Introduction
TV screen sizes are definitely on the up, with more and more of us looking to buy the largest possible model we can afford. The sight of a 50-inch screen in the average living room that would not so long ago have seemed outrageous now seems perfectly reasonable, a trend that’s been fuelled largely by the erosion of LED and plasma screen prices.
The edge-lit Panasonic TX-L50E6B is aimed at anyone seeking a stylish, affordable 2D-only 50-inch screen with smart TV capability. By sacrificing many of the features that enhance the performance of its more expensive models, Panasonic has delivered a big screen with a basic spec in terms of picture processing.
But there’s a good reason why better specced screens feature faster processors, special filters and local dimming, and by compromising the features list you run the risk of compromising performance to an unacceptable level. At £899 (around US$1,392 / AU$1,346), the Panasonic TX-L50E6B is certainly a good price, though.
There are four 50-inch screens in Panasonic’s lineup this year, with the step-up £1,300 Panasonic TX-L50ET60B offering a 176-degree IPS panel, 600Hz processing, a Clear Panel Pro filter and passive 3D playback.
For 1,000Hz and dual-core processing, along with ISFF calibration and twin tuners, look to the Panasonic TX-L50DT60B, while to save a few bucks you could always go for the bargain basement E series and EM series models, which are bereft of all networking and smart TV functions.
No rival manufacturers have landed their 50-inch LCD screens for 2013 yet, although Samsung’s F6100 series is imminently expected, which adds 3D playback and 200Hz for a little extra cash.
Features
The decision not to include 3D in the spec seems logical from a pricing perspective, because adding it would require a different panel along with faster processing.
Manufacturers may finally be admitting that 3D is no longer the draw they predicted it would be. Even if you do want 3D on a Panasonic screen you have to be prepared to go passive rather than active.
Other areas of the Panasonic TX-L50E6B’s specifications that may cause concern are the basic 100Hz (plus backlight blinking) refresh rate, the absence of a Hexa (dual-core) processing engine and 24p Blu-ray playback, the non-Clear Pro filter, the lack of ISFF calibration modes and an inability to use a USB connected hard disk as a PVR.
Voice control, which appears on more expensive models, is probably not worth sweating over, being often as effective as a megaphone in a vacuum.
In two areas the Panasonic TX-L50E6B’s spec is happily almost on a par with most of the screens above it. The slimline design looks terrifically classy, using the ‘super narrow’ bezel that, seen from the front, is just 5mm (0.2 inches) wide.
The glass of the nicely non-reflective screen masks the 5mm-wide black border that appears when the screen is switched on, helping to boost contrast at the edges. Along the bottom edge is a translucent, slightly curved plastic strip that offsets the screen’s square edges.
Another area of near-parity between the Panasonic TX-L50E6B and its otherwise better equipped siblings is in terms of its smartness. The screen features a customisable home screen, a web browser, built-in wireless networking and access to the HTML5-compatible Viera Connect smart TV portal.
Finally, connectivity is also almost identical, with the standard Viera provision of three HDMIs, plus there are two USBs, headphones, optical audio out and an Ethernet port, and the usual legacy analogue fayre.
The handy Panasonic SD card bonus is absent. Note that the HDMIs are all rear-facing, which is fine for stand mounting but does limit how close you can fix the screen to a wall – depending on the thickness and stiffness of your HDMI cables.
Naturally, a standard remote control handset is supplied, but the Panasonic TX-L50E6B can also be operated using Panasonic’s revamped smartphone and tablet app, including the clever Swipe and Share feature that enables you to send pics and videos from your portable device to the TV or stream content in the opposite direction (from a USB drive), without even turning the TV on.
Second screen viewing is not available, partly because the TV only has one tuner.
Picture quality
Like any LED-lit screen, there’s no shortage of brightness, making this a more natural partner for daytime viewing than one of the bargain priced 50-inch plasmas it competes against.
And while Freeview HD pictures reveal an inherent lack of sharpness, in other aspects the Panasonic TX-L50E6B shows real improvement over previous models such as a backlight that is wonderfully even, with no evidence of clouding at the edges of the screen.
