Better in what way?
I am going to avoid too much technical stuff because we can read all those stuff sa net, and quite likely, most of us would not even fully understand the underlying technologies and differences among a Full Black Panel Plus, a Full Black Panel and a Black Panel (these are the Japanese naming for the various types of panels). Hehehe
The VT30 uses the Full Black Panel Gen II while the ST50 uses the Black Panel Gen III thus the possibility of close equivalence is there. However, the VT30 image looks darker, blacks are stronger, and subtle details are more defined. But there were some reports about complains that the VT30 image was a little bit too dark.
Hence, all 2012 models were redesigned to have brighter image.
The ST50 image certainly looks brighter but details are not as defined as that of VT30. Nonetheless, it still looks very nice. It also consumes 13.5% less power than the VT30. The new design is quite cool but made of plastic compared to the square but metallic VT30. If you want cool and metallic, you have to get the VT50 and pay a lot more money. In the previous years, the ST would have inferior built-in speaker system but in 2012, all models seem to have the same subwoofer assisted speaker system – puedeng-puede na for regular TV viewing.
In terms of watching under varying levels of illumination, I think the ST50 would be more easily adaptable owing to its brighter image. However, the anti-glare filter of the VT30 is very strong, hence watching under light should not be a big issue compared to the mirror-like panels. But then it seems many PDVD members really like watching as dark as the dark side of the force.
Ayon sa Panasonic Japan, you can get optimum picture quality even at 20 lux, but then I fully understand that some people like the moviehouse ambiance.
In terms of manual tweaks, Im not sure if the same level of manual adjustments to the image characteristics of the VT series will be made available to the ST50. I dont think the ST50 will have THX certification as well. But then does the average user really need to play around wiht the RGB drives for instance, if a few minor tweaks based on some preset image settings seem satisfactory already?
1700/sec full HD motion resolution for the ST50 against 1200/sec for the VT30? Anyone here can even imagine what the hell that difference makes? The clarity of fast moving scenes would be more defined? The frame grabs would be sharper? I dont know. During the time of frame grabs among avid videographers who endlessly debated about interlaced vs progressive videos, that would have sounded totally cool. But yeah, 1700/sec is the 2012 spec and on paper, it does seem to be an improvement. Makes me wonder just how fast a human eye sees motion resolution.
ST50 price. That is the question. The VT30 is cheaper in PDVD than in Tokyo! Dont forget, the VT30 was arguably the best HDTV in 2011 despite the BUTS (especially those made in Thailand DAW). So just check your panels carefully but I definitely dont believe in panel ageing/break-in - waste of energy.
checked out some reviews online, ST50 is better than VT30 daw.
