Panasonic TH-37PX70 37-inch Plasma TV Review

Great basics are what get us through life, we can all agree.  In the supermarket, there are those treats, which are great, but they are surplus of necessity, and the bank balance would look much better if we avoided them.  So, do yourself a favour by settling for the entry-level Panasonic TH37PX70 plasma, which won’t break the bank, and promises to leave very little to the imagination.

Design

If you like choice, you’ll be pleased with the variety of mounting options available with the Panasonic TH37PX70.  An optional pedestal, wall-mount or cabinet are all available for you to choose from.  You should expect to pay another £200 for the cabinet, and £50 for the wall-mount option, but the pedestal comes as standard.  The curvaceous glossy black finish lends itself to any stylish interior, and will definitely add an ounce of class to your home.  Obviously, the cabinet puts the icing on the cake, but the other options look great too. 

Connectivity isn’t so basic, which is great.  Although it’s all located at the rear, there is a pair of HDMIs, 15-pin PC input, Audio PC input, Component video input, and Audio output.  We always prefer a few bits of connectivity at the front, to save having to disappear around the back every so often, which can get rather annoying. 

In its 10th generation, Panasonic are churning out some lurvely little numbers right now.  As it’s an entry-level, the Panasonic TH37PX70 doesn’t have an extensive spec list, but at least with a Viera TV, you’re guaranteed that whatever is on offer, it will provide nothing short of pure high-quality performance.  The integrated Freeview Tuner is about as high-tech as this plasma gets, with 1500 pages of fastext, and an electronic programme guide, in prevention of missing your favourite shows.  Unfortunately there are no multi-media gadgets, including SD card slot, and it’s not 1080p, so it won’t guarantee the best HD picture available, but with the Viera technology, the 720p support will provide a much better picture performance than most other plasma screens for around the same price.  You’ll also find it boasts Panasonic’s V-real picture processing engine and an impressive 10,000:1 contrast ratio.  Sound technology is on the basic side of basic too, with two simple integrated 10 watt speakers with Nicam stereo. 

Despite the Panasonic TH37PX70’s more than modest offerings, we were extremely impressed by the picture performance it had to offer.  With its 1024 x 720 resolution, it downscales 1080i content, like Sky for example, and as a result should lose a degree of clarity.  However, the results of downscaling are almost unnoticeable, especially when compared to a fully 1080p TV. 

Keeping up Viera’s renowned reputation for superb black level performances, this TV offered a stunning black level performance, providing some of the clearest definition available from 720p support.  Smearing, what smearing?  There were absolutely no signs of poor motion-handling.  This TV just eats motion up with what seems to be a very good appetite, making it perfect for watching fast-moving sports, etc.  Bursting with colour, the most natural hues, and perfect skin tones give a realistic impression. 

We checked out the High Def (HD) performance after watching Standard def (SD), as we figured we should leave the best until last.  SD provided sharp, concise images with superb definition, which was a huge improvement on the 42-inch screen (TH42PX70), which tended to lose clarity due to the large screen size.  So, once our tastebuds had been tickled by SD, we couldn’t wait to consume a bit of the HD performance.  Picking up every shadow, every glimmer of light, and representing every colour professionally, this HD performance was just impeccable. 

Starting slowly with a sub-standard specification, the Panasonic TH37PX70 didn’t get us excited initially, but once we checked out its second-to-none performance we were completely turned around.  Our excitement took over, and regardless of trying, we just couldn’t take our eyes off it.