This is a review for a Panasonic Viera Plasma TV Model Number TH-37PX80BA which is pretty big at 37 inches, well compared to our last TV this is big! Can I just pre warn you that this review is by no means going to be technical as I am certainly not the kind of person who understands all the techno stuff. I am going to give an honest opinion of my experience of this TV having had it now for approximately one year.

WHY CHANGE YOUR TV? WHAT WHERE YOUR MOTIVES?

Prior to purchasing this TV we were very happy - and continue to be as we couldn't part with our last TV - our Sony widescreen which was 28 inch with dolby surround sound. The thing is that one of my husbands passions is football and although I don't really share his enthusiasm for the sport I can understand why he would want a bigger screen to watch the game. The players were so small and he would end up sitting on the floor to be closer to the TV. So that was the initial reason that prompted research - extensive on my husbands part - to search for our ideal Big TV. We wanted to make the right choice if possible as these purchases are not cheap.

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THIS TV IN THE FIRST PLACE?

As the research progressed - over long months - one TV was constantly appearing in the best reviews and stood out as the best option for us and of course football viewing. The thing that my husband discovered about viewing football on a plasma that appealed to him was that you very rarely get what is often referred to as 'lagging'. My understanding of lagging is that for example when a footballer is running at speed across the pitch if there is lagging you will get a blurred image of the player lagging behind him - hope that makes sense. In other words the plasma TV will allow for a clearer image of fast moving objects on the screen. We wanted a TV that was HD ready as we felt that would make for even better clarification and impressive picture quality. Of course price came into it too - we wished to purchase the best quality TV at the best price. So we played a waiting game and it paid off as we got this TV just before it was going to be replaced by the next generation of models for a smashing price and also went through the topcashback website which meant that we got even more savings on the TV! We were very happy! Now we just hoped that the experience was all that we hoped it would be.

SO THE BIG TV ARRIVED THEN - WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Woah! was my initial response when I walked into our pretty cosy - otherwise known as small - living room and was pretty overwhelmed by the size of the new TV in the corner. It took me a short time to get used to the new dynamic of the room as the TV looked so prominent and caught my eye every time I went into the room. However when we sat down and viewed the images that were transmitted via digital cable on our Big TV we were overwhelmed by the clarity and quality of what we saw. This reassured us straight away that we had made a very good choice - well I say we, I can't take any credit as it was all of my husbands thorough research that got us here - I realised that I had been squinting to see everything on the other TV ( I have recently had an eye test and my eyesight is fine). This TV makes viewing effortless, I could see things on programmes that are viewed regularly that I never knew existed before! Watching movies is a pleasure with the HD in particular, if there is any scene with depth to it you get a real feeling of 'being there' I am just 'gobsmacked' and very impressed. Oh - football? our initial reason to go Bigger - fantastic, so big, clear and easy to see players - you can stay in the seat now and we have experienced no lagging it is crystal clear quality.

During research the only thing that kept putting us off a Plasma TV was the fact that they do produce more heat and use more electricity than an LCD TV. Well after having this TV for approximately one year now we have not noticed a large leap in our bills for electric and after a full nights viewing the TV feels warm at the back but nothing that would concern us - it certainly isn't hot. Also there is an option to reduce energy consumption and heat production and it is called ECO which just reduces the brightness and is certainly a good option to offer. I have sometimes left it on by mistake and we have viewed TV all night and never known until the next morning when I put my yoga DVD on and go to switch to ECO and it is already on - so obviously for us that is no problem.

In terms of aesthetic quality and design this TV is attractive in a minimalistic way. A thick black frame that is high gloss black and bears the Panasonic logo at the bottom and Viera logo in the top left hand corner, surrounds a 37 inch screen. It sits on a slanted stand - or you can wall mount it. We have it on a black glass stand which we purchased separately and it looks sleek and shiny in the corner of the room.

A cloth is provided with the TV that is soley for the use of the Plasma screen. I notice that the screen hardly ever has dust on it so it must not attract it very much - good stuff hey!

Now to the only thing about this TV that has been a niggle - the sound quality. We now understand why the home cinema surround sound systems are bundled with these TV's - ours didn't come with one - and it is because the sound quality is not as good as the old style wider TV's that had the capacity to house good speakers which gave depth and base to a sound, music, dialogue, special effect etc. With this TV at the moment we find that we have to turn up the volume much louder than the previous TV in order to hear clearer what is being said. It isn't a reason not to get the TV as it will easily be remedied with the said speaker system and we would still buy this TV knowing that.

As I have said I am no techno whizz kid but I find this TV very easy to navigate. The control is pretty straightforward with an output button to select your output source, teletext button in order to use text options, menu button which allows you to customise settings for example switching from cinema viewing mode to eco mode and there is a guide button to view the freeview options.

The TV has an SD slot that enables you to view photographs on TV. We have not used that yet but they would be Big!

There are advanced set up options for those who are confident with adjusting and customising and of course the TV comes with a manual that guides you with all of these choices and FAQ's and Troubleshooting as well as the Quick start guide - which is the one I would go for I my hubby wasn't so techno minded!

TV SPECS

Panasonic Viera

37 inch

HD Ready supported by HDMI and Component Video inputs

100Hz Double Scan that reduces flicker

15,000:1 Native Contrast delivers deeper black level and brighter white level for greater depth

24p Playback supports 1080p, 24 frames per second source materials

0.001 msec Panel Response Time this is the feature that delivers extremely fast response time to minimize picture lag

V-Audio advanced Digital Amplification Technology

Lead Free Display reducing the impact on the environment

Up to 100,000 hours of Plasma Panel Lifetime


TIP

It is well worth purchasing a gold plated HDMI cable as this transfers the source to the TV in a much higher quality than a normal cable would. Worth investing and can be purchased at competitive prices online and in stores when on offer.

MY VERDICT

Very very impressed with this TV. It is an attractive addition to the room. The viewing experience is incredible and I no longer need to squint to see the images and credits. Football is now a wonderful time for my husband as the screen provides a good, clear image and there is no lagging. The sound does let it down without the surround sound system but it is easily rectified by connecting speakers. Lots of options to play around with to customize to your requirements. Easy to use for non techno people like myself. A real high quality HD picture - mountain images are awesome! Pretty economical to run, not noticed a big difference in bills. I would have no problem recommending to others.

FINALLY

We love our Big TV! What a difference size makes! I have reluctantly knocked one star off for sound quality but as I say this can be amended easily with the purchase of surround sound speakers.