What Hi-Fi? Verdict
The 40-42in screen customer is spoiled for choice; here's another worth consideration
Pros
- +
Sturdy build
- +
exhaustive spec
- +
great TV reception, good DVD upscaling
- +
chunky sound
Cons
- -
Less impressive Blu-ray pictures
- -
warm colour balance
- -
screen reflections
Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.
The correct verb here is 'bristle'. The Panasonic TX-P42V10 is bristling with features. Try these: Freesat TV tuner alongside the usual Freeview and analogue; a 600Hz, 'pro' version of Panasonic's Intelligent Frame Creation; THX picture certification; DNLA connectivity; 'NeoPDP' panel that uses half the power of the 2007 Panasonic range... Heck, at 8cm it's even fairly shallow by Panasonic's standards.
The Panasonic remote control and on-screen menus are familiar, and they're as straightforward as ever. Set-up is simple: the tuners tune quickly and comprehensively, and tweaking the picture and sound settings to suit your specific requirements is easy.
TV reception, generally a Panasonic strength, is impressive. Analogue pictures are a little grainy, but Freeview reception is solid and Freesat images look a treat.
Black tones are deep and glossy, whites bright and clean, and the colour palette – though on the warm side – is wide-ranging and vivid.
Movement is handled confidently, and textures are generally convincing.
Slightly disappointing with Blu-ray
The set upscales DVD pictures well, too – all the merits of the TV images are retained, but with additional motion stability and superior edge definition. Only Full HD 1080p Blu-ray images disappoint, and even then only slightly.
The Panasonic doesn't retrieve quite as much fine detail as the best of its rivals, and consequently lacks a touch of insight into skin-textures and the like. Depth of images also suffers accordingly.
Sound is poised and brawny by flatscreen standards, and as befits a plasma the '42V10 is dark and even when idling – though that 'one sheet of glass' design reflects more than some.
This is a competent TV by any measure; find a good deal and it becomes even more compelling.
