(October 21, 2009) Panasonic recently released its top of the line plasma model, the 54” TC-P54Z1. It builds on the high performance of the V10 series models by shrinking the depth to just 1 inch, adding an outboard media center, wireless 1080p connectivity and removable “elephant ear” side speakers.
The Z1’s panel takes a cue from Pioneer’s Kuro by eliminating the top sheet of glass from the panel and bonding a very effective anti-reflective coating directly to the top glass, thus eliminating any internal reflections between the top two sheets of glass found on all other plasma panels.
A brushed aluminum-finished bezel flanked by black left/right vertical inserts distinguishes the Z1 from the rest of Panasonic’s 2009 plasma lineup. The TC-P54Z1 package consists of a media receiver, wireless transmitter module, wireless receiver module, a pair of speakers with associated brackets, a table stand and all connecting cables.
Because of the large number of parts, unpacking and setting up the Z1 consumed about an hour, far longer than any other HDTV tested to date. Most flat screens simply require the assembly and mounting of the table stand. Overall, the assembly went very smoothly and the complete system functioned properly immediately thereafter.
The monitor section has but one HDMI input plus a mini HDMI jack for connection to the wireless HD receiver. As an experiment, we connected a source component directly to the HDMI input, but were unable to get a signal to appear on the screen; hardly surprising considering that all switching, functions and user controls reside in the media center box rather than in the display. Outboarding the switching and controls allowed Panasonic’s engineers to shrink the monitor’s depth to just an inch— thinner than Samsung’s LED LCD HDTVs.
The media receiver includes a built-in HDTV over-the-air tuner as well as an Ethernet connection for Panasonic’s Viera Cast internet content providers that include Picasa (photo uploads and downloads), YouTube, Amazon Videos and Bloomberg News. There are four HDMI (3 rear/1 front) and two component video inputs, as well as two composite video/S, a 15 pin sub-D for a PC (front) and RS-232 serial connector (for remote control systems such as Crestron). Also included is a front SD card slot for on-screen digital photo viewing. The front inputs are located under a swing down door (see photo).
The wireless transmitter and a mini “DC” terminal connector attach to the media receiver box via an HDMI cable (see photo).
The accompanying wireless receiver attaches to the back of the monitor panel by two screws and connects via an HDMI cable and another “DC” (Display unit Connector).
The receiver adds about an inch to the overall depth when attached to the back of the display. However we don’t see any reason why one couldn’t mount it beneath the screen an
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The user interface is similar to the one used on the V10 series (review link). The Z1 has the same features including Digital Cinema Color, a user control for adjusting white balance, 96 Hz display for 24 Hz sources (Blu-ray discs and select DirecTV HD movies) and THX certified viewing mode.
The wireless system, designed by Sibeam (link), sends source signals (up to 1080p) a distance of up to 30 feet from the transmitter to the receiver. Panasonic recommends pointing the transmitter module towards the receiver attached to the monitor.
Unlike competing systems, such as the one Sony offers with its XBR10, the Sibeam 60 GHz (gigahertz) system claims to work within an enclosed cabinet. We put it to the test by placing the transmitter within a Stormcase type thick plastic PC case and latching it closed. From a test distance of 12 feet, the system worked flawlessly, delivering perfect 1080p images to the screen!
The ability to connect wirelessly is a real boon to potential purchasers living in residences with plaster or concrete walls. Now you’ll only just an electric outlet at the panel to wall mount the Z1.
Performance
Primary Color points (red, green, blue) measured in the THX mode were found to be close, but not quite at the HDTV rec. 709 standard. The results are as follows with 709 standard in parentheses R= x.629, y.332 (x.64, y.33) G= x.313 y=.591 (x.30, y.60) B= x.152, y.065 (x.15, y.06).
