Panasonic TX32LXD70 Review

[Vincent]

Please discuss Colin's Panasonic TX32LXD70 review article in this thread.

[Frostie]

Can we please have the picture quality and conclusions added to the review soon ?   

Also, I'd love to see a review of the TX32LXD700 compared to the Samsung LE32M86BD when possible.  I think these 2 LCDs are going to be of the most interest to those looking for a good 32" LCD in the near future.

Are there already any plans for such reviews ?

Thanks, Mark

[StanleyNTL]

Would like to know how the lxd70 compares to Hitachi 9700 LCD or their new T series LCD?

[Yannis]

Excellent review guys. I particularly liked the way you described how the IPS-Alpha panel (the best in the industry right now followed closely by Sony-Samsung's S-PVA) works.

More details can be found here:

http://www.ips-alpha.co.jp/en/index.html

[Phantoma]

It's a shame Panasonic don't already make bigger LCD panels to compliment their Plasma range.
Sony seems to have the edge in the big screen LCD market and price them accordingly.

[Colin]

My grand delusion is to review all HDTV in existence but the reality of time and economics prevents us from realising it.

The TX32LXD700 only seems to differ in sound and connections. Anyone heard otherwise?

Anyway, review is up so flock over there when you're ready.

[Frostie]

Colin

I fully understand the time and economics thing.

Reading the reviews of both 70 and the 700 on HDTVorg it does sound like the 700 may actually have a better picture than the 70, though this may be purely how the reviews are written.

It's a shame as your review makes the 70 sounds distinctly average as opposed to the review of the 70 on HDTVorg, which was very praising.  I thought the Panny was possibly just what I was painting for, but now I'm not so sure after all your not-so-praising/distinctly-average comments.  I'm now really keen to see you guys review the Samsung 32" 100Khz M86 to see how it compares with the Panny or indeed any other of the 32" 100Khz competition.

I guess it's all subjective really, but I do very much appreciate your reviews all the same.

Cheers, Mark

[Colin]

Thank you for your comments.

I will concede that the final interpretation always lie with the viewer and thus, will always be subjective. However, TV reviews allow many objective measurements with recognised standards to aim for. I feel uncomfortable that we are being compared to some other websites with no evidence of methodology. There's a place for subjective reviews, but we try to raise the bar so that buying a TV won't be such a lottery.

I think the Panny is an accomplished product for its price range. You can read the rating as above average = recommended with reservations. I would have given it an unreserved recommendation in a flutter, if it weren't for the 5500K warm setting. 7500 K (Normal) is too blue for me but I suspect the majority will  find this OK. The other weakness is in the blacks, but you can't really fault this too much given the price.

I am quite keen on the Samsung M86 100Hz really, but our coffers are running low. The WLT68 would be the other TV to look at, but it should be discontinued this year pending the Regza Z release.

[DVL73]

I will concede that the final interpretation always lie with the viewer and thus, will always be subjective. However, TV reviews allow many objective measurements with recognised standards to aim for. I feel uncomfortable that we are being compared to some other websites with no evidence of methodology. There's a place for subjective reviews, but we try to raise the bar so that buying a TV won't be such a lottery.

Have to agree. I've seen plenty of reviews around (if not *almost* all) based exclusively on personal perception and I never appreciated that, especially because we are playing with rather expensive devices here. Well, I've seen more professional and proper colour-burn-in tests dedicated to LCD monitors then to LCD TV sets - it's just not right.  HDTVtest is clever & proper move forward and I have no doubts about that, especially because more "advanced" users are usually just left in the dark when we consider the situtation with other reviews around. Making a proper review balance, so that it's equally interesting for pro and normal users is always a good thing.

We need to have controllable lab-testing environment which is shaping up good methodology and testing practice. We have to set the test standards and same target for each TV in question. That may include the colour accuracy (out of the box and post calibation), D65/gamma tracking, maximum achievable raw contrast, min/max luminance level, panel uniformity and so on and so on.

To cut the long story short, I'm happy what I've seen so far from you guys  Question is if HDTVtest efforts will be properly recognised, appriciated and developed as reference point. Time will tell ... 

[Frostie]

Colin

Apologies if I sounded as if I wasn't grateful for the excellent work you are doing; I am.  I do very much understand and appreciate that you are employing a more scientific approach to things here.

I must admit I'm terrible in that I will read something like What Hi-Fi for the subjective reviews of hi-fi kit and also read Hi-Fi Choice or Hi-Fi News for the far more analytical/objective reviews and then try to make a decision using views/measurements from both; and I'm much the same with AV kit.

There is certainly a lack of good unbiased reviews for AV kit currently, so your output here is very much appreciated.

Thank you.

[hobbit2612]

Hi,

I was very interested to read your review on this Panasonic set.

Not sure whether it's of interest to you but I recently bought the 26" version. I no longer have it. There was an intermittent fault with the sound.

Basically I would change channel and sometimes the sound would not be there. Increasing the volume to it's maximum setting would not bring the sound back. The only way I could get sound on the channel was to change the channel and then go back to the one I wanted to watch.

I tried changing the way the cables were wired up, taking then out of my digibox and putting them directly into the tv, this didn't work, nor did adding an attenuator to the set to try and reduce the signal strength as the technicians felt that this may the problem.

I must admit that the Panasonic technicians in my area couldn't diagnostically find where the fault was but did see the fault occur when they came and picked it up from my house.

I must also say that Panasonic were extremely good at sorting out a refund for me with the local retailer I bought it from.

Regards

[Colin]

Thx hobbit...we didn't experience the same problem. It may be a fault with your set, and it seems you took the appropriate steps. Hopefully some of our readers will find this useful.

@Frostie No need for that.

@DVL73 Yes...with the right funding, TV testing and calibration can easily be taken to the next level.

[hobbit2612]

No problem.

Trust me it did take some doing getting to the stage of a refund.

Retailer less than helpful!

Regards

[rjtd]

Greetings.
Thanks for the fine review.
Unfortunatly your appreciation it was a little bit disapointing for me.
I was planning to get one of this, but now I'm a little confuse.
Do you have an opinion about how the Panasonic compares to the other 32' TVs in the market?
Is it better or worst than the new R8X series from Samsung?
Also, how do you compare the Panasonic Motion Picture Pro against Philips DNM? Does both gave the same result?
Thanks.

[Colin]

It compares very well to other 32 inch models.

I am reviewing the le32r88bd soon, so prepare for the shootout. The Panny TX32LXD70 is going to be one tough act to beat when you don't have frame interpolation tech.

Motion Picture Pro super thumbs up. Digital Natural Motion doesn't even come close!

For 700 pounds, this is a best buy. Just understand what you are not getting, which is the main point of the review.