Well today I took delivery of the Panny. First impression out of the box is that it is a lovely looking TV but appearance wise it is not even close to the svelte stature of the Samsung. The remote control of the Panny is terrible compared to the Samsung; it is not user friendly, uncomfortable in the hand; definitely the weakest link of the package.
Having read a number of reviews I have been expecting something really special from the Panny in terms of sound and vision. However, I am thus far disappointed. It took quite a while to play with the settings of the Samsung but eventually after tinkering I managed to get a picture and sound that are of very high quality.
My initial impression of the Panny picture is what I can only describe as varied. When viewing a standard channel through Sky then it is rather rough and patchy and I can only describe it as 'average quality terrestrial'. HD broadcasts and DVDs are pretty good but the images are still not as clear or deep as the Samsung. I've tested both screen watching the fast scenes of Blade 2 and must admit there isn't any noticeable image blur/lag or pixilation on the Panny. The Samsung does suffer from a small amount of image blur; however I am unsure if this is more noticeable on the Samsung as the image is in itself sharper and more revealing; the lack of detail on the Panny may be masking any image smear.
The sound of the Panny is what I can only describe as pants; not the nice sexy ones you like the Mrs to wear but more like the big baggy grey ones hanging on the washing line of your 80 year old neighbour! The Samsung however is crisper/ cleaner and more precise; as with all modern slim TVs the sound is weak due to the small space available to fit in capable speaker components, they are both fine for watching normal TV but desperately need a decent surround sound system to compliment them.
The real difference in the TVs is the menu system. The Panny menu looks great on screen but it is rather limited and there doesn’t seem much choice in the opportunity to manipulate any of the settings. Furthermore the Panny adjustments are displayed on a bar but there are no numbers on it to show what settings you have chosen; this is pre-historic and makes it a nightmare to get settings recommended by others to be replicated on other screens; the only term I can this of to describe this is ‘rubbish’ and I am shocked that Panny have dropped a major ball on this. The Samsung menu I comparison is awesome; not as flash looking on screen but simple to operate and there is a huge array of settings to manipulate the image and sound to your requirements. The way the Samsung menu is built has made it very easy to utilise settings recommended by others; I would say without any doubt the Samsung is the best menu I have encountered.
My ratings Samsung Panasonic
Appearance 9.5/10 8/10
Picture/Image Quality 9/10 7.5/10
Sound 6/10 4/10
Menu/Settings – Ease of use 9/10 9/10
Menu/Settings - Adjustability 9/10 5/10
Remote Control 8/10 4/10
Overall I have to say the Samsung is far superior to the Panasonic in every way; this draws me to the conclusion that maybe I am missing something on the Panny? I cannot believe that others have rated it so highly and I am struggling to see it as anything better than a budget option from Tesco’s or Asda’s. I think I may be returning the Panny to John Lewis at the weekend unless by some remote chance it reveals some magnificence to me in the next 24hours!