VIERA VT20

Released 2010

A 2010 UK Full HD 3D plasma television with Freesat HD, Freeview HD and VIERA CAST.

Sizes: 50″
Panel: Plasma
Refresh: –
HDR: None
HDMI 2.1: 0 of 4
Software: VIERA CAST

What reviewers say

AVForums and What Hi-Fi? praise the 50-inch VT20's deep blacks, detailed 2D image and clean 3D playback with little crosstalk. Both find the glasses uncomfortable and note occasional colour banding. AVForums also criticises film-cadence handling and the limited VIERA CAST catalogue, while What Hi-Fi? finds the built-in sound merely adequate.

From avforums.com and whathifi.com

Specifications

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Display

Panel: Plasma
Panel detail: Panasonic's UK TX-P50VT20B manual specifies a Full HD NeoPDP plasma panel. Its marketed 600 Hz sub-field drive is not a published native image refresh rate.
Resolution: 1920 × 1080 (Full HD)
HDR formats: None
Picture processing: NeoPDP with Infinite Black Pro, Intelligent Frame Creation and 24p Smooth Film. Active-shutter frame-sequential Full HD 3D is supported; the 600 Hz sub-field figure describes panel drive, not native refresh.
Picture modes: Dynamic, Normal, Cinema, THX, Game, Photo and two Professional modes when ISFccc is enabled; True Cinema replaces THX for 3D and some other inputs.
Motion handling: AVForums found very low gaming lag but criticised missing film-cadence detection for interlaced sources; What Hi-Fi? preferred Intelligent Frame Creation off for films.

Sizes

Sizes: 50″
Largest size: 50″

Gaming

HDMI ports: 4 (0 HDMI 2.1 at 4K 120 Hz+)
Variable refresh rate: None
HDMI detail: Four HDMI 1.4 inputs support 3D; HDMI2 supports ordinary Audio Return Channel. HDAVI Control 5, two SCART inputs, component input and D-sub PC input are specified.

Smart TV and sound

Smart TV platform: VIERA CAST
Speakers: 30 W
Speaker detail: Two 160 × 40 mm full-range drivers and one 100 mm woofer, rated 10 W + 10 W + 10 W.
Audio features: CONEQ equalisation, V-Audio surround modes and Dolby Digital optical output; 3.5 mm headphone socket.
Casting: DLNA media playback and VIERA CAST online services; the supplied USB wireless LAN adaptor provides Wi-Fi rather than an internal radio.
TV tuners: UK Freesat HD DVB-S/S2 satellite, Freeview HD DVB-T2, DVB-T and PAL I analogue UHF tuners.
USB: Two USB 2.0 ports support media and encrypted recording to a registered external USB hard drive; SD card slot for media.
Ethernet: RJ45 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX for network services and DLNA.
Optical audio out: Fibre-optic PCM and Dolby Digital output.

Design and power

Size: TX-P50VT20B TV only: 1224 × 771 × 90 mm and 27.5 kg. With supplied pedestal: 1224 × 810 × 335 mm and 30.5 kg.
Stand: Supplied pedestal; optional TY-WK4P1RW wall bracket with 400 × 300 mm mounting holes.
Power use: Panasonic rated 425 W; standby 0.40 W, or 33 W during monitor-output recording.
Colours: Dark metallic-brown bezel.
In the box: Remote, two R6 batteries, pedestal, wireless LAN adaptor and extension, two pairs of TY-EW3D10E 3D glasses, mains lead, cable clamper, ferrite cores and instructions. The dated UK launch coverage establishes 2010 availability but does not reliably establish the first sale month; only the maker-confirmed 50-inch UK configuration is listed here.

Sizes

Size	Model	Weight without stand
50″	TX-P50VT20B	27.5 kg

Pros and cons

Pros

Full HD 3D playback with two pairs of glasses included
Deep blacks and THX picture mode
Built-in Freesat HD and Freeview HD tuners

Cons

3D glasses can be uncomfortable over long sessions
VIERA CAST content was limited at launch
Plasma power draw is higher than contemporary LCD rivals

Closest rivals

Model	Sizes	Panel	Refresh	HDR	HDMI 2.1	Software	Released
LGPG6000	42–50″	Plasma	–	None	0 of 4	None (no smart platform)	Apr 2008
PanasonicVIERA G10	42–50″	Plasma	–	None	0 of 3	None (no smart platform)	2009
PanasonicVIERA G20	42–50″	Plasma	–	None	0 of 4	VIERA CAST	2010

Newer model: VIERA VT30.

Sources

Photo: son-video.com

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