, three on the rear panel and another one on the side. However, I think I’ve read that only one of these inputs is an HDMI 1.4. Can anyone confirm this please, and tell me which port is of the four? Thanks!

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