Panasonic's TC-VT60 series looking good
The company's 2013 revision of the best plasma of last year looks promising. Meet the new VT60y.
- Although still awaiting his Oscar for Best Picture Reviewer, David does hold certifications from the Imaging Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology on display calibration and evaluation.
LAS VEGAS--Plasma TVs consistently outperform LED-based LCDs in our tests, and Panasonic has made the highest-rated plasma TVs of the last couple of years--although Samsung is a close second. But while Samsung only released one high-performance plasma TV series this year, the PNF8500, Panasonic debuted three TVs -- the ST60, the VT60 and ZT60 -- that will likely be among the best-reviewed TVs of 2013. Again.
The middle child is the VT60 series, available in 55, 60, and 65-inch sizes. It supersedes the VT50 which was the best performing plasma of 2012. Panasonic says it has improved the picture yet again, with a different red phosphor hat supposedly helps match the DCI color space (I don't care much about that; matching the much more common HDTV color space is the importtant part), a better anti-reflective screen and improved motion resolution. Like the VT50, the 2013 version also gets THX certification for both 2D and 3D, as well as full ISF calibration options.
I'd be surprised if these improvements let to a significant picture quality upgrade compared to the VT50, but I do expect the VT60 to outperform the ST60 somewhat. I'm guessing it will have slightly deeper blacks, and a slightly better anti-reflective screen--the two main areas where the VT50 improved on the ST50. I also expect the ZT60 to deliver deeper black levels and a better overall picture than either one. Of course, we'll know for sure when these sets ship and we get the chance to review them.
Moving on from picture quality the VT60 gets a couple of extras not found on the ST60, such as Voice Control, an improved touch-pad controller, dual-core processing, a web browser with flash and a pop-up camera for Skype and other apps (but thankfully no gesture control). Panasonic has upgraded the Viera Connect smart TV suite as well with a new customizable home screen and the Swipe and Share 2.0 app for content sharing from an Android or iOS device.
Connections include a fairly miserly three HDMI ports and a conversely excessive three USB connectors. The TV includes two pairs of Active Shutter 3D Eyewear as well.
The 55 and 60-inch sizes ship in April and the 65-incher will follow in May. Pricing was not announced.
See the full range of 2013 Panasonic TVs here.
