PANASONIC'S TH-42PF11UK: PANASONIC PROFESSIONAL SERIES PLASMAS NOT AS GOOD AS SOME OF THEIR CONSUMER

Written by Kevin Miller

Thursday, 14 January 2010

panasonic th-42pf11uk.jpg Pros: Good setup features including selectable gamma curves, and a full suite of grayscale controls in the advanced menu.

Cons: Primary and secondary colors are way off of the HDTV Rec 709 specification, which means overall color accuracy is not good.

To Buy or Not To Buy: Definitely not recommended unless you mate it with a video processor that has a good CMS (Color Management System) to compensate for the incorrect color gamut, which will ultimately make it too expensive a package.

It seems Panasonic has gone backwards with its line of professional plasma panels. Only a couple of years ago, Panasonic's professional series had reasonably accurate color gamut. The TH-42PF11UK I recently calibrated measured wildly wrong in this key area of color accuracy, which surprised me. While the other performance parameters of this model are excellent, I cannot recommend any HDTV with inaccurate color space.

Contrast Ratio: Blacks are solid and light output is reasonably good, which makes for excellent contrast ratio. As with other Panasonics, you can get good brightness (light output) from a number of the Picture modes like Dynamic and Standard, but light output is significantly limited in the most accurate mode, which in the case of the TH-42PF11UK is the Cinema mode. A plus: The selectable gammas are a nice feature. As it turns out the 2.5 setting actually measured 2.2, and 2.2 was significantly lower than the 2.2 reference, which of course means you should use the 2.5 setting.

Color Accuracy: Color decoding is spot on, and the grayscale tracking is excellent. However, the third component of overall color accuracy, the primary and secondary colors (color gamut), are significantly off of the HDTV or Rec 709 specification: A deal killer for me as I am a stickler for color accuracy.

Video Processing: Video processing is reasonably good on the TH-42PF11UK. It has a 2:3 pull-down feature for film based material that is not 24p, and it handles 24p with jutter reduction well.

Wrapping Up: The inaccurate color gamut of the TH-42PF11UK's is the one performance parameter that keeps me from recommending this panel with my utmost enthusiasm. It is unfortunate as it does everything else extremely well. It is puzzling to me that Panasonic's professional panels, which could have applications in the Post Production industry, have less accurate color space than several of their THX certified consumer models.

The Data: Panasonic TH-42PF11UK Calibration Report

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The Panasonic Professional Display Company is pleased to announce the introduction of the first ever 1080p 42-in professional plasma display designed exclusively for the commercial market - our new 11-Series TH-42PF11UK Full HD Plasma. This model shares the Panasonic plasma essentials of our 10-Series 1080p lineup - superior image quality, felxible plug-in architecture, and world-class support - while adding some additional enhancements. For even deeper, richer blacks, our TH-42PF11UK 11-Series Full HD plasma is our first model ever to achieve a contrast ratio of an incredible 30,000:1. Also new to our 1080p models is improved video processing that provides crisp, clear motion images with the equivalent of 5120 shades of gradation. Our 11-Series 42-inch Full HD plasma is also equipped with the following series of feature enhancements focused on digtial signage:

P-I-P Overlay - Allows for text using PC input to be placed over video from a different input

Text Overlay - Allows for text to placed over video using an RS-232C interface

Adjustable Menu Position - Rotates the on-screenmenu 90 degrees for proper viewing when plasma is vertically mounted

New Screen Saver Features - Overlay Scrolling Bar (white bar scroll over video) and White Screen (full screen of white)

When it comes to durability, our panels can be counted on and our TH-42PF11UK is no exception - it has an incredily long expected service life of 100,000 hours and is backed by a full 2-year on-site parts and labor warranty. As always, our Plasma Concierge service provides a toll-free hotline and 24-hour priority scheduling of on-site service if the display is in need ofservice or repair.

42" 1080p High Definition Plasma Display for professional use.

Equipped with threeinterchangeable slots - provide flexible and powerful system solution by adding/exchanging wide variety of optional slot-in boards

Available with various unique professional features: Weekly Command Timer, Dual Picture Mode*, Digital Zoom, Built-In Video Wall Image Enlarger, etc.

Various energy-saving functions - DMPS, Auto Power Off, Power Save Mode, etc.

* Note: Dual Picture Mode cannot handle the following combinations of two analog signals: Component-Component, Component-PC(RGB), PC(RGB)-Component, PC(RGB)-PC(RGB)

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thehdtvman - Confused

| Registered | 2010-01-14 21:44:01

TTV, confused here. You recommended the 10UK's and now you are bashing the 11UK's. I can get a Pioneer 500M and I wanted to get this instead. Now what do I do? Go look for a stand alone video processor? Ugh. Help please. Thanks for the honest review btw. Don't see that very much anymore.

Kevin Miller

| Super Administrator | 2010-01-15 07:53:21

Hi,

I really do not see this as a bash at all. The only thing I am complaining about is the Color Gamut. For me that is a deal breaker, but it may not be for others. As for the Pioneer 500M there is no contest. I will be reviewing the 500M as I bought for myself, and I can tell you it is the best flat panel ever made sol if you can get one run don't walk. Oh and the only video processor that can fix the color space on this is the Lumagen Radiance.

thehdtvman

| Registered | 2010-01-15 09:08:09

Well it is not a complimentary review like some of your others. I want a 500M, but it is just a monitor. I feel like in the next year there will be TV's that have great picture quality but also might be 3D, IP enabled, etc. Two years from now, I do not want to stare at my 500M and say, the picture quality is great, but I can't do anything else with it. How much is Lumagen Radiance?

kalan

| Registered | 2010-01-15 09:09:28

What is color gamut?

Kevin Miller

| Super Administrator | 2010-01-15 19:28:37

The Radiance is expensive around $3500.

Color Gamut the actual Color of the Primary and Secondary Colors: Red, Green, Blue, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. The HD Spec or Rec 709 has specifications for these colors that this display is quite far off from.

thehdtvman - $3,500?

| Registered | 2010-01-17 21:26:17

Kevin, with all due respect, you think I am going to pay $3,500 for something that will be outdated in three years? Why don't I just get the 8500 Samsung LCD for $4,000 and have the best of both worlds? I feel plasma slowly losing its grip. I feel sad days coming. First the demise of Pioneer, not Panasonic can't get the UK's right.

Kevin Miller

| Super Administrator | 2010-01-18 16:35:25

Hey thehdtvman,

I never said or recommended you buy the Lumagen. If you want something better than the 8500 for less money go for the Panasonic TC-PV10 series in whatever screen size you need.

thehdtvman

| Registered | 2010-01-19 09:07:01

So now that you are on the topic, why would anyone need a Lumagen or Lumagen like product? If you have a $30,000 projector?

Kevin Miller

| Super Administrator | 2010-01-30 08:54:55

Actually I now understand that Spectracal will be putting out a processor that does CMS for a great price. I think it will retail for $1,295. That would make it something to consider for some of these big plasmas with inaccurate color space.

kalan - Spectracal

| Registered | 2010-01-30 16:05:15

Like for the 85 inch Panasonic plasma?

Kevin Miller

| Super Administrator | 2010-02-03 09:11:32

Yest that would be a perfect application for it.

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Last Updated ( Sunday, 21 February 2010 )