The Z1 is capable of producing intensely bright images. The factory “Vivid” mode designed for showrooms and not recommend for home use came in at a blazing 80.35 ft lamberts. In the THX factory setting, the level measured 33 ft. lamberts, a brightness perfectly suited for low ambient lighting levels found in many home TV viewing rooms. In the calibrated “Custom” mode, the image brightness read 40.46 ft lamberts, a level that is more than adequate for any normal day ambient room light conditions.
The Z1 produces very deep black levels. Using our new Konica Minolta LS-100 meter we obtained a minimum black of just .009 ft lamberts, a number that beats most LCD displays and produced a very deep shade of black. How does this compare to the Pioneer Kuro Pro-141FD? The now discontinued Pioneer still beats it, coming in below the accuracy of the meter, which is at or below .003 ft. lamberts (according to Konica Minolta). We did not have an opportunity to compare the Z1’s reading with a V10, however we plan to do so in the near future and will update the review accordingly.
Motion resolution measured a full 1080 lines without the artificial video look seen on all 120/240Hz LCDs tested to date (see the V10 review for more on this phenomena).
Using the HQV standard and high def test discs, we checked out the media box’s signal processing. The Z1 aced the HD and SD deinterlace and 3:2 pulldown tests but fell short on the jaggies tests, smoothing just two of the three moving lines with both standard and high definition tests. According to a Panasonic spokesman, the media box uses the same signal processing as the V10 plasma models, creating a mystery as to why we obtained different results (the V10 passes all the tests).
Gray scale in THX mode measured close to the 6500K standard out of the box with a reading of 6325K at 80 IRE and 6016K at 20 IRE in the Warm 2 color temperature mode. In custom mode, before calibration (in Warm 2) measurements were 6159K at 80 IRE and 5827K at 20 IRE. Post calibration resulted in near perfect readings of 6621K at 80 IRE and 6546K at 20 IRE.
The side speakers are a vast improvement over the downward firing speakers found in Panasonic’s V10 series models and many competitors’ < 2” thin LCDs. They provide far better overall range and clear high frequencies. They can also play really loud without audible distortion.
Energy consumption using the IEC standard test disc measured 192 watts in the THX mode and 240 watts in the calibrated “Custom” mode, the same measurement as the 54” TC-P54V10. The media box with the wireless transmitter uses 30 watts.
Viewing
With the user controls tweaked, we sampled HD and SD content using source material from Verizon FIOS, DirecTV and HD movies from Blu-ray discs via Panasonic’s DMP-BD80. The deep black level and bright whites consistently produced images with punch; undoubtedly due to the real world high contrast ratio the Z1 is capable of producing. Although the Z1 didn’t ace the HQV jaggies tests, we noticed no problems with any source material we threw at it.
The Sibeam wireless circuitry worked flawlessly and transparently, never calling attention to the fact that no physical connection existed between the media box and the monitor. As economies of scale kick in, the price delta for this wireless solution will eventually diminish to where the need for any long HDMI cables between the display and the source may be totally eliminated.
The TC-P54Z1 currently retails for $5499.99 making it $2100 more expensive than the TC-P54V10 with internal tuner and inputs.
Conclusion
The TC-P54Z1’s thin profile, outstanding color, contrast and deep black levels coupled with its perfect motion resolution without associated artifacts seen with 120Hz/240Hz LCDs, combined with plasma’s inherent ability to provide superior off-axis images, place the TC-P54Z1 at the top of the HDTV market. While pricey, if your viewing environment’s construction prevents you from wall mounting a flat panel, the additional cost may be justified. The HD Guru awards the Panasonic TC-P54Z1 ♥♥♥♥♥ our highest rating.
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A. West
Posted on 23rd October, 2009
A mirror is a mirror and Guru how about sticking this in a sunny room to do your reviews and tell us of the washout and has Panny gotten rid of the urinated on WHITES! That Bezel is simply horrible and detracting as hell — looks like a prototype someone glued together. Get rid of the outdated SILVER.
