Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic TX-P42G10B 42-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p Plasma TV with Freesat - Installation Recommended

I bought this television to replace an LCD model whose motion handling jitters had driven me to distraction. But I got a whole lot more than I bargained for. Apart from its legendary handling of fast moving objects the Panasonic also delivers the most gorgeous palette of colours. It's a 42 inch kaleidoscope. The blacks are deep and the contrast is stunning. These are the very ingredients required to make a picture look natural. I confess that the screen does give something away to the best LCD's in terms of image sharpness and detail. For my money that is an acceptable price to pay in order to get pictures that are so lifelike that you literally get sucked into the drama.

The television does have another drawback though. I found the sound quality to be distinctly ordinary. It's perfectly fine for watching Sky News or GMTV, but I doubt many movie watchers would consider the built-in speakers to be serviceable. I bit the bullet and bought a home cinema system to go with it. Problem solved.

In short it is easily a five star performer in my book, especially for those already sold on plasma.

Having bought the TX-P42G10 over a week ago I am very impressed with the standard definition picture via a Sky box. This is better than the Sony CRT we previously owned and has me wondering whether it is worth upgrading to Sky HD. I haven't been able to test Freesat as the connection into the standard Sky box does not fit the Freesat connection. Picture via Blue ray is stunning and the sound is better than I expected, having read some other reviews.

The only downside is the constant noise of the fans which can't be heard when watching action movies but at normal listening levels is distracting. Although it is not loud I am regularly aware of it and had I known this, I may have had second thoughts about buying.

Update:

After running in the TV for a short while, the fans are now much less intrusive and I have been able to connect the sky cable to the Freesat input - the HD quality is first rate.

I recently purchased the new Panasonic TX-P42G10B from Amazon. My first word of warning to anyone looking for a new TV from Panasonic is to research which one you like and check which have won the awards. Then be sure you actually buy the one you want. The reason for this warning is that the Panny model numbers are all very similar and you could end up owning a cheaper model that you didnt really want and is not the same quality or doesnt have full HD etc.
I was fortunate in that Amazon made this mistake and I got the
TX-P42G10B for less than half of the price, not a mistake they will make again I bet!

With regards to the plasma it is excellent, it has a superb picture and very good sound quality. The picture set up sets itself up and once the Freeasat is connected to a satellite dish the HD picture quality is stunning. I connected mine to my sky dish, replacing a quad LNB with a Wistron Octo LNB also available online from Amazon.
Please note that HD channels on freesat are still very limited but hopefully will increase in time?
We are certainly very pleased with this purchase and I would have no hestitation in recommending you buy this tv.

I can definately recommend this TV, the picture and ease of use is fantastic. It does exactly what it says on the tin, has a freeview tuner, an analogue one (if you still need it), and a Freesat tuner. All housed in a fairly slim unit. There are others that are a lot more svelt from Philips and LG, but I can't tell how thick it is when I'm watching from the other side so I don't care.

If you need more features, or indeed want a slimmer TV, there are new higher up the range TV's due out from Panasonic in the next month apparently. I didn't and bought the G10. When would I use the PIP or need THX certification on a TV this size when the picture is already fantastic compared to many LCD's.

If you need the push to click add to basket, do it you wont be disappointed.

With the rapidly increasing numbers of "true HD" TVs now out there, which one do you choose for your main living room set up? Well, here's a great contender for your money. In either its 42" or 46" iteration the picture quality from this latest "mid range" Panasonic plasma TV is absolutely superb and still maintains a visible lead over the best top end LCD TVs for sheer depth of colour and "realism" - check it out in store with a fast moving Blu-ray movie if you need convincing. And, if you've got a satellite dish, the built in Freesat delivers BBC HD and ITV1 HD in all their stunning glory... even standard definition programmes look better than you've seen them before.

Downsides? None really, although you really do need a full home cinema system and a blu-ray player to go with it and, to make life easier and to avoid multiple hand controllers, you'll need to stick with Panasonic's offerings here - which could be a problem if you already already own other manufacturers' products. Also, to get more HD content than just BBC HD and the, at present, extremely limited broadcasts on ITV1 HD you need a SKY HD box, not just Freesat - but that's a generic problem with HD broadcasting in the UK at present.

However, marry this TV to Panasonic's equally superb SC-BT100 Blu-ray disc Home Cinema system (in its full 5.1, five speaker configuration) and you'll be knocked out by what you get... incredible, cinema quality pictures & sound at a price that, even a year ago, was unthinkably cheap.