Panasonic TX-L37S20B (TXL37S20)

So, some of the specification first of all.  You are looking at 100Hz scanning on both these models.  Now, what does that mean, 100Hz?  Standard TVs scan at 50Hz, which means it is basically fifty pictures per second making up your image.  This particular range are 100Hz scanning - so twice the information there.  So if you have got any fast movement; if you are watching sport, it is going to cope with that fast movement better.

We are also looking at a range of TVs here which have a 100,000 : 1 contrast ratio.  Only sort of eighteen months to two years ago you were looking at contrast ratios on LCD at best at around 40,000 : 1 or even less than that.  You are now looking at 100,000 : 1 contrast ratio.  That determines how good that black level is.  The higher the contrast ratio, the deeper that black level.  The deeper that black level, the more natural colour palette you achieve, the better depth of field and the more detail on darker scenes as well.  So a contrast ratio of 100,000 : 1.

The sockets on the rear of the two TVs - you are looking at two HDMI sockets, two scart sockets, one component, which is the red/green/blue socket.  There is also the PC socket, the D sub-socket, on the rear of the TV.  There is also Optical Out so you can feed the sound digitally from this TV through an external amplifier.  There is also an Analogue Audio Out which is the red and white connection; you can take the sound out from the TV through the Analogue Audio Out.  And there is also an Ethernet port, so if you want to connect your PC to this you can either do it through the D sub-socket on the rear, or you can do it through the Ethernet port.

On the side of the TV, you have got additional sockets.  You have got another HDMI - so you have got three HDMIs in total.  There is also an SD card reader so if you have got a digital still camera or a camcorder that takes SD card you can slide it into the side of the TV and you can have your footage shown directly on the screen.

There is also Composite Video In which is the yellow/red/white socket on the side of the TV.  Games consoles like Wii consoles use that connection; you have got that on there as well.  And there is also a headphone socket.  So quite an array of sockets on there.  And as I said, the basic specification:  100Hz and 100,000 : 1 contrast ratio.

They are also full HD so they will cope with the three major forms of high definition: 720p, 1080i and 1080p resolution.  So whether you want to plug a games console into it, a Blu-ray DVD, Sky or Virgin HD, you have got no issues there at all.  And they also contain digital Freeview tuners built in.  This particular range use HD tuners, so if you are in a region where they are broadcasting either BBC, ITV or Channel 4 HD through your TV aerial system, it will pick that up - it has got the new HD tuners built into this TV.  So just from your standard TV aerial you have got a free HD source.

If we go on through some of the menus on here, on the remote control we have a button, on the top of the remote here, which says Menu.  If you press the Menu button, the Panasonic menus are very straightforward, very easy to operate.  They give you three menu systems: Picture, Sound and Setup.   If we deal with the Picture menu first of all, if we go into that, we have got Viewing Mode - Normal, Cinema, True Cinema and the Game.  And you can probably see the contrast, brightness and colours just changing there slightly.  In fact we will just go onto Standard TV there for a moment and we have got some sort of image on there for you. 

We will go back to the menu.  So as I said we have got Cinema, True Cinema and Dynamic - and it is just all set into predetermined level by the manufacturer that is the colour, contrast, brightness and sharpness. You can go into that and alter those levels independently - so we can bring down the contrast on there, the brightness and the colour.  And you can set that to your own setting, to however you want that image to appear.

You have also got things like Panasonic’s C.A.T.S. system on here which is an automated contrast adjustment.  If you click that on - you can have it On or Off on there - but if you leave it on, there is a photocell in the front of the TV there which constantly measures the ambient light of the room and will always keep the picture at optimum picture performance for you as well.

If we go off that for just a moment and come down to the Sound menu, in the audio menu we have got adjustments at the top here for Music or Speech - which yet again are just predetermined levels for base and treble.  But you have got in those menus overrides to alter the base and alter the treble to wherever you want it.

You have got an additional one in there which is User mode.  And if we go into the User menu, it gives us one additional adjustment which is the Equaliser, which gives us more variation over the base and the treble.  So we can alter the base down at this end here and we can boost the base on the TV.  But we have also got mid-range adjustments for the mid tones which are normally missing off your standard base and treble.  And then at the top end here you have got your usual high frequencies and treble adjustments as well.

If you come down from there, we have also got Surround Sound Off, the standard stereo sound.  Or we can go into V Audio mode which will throw the sound out at a wider angle for you giving you a better sound stage, a bigger sound stage.  And you have also got V Audio Sound that will attempt to throw the sound out and around you as well.

The other menu, as we go down from there, is the Setup Menu.  The Setup Menu basically gives you your tuning menus where you have got tuning in for your digital channels.  And if we got down to other settings there we have got things like the Guide Plus system - with it being digital TV you have got a full onscreen guide system which I will show you in just a moment.  And we have also got - the one that is highlighted there, Resolution Enhancer, is off at the moment but if we set it to Mid or Maximum.  And what that will do, if you are just watching standard TV, it will increase the sharpness and detail of the image, depending on how you have that set - whether it is in Maximum, Mid or Off.  And if you set the settings to Mid or May, you will see the sharpness and the detail in that picture alter.  And that has almost given you a sort of pseudo high definition image just from your standard TV broadcast.  So it has got that in the settings as well.

We will come off that just for a moment. On the remote control, as I said, you do have a Guide button which is on here, which will pick up your TV Guide for you.  Press the Guide button and it will give us an onscreen guide.  So on here at the moment it has got your channels running down here - BBC1, 2, 3 and 4 and so on down there.  And as we click along we can go through the rest of the day and just check on what is available later on that evening on any channel that you want.  So you have got the full Guide system built into the TV as well.

What I would say, if you would like some more detail on this, is please give me a call - my name is Chris - you can get hold of me on 01204 861 861.  Go to our website where you will have a lot more detail on there - which is www.soundandvision.co.uk.  Or just click the link at the side of the screen for more information.

Thank you.