Topic: Panasonic 42V20 Review

[Carlo777]

Conclusion:

Panasonic continues to woe us with flashy new plasma models every year, each with it's own unique capabilities or just re-hashes of old technology. Makes you wonder, if there's still a quantum leap in improvement for the technology despite new offerings. The V20 is a price friendly FULL HD plasma and what the S10 or the PY800 should have been. Picture quality remains strong especially on the HD side, dvd and cable seems to have taken a back seat, but that's purely subjective.

Truly, one of the stronger if not the strongest HD offering this year.

Pro's
+Very strong HD/NMT/Blu-ray performance
+Deep and gorgeous blacks
+Accurate color rendition
+"True Cinema" gives you near picture perfect viewing
+Game mode is spot on with superb picture quality and fast input response time
+Well priced

Con's
-High susceptibility to Image Retention
-Mild contrast fluctuation
-Soft SD/Cable broadcast.

[abcerase]

Sony Ex series or X series, Samsung 7 series...

Thanks so much sir carlo! Wonderful review! Time to ponder

[E-reply]

Conclusion:

Panasonic continues to woe us with flashy new plasma models every year, each with it's own unique capabilities or just re-hashes of old technology. Makes you wonder, if there's still a quantum leap in improvement for the technology despite new offerings. The V20 is a price friendly FULL HD plasma and what the S10 or the PY800 should have been. Picture quality remains strong especially on the HD side, dvd and cable seems to have taken a back seat, but that's purely subjective.

Truly, one of the stronger if not the strongest HD offerings this year.

Pro's
+Very strong HD/NMT/Blu-ray performance
+Deep and gorgeous blacks
+Accurate color rendition
+"True Cinema" gives you near picture perfect viewing
+Game mode is spot on with superb picture quality and fast input response time
+Well priced

Con's
-High susceptibility to Image Retention
-Mild contrast fluctuation
-Soft SD/Cable broadcast.

Finally, got the full review of this 42V20. This took about 5 pages of 121 discussions, and viewed by 2726 in 19 days. Plus of course, sleepless nights of 306 hours (average of 16 hours a day) for anyone who dreams for this TV!    Wow, you have a huge followers, Carlo!   

Whew, to anyone who wishes to buy this TV, I have only last 2 units for you to grab.  

[Carlo777]

Finally, got the full review of this 42V20. This took about 5 pages of 121 discussions, and viewed by 2726 in 19 days. Plus of course, sleepless nights of 306 hours (average of 16 hours a day) for anyone who dreams for this TV!    Wow, you have a huge followers, Carlo!   

Whew, to anyone who wishes to buy this TV, I have only last 2 units for you to grab.  

Usually, reviews for the ff brands do generate substantial interests:

1)Panasonic
2)Samsung
3)Sony

Thanks for the compliment Vic

[Mouldingo]

Will Panasonic Philippines bring in the 46" besides the 50"? Meron kasi sa Panasonic Singapore...

[srkid]

Conclusion:

Panasonic continues to woe us with flashy new plasma models every year, each with it's own unique capabilities or just re-hashes of old technology. Makes you wonder, if there's still a quantum leap in improvement for the technology despite new offerings. The V20 is a price friendly FULL HD plasma and what the S10 or the PY800 should have been. Picture quality remains strong especially on the HD side, dvd and cable seems to have taken a back seat, but that's purely subjective.

Truly, one of the stronger if not the strongest HD offerings this year.

Pro's
+Very strong HD/NMT/Blu-ray performance
+Deep and gorgeous blacks
+Accurate color rendition
+"True Cinema" gives you near picture perfect viewing
+Game mode is spot on with superb picture quality and fast input response time
+Well priced

Con's
-High susceptibility to Image Retention
-Mild contrast fluctuation
-Soft SD/Cable broadcast.

Thanks for the review sir. Very informative po. Galing!

[CMac]

Usually, reviews for the ff brands do generate substantial interests:

1)Panasonic
2)Samsung
3)Sony

Thanks for the compliment Vic

don't forget the price. 
kuro was a perfect tv for some, including me, but the price was fit for the "Elite" individuals.

[oReOsHaKe]

Can't wait for the 50 inch version of this Plasma TV... 

[raptor]

Hi Carlo,

Any reviews on the other features ... the network capabilities - skype, and others

[Carlo777]

Hi Carlo,

Any reviews on the other features ... the network capabilities - skype, and others

I'll ask my wife to test to features, I'm a complete idiot when it comes to networks and skype

[macdon]

I saw this over the weekend in Ansons ATC - it was sitting right next to a 42a2.
The v20 is indeed vivid with vibrant colors and in my layman's eyes - it seems like a hybrid of both lcd & plasma It sure made the 42a2 paler in comparison - but not in a bad way, most specially if a person prefers the softer side of things

The V20 is an awesome tv and if I can only outfit our household with a single tv - this would be a good contender (or maybe a 50v20 )

[Carlo777]

I saw this over the weekend in Ansons ATC - it was sitting right next to a 42a2.
The v20 is indeed vivid with vibrant colors and in my layman's eyes - it seems like a hybrid of both lcd & plasma It sure made the 42a2 paler in comparison - but not in a bad way, most specially if a person prefers the softer side of things

The V20 is an awesome tv and if I can only outfit our household with a single tv - this would be a good contender (or maybe a 50v20 )

Boss, what were they playing?

[Clondalkin]

The v20 is indeed vivid with vibrant colors and in my layman's eyes - it seems like a hybrid of both lcd & plasma

Good point.  The increased level of black on the V20 shows that other plasma models tend to be overly warm (yellowish).  Likewise, reflection is quite low on this panel , plus, the image is bright enough for most lighting conditions.