Watching a letterboxed 21:9 movie reveals that the black bars top and bottom are genuinely black rather than greyish or black with misty patches of whiteness. With such an effective black level, the rest of the image benefits in terms of its contrast and colour palette. There is some crushing though, so shadow detail is not the best.
Tinkering with the set’s Black Expander feature raises the exposure of dark areas, such as an estate agent’s amorphous suit in Homes Under the Hammer on BBC One HD, but introduces greyness as much as improving detail.
Rich, intense colours such as red have an authenticity about them, while skin tones also seem realistic. Some material seems better suited to the slightly soft nature of the screen – for example, scenes of rutting deer and the grassy sand dunes of Denmark in Coast on BBC 2 HD have a rustic graininess that seems entirely suitable.
The cheeks of newsreaders and presenters of studio shows such as David Dimbleby on Question Time and James Martin on Saturday Kitchen, however, are notably a touch less defined than they should be. It’s not a fatal flaw, just something that we’ve seen done a lot better.
Standard definition pictures
Switching to standard definition we expect to see a loss of clarity, but with Homes Under the Hammer on BBC One there is a significant increase in the amount of noise and, most unusually, artefacts on people’s faces when they’re in long shot.
When watching movies in standard definition it’s worth engaging the set’s Film Cadence Mode, which avoids de-interlacing in order to preserve vertical resolution.
Although the Panasonic TX-L50E6B’s stand doesn’t swivel (unlike the step-up Panasonic TX-L50ET60B) and the non-IPS panel only has a viewing angle of 176 degrees, the good news is that contrast and colour intensity only tail off marginally as you move to the side.
However, when it comes to blur and judder the screen’s 100Hz processing combined with backlight blinking isn’t exactly a blinking triumph. Watch any live sport played on a green pitch and as soon as the camera moves the grass appears soft.
Close-ups of players, zoomed in from a distance, are reasonably well defined but as the camera pans the grass goes mushy.
Blur such as this is subtle, and not as distracting as judder, which creeps in far too easily. Even when Gaby Logan looks down then up again in Final Score you see her chin move jerkily down and up. It’s an effect that happens with any static object that suddenly moves, even briefly, and is one of those traits that once you’ve seen it, is hard to ignore.
Blu-ray pictures
The TV seems a lot happier dealing with Blu-rays than other HD sources. It doesn’t have a 1080/24p mode but does have 1080p pixel direct, which bypasses all video processing when watching content via HDMI (with options to define your source as being photos, graphics, as well as an auto setting).
All in all, the Panasonic TX-L50E6B at least preserves every last drop of the native image, with obvious benefits to clarity and chroma detail.
The desert scenes in No Country For Old Men have real punch, and the noise of the cloudy skies is nicely suppressed. The close-up pan of Josh Brolin carrying his rifle towards the shoot-out is not silky smooth, but nor is the judder as obvious as expected.
Static, well-lit shots in Argo and Super 8 are terrifically engaging, with a slight graininess that’s becoming of movies and an effortlessly natural colour palette. It’s the crushed blacks that render the night-time train wreck scene in Super 8 a little unsatisfying.
When watching upscaled DVDs it’s again the softness that may need addressing, with the classic The Long Good Friday requiring a hefty boost to the sharpness.
Usability, sound and value
Usability
Smart TV interfaces have really come on this year, with pretty much every manufacturer upping their game. Panasonic is no different, and its My Home Screen interface on the Panasonic TX-L50E6B seems well implemented, enabling you to choose which screen (if any) of three you see when you first switch the set on.
The TV channel list is no longer available by pressing a button on the remote, but instead appears alongside the live channel in the default My Home Screen, along with shortcuts to the Viera Connect store, YouTube and multimedia files (you can choose a folder from which the screen will randomly show images).
Other options include the Lifestyle screen (with widgets for weather, calendar and so on) and Info screen (Skype and bookmarked web pages), plus you can make your own using four templates that enable you to add widgets and arrange them to your satisfaction.
If you prefer to switch on and see an uncluttered screen, you can still call up the info bar along the top that provides shortcuts to features such as Messages and the all-new App store.
A dedicated App button on the remote provides direct access to a grid of 28 icons, some of which are for accessing the screen’s multimedia features, EPG, web browser and so on, plus there are 21 on-demand apps.
