REVIEWS / LED BACKLIT / PANASONIC INDIA PVT LTD

Panasonic VIERA TH-L42E3D LED LCD TV Review

31 Oct, 2011, 1:13 pm IST | by Aaron Almeida | LED Backlit

LED Backlit

Slim Edge-LED backlit TV

Slim Edge-LED backlit TV
Very unsteady base
Brushed metallic effect adds to the style
Rear connectors are well spaced
The remote performs well
The simple appearance of the interface

PRICE IN INDIA

Free

TECH2 RATING

6.5

AVERAGE USER RATING

8.0

How we test

CONTACT

Panasonic India Pvt Ltd

 prdesk@npi.panasonic.co.in

 +91 124 4596 600

 www.panasonic.co.in

Gone are the days when televisions would be about serving the purpose of merely watching cable or satellite TV. With the launch of LED LCD TVs, these boundaries have been pushed further. Panasonic, one of the leaders amongst television manufacturers, has launched the Viera TH-L42E3D 42-inch LED LCD TV, which boasts of some pretty incredible features, such as social networking support, USB host, and more. Read on to see if this television can make a mark in its segment.

Very unsteady base

Very unsteady base

 


Design and Build Quality
First off, this TV looks really good. The bezel is predominantly black, but the bottom part is silver gray fading to black, lending it a really classy look. The bezel has a glossy finish, which seems to be a common design trend these days. Having a glossy bezel makes the television look slick, but on the downside, this can attract lots of dust and fingerprints. Slim continues to be in and though this is not the thinnest television around, its side profile measures just 1.6 inches in depth.

The back panel is made entirely out of metal. The connectivity options are located at the side and at the back and are within close proximity of each other. The side sports a USB port, SD card slot, and HDMI as well as composite ports. The rear-facing connections include a USB port, two HDMI ports, and single ethernet, composite, component and VGA ports. The advantages of side connectors are that one can easily plug in USB flash drives or components such as a keyboard or mouse.

The remote performs well

The remote performs well

 


The right side features physical buttons such as function, AV, adjustments for brightness, contrast, volume, etc, and the on/off button. These buttons are well built and sturdy. The base of this stand, like the bottom of the bezel, has a silver gray finish. The base looks quite attractive and with the black bezel, it makes an attractive combination. However, the build quality of the base is something we were not too fond of as it made the television rather unsteady. There was a bit of wobble and the plastic used in the base felt quite cheap. The remote control is decently built and looks similar to other Panasonic Viera remotes. The buttons are well spaced and the remote feels quite light too.

To sum up, the TH-L42E3D is an attractive looking television. The base is wobbly, but this could be a one-off issue with the review unit we received.

Features
The Panasonic Viera TH-L42E3D has a bunch of interesting features, the biggest of which being the ability to playback videos in full HD (1080p). Most LCD and LED televisions are able to support 720p, but with full HD becoming the standard, it is good that Panasonic has incorporated this feature here. The TV uses an IPS panel with edge-LED backlighting. The company claims that it has a wide viewing angle of 178 degrees.

The simple appearance of the interface

The simple appearance of the interface

 


The other neat feature of this TV is the ability to read USB drives. However, it is just limited to FAT32 and not NTFS. We tried a couple of NTFS drives with this TV but they could not be read. The interface is pretty easy to navigate. All options are lined up on the dock at the bottom of the screen. The interface is pretty basic looking, but has some interesting smart TV features such as Facebook and Shoutcast.

The television has two 10 Watt downward-facing speakers. The TV supports video playback in various formats, including MP4, DivX, and MKV and MPEG4.

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Design and Build Quality - Features


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Would you buy it?




 


How We Test

The Tech2 Labs receives many products every single week and each of them is tested with the utmost care and highest level of objectivity. There’s a constant effort to reduce and totally eliminate subjectivity. Each product is tested according to set test processes so the same test scenario is used.

Verdict
The ratings awarded to a product are derived from a number of tests and calculations, keeping certain important factors in mind. These factors consist of features, performance, quality and value for money. In case of software and some other categories, build quality might be replaced with ease of use or ease of installation. Products are compared with other products in a similar price range or product category.


Features
The features component of the score is rated based on the kind of features present on a particular product. Features are a big part of what people look for when they’re buying a new product such as a phone or a camera.

Performance
The performance score is derived from the benchmarks and tests run on the product. In case of the subjective scores, an average of the scores given by the group of reviewers is considered.

Build Quality
The build quality of a product is important so that it doesn’t fall apart after some use. The build quality scores from the way the product is designed and the kind of materials used in the product.

Value
Value for money comes from the fact that a cheap product is able to provide most of the performance of a higher priced product. Once again, value for money is judged by comparing pricing and performance of products in a particular price range or category. 

There are many other aspects of the product that are looked at such as the bundled software and accessories. All of these scores are aggregated together to form the final score.

What do the ratings mean?

Ratings are simple - higher the score, the better the product. A brief listing of the features and what they mean are given below.

1 - 3

The product is bad in almost every aspect. We strongly advise against purchasing this product.

4 - 6

An average product that isn't the best you can buy, but isn't the worst either.

7 - 8

Product with this rating is highly recommended because it's priced sensibly, has a good set of features and performs well.

9 - 10

Exceptionally excellent product with features and performance unlike any we've seen in the past. A must-have for everyone!

What is the Average User Rating?

We at Tech2 take product reviewing very seriously and every product is tested with the utmost care and level of objectivity. The end user who buys a particular product and uses it over an extended period of time has his own take on a product and there might be nuances that he or she can shed light on. The Average User Rating is present to help readers get the complete picture of how good or bad a product is. The Average User Rating is calculated by averaging the ratings by the thousands of readers visiting Tech2.com every single day. To record your own rating of a product, simply click on the user rating bar. If you disagree with our ratings or our community's product rating, please don't hesitate from voicing your opinion in the comments section below the review.

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