[macdon]

Boss, what were they playing?

Would you believe I forgot hahahahaha ......some random soccer game with commentary.
Sorry commander, must be age

[srkid]

Finally, got the full review of this 42V20. This took about 5 pages of 121 discussions, and viewed by 2726 in 19 days. Plus of course, sleepless nights of 306 hours (average of 16 hours a day) for anyone who dreams for this TV!    Wow, you have a huge followers, Carlo!   

Whew, to anyone who wishes to buy this TV, I have only last 2 units for you to grab.  

sir Vic, meron bang v20 na 32" or 37"? if yes, how much?  Thanks!

[ramgos]

Mga sir, Is there any info about the power consumption of this unit? How the "reflective" glass screen/monitor compared to pv80? Pwede na palitan yung pv80 ko with this unit? 

[Carlo777]

Reoccurring questions from PM:

1)Is the V20 safe for gaming?

Yes, for casual gaming any plasma is deemed safe. When I say casual, I'm talking about 2-3 hours of gaming mixed with other content viewing.

I will not, however, recommend the V20, or any plasma as a dedicated gaming display device. Based on my hands-on experience with plasma from the PV70 to the V20, using plasma as a dedicated (game only)device for long and continuous hours of use may cause permanent damage.*

Use the plasma, but use it sensibly just like you would any electronic device.

2)Is the C10 better for SD cable view?

Yes, but this is a very subjective matter. I prefer a crisper cable definition simply bec we all know how wonderful cable receptions are here in the Philippines. The C10 has that needed display crisp for me to make this "preferential judgement call".

*My 17 year old cousin, who, against my advise purchased a Panasonic 42PV80 over a year ago, and used it as a PC monitor to play this MMORPG game from Level-Up Philippines. 4 days have passed and after the "snow screen" and "white blast" remedies, we have yet to eliminate very visible signs of Image Retention. That, IMHO, is no longer just temporary.

More questions tom, and I'll let you guys know if I could eliminate the "boy's" I.R issue.

[lemonbcpq]

when you mean mixed use wif other content, does that mean na watching tv + movies + gaming = 2 hrs/day?   

[Carlo777]

when you mean mixed use wif other content, does that mean na watching tv + movies + gaming = 2 hrs/day?  

Nah, sorry, I wasn't very clear, what I meant was you can use the plasma for gaming for 2-3 hours a day (even more), just make sure you also use the T.V for other purposes besides gaming.

Just to make sure that the same HUDs or game bars are not constantly displayed all the time.

[lemonbcpq]

oh. ok. so if theres an hud at the top always like in NBA 2k series, I need to pause and watch tv after 2 hours so I don't mess up the tv? 

anyway thanks. 

[Carlo777]

oh. ok. so if theres an hud at the top always like in NBA 2k series, I need to pause and watch tv after 2 hours so I don't mess up the tv? 

anyway thanks. 

If you want to do that it's your call. All I'm saying is that constantly displaying the same items on-screen is not too good for the plasma.

[lemonbcpq]

ok. thanks. 

Now I'm not too scared to look into the possibility of buying a plasma. 

[Carlo777]

Present V20 (Pre-100 hours) settings:

Mode: True Cinema

Contrast: 36
Brightness: -2
Color: 30
Sharpness: 50 for SD 5 for HD

My wife was the one who set these values, but looks very good since it's a bedroom T.V, lights are kept low.

[Mouldingo]

Spotted 50V20 demo model at Anson's Makati!  SRP PhP108K  Not for sale yet. 

[mandyb]

^looking good, 108 SRP pa lang, fingers crossed for cash discount from there  

[oReOsHaKe]

Spotted 50V20 demo model at Anson's Makati!  SRP PhP108K  Not for sale yet. 

Meron kaya 12 months 0% interest eto? 

[mandyb]

Meron kaya 12 months 0% interest eto? 

Im just speculating from the previous post of 108k na may cash discount,  pwede siguro 0% directly sa srp, usually the case i think

[Clondalkin]

The difference between the SRP of the 42V20 and the cash selling price (at Ansons Landmark) is nearly 20K.  So you might be able to get the 50V20 for 90K or less.  

Asian V20 is quite excellent indeed.  Kahit fully illuminated sa bedroom, contrast and color saturation remain very pleasant even though I feel the Asian panel appears relatively reflective than the Japanese V2.  There are some other differences with the Japanese V2 but mostly no big deal at all.  Simply put, the V20 works great out of the box with no calibration at ul!

SkyCable (via digibox) connected via totally pathetic composite video is very very acceptable indeed - no need to consider the 5K HDBox being offered by SkyCable.  Havent tried the built-in digital tuner though.

[oReOsHaKe]

May I know what the US equivalent of the V20 model?  Is the V20 model the same as the VT20 model without the 3D technology?

[Clondalkin]

May I know what the US equivalent of the V20 model?  Is the V20 model the same as the VT20 model without the 3D technology?

V20 = VT20 less (3D + 120Hz scanning frequency (but 60Hz is certainly enough because I still cant figure out the 2D HDTV PQ difference between the V and the VT...hehehe)).  

Looking at the manual, I think only Japan calls it V2.  The rest of the world seems to call it V20x where "x" is a letter designation for a region.  For Asian's case, that would be V.  For the US could be P or something else. - the built-in tuner for V20 models appear to be universal though - they seem to differ mainly in power supply voltage.   The Asian V20 has no THX (certification) indication - but True Cinema mode is available and looks probably very similar.    

BTW, video contents contained in a USB flash drive (in addition to the SD card) can be accessed according to the manual.  But the TVs built in media player is compatible with Mpeg2, AVCHD and Divx only.