The Panasonic TH42PZ70B review is now complete. Under the “Benchmark” section you will find an additional item labelled “Motion Resolution”, the value of which I shall explain below.
I’ve recently received a new test disc called “FPD Benchmark Software For Professional” (many thanks to Gary Merson from HDGuru for the heads up), which contains a few test patterns that will allow me to objectively quantify the amount of motion blurring on any display device. This is the pattern (Chapter 31, Resolution Pattern 2) I find most useful:
Each “pillar” contains 4 lines which progressively become thinner as we go down the screen; the numbers on the right denote the resolution of the lines. This particular test pattern will scroll horizontally at a rate of 6.5 ppf (pixels per frame). By noting down the resolution (the number on the right) at which we can still discern all 4 lines separately (i.e. they don’t merge into 3 lines or less), we can determine the motion resolution of the television.
Of course, the result will be influenced by:
- Whether the television is able to fully resolve 1080 static resolution in the first place;
- Your viewing distance (the farther you sit, finer resolution will be lost to the eye).
And remember, it’s only a test pattern. In real-life viewing, the panning speed and the resolution of the objects being panned will differ. But at least the “FPD Benchmark” provides me with an objective standard to assess motion resolution, and to compare the results between televisions. This motion resolution test will be performed on all future televisions I review, including the Sony KDL40X3500 LCD TV (Motionflow on vs off).
Great review. Have just recently bought the screen myself, and I am really pleased with the picture quality. But I would be very grateful if you can post your settings for both run-in period and after.
A very professional review Vincent.
I really like this panel now for the price even though I would be looking at the 50″ version, TH50PZ70.
Vincent,
Where on the web can we find info about this “FPD Benchmark Software For Professional” disk?
Where can we order it?
Erg, they *still* have this love of black/near-black fluctuation. This to me screams exactly the same thing as Sony dimming the backlight on the W3000, only it seems like you’ve not been able to calibrate it out on this occasion (and certainly I was never able to when I owned a PX60 for a time).
I’m sure you’ve probably already passed this TV on by now, but perhaps if you still have it you could answer:
Does the processing on this set still suffer the strange shadow banding issue as the lower res sets? It’s particularly noticeable in the Xbox 360 dashboard when you’re flicking between the main tabs (the black horizontal lines at the top and bottom of the screen appear to “shadow” beyond where the actual line ends) – another example is the Sky Digital menu – each menu option and the little gap in between creates an odd shadowing effect. Have they managed to rid themselves of this in he PZ70 or is it still an issue?
Thanks for a fantastic review once again!
Hi Vincent,
Please could you show us you recommendation scale for TVs, so we know which is the highest level through to the lowest. Im just now sure which level is higer in your opinion “Highly Recommended” or “Qualified Recommended”?
Regards
Del
Hmm this review surprises me a bit. I’ve had the TH50PY70 (euro/dutch model) for a few days but returned it because it was quite a disappointment. I’ve compared it side by side with my old 42PWD7. I only game (PS3) and watch Blue-ray/DVD no SD-tv. My gripes:
– Terrible judder with 24Hz. It does accept the signal but there is zero difference in turning 24Hz on and off and is just as bad as the pwd7.
– Motion handling was noticeably worse than on my pwd7! (when gaming)
– Pretty dim, even on screen-killing torch mode.
– black levels disappointing, completely dark screen was still admitting considerable amounts of light. It seems this was getting worse with every hour of use. At first it seemed better than pwd7 but got worse later on.
– enormous power consumption 500W+ (I actually measured that :))
Detail and colors where great! Gotta agree on that :)
Perhaps I got a bad screen or things get much better after 200+ hours of runtime or the 42 is better than the 50. Possibly PZ is different from the PY but I don’t think that’s the case. I’m probably just a bit too critical.
And since I recently noticed burnt-in Warhawk health-bars on my old PWD7, I concluded that gaming and plasma’s are a bad combination and started looking at LCD’s instread. Any chance of a 52/46xl2e review soon? :)
The one item that has not been remarked upon is Power Consumption. 1920×1080 Plasmas seem to have an excessive power consumption of the order of 500W for a 42″. This is almost double the power consumption of a 1920×1080 LCD.
Not only is this an uncessary waste of energy, but is a significant heat source in the average room.
Can we please have accurate power consumption quoted for all screens tested?
Roland
Calibrated 40″ F86 samsung uses only 124W.(Tested by a german magazine)Same test was done for Panasonic 42″ PZ700 wich used 370W after calibration. So LCDs use about a third of what plasmas do.
I agree with Roland about power consumption tests.(device costs about 10€)
Excellent review of the visual properties of the 42PZ70 but what was the sound quality of the tv like? Interesting to see motion handling now able to be measured in future reviews.
Raitzi:
Std iq test:
I know one LCD that use 1/3 of a specific plasma tv.
Can I from this conclude that all LCDs use 1/3 of all plamas? (hint: the answer is no)
Vincent.
Thanks for the great review. I have the 42 PZ70 and couldn’t be happier. It was a tough decision – the W3000 or the Panasonic. In the end I chose the Panny because it looked more pleasing to the eye and had a real price advantage.
However in your view… Which set is best for day to day use (SD/HD/BluRay/PS3 etc) between the F86, W3000 and PZ70 ?
Tough decision?
