Lcd and Plasma Reviews

Today we are looking at a slightly older TV but still one of the nations most popular sets and thus deserves a review.
The Panasonic TX32LZD80, or TX-32LZD80, is just below the top end TX32LZD85 losing out on the 100Hz feature of its bigger brother.

Straight off the bat the first thing to point out is the Full 1080p HD.
As I’ve said before on a screen this size I’m not always convinced of its usefulness, I won’t rant on again because I’m sure you don’t want to hear that again and if you have missed it the first time and really care you can always go read the Sony KDL32V5500 review.

Rant avoided I have to say that the Panasonic TX32LZD80 HD and Full HD handling is very good.
The picture is very sharp and with a games console plugged in I may even stretch my own belief and say that I could see a little difference between the two.
A point to note here is when you are using a full HD source with this set it doesn’t have to scale down the source which can inject some artifacts to the image, admittedly not many though.

Black levels are very good, when this TV was released they were up there with the best, however as we are about a year on the competition is starting to move ahead in the area leaving the TX-32LZD80 a little behind.
Colours are also decent, not as vibrant as I would of liked but this does mean the colours are very realistic, perfect for gritty dramas or soaps, though personally I think Albert Square needs all the cheering up it can get.

On to the refresh rate and well, yes its only 60Hz but it does do a fine job of it, fast moving action is handled well with only noticeable ghosting happening on the fastest paced football.
To go with Full HD and not a 100Hz is always an odd choice on a set of this size but as 100Hz seems to be the more expensive choice it does mean this TV can be had for a great price.
The best TX32LZD80 price is currently down to £530 from Dixons which does make a lot of sense.

Connection wise there is 3 HDMIs, 2 SCARTs, Component Video, Composite Video, PC input and a SD card slot.
The SD slot is an useful feature in these days of digital cameras and a surprise more manufacturers haven’t added this, relatively cheap to manufacture, feature.

Sound is taken care of from the silver strip below the screen.
As always is the case with LCD sound never reaches the highs of the CRT days or that of a home theater system, but the Panasonic does remarkably well, producing a clear and weighty sound, if perhaps a little to quietly for my tastes.

The finish is what we come to expect from Panasonic’s years of making quality products and the typical gloss black with slim profile make for quite a handsome piece of electrical furniture.

In Summary the Panasonic TX32LZD80 is a good all rounder, but which may not quite of ever taken the top crown and is starting to show its age a little.
Insults aside, with the prices you can pick this up for now, you would really be hard pushed to get better quality for the money and still have most of the latest feature on a top brand set.
Simply for just over £500 you can’t really go wrong.

For the best price on the Panasonic TX32LZD80 visit Cheap LCD and Plasmas

For Panasonic’s overview of the TX32LZD80 please see page 2.

Pages: 1 2

Filed under: 32 Inch, HD Ready, LCD TV, Panasonic by TVMan