Panasonic TX-P42ST50B Review

Panasonic’s TX-P42ST50B is part of the Japanese electronics giant’s new ST50 series for 2012 which replaces the ST30 series. These televisions offer Full HD 1080p viewing with 2D to 3D capability all housed in a sleek, slimline unit. Keep on reading folks for a review of the TXP42ST50B.

The TXP42ST50 is a feature-packed 3D plasma TV made by one on the world’s leading electrical manufacturers, Panasonic. It offers excellent performance throughout and uses the recently developed 8-train speaker system technology. It also has the capability to take any 2D content and convert it into a 3D picture. It’s almost like a Blu-ray player upscaling a DVD and you’ll be delighted with the extra depth it gives to 2D viewing whether watching a film, sport or playing a game. The active 3D glasses you need are the TY-ER3D4 models but these are unfortunately not included with the television. Remember, this TV will function perfectly well without the glasses as a 2D set.

Let’s take a look at the specification of the Panasonic TX-P42ST50B and some of the main features it offers. With the Smart VIERA TV facility you can surf the internet, access multimedia applications, play games, watch catch-up TV and use social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. You get a Freeview HD tuner so you can watch several high definition channels for free such as BBC HD, ITV HD and Channel 4 HD.

It’s even possible to download a VIERA Remote App free of charge for your smartphone or tablet. This enables you to move content to and from the TX-P42ST50, play games or use it as a remote control. Due to the thin size and lightweight build of modern TVs, it’s difficult to get a truly excellent sound quality with the bass offered by old CRT sets. However, the duel 8-train speaker system really does churn out superb, wide ranging, high quality sound.

The Panasonic TX-P42ST50B has Wi-Fi built in for easy internet access and is DLNA compatible so it can connect wirelessly to your laptop or PC. From this you can view computer files on your TV and listen to music. This 3D plasma TV has 2000Hz focused field drive motion technology and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It’s also Skype ready but you’ll need to provide and connect a camera.

As you’d expect, there are a whole host of connections and inputs at the rear of the TX-P42ST50B including a quartet of HDMIs and two USBs. The HDMIs allow easy connection to other appliances like Blu-ray players, home theatre systems and HD games consoles while the USBs cater for a wireless dongle and files to be viewed like photos from a memory stick. You also get inputs for an SD memory card, composite in, component in, audio in, LAN port, digital audio out and a headphone jack.

There are going to be lot of cutting edge LED, LCD and plasma televisions released this year but it’s a safe bet to say that Panasonic’s new releases are certain to be up there with the best of them. The TX-P42ST50B will cost you around £800 but remember if you buy from a reputable dealer you’re likely to get a free five year guarantee.

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