Panasonic VIERA TX-L37V20B (TXL37V20) LED Television with Freeview-HD and Freesat Tuners

We will just go through some of the sockets on the rear of this set and quickly take you through some of the specification.   On the rear of this TV you have got three HDMI sockets.  There are two scart sockets.  You have got one Component socket.  The Component socket is the red/green/blue connection - Xbox 360s and DVDs still use that connection - you have got them on the back of the set.

You have also got a USB connection on the rear of the TV.  There is a PC socket, there is an Ethernet connection.  you have got Optical Out so if you want to feed the sound digitally out of this TV through an external amplifier you can do so.  There is also Analogue Audio Out and there is also a satellite connection which we will come back to in just a moment.

On the side of the TV you have got another HDMI, meaning four HDMI sockets in total.  There is also another USB socket so you have got two USBs on there.  There is an SD card reader so if you have got a digital still camera or a camcorder that takes SD card, just slot it into the side of the TV and you can have that footage displayed directly on the screen.

There is also Composite Video In which is the yellow, red and white connection - Wii games consoles use that connection - that is on there as well.  And there is also a headphone socket.  So, a multiple array of sockets on there. 

Now, down to the specification on this set.  First of all, 2 million : 1 contrast.  We have discussed before on other video clips how important it is to have a good contrast ratio on a TV.  With this using the latest LED technology, you get a contrast level far greater than what you would normally achieve from an LCD product.  You get a contrast ratio of 2 million : 1.  That determines how good the black level is.  And the inkier that black level, the better the depth of field, the more detail on darker scenes, and the more natural colour palette you achieve.  So an extremely high contrast ratio at 2 million : 1.

It also uses a facility called Intelligent Frame Creation, for the way it scans an image to control fast movements.  Intelligent Frame Creation is one of the best scanning ratios you will get on any TV.  It controls motion extremely well.  On this particular model from Panasonic it is 200Hz.  The way it achieves that is basically it is 100Hz scanning incorporated with the LED lighting system to achieve that 200Hz scanning.  But it controls fast movement really well.  So if you are watching sport or any fast action in a movie it is going to cope with that with no issues whatsoever.

So, extremely high contrast ratio; good control of fast movement.  They are full HD as well so will cope with 720p, 1080i and 1080p resolution - so extremely high specification.  They also have two HD tuners.  One relates to that socket on the rear which is the Freesat socket.  If you have got a standard Sky satellite dish, you can take a feed from that dish directly into that socket on the back of the TV and you have got a free satellite service called Freesat.  It gives you basically a multiple array of channels but also a free HD service - you get BBC HD, ITV HD without paying subscription to any other source.

But you have also got now on this set Freeview HD, so it doesn’t need a satellite dish.  If they are broadcasting HD broadcasts in your area through the new Freeview HD service, you can get BBC HD, ITV HD and Channel 4 HD just through your TV aerial.  That is also built into the TV.  So you have got two HD tuners - Freesat and Freeview HD - built into this set.

On the Menu system on the TV, on the remote control if we just push the Menu button it puts us into the Panasonic menu.  It is a beautiful system that they use on Panasonic - nice and simple to use:  Picture, Sound and Setup.  If we click the OK button and into the Picture menu, we have got Normal, Cinema, True Cinema, Pro 1, Pro 2 and Dynamic.  These are preset modes by the manufacturer; predetermined levels for the contrast, brightness, sharpness and colour.  However, you can go into those settings and alter that contrast, and the colour, and the sharpness to however you want it.

You have also got Panasonic’s C.A.T.S. system on there which is an automated adjustment for the contrast.  If you switch that on, there is a photocell on the front of the TV which will basically read the ambient light of the room and also always keep the TV at optimum picture performance for you. 

If we go into some of the Pro Settings on this TV, we have got other adjustments on there in the Advanced Settings where, if we access that, we get into the three primary colours - the Red, Green and Blue for Gain and Cutoff where we can start then tweaking the green and the blue and the red independently - you can set that up to however you want it.  But if you make a complete mess of it, you have always got the Reset to Default down at the bottom