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Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37in Plasma TV Review

Author	John Archer
Published	11th Mar 2008
Manufacturer	Panasonic
Price	£593.26 (Exc VAT)
as reviewed	£682.25 (Inc VAT)
Latest Price	Click here

Design
Features
Image Quality
Sound Quality
Value
Overall

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The two most potentially significant advances of the 37PX80B in picture terms over its 37PX70 predecessor are the step up from V-Real 2 to V-Real 3 image processing, and the unexpected inclusion of 100Hz.

When it comes to V-Real 3, refinements have been made in particular to the image engine's noise handling, colour toning and motion control. And as you'd anticipate, the 100Hz system is included to reduce the potential for image flicker that some people's eyes seem preternaturally determined to spot.

It has to be said that aside from these two key features, the 37PX80B isn't exactly over-burdened with other adjustments. Really the only three of note in the TV's menus are a noise reduction circuit, a colour management system, and the facility to remove all overscanning from the picture you're watching if doing so doesn't produce unpleasant noise around the picture's outside edges.

With little else to detain us, then, we might as well dive straight into the 37PX80B's picture quality to see if Panny's new plasmas will prove slightly more successful than its first new LCD model.

For the most part, the 37PX80B's picture quality is every bit as outstanding as we've come to expect from Panasonic's plasma division. Leading the procession of good points, predictably, is the set's black level response, which probably comes in second only to those of Pioneer's KURO TVs in terms of sheer depth and the amount of low-level shadow detailing the set manages to cling onto.

Indeed, the black level response seems slightly deeper and black colours slightly more natural than on last year's 37PX70, showing that Panasonic is still managing to eke out a little bit more from an area of picture quality that it's always been exceptionally good at.

Another more defined leap ahead from Panny's previous generation can be seen in the 37PX80B's sharpness, which does as much justice to the extraordinary clarity of last weekend's stunning world HD premiere of Zulu on Sky HD as you could ever expect from an HD Ready (as opposed to a full HD) TV. Clearly the new V-Real 3 processing engine has achieved some particularly noteworthy improvements in the detail resolution department.

V-Real 3's strengths can also be seen in the 37PX80B's unusually accomplished standard definition performance, as PAL sources are scaled up to the screen's HD Ready resolution with relatively little MPEG noise.

Latest 4 of 12 Comments

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kinveredge said on 6th September 2008

If you have SKY Digital and like sports & movies, this is the definitive TV to buy.You won't need to upgrade to SKY HD because the picture is truly stunning. The picture q... more

Harry said on 23rd December 2008

Can you play avi movies via an SD card?

Toby Jugg said on 21st March 2009

I have the 42px80b and my girlfriend has just got the 37px8ba, which I believe is the same as the 80b but a couple of connections less. We have experience of a number of LCD and a couple of Plasma screens which we can compare the Panas to.

The 37 is a stunning piece of equipment for the price and the picture for none-hd sources is actually better than my 42, almost certainly as it is the same resolution and physically smaller. Pictures and refresh are nothing short of excellent and the sound is far better than adequate.

I see many different views regarding none hd channel picture quality. I have both a VM cable box + a none-hd sky box, both connected via scart. The picture quality from the sky box is vastly superior to the same channels from the VM cable box. This could explain the variability of folks perceived SD channel quality. The on-board tuner on my pana is less than impressive, but I don't use that anyway.

We have noted that in many cases a superficial view is highly deceptive and only normal usage can really show the strengths (more accurately weaknesses) of units.
With only Sony and recent Samsungs as the exceptions, these 8 series Panasonic Plasma's are head and shoulders above all LCD's we have compared them with including LG's, and Toshiba's. We consider the Panasonics to equal or exceed most of the Samsungs and Sony's in all but but HD performance and then only with some of the more expensive LCD's possibly looking better (Far more expensive than the Pana's).
I have not heard any buzzing from either Panasonic unit, although admittedly my hearing is no longer acute

I would recommend these 8 series Panasonics to anyone. In my opinion, the prices they are now available at make the purchase of budget or mid-range LCD units a complete waste of money.

Regarding size, the 42 is actually too big for my 12 * 12 room and is overpowering. The 37 is the perfect size for the 12 * 12 room with viewing distances from 6 - 10 feet, the 42" is really only suitable for 10' + viewing distances.

Hope these comments from a normal user help others in their choices

I have the 42px80b and my girlfriend has just got the 37px8ba, which I believe is the same as the 80b but a couple of connections less. We have experience of a number of LCD and a ... more

Ben H said on 27th May 2009

I've had our TH-37PX80B for about a year now, and have been really impressed, particularly with the picture quality. It is worth spending a little bit of time setting up to g... more

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