Panasonic ST60 TX-P42ST60B 3D Plasma TV Review

[Tech News]

Reviewed by Mark Hodgkinson, 15th June 2013. It’s an astonishing achievement for Panasonic and yet another reason we’d beg them to hang on to plasma tech just that bit longer; at least until OLED is truly ready for primetime. Best Buy – what else could it have been?
Read the full review...

 

[Mumid]

This looks like an amazing TV for the money but the input lag absolutely kills it if you want to use it for games. Is there no way this could be a firmware issue? 75ms seems exceptionally high

 

[moochweiser]

what where the settings once calibrated? would like to try them out

 

[Jan Pogonowski]

So not in anyway suitable for gaming, even the casual gamers will notice 76ms.

 

[Steve Withers]

what where the settings once calibrated? would like to try them out

Mark will be posting them today, he'll add a link once he has.

 

[stevevosper]

Mark will be posting them today, he'll add a link once he has.

Hi Steve,

Got my 55" ST60 this weekend, it truly is stunning! So glad you guys have given it a best buy, it deserves it.

Just a quick one, when Mark posts the settings, where will they be? On here or in the ST60 owners thread? Mine just needs a mild tune up to get the best ut of it!

 

[Steve Withers]

It'll be posted in the plasma TV forum but I'm sure Mark will put a link here too.

 

[hodg100]

Da-daaa

http://www.avforums.com/forums/plas...t60b-reviewers-recommended-best-settings.html

They're for late night viewing, by the way.

 

[malrdaw]

As usual great reviews.....Question
Like the high end audio fraternity continue to produce suberb "stereo" equipment why can't Panasonic supply a VT or GT equivalent without 3D and perhaps make it slightly more economic???

 

[stevevosper]

As usual great reviews.....Question
Like the high end audio fraternity continue to produce suberb "stereo" equipment why can't Panasonic supply a VT or GT equivalent without 3D and perhaps make it slightly more economic???

I think you'll find the ST60 bang for buck represents tremendous value. The picture is incredible for the price. I cannot believe panasonic can sell a tv this good for the price!

 

[Nostromo71]

So not in anyway suitable for gaming, even the casual gamers will notice 76ms.

Well, I took my Xbox to the Panasonic store and tried it on the ST60, and playing Dead Or Alive 4, I couldn't notice any form of lag at all. Of course, that was not online. I can't comment on that. I still can't get my head around something that is measured at the low end of 1000nths of a second, being noticeable, or detrimental to gaming. The blink of an eye takes 300 to 400 milliseconds. I don't game online, but I can't say I've ever experienced input lag in the six years I've used my Xbox 360 with my Samsung Plasma.

 

[stevevosper]

Well, I took my Xbox to the Panasonic store and tried it on the ST60, and playing Dead Or Alive 4, I couldn't notice any form of lag at all. Of course, that was not online. I can't comment on that. I still can't get my head around something that is measured at the low end of 1000nths of a second, being noticeable, or detrimental to gaming. The blink of an eye takes 300 to 400 milliseconds. I don't game online, but I can't say I've ever experienced input lag in the six years I've used my Xbox 360 with my Samsung Plasma.

I agree, I have this tv, and I can't notice anything! I think it's blowing out of proportion!

 

[AndreiNR]

May I dare to ask what patterns you used for calibration? I find small apl to give good results for wb but I' m curious what you used for wb and cms and gamma too. Thank you!

 

[enfant_teribl]

Great review. How did you find reflectivity compared to the other Pannies?

 

[stevevosper]

Sorry to be REALLY pedantic, but the image you have of the ST60 is the US version, as the UK one has a silver stand, not black. (Sorry, i'm so sad...)

 

[enfant_teribl]

Glad you pointed that - i wasn't which colour it was!

 

[epgawt]

Hi Mark,

first of all, congrats for your great review!

