Panasonic TX-P46ST30B (TXP46ST30B) 46 Inch Neo 600Hz Plasma TV,3D Ready, Digital Freeview HD,1080p, Wi fi Ready,Viera Connect

They also have a scanning ratio of 600Hz. Well, what does that mean? Well, if you take a standard TV it scans at 50Hz, meaning there are fifty pictures per second making up your image onscreen. This particular range scans at 600Hz, so they scan a lot quicker. So if you are watching anything that is fast movement in sport or movies, it is going to control that movement better for you so there is no delay or drag in the image.

This particular range is also 3D ready – so if you purchase this TV and you decide a year, two years down the line that you want to upgrade to 3D, the technology is built into the TV. You don’t have to change the TV, you just need to purchase eyewear from Panasonic. So you just need to get hold of some active glasses like this from Panasonic and you are up and running for 3D as well.

The sets also have the latest digital tuners. So you put your aerial into this TV – you get BCC, ITV and Channel Four in high definition free of charge. They are broadcasting this service in a lot of regions of the UK now. So it has got the latest Freeview HD tuner in here as well.

They are also Wi-Fi ready. You have got an Ethernet port on the back of this TV but you can also buy a wireless dongle from Panasonic, plug into the USB port on the back of the TV and you have got various websites that you have got access to through the TV, which we will be showing you in just a few moments as well.

So, before we go through the menus and start showing you some of the facilities on the TV itself, we will just have a look at the sockets on the rear of the TV. So, you have got your aerial coaxial socket; as I said, it has got a digital HD Freeview tuner, Ethernet port – so, as I said, if you want to get some web services through the TV you can hardwire it through this particular socket. You have also got Audio Out, which is an analogue audio out, so if you want to take the sound from here to an external amplifier you can do so.

You have got Component here, which is the red/green/blue – some games consoles use Component, some DVDs use Component. So you have got Component here, and the sockets at the side, the red and white ones, are the Audio In for Component. Single Scart – there is just one Scart on here; most TVs have only got one Scart because the Scart socket is now going out. You have got three HDMI sockets just on the rear, and you have got also a Digital Optical Out, so if you want to take the sound out of this TV digitally through the Optical lead you can do so into an external amplifier.

Coming up from there, you have got your first USB socket – so, as I said, you can put a wireless dongle through there and you can get internet facilities wirelessly from the Panasonic TV. Coming up on the side of the panel here you have got your common interface slot for any pay per view material; you have got an SD card reader, so if you have got a digital still camera for snapshots or video use, put your card in here and you can view those onscreen.

Your second USB, which could be a used for an external hard drive so you can record TV content straight onto an external hard drive. You have got your fourth HDMI socket just here as well. And then you have got Composite Video In which is just here as well – so, yet again, Wii games consoles can use Composite, the yellow, red and white one. And just up from there, here you have also got a headphone socket as well.

So let’s just deal with those internet facilities first of all, before we get into the menus of the TV. You have got a button on the remote control that says Cast. If we press the Cast button it will load up the internet functions on the set itself. So we have got on here now – just loading up for us here –things like Cine Trailer, Twitter, Euronews – various websites that you can go onto. If we go onto More Options and back down here, you will find there are other pages as well. So as we change the page here, we can now get onto Facebook, Skype and things like BBC iPlayer and YouTube. On the keypad again, Up, Down, Right and Left – you can just highlight any one of those – if it was BBC iPlayer, just click over to there, press OK in the centre of the remote control, and that will start to load up BBC iPlayer for you. It just takes a few moments to do that.

So, as I said, you have got lots of facilities built into the TV. You either hardwire it through the Ethernet port we have just looked at on the rear of the TV, or you can purchase a wireless dongle and do it wirelessly. On here now you can just scroll along to various programmes that you may have missed, highlight it, then press OK on the remote control and you are watching that programme. It is almost like having an additional channel on your TV set.

Okay, so let’s have a look at the set itself. First of all, it is finished in a very dark slate-grey finish with a grey bezel. They are on a swivel base as well – as I said, the base can come off, you can wall-mount it.

The remote control: if you press the Menu button just here, it will put you into the menu system onscreen, where you have got Picture, Sound, Time and Setup. Let’s deal with the Picture menu first of all. You have got on the remote control pad here Up, Down, Right and Left. If we click over to the right, you have got some preset modes here in the viewing mode. First of all there it is in Normal. If we click over to that it gives you other options, of Dynamic, Cinema and True Cinema. If we go into Dynamic, you can see the contrast has changed there. If we come out of there, say, and go back to Normal, you can see that adjustment has changed. These are preset modes from the manufacturer. You can go into any of these and alter it to how you want it, so you can alter that contrast – just jog down there, alter the contrast to however you want it, and come down there again and alter the colour – just highlight it, press OK and adjust accordingly.

