Panasonic VT20 Test

[3DReady]

Hi

Panasonic is sending me the VT20 Plasma 3D HDTV tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, for testing purposes. Feel free to suggest things I could do with it for you:) (Excluding smashing it with a hammer, dropping it from 4rd floor, throwing stuff at the tv, and other things that can damage both the TV and my wallet).

I run a 3D-related polish blog, so I'll either post the review in two versions there, or post it in polish, and translate it into english later. One way or another, it'll be exclusively posted on http://www.3dready.pl first, then pasted/translated here in english.

[Fredz]

If you don't have optical sensors to test this screen, you could take some photos of ghosting test images : one without glasses and one for each eye, through the glasses.

You'd need to use manual settings for your camera (no automatic white balance, no flash, etc.) and make sure you've got a constant ambient illumination for the results to be somewhat meaningfull I guess.

There are two crosstalk measurement test charts referenced in the paper referenced on this thread :
http://www.mtbs3d.com/phpBB/viewtopic.p ... 564#p46564" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know where to find the first test (maybe just ask AWoods in the thread), but the second one is available here :
Parallel test image
Crossed test image

[cybereality]

Yeah, I've seen the VT20, its a great set. You are in for a treat.

[Fredz]

So, did you receive it ? How is it compared to other displays, like LCDs, CRTs or DLPs if you had a chance to test them before ?

[tritosine5G]

hi,
-true contrast levels at 60hz / 120hz, brightest/ normal
-metro2033 , alien breed test for ghosting, black levels at 120hz
-brightest settings ghosting vs. normal usage settings ghosting
-mild daylight 3d with different settings, distances (this is why you need a "brightest" setting i guess?)
Try different glasses. Try the 100 eur Sony shutterglasses, which look to be the ex-450USD crystal eyes ce-4. Measure the Sony transmitter with an oscilloscope for clues how to make those damn shutters work.

Cheers from Hungary.

[3DReady]

Unfortunately they send the TV on friday, so is going to arrive on monday... I'm downloading as many 3D materials, tests and demos as possible before the test.

[3DReady]

Well, I'm sending the VT20 back today, and it is really, really hard to say goodbye to this wonderful TV. I'll just sum up all the things I wanted to say about the plasma:

Generally it's a great TV, both in 2D and in 3D. The THX mode almost doesn't require calibration. In 3D however, it's important to adjust the brightness because of the glasses, but it's not something you wouldn't know already.

3D is a HDMI-only thing (you can watch 3D television via the standard connector though) which means you either plug your computer or console to the TV, or you really should consider buying the 3D Blu-ray player. You should buy it anyway, because the 3D movies look just great in the 3D Blu-ray format.

The glasses...well, I have mixed feelings about them. They work ok, but I think the Samsung ones are more roubust and practical. They also look weird.

The TV has 2 USB ports, but you can't watch 3D movies from your pendrive, unless you plug it to the Blu-ray player, the same goes to D-Sub an any other port.

You can forget about streaming 3D directly from Youtube while using the wireless usb dongle, because of the ugly quality of Youtube movies. When using the TV internet connection the movies look much worse than the regular 360p Youtube quality.

We didn't test the external HDD recording option, because it requires formating the disc. You can then play the content back ONLY on the TV that recorded it. Maybe, just maybe there's an option to record 3D too, and then play it back while the HDD is connected to the player.

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs looks great in 3D on that TV, but I think you could throw a lot more 3D effects into the movie. Don't get me wrong, it's 3D through the entire movie, and there's a couple of pop up moments, but still, I could use some more cowbell, I mean 3D.

We also had the Panasonic 3D Blu-ray demo disc. Well, some of the clips were cool, some weren't, but the best of them is to my surprise the coral reef one. It didn't have a lot of depth, but it certainly had this chillout-ish atmosphere of fish floating in front of the screen. Animals generally look great in 3D. Especially macro shots of insects and other scary little creatures.

3D pictures also look amazing. I recommend downloading the .mov slideshows from cesarsommer.com and playing them on the TV - just wow.

Football looks kinda cool too. Especially when the camera is closer to the action. It's more immersive than the regular 2D version for sure.

Gaming... It's awesome! Really, if you're a gamer, 3D gaming on 3DTV is the holly grail. I tested ArmA 2 and Avatar, and both games are fantastic in 3D. I desperately wanted to test Richard Burns Rally, but I somehow couldn't properly set the iz3D driver, which is strange, because RBR is on the supported titles list.

The biggest disadvantage for me is the lack of dedicated 3D buttons on the remote. Imagine that you have a couple gigs of 3D movies downloaded on your PC, a lot of them uses different 3D settings, and in order to watch them you need to constantly change things, and experiment a lot by turning the 3D on and off. There isn't even a 3D on/off button! And you NEED to turn it off in odred to do anything on you PC. Clicking blindly on a blurry screen isn't an option, believe me.

To access the 3D menu you need to click the viera tools button, then select the 3D option, chose the proper mode ("Top and Bottom" or "Side by Side") and the 3D sequence, and then exit the menu to even see if it's working.

Cons

Glasses (it's not a real issue, they just seem to be just a bit less robust than the Samsung ones)
HDMI-only 3D, again afaik Samsung does 3D from USB
No 3D buttons on the remote
No 2D to 3D convertion, not a big issue, but with it the TV would be perfect

Pros

Everything else

Polish version of the VT20 3D Plasma review http://www.3dready.pl/recenzja-plazmy-vt20/

[DmitryKo]

Does VT20 include a checkerboard and line-interleave half-res modes for PC gaming? I know it should support top/bottom and side-by-side, but the manual is unclear on the former two.

[3DReady]

Side by Side, and Top and Bottom modes only..."Auto" works only with Blu-ray 3D.

[Nobsi]

What resolution at what refresh rates and which 3D modes does the TV support for gaming?
I think 1080p @ 60Hz page flipping is not supported by this TV generation, so what are the possible options for gamers?

I currently own a 3D ready Samsung Plasma which offers 1360*768 via checkerboard. Can the Panasonic TV do anything better when hooked to a PC?

[alairauston]

Panasonic VT20 is doesn't hit the absolute black levels of the reference Kuro plasma, the VT20 is a mighty fine 2D TV which adds in the benefit of reference 3D playback. Its super clean images, excellent dynamic range and 3D experience, is going to win over many AV Fans.There may be a 58 available later in the year.If this sort of review is the start then 3D might be better than many thought...now for something to watch on these new screens.

[triclops41]

i too, am interested in what resolution/refresh rates this panasonic can accept for 3d gaming.

[soundstorm]

"bump"
I would be interested also, what resolutions and refresh (coming from PC) this TV accepts.

[Damo3D]

Under your cons, you forgot to say that this tv ghosts unacceptably compared to DLP. I know I'm returning it tommorow. If your bothered by ghosting you will regret buying this tv. Trust me I wanted this tv to work, I wanted to believe, but there's no comparison to dlp (in the ghosting department anyhow). If you don't mind ghosting so much buy the samsung plasma instead it's a better all round tv in my opinion. But if you've already used dlp you will hate the ghosting and you won't be able to ignore it when gaming.