I am deciding between 65VT or 65ST but there are a couple of issues that bother me, I hope yo can help me:

1.- air gap between glass - panel

I currently own a P50V10, which had black deterioration issues and also is one-sheet of glass design, so I can see double image from the sides. This design is the same for VT60, but not for the ST60, which does not have any gap between the panel and the front filter, like ZT60.

Is this a real problem in VT60? how does this fact compare to ST60?

2.- luminance levels

VT60 is better qualifed than ST60, but its luminance is lower, around 70 cd/m against 90cd/m ANSI for the ST60, this is a 30% more, so, maybe the resulting image may not be worth the price, providing the ST60 has much more "punch" than the VT, is this the case ?

I am wondering if regarding luminance levels, what's happening with Samsung PS64F8500 in respect to Panasonic plasmas could be somehow the same as ST60 in respect to VT60...with the important difference that the blacks/contrast are quite similar between ST60 and VT60...

Thanx a lot for your help
Best regards
Enrique

 

[Ossie77]

What viewing distance would people recommend for the 42" ST60? Thanks very much.

 

[gav_sw20]

What viewing distance would people recommend for the 42" ST60? Thanks very much.

6'4" is the recommended distance - Recommended TV Viewing Distance Chart | Toshiba Research Center | Toshiba

Try and make a template out of cardboard of the size you think you want...then go bigger

I've known people with 65" tv's but change them to 55" as they don't suit the wall layout.

 

[Scooby2000]

What viewing distance would people recommend for the 42" ST60? Thanks very much.

Are you the chap sitting 3m away? I would go min 50" at that distance.
If its mainly for SD then 42" would be good but for gaming and movies Id go bigger especially for HD, at 3m HD is pointless on a 42" resolution wise IMO.

 

[audiphile76]

Have had the 50ST60E for over 2 months now, watching from 3 meters mostly SD. Now it feels like i should've could've would've got a bigger set. I used to watch from a 42 inch plasma, not too long ago and i am pretty sure its not my eyesight

 

[Nostromo71]

Now it feels like i should've could've would've got a bigger set.

I upgraded from a 42", and originally I intended on moving up to a 50" screen, but after seeing a 55" screen, I knew I'd regret going with the 50", so went with the 55ST60, and I'm really glad I did, as even with the 55" screen, both myself and my wife quite often find ourselves saying 'We should have got a 60"

 

[a.wiseman]

I bought this at the end of 2013 after giving up on a 46" Samsung F6500 that had dark corners.

It's a great set loved by owners and reviewers alike, but I have an issue with mine: it produces some kind of flicker. You only notice it with large patches of the same colour - the worst culprit being the mostly white "ITV Studios" caption you see at the end of ITV's programmes. But it's also visible in the set's EPG, especially if you press "i" for more info, which brings up a big white rectangle.

I've tried adjusting the settings to no avail. (Although changing the gamma to S-line does hide it a little.) I've removed all cables apart from the electricity cable, moved speakers away from the set and given the set its own plug socket - but the effect is still there.

So perhaps I have a faulty set? Or perhaps I'm just more sensitive to flicker than some? It could be the settings, but it's apparent in all picture modes. (I'm using True Cinema mostly.) Is this just one of those plasma features? The Samsung I owned previously had a 400 Hz screen and there was absolutely no flicker on anything...

 

[mattmeer]

Hi,

I just got this tv and am happy with it.

I just wonder if the built-in mediaplayer plays movies unaltered? The only thing I noticed is that it plays 24p movies at 60hz, but my standalone panasonic bluray player does that aswell. (I rip bluray movies at my pc before anyone asks to remove all trailers)

 

[luvadealme]

Hi,

I just got this tv and am happy with it.

I just wonder if the built-in mediaplayer plays movies unaltered? The only thing I noticed is that it plays 24p movies at 60hz, but my standalone panasonic bluray player does that aswell. (I rip bluray movies at my pc before anyone asks to remove all trailers)

where did you get yours from out of interest?