If you come further down that scale, you have got something that says CATS on here. What that is, is basically it is an automated adjustment for the TV. You have got a photocell down at the bottom of the set here which is constantly measuring the ambient light of the room and will always keep the TV at optimum performance for you. So at the moment it is switched on. If we go into that and just switch that Off, you will see that change in the picture; you will see the brightness, the contrast changing. And as I said, if you leave that On, it will always keep the picture at optimum performance for you.

If we come further down from there, you have got the 3D Settings – as I said, this TV is 3D ready, the technology is built into the TV. You can also adapt a 2D signal to 3D on this set as well, so any 2D content you can also be watching in 3D.

So that is a quick overview of the picture settings. One other thing – if you do go into one of the external menus; so if you have got, say, a games console plugged into the TV, that will be plugged into one of the AV sockets. So if we go into, say, I don’t know, HDMI 1, if you have got a game console plugged into here, if we go back into those menu settings, into the Picture Menu, and we just go up from there again, back into Viewing Mode, you have now got other options. Before we had Dynamic, Normal, Cinema and True Cinema. You have now got added Game and Photo. What that gives you is basically, if you are using a games console on here, picture form there, making the a, just select Game because if you have got any static images onscreen and they are going to be on there for a length of time, if you use the Game mode, that static image, it starts to vibrate the pixel so quickly you can’t see it but it will eliminate any possibility of any screen burn. So screen burn on a Panasonic, to be quite honest with you, is just something you don’t get on their range of plasma TVs. So if you have got a game on this TV, just make sure you are using it on Game mode. And if you are watching any photos on here, if you have got photographs onscreen, yet again, if we come into that menu, just make sure you have got it into the Photo mode so that quickly deals with that for you.

We will just come back out of there, back into the TV tuner. So, if we go back into the menu, so we just press Menu on here again, as we come down from Picture, you have then got the Sound Menu.  In the Sound Menu you have got adjustments for Speech or Music – yet again, they are just preset modes for bass and treble. If you come further down there, you have got one that says User Menu. So if you go into the User Menu there you have now got a graphic equaliser – not just bass or treble. So at the far end you have got adjustments for bass, then you have got all the mid-range adjustments as well that you don’t normally get with just base or treble. And then you have got the high frequencies as well. So you get a little bit more variation over the overall tone of the TV.

As we come further down that menu, you have also got adjustments for the way the sound is dispersed from the TV. First of all, the speakers are tucked away just underneath the set here. The speakers are facing towards you as well. Unlike a lot of TVs now, where they are positioned sort of underneath or even behind the TV, where the sound is not projected towards you, the sound system on this TV is projected towards you and it is extremely good as well – you get a nice depth of bass with it.

You have also got facilities for V-Audio where it throws it out at a wider angle for you, or V-Audio Surround where it will attempt to throw the sound out and around you as well. It is important as well to make sure you get the speaker distance to wall correct. Whether you are wall mounting or whether you have it on the pedestal stand, you have got to select either over 30 cm for distance to wall, or up to 30 cm for distance to wall, to create that surround sound effect so it reaches you correctly. So just make sure you set that up as well.

If we go back into the Picture Menu, one other thing on there that we didn’t go through – if we come back down that scale, you have actually got Advanced Settings.  When you go into Advanced Settings on this TV, you have got things like Resolution Enhancer. So if you are watching a standard definition broadcast, whether it is on BBC, ITV or whatever it may be, if you go into this menu, you have got adjustments for Mid or Max. and what that will do is it will increase the resolution of that image for you so you get a pseudo high def image – so you can actually get a better quality out of a standard definition image as well.

So, there you have it – you are looking at an extremely well-specified range of TVs here. They are available in 42, 46 or 50 inch. They have got 3D technology. They have got one of the highest contrast ratios and one of the fastest scanning speeds you will get on any TV that is out there at the moment. They are also extremely slim – the latest range of TVs from Panasonic are as slim as any LED TV as well.

What I would say is please call into one of our stores either in Bolton or Leeds – they are on permanent demonstration there. Or give me a call - my name is Chris - on 01204 861 861 if you would like any more details on this range of TV.  If you go through to our website, which is www.soundandvision.co.uk, there are hundreds more video clips on there, not just on TVs but on amplifiers and speaker systems as well. So, thank you for viewing – and as I said, have a look at our website where you will find a lot more details on there as well.