Additional apps appear on a second page with plenty of space to populate new ones from the Viera Connect store. Pleasingly, you can delete or reorder apps so that only your preferred ones appear.
The death of last year’s ponderous Viera interface is almost enough to bring the singing Munchkin out in us, even if describing it as wicked is probably going a bit far.
In terms of content, Panasonic has a reasonable selection of about 20 video on demand apps but is lagging behind the likes of Samsung and LG, with LoveFilm, ITV Player and 4OD among the most telling absentees.
Panasonic’s smartphone Viera app, on the other hand, is streets ahead of the pack. You can choose to replicate the regular remote control and enjoy a little multimedia interaction by swiping a photo or video towards the TV. It really is as simple as that (assuming your phone and screen are on the same network).
Multimedia navigation on the TV screen from a USB or network-connected drive is also a slick and enjoyable process, with more than decent file compatibility including hi-res FLAC audio files and MKV movies.
The Panasonic TX-L50E6B’s remote control is a nicely designed handset that works well with the screen’s traditional menu system for adjusting picture and sound modes.
The EPG is a real flexible friend, with a small video window so you don’t lose contact with the live broadcast and three options for choosing between the number of channels shown and the amount of descriptive information for each show.
Sound quality
Despite a plethora of options, the Panasonic TX-L50E6B’s sonics are a disappointment. Preset modes comprise Music, Speech and Standard, with user access to an equalizer.
With no meaningful bass to underpin the mid-range and treble, the set’s speakers feel weedy and underpowered. Naturalistic dialogue, especially when muttered against a distracting musical score as in The Dark Knight Rises, is almost imperceptible. The voices of daytime studio shows are thin and easily distorted at higher volumes.
Value
Against the £800 42-inch Panasonic TX-L42E6B, the Panasonic TX-L50E6B looks positively reasonable at just £99 more for an extra eight inches of screen.
In isolation, £899 for a stylish 50-inch LED screen with decent smart TV capability also seems fair, but new competitively priced models from the likes Samsung, Toshiba LG are imminently expected, some of which will offer 3D for less money.
There are also older plasma TVs of the same size that are still available that sell for several hundreds of pounds less than the Panasonic TX-L50E6B. All in all, there’s some stiff competition around.
Verdict
As a mid-range TV, the Panasonic TX-L50E6B’s most appealing attributes are its slinky design and revamped smart TV interface, plus big-screen viewing at a relatively affordable price.
The screen’s basic panel and price do, however, mean that several key technologies designed to yield the best possible pictures from more expensive models are absent, which means compromises have to be made. And let’s not forget that this is a 2D-only screen.
We liked
The Panasonic TX-L50E6B is an aesthetic delight that looks almost as classy as any screen costing twice as much.
Equally pleasing on the eyeballs is the slick, user-friendly My Home Screen and app interface, while the smartphone/tablet app is easily the best example of a touchscreen alternative to the traditional remote control you’ll currently find for a TV. The swipe and share feature in itself is a delight.
From a picture quality point of view, the positives include excellent black levels and a nicely contained backlight. Generally speaking it means that images are contrasty, well lit and naturally coloured, especially in Blu-ray playback.
We disliked
The sound performance is below par and doesn’t reflect the sonic progress made recently on other slim screens. More worrying are the picture flaws including judder, poor motion resolution, softer than normal looking broadcasts and universally crushed black levels.
There’s nothing dire about any of these problems in themselves, but collectively they can take the pleasure out of the Panasonic TX-L50E6B. At 50 inches, the absence of faster refresh rates and better processing is impossible to mask.
Final verdict
In trying to keep the Panasonic TX-L50E6B affordable it seems that one or two corners have been cut. And cutting corners off a TV is never a good thing.
For sure, the screen is a delight to operate and use, especially in terms of its connected TV, but even for the bargain price we feel that it would be hard to live with some of the picture imperfections.
Also consider
As we await the first 50-inch LED screens from other manufacturers, there are some end of season bargains to be had in the shape of these keenly-priced plasma screens. For active 3D without smart TV it may be worth considering the new Samsung PS51E490, a plasma TV that sells for under £800.
Otherwise, from last year’s plasma ranges, the £650 LG 50PM670T and £800 Panasonic TX-P50ST50 are also worth a look.
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