New Panasonics

[Amadeus1756]

Hi,

Having not got on with a Philips 9705 TV (constant tweaking required), I saw Tom Parsons' blog abut the 2011 range of TVs from Panasonic and thought I'd found a possible contender - the DT30.

Tom's blog states:

LCD with full-array LED backlight and local dimming

Which I took to mean full LED backlight (as opposed to edge-LED).

On the Panasonic web site (in the overview section), it mentions local dimming, which I understood to mean full LED backlight.

On the comparison page of the same site, it says:

IPS-alpha LED LCD Panel (E-LED Local Dimming Backlight)

so edge-LED rather than full LED backlight, and I read an article elsewhere which complains about black levels because of the edge-LED.

Am I wrong in my interpretation of the wording I've quoted above, or is it misleading?

And it looks like Panasonic are not doing any full LED backlight TVs this year. As I rather like quite dark films, black levels are quite important to me. I only have space for a 32" TV so does anyone have any other suggestions?

Many thanks

 

[Andrew Everard]

It looks like Panasonic are not doing any full LED backlight TVs this year.

That was the impression the engineers gave when I was talking to them recently in Japan: they don't see full-array lighting currently justifies the bulk and extra expense, given what they say they can achieve with edge-lighting.

I'm sure Tom reported what he was told at the time, but I think the message got mangled somewhere between the engineers and that briefing he attended. Apologies for any confusion.

 

[Amadeus1756]

Thanks Andrew - at least I understand now, even tho it's not quite what I was hoping to hear!

I'll wait for the reviews of the new 32" TVs to come out before I make any decision.

rgds

 

[Amadeus1756]

Probably a dumb question but I have a nagging thought that the answer isn't what would be expected...

For a model of TV (e.g. Panasonic DT30), will all the sizes in the range use the same screen? I read the review of the larger model of the L32DT30 in the current (new) issue of WHF, but I'd like to know that if I buy the smaller model, I'll be getting the same, albeit smaller.

Thanks!

 

[Andrew Everard]

The technology may be the same, but the display panels will usually have been cut from different generations of motherglass, and been handled in different facilities.

With some manufacturers, they may even have come from different sub-contracting suppliers.

 

[Anonymous]

Any word from Panasonic about this year's replacement to their PT-AE4000 projector?

 

[Amadeus1756]

The technology may be the same, but the display panels will usually have been cut from different generations of motherglass, and been handled in different facilities.

With some manufacturers, they may even have come from different sub-contracting suppliers.

Ahh, so basically, one can't consider a different size TV as a comparison then? That's a bit of a PITA tho I guess it doesn't really change much - I'd go and see one in the flesh anyway before I bought.

Thanks Andrew.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Any word from Panasonic about this year's replacement to their PT-AE4000 projector?

Not yet - but we wouldn't expect any news for a while yet; the projector updates tend to come from summer onwards.

 

[Anonymous]

Any word from Panasonic about this year's replacement to their PT-AE4000 projector?

Not yet - but we wouldn't expect any news for a while yet; the projector updates tend to come from summer onwards.

Cool, thanks. I'll look forward to it!