- Panasonic VIERA TC P42G25 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV front display
This is the second flat screen I have purchased in as many days.
Samsung LCD.
My first purchase was a Samsung LN40C650 LCD. I returned it the next day due to a few issues that were just too serious. There was very light vertical banding in some areas of the TV. Maybe it was just a bad unit, but that wasn’t the only problem. The image looked washed out from side angles and there were problems with motion, too (auto-motion didn’t seem to make a difference). The colors didn’t look very natural but it could just be an adjustment issue.
Getting the Panasonic.
I decided to give the Panasonic TC-P42G25 a try. Supposedly, it has none of the problems of the Samsung. I was able to get the TV setup and the stand attached by myself. I would NOT recommend this. If you can, get some help because the TV is not light.
The stand swivels, which is a nice feature. After turning it on and completing a short setup wizard, everything was ready. In Chicago, the TV found all digital channels from my indoor/outdoor antenna.
Settings.
At first, the TV looks dim. This is due to the default TV settings It is set to standard brightness mode, the least vibrant setting. After changing the settings, the picture is bright and accurate. But, for the first few days I decided to leave it in standard mode during the plasma “break in” period.
The default setting has C.A.T.S. turned on. This adjusts picture brightness depending on the ambient light in the room. Some may like this feature but I don’t use it.
- Panasonic VIERA TC P42G25 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV game mode
Picture Quality.
The picture quality is “amazing” compared to the Samsung LCD. Screen uniformity is perfect. There are no light or dark spots anywhere. Colors look natural and realistic. Black levels are deep when you dim the lights or close the shades in a room. Motion looks good to me. Motion looks better with the blur reduction setting off.
Movies.
I watched Ashes of American Flags on DVD (concert film, rock band Wilco) in a bluray player. Automatically, the TV recognized the Panasonic Blu-Ray player and switched the video source to it. The film has a lot of dark areas in the concert scenes which let me see the black levels. They looked very deep and it felt like I was there!
Sound.
Sound is good for regular TV viewing. With bass boost active in the sound settings, the sound output is much better. You can adjust treble and bass.
Issues.
The TV (common for Plasma’s from what I’ve read) black levels suffer in a brightly lit room, compared to LCDs. I prefer a dimly-lit room to watch TV, but not completely dark. In that environment, black levels appear deeper than on an LCD.
- Panasonic VIERA TC P42G25 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV infinite black
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Do I Like It?
If you need a flatscreen TV to just look good, this plasma delivers that.
The Panasonic VIERA TC-P42G25 is a polished HDTV. Please, Panasonic, keep making those Plasma’s!
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