Please, tell us how you really feel. Seriously, as far as color of the finish and styling is concerned, its a matter of personal preference.
With regards to very high ambient light levels, no display will provide great performance in extremely bright rooms, you simply can’t see dark detail, regardless of the display type. As noted in the review, the calibrated custom mode measured in excess of 40 ft. lamberts. This is far brighter than those old big screen HD CRTs, which nobody seemed to complain about being too dark at the time they were in vogue. I do not consider screen brightness to be an issue with this display. If you want to watch TV in a greenhouse during the day, get the brightest display you can find and max out the contrast control.
Almost all the top-of-the-line displays today have a shiny screen (as opposed to matte) because it provides a better image.
HD Guru
clif walton
Posted on 25th October, 2009
@Aussie Steve
I agree with most of what you said, but I just wanted to make a couple of comments.
First of all, my G10 has very pure-looking whites. I have done direct comparisons with my Sony CRT, my Samsung LCD and my Vizio LCD and the plasmas whites are as white as any of them. The whites are bright and they just look great. Other recent plasmas I have seen have also had great whites, so I am not sure what A. West is basing his comment on.
Second, the idea that plasmas aren’t a good choice for gaming might have been true in the past, but I don’t think it holds true any longer. In my opinion plasmas are not only a viable choice for gaming, but are in fact quite superior for this purpose. The only real reason LCDs were ever recomended for gaming over plasmas was due to the supposed danger of getting burn-in due to the static elements in a typical video game image. Well, I don’t know how much sense there ever was to that recomendation, but I can say that it truly isn’t an issue with the plasma I own. I have gamed for 8 or 9 hours non-stop at times and have never had any burn in.
More importantly, though, the plasma has several advantages for gaming over the Samsung LCD I own. Despite the fact that the LCD is a 120Hz model there is still an excessive amount of blur, artifacts, and loss of clarity during motion in games. The G10 is like my CRT in how clear the picture remains even while there is motion on screen. The importance of this for games cannot be underestimated, in my opinion.
The other issue that makes the Samsung LCD a poor choice for gaming is the high degree of input lag it has. There is a game mode that does improve things a bit, but a degree of lag is still perceptible. Moreover, the game mode disables access to your normal calibrated picture modes and the picture quality in game mode doesn’t look that great. The G10 has an imperceptible amount of lag, much like my CRT, and it is simply a joy to play on.
If only due to the blur, artifacts, and extreme loss of clarity during motion that seems to be inherent to LCD technology, I think the new wisdom should be to recommend plasmas for gaming OVER lcds, not the other way around.
etype2
Posted on 31st October, 2009
Guru:
“displays today have a shiny screen (as opposed to matte) because it provides a better image.”
Your comment above, I would bet you have in your home a dedicated home theater room for viewing your plasma. That means you have good control of light in that room. That is well and good.
My point, for people who live in homes where they have no choice to control the light, like a great room with high clearstory windows etc; or just high ambient light situations, the disturbing reflections one sees from shiny screens is not an option. When somebody in the room (my wife or guests) walks behind me as I am watching tv and I see their reflections in the screen, not very good.
Another example, ever been in a Apple store looking at a new fancy i mac? It has that crazy glass screen with so much reflections, distracts the eye. Same equation at home in real world living environments with shiny glass screens on plasma sets.
Only recently some LCD sets adopted the clear glass and I would not purchase those sets for the same reasons. The majority of LCD sets have the mat screen. When you say ” nobody seemed to complain about (crt sets) being too dark at the time they were in vogue. I do not consider screen brightness to be an issue. ” Oh yes we did mind and they had tons of screen reflections with their curved glass, then later fixed somewhat by flat glass.
Generally speaking and plasmas are improving, plasmas weigh more, consume more energy, have been known to buzz at high altitudes, still have burn in issues (no matter what anyone tells you.) dimmer, they suffer from phosphor degradation, Bang & Olefson has a research paper on this.
