Panasonic is widely regarded as being the king of the plasma TV market and with its latest range of NeoPlasma sets that doesn't look like changing any time soon.
The new VT30 series was announced last month at CES but it's only now that we've been able to have a proper look at the full range. Panasonic shows off its new products at an annual launch event every February, so today we've been walking the floor at London's Excel centre checking out the new kit.
As we reported yesterday, Panasonic has expanded its range of 3D TVs to include the VT30, GT30, and ST30 NeoPlasma 3D TVs (out goes the NeoPDP branding, in comes NeoPlasma), and also now the DT30 series of 3D LED LCDs.
The four TVs in the VT30 series represent the cream of Panasonic's plasma line-up and replace last year's VT20s. They're available in four different sizes, the 65-inch TX-P65VT30B, the 55-inch TX-P55VT30B, the 50-inch TX-P50VT30B and the 42-inch TX-P42VT30B.
The first thing you'll notice about these TVs is that they're actually pretty good looking ? shock, horror! While Panasonic tellies have long been revered for their picture quality, they've more often than not underwhelmed when it came to looks.
Samsung and Philips TVs have certainly looked a lot prettier over the last few years, and while the VT30s don't look radically different ? that bezel is still there and yep, it's still black ? they certainly look a bit more refined.
They're built with a single sheet of glass which spans across the face of the set, and they're also a bit thinner than last year's models while the bezel is noticeably slimmer too.
We're not sure exactly how much they weigh but we had a cheeky fumble and can report that they're very light. Our three-year-old TX-P42G10 is a weighty monster in comparison.
As far as picture quality goes, you can probably guess that these plasma TVs are stunning. Black levels, as always, are the stand-out feature while the handling of motion is also a very obvious step-up ? certainly from the Neo PDP sets from two years ago.
The VT30 series comes with the new internet TV service Viera Connect which replaces the damp squib that was Viera Cast. Viera Cast was blighted by a lack of content and was, frankly, the worst IPTV service of all the big players.
However, the new Viera Connect service offers a variety of new content options, while also offering Skype video calling and the like. We were unable to properly test these features due to a significant lack of remote controls at the event, but we did see it all in action and it looks a lot more developed than Viera Cast was.
It's Wi-Fi ready too, and you'll get a USB wireless LAN adaptor in the box with the TV so you won't have to wire it in which is a blessing.
Other assorted features include an image viewing option for looking at 2D and 3D digital still images and both 2D & 3D HD video recorded on an SD Memory Card, USB HDD Recording as well as SD Card recording.
You also get two pairs of Panasonic's active shutter glasses with every TV which is more than you get with some other brands' 3D offerings.
We'll be getting this TV in for a proper test in the next few weeks so check back soon for the full-fat TechRadar review.
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