Regarding this issue of de-interlacing, is this a real world problem if you’re using the following sources:
o Sky+ (at present) – wondering the most about this, will it look good?
o Sky HD (soon) – I believe this upscales SD broadcasts, does it also de-interface (presumably it does if 720p is used, not so sure about 1080i (Sky default))
o DVD/BluRay via PS3 (OK I’m presuming, upscaled to 720p/1080p?)
o PS3 games (that should be fine, 1080p)
The decision at last seems to be getting easier, the Pioneer is certainly a very good buy, and I don’t doubt for a minute that it has a better picture in many respects, but the £500 saving plus the native 1080p sways it towards the Panasonic for me. Plus as a “brand” the Panasonics seem to be excellently received, they do seem to get a lot of great reviews (5 star reviews for both the LCD and Plasma seem to be the norm!).
Cheers folks,
CT
J
I said “about a third”. We are talking about ~42″ 1080p HDTVs here and so far the only plasmas in that category are pana pz70 and pz700. Pz70 and pz700 share same panel so power usage is likely to be similar. So politically correct would be :”1080p lcds use about third of what 1080p plasmas do”
@CraZee: Just set it to Cinema mode for running-in with sensible usage.
@Vowani: I don’t think this disc is available for sale to the public… I received a copy after making many requests and showing them my website.
@DJ Mike: I’ve already sold the TV. I’ll look out for the issues you mentioned the next time, but I’ll need to find another medium as I don’t have Xbox 360 nor Sky.
@Del Davies: In descending order: Reference Level > Highly Recommended > Recommended > Qualified Recommendation
@Quark: I’ll put in a request with Sharp.
@Roland & Raitzi: I’ll consider testing power consumption in the future, but right now I barely have enough time for “regular” reviews.
@Jimboli1: You probably know what I’m going to say anyway: adequate for day-to-day use; for critical viewing won’t match up to separates.
@Fly: Tough one indeed. As usual I recommend choosing your television based on how you’re going to use it… if you’re gonna use HTPC and game a lot it would make more sense to go with an LCD TV.
@Chris: Video material like sports and news won’t be a problem as the TH42PZ70 deinterlaces them just fine. For movies try sending a progressive signal to the PZ70, e.g. 480p, 720p or 1080p.
My SkyHD box is set to 1080i and I think both good quality SD and HD broadcasts look excellent on this set. Poor quality SD looks OK.
Thanks for the reply, I’ll definitely be investing in a PS3 which I’ve heard does upscaling for DVD’s as well as native 1080p BluRay so I hope it’s deinterlacing/upscaling does a good job of sending a progressive signal – problem solved hopefully. Like wise I suppose the 360 send a progressive signal also.
Vincent,
Did you run FPD Benchmark Software with Pioneer Kuros?
As in the shop viewing using the water ski clip 428XD seem to be showing more detail than PZ70
Or this this test applicable only on full HD panels
Thanks
Iqbal
Quark, the PY70 models are not by any means the same with PZ70s. They prove to be inferior in most of the tests.
Xenocyde, where did you find that information and which tests state the PY70 is inferior to the PZ70? All reports I have heard state that the PY70 is exactly the same as the PZ70’s apart from the digital tuner (DVB-T).
Vincent or any other
can you please tell me where in the menu you find the EPG on this tv?
it says GUIDE on this one……hope this help
Xenocyde,
I believe you are wrong about the difference in quality between the PY and PZ lines. I believe both are the same as I entered the service menu on my PY70 and ran the diagnostis routine. I found a reference there to the firmware file and it was labeled something like 42PZ70E.dat…
The quality of my PY70 is simply superb both in SD and HD sources.
On power consumption – the power figure you see when you look at manufacturer’s information is determined according to a paricular IEC standard (60107 3.6.2 if you’re interested)which measures consumption for a particular image.
LCD’s consume power at a pretty much constant rate due to the always on backlight whereas plasma TV’s vary the power comnsumption of each cell according to the required brightness.
I aksed Vincent this question recently but I think he has his hands full with ‘normal’ (actually pretty exceptional) reviews…check out these sites for some more info…
http://www.g4techtv.ca/callforhelp/shownotes/0283.shtml?regular
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6475_7-6400401-2.html
http://www.hometheatermag.com/gearworks/106gear/
It isn’t as clear cut as the manufacturers info makes it seem…but, according to all the sites who actually test comsunption rather than quoting back numbers without understanding where they come from seem to agree that the consumption of the plasma is likely to be only slightly more than the LCD over time (if at all) and not the massive difference many sources would have you believe.
One important tip – make sure you calibrate your panel for home use – out of the box settings are definately too high for your living roomm (unless you happen to live in your local Dixon’s) and if left as they are, the plasma will indeed make your electricity meter spin…
Cheers
Kev
Several owners of this TV complain about the ‘white’ the TV displays. The complaint is that even at a maximum brightness/contrast white is still perceived as ‘greyish’.
Is that a known problem for this TV?
Cheers,
J
Seeing as the pz70 does not support 1080p through component or VGA, what would be the best settings to use for xbox360? (not Elite). Any Ideas?
Great Review Vincent.
I have the 50PZ70 and for the 1st 2 wks was extremely impressed with PQ compared to 50PX70 and 42PX60 previously. Both the latter experienced high levels of purple snakes and colour banding. PZ70 initally had no purple snakes but still had minor colour banding. After being away for a few day the purple snakes have started to show.
In your tests did you come up against the magenta disturbances and would an ISF calibration dial this out.
I bought this model about 3 years ago and within a year it had to go back for repair. The problem occurred when I pressed the on button, the TV then tries to power up (hear fans) and a brief sound and then a blank screen. The shop repaired it by replacing 2 boards. However after another 2 years down the line from the repair the same problem occurred. I’m extremely unhappy with this products longevity (barely lasted a year) and this latent power problem. However the picture was good when working. Would NOT recommend buying this product model.