What Hi-Fi 32" Group Test - Tosh or Panny?

noncom

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Hi all

I'm going to buy a 32" LCD some time in January, and was leaning towards the Toshiba 32WLT68 from what I've read here (mainly in the huge 32WLT68 thread).

But I've just read the What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision Group Test, which was won by the new Philips. That's out of my price range, but the runner up was the Panasonic TX32LXD600, and the Tosh came in with 4 stars and a lukewarm recommendation. (Although in the last 32" Group Test I read, the Panny got only 4 stars for being overpriced!)

So, does anyone have direct knowledge of both of these products, and an opinion as to which is better in differenct respects? I'll be watching mostly Freeview, some DVDs, and very occasional PC use (but not for games, just photos and perhaps home videos).

I do watch sport, so motion handling is an issue, as is sound quality.

I haven't managed yet to find any shop with a half-decent video distribution to judge the SD performance of either of these sets, so any opinions are welcome.

Thanks
Andy
 
Hi all

I'm going to buy a 32" LCD some time in January, and was leaning towards the Toshiba 32WLT68 from what I've read here (mainly in the huge 32WLT68 thread).

But I've just read the What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision Group Test, which was won by the new Philips. That's out of my price range, but the runner up was the Panasonic TX32LXD600, and the Tosh came in with 4 stars and a lukewarm recommendation. (Although in the last 32" Group Test I read, the Panny got only 4 stars for being overpriced!)

So, does anyone have direct knowledge of both of these products, and an opinion as to which is better in differenct respects? I'll be watching mostly Freeview, some DVDs, and very occasional PC use (but not for games, just photos and perhaps home videos).

I do watch sport, so motion handling is an issue, as is sound quality.

I haven't managed yet to find any shop with a half-decent video distribution to judge the SD performance of either of these sets, so any opinions are welcome.

Thanks
Andy

1st Declare my bias I have a Toshiba 42wlt68.

I read the reviews in the Jan edition and found it interesting that the previous winners Sony and Toshiba had been passed over for Philips and Panasonic especially as the Panny had previously been criticised for having a soft picture. This probably just proves how close the premier brands are in terms of performance but also questions wether there is an element of - "keep all your advertisers happy" although LG and Samsung always seem to be bringing up the rear.
What I did find disapointing was the trivial nature of the reviewing with no mention of the type of pannel used, no pictures of the remotes and very little technical information, measurements or what the settings were.
With the Toshiba being the first brand to incorporate 100Hz technology why was it not even mentioned.
The reviews are shallow and I think you should treat their conclusion in a similar way. View the sets yourself and make up your own mind. You have no one to satisfy except yourself.
 
Just read the same review and found it a bit strange that the Panny got an overall 5 star vs the Tosh overall 4 star when you look at the breakdown:-

Panny: Picture - 5 star, Sound - 4 star, Features 4 - star.
Tosh : Picture - 4 Star, Sound - 5 star, Features 5 - star.

So overall Panny gets 13 out of 15, but finishes ahead of the Toshiba with 14 out of 15????

OK, I guess you could argue that the weighting of picture rating should be higher than sound or features on a TV review - but shows the sets are probably very close and with the Tosh being slightly cheaper & having 3 HDMI sockets it would get my vote.
 
where can i find a copy of that what hi-fi supertest review?
 
thanks
i will have to pick up a copy tomorrow
 
if motion handling is an issue during sports then you should look at some plasmas as well
 
Do they say what is better about the picture on the Panny?
 
Thanks for your responses. Plasma's not an option because I really don't have room for a set bigger than 32".

I don't have the reviews in front of me, but from memory the Panasonic is described as having the best black levels, good colour palate, and one of the best inbuilt tuners (but slightly soft image); whereas the Tosh it says has a vibrant colour image, good contrast, but a little more screen noise than the Panny. Its summary says that it drops from 5 stars to 4 because of the occasional ragged edge (what does that mean???) and the presence of a couple of very capable rivals (presumably the 5 star Philips and Panasonics, which are more expensive).

I've read on another thread that the backlight on the Panasonic isn't easily adjustable - can anyone comment on how much of an issue that is?

Cheers
Andy
 
Thanks for your responses. Plasma's not an option because I really don't have room for a set bigger than 32".

I don't have the reviews in front of me, but from memory the Panasonic is described as having the best black levels, good colour palate, and one of the best inbuilt tuners (but slightly soft image); whereas the Tosh it says has a vibrant colour image, good contrast, but a little more screen noise than the Panny. Its summary says that it drops from 5 stars to 4 because of the occasional ragged edge (what does that mean???) and the presence of a couple of very capable rivals (presumably the 5 star Philips and Panasonics, which are more expensive).

I've read on another thread that the backlight on the Panasonic isn't easily adjustable - can anyone comment on how much of an issue that is?

Cheers
Andy

I think your last point proves how trivial the reviewing is. The Panny's backlight is not adjustable but this is not mentioned. For me an adjustable backlight was a must because my TV is in a very sunny room and to get a good picture in the day the backlight needs to be high. Whereas when watching in the evening I like some ambient light with Freeview but almost total darkness for dvds, I can vary the backlight accordingly. Being able to adjust the backlight on the Tosh means you can put the contrast at 100% to maximise the picture and use the brightness and backlight to get the best viewing comfort.
Without What Hi-Fi stating their test conditions and what the settings on the TVs are, their opinions can only be taken as a rough guidline its best to do your own research. They are not impartial and sometimes contradict themselves!
 
I think the panny has a sensor, which automatically optimises the sets backlight to ensure the best possible picture based on the ambient light levels.

I don't find I have to continually change anything, with the set giving a consistently great picture.

Graham
 
Is the omission of backlight control a real issue on the Panny 600? Can the same thing not be achieved with the other picture controls (contrast, etc.)? It is not just the review quoted in this thread that gives the Panny excellent marks, so surely if backlight control was so critical this would have been raised in otherr threads. Does the Viera engine mean you don't need a backlight control?

Sorry if the questions are a bit dumb, I am learning about LCD's from this forum. I have gone from Tosh66 to Sony to Tosh68, briefly Samsung (friend bought one), but all along have liked the Panny600. Prices on the Panny are softening and budget is not really an issue, but value for money is!!!

Cheers NS
 
The auto setting on the Panny works well, I have found that I am not always having to make adjustments to get the best PQ which was a real pain with the Toshiba. I am glad I have gone back to Panasonic they have the edge in my opinion.
 
the panasonic tx32lxd600 and the philips 32pf9731d
have always been my top two choices and after reading
the review in what hi-fi i will be definitely getting one of these
two now the question is which one?

which one of these lcd's does everyone think will be best
for x360/ps3/hd-dvd/blu-ray and standard sky.

at the moment im leaning towards the panasonic but
only because ive seen it and as of yet i have not seen
the phillips but according to the review the philips has a better
contrast and a sharper picture than the panasonic but what
concerns me is that apparantly the phillips 37pf9731d
some picture problems with green lines with hd material
and considering both lcd's are identical accept for the
screen size one has to wonder weather the philips 32pf9731d
has the same problem.
 
Auto setting for me too. Consistently good picture, no mucking about since I installed it.:smashin:
 

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