My next set will be a OLED. Right now a big trade show is on in Asia. LG has just outlined their future development footprint. 20 inch and larger OLED’s in 2010, 30 inch and larger OLED’s in 2011 and 40 inch and larger OLED’s in 2012. Of course this sounds optimistic, but LG faces stiff compeition from Samsung and Sony.
clif walton
Posted on 4th November, 2009
@ etype 2
Plasmas weigh a bit more, but so what? My plasma weighs 50+ pounds, while my LCD weighs 30+ pounds…whoopty doo! How often do you move your TV anyway?
Plasmas “consume more energy”? Yes, generally. But according to tests HDGURU and Crutchfield have run the NEO PDP Panasonic plasmas consume very comparable amounts of energy as an average LCD.
Some plasmas may buzz, but I’ve heard mild buzzing coming from LCDs as well. And in any case, I live at high altitude and my Panasonic plasma makes no buzzing sounds.
Burn in? I sometimes play games for 8 or 9 hours at a time and I have never got any burn in. How much do I have to abuse my plasma to get burn in? Probably more than I will ever possibly do.
Dimmer? My G10 is brighter than I need. It looks brighter and punchier than my calibrated LCD.
Phosphor degradation? Modern plasmas have far longer-lasting phosphors than our beloved CRTs did, and we all know how long some of those tube sets lasted. I’ve known people whose CRTs lasted them 20+ years. And keep in mind that CRTs were rated to last around 25,000 to 30,000 hours until they reached half brightness. Most current plasmas in comparison are rated to last 100,000 hours before reaching half brightness. My high definition Sony CRT from over 5 years ago has more vivid colors than my 2009 Samsung LCD. By the time any plasma dimmed to a noticeable degree I think the owner would have long since got the upgrade bug anyway. Sorry, but I’m not worried about “phosphor degradation”.
I do agree with you that OLED looks like it will probably be the next significant evolution in display technology, but as you correctly pointed out we won’t even see a decent sized OLED TV for 3 or 4 years. And even then the cost is going to be very high for several years thereafter. I will accept nothing smaller than a 40″ OLED (and would prefer a 50″)and I don’t expect to see a decent price on such a set for at least 5 or 6 years. In the meantime, my plasma tv will serve me just fine.
etype2
Posted on 4th November, 2009
clif walton:
Weight is a issue for wall mounting.
Energy: I stand by statement, generally.
Burn in is largely overcome.
Brightness: A issue with viewing in rooms as described in my above comment.
I started purchasing ” high end ” audio and video equipment in the early 60’s. I purchased the first Sony Trinitron imported to the US a 7 inch and 12 inch model in 1969. I was an early adopter of projection television having purchased the Kloss Novabeam. I purchased the first LCD color tv sold to the world a Seiko 2 inch model in 1984. It was a marvel of enginering for the time and it cost $499, 1984 dollars.
Look at the advances that have been made since then in terms of tech and lower cost. I fully expect the same thing to happen with OLED.
Sometimes the author of this column has clung to the old past problems of LCD like motion blur and viewing angles. I have stated many times in this website that these problems have been overcome and are being perpetuated. I have owned and viewed in my home, crt, Trinitron (in a class of it’s own) rear projection, front projection, plasma, lcd, oled. I currently own a 65 inch Sharp Aquos, a Sony 46 inch XBR6 and a Sony OLED.
I invite you, the readers and Guru to read this article about motion blur. You be the judge. I hope this puts an end to the miss-information.
Dig into other articles by this author.
The article follows:
DisplayMate Home Page
We had to remove the rest of your comment due to a copyright violation. here is the link
We disagree with Displaymate’s conclusions and apparently so does the latest issue of Consumer Reports. (They write motion blur occurs with LCD HDTVs.)
We have documented problems associated with all 120/240 Hz LCD HDTVs and will be posting the article shortly.
HD Guru
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