Panasonic TH-42PX600U review

Model: Panasonic TH-42PX600U

Description: 42" Plasma Television, Widescreen 16:9 Format
Resolution: 1024 x 768 (HDTV)

Includes: Integrated pedestal stand and HD2D Sound Enhanced Speaker System, NTSC and ATSC (HDTV) tuners, 2 HDMI high-definition inputs and one compter 15 pin VGA input, 2 component video, 3 composite video, 3 S-Video connection.
Color: Silver and Black Bezel and casing.

INTRODUCTION

The Panasonic TH-42PX600U is contains the 9th generation panel of the ever-popular Panasonic plasma line replacing the TH-42PX500U in June of 2006. The resolution remains 1024x768 like the previous model, the highest ranking plasma TV in its price point in 2005, but Panasonic has upped the contrast ratio specification to 10,000:1 for this year's model and also increased the brightness spec significantly. Because of increased demand, Panasonic has included a second HDMI connection for this year's consumer plasma line. Panasonic even gives the TH-42PX600U a makeover to a more modern look.

With each passing generation, other top-tier plasma television manufacturers—such as Samsung, Pioneer, and Toshiba—are improving both their picture performance and overall value. Samsung and Toshiba have focused on matching Panasonic's aggressive price-point with their new models. Pioneer, on the other hand, remains focused on its first-rate picture quality and aesthetic appeal and providing a comprehensive feature set at a slightly more expensive price. This upgraded Panasonic PX600U series model compares equally with Pioneer's excellent PDP-4370HD model in features, appearance, inputs and quality while the Panasonic PX60U series lacks some of the "extras" these two offer.

PICTURE: 98/100

Like most televisions on the market today, the Panasonic TH-42PX600U came out of the box with superficially bright default picture settings. Out of the box, the picture is in a default picture mode setting of Vivid (which maximizes Contrast and Sharpness settings) and a color temperature setting of Cool. The first task before examining the picture quality of the plasma TV is to find the picture settings that get us closest to D6500K—the optimum prescribed color temperature used by the film and broadcast industry. Because Panasonic plasmas typically have a cooler default temperature setting than other brands (which often leads to a "blue push" in the white balance), the "Warm" color temperature setting is preferred for increased realism. By switching to the "Standard" picture setting (which has medium Contrast and Sharpness settings) and using a "Warm" color temperature, we quickly move much closer to D6500K. Maintaining a color temperature close to D6500K is important because it is the basis on which the rest of the picture calibrations are made.

Color and detail on the Panasonic TH-42PX600U was outstanding

In order to fully optimize the picture quality of our TH-42PX600U, we used a colorimeter, and a specialized software suite to calibrate the television to the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) standard color temperature of D6500K. With this equipment, we were able to properly calibrate the picture settings on the television, and we were able to measure color temperature, color saturation, white balance, and black levels. Using these measurements as a reference point, we used the Sencore software suite to precisely calibrate the optimal picture settings for the TH-42PX600U.

The following table contains the picture settings for the TH-42PX600U after its ISF calibration. We highly suggest that you use these settings if you purchase or own this television. By configuring the television to the below settings we were able to get the color temperature to D6650K, a substantial improvement over the out-of-the-box measurement of D10000K+. Using the below settings to regulate the color temperature and white balance virtually perfects the picture of the TH-42PX600U:

Panasonic TH-42PX600U Optimal Picture Settings
Picture Mode	Standard
Picture	+22
Brightness	+8
Color	-1
Tint	-4
Sharpness	-14
Color Temperature	Warm
Enhanced Black Level	Off

Figure 1. Optimal picture settings for the Panasonic TH-42PX600U using ISF calibration.

At these settings, practically speaking, there is no further calibration needed on this model. There is no need to tinker with hiring a calibration specialist and tinkering with dangerous service menus.

Wow, once the picture was calibrated the TH-42PX600U had undoubtedly the truest picture of any television that we have tested to date. Using the HD-DVD edition of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven on the Toshiba HD-XA1 HD-DVD player, we put the Panasonic's High Definition capability to the test. Using the Toshiba's 1080i High Def output via the HDMI connection, the picture detail in scenes from the HD-DVD were astounding. In one scene, inside a dark cabin, a fly crawls across one of the actor's cowboy hat. On a standard definition TV, it's doubtful you would notice the fly at all, but on the PX600U I could clearly make out the fly's legs as it crawled across the hat. With a high-quality 1080i HDTV source like the HD-DVD, you could literally get so lost in the details of each scene that you lose the plot of the movie: the grain of a weathered fence post, the fine textures of sweeping Wild West landscapes, the coarse stubble on Will Munny's cheeks--it's all there, and the Panasonic never misses a beat.

Panasonic's black levels have been the best in the industry for years, and the TH-42PX600U is no exception. Unforgiven is a challenging movie in that regard, because at any given time you may be sweeping from a scorching Western landscape to the interior of a oil lamp-lit saloon. From one scene to the next, we were impressed by the level of detail we could see in even the darkest scenes. This is an important strength for Panasonic because the dark matter detailing of the plasma television impacts the picture's realism as much as its color reproduction ability.

Panasonic Plasmas are unmatched in dark scene performance; the PX600U series is no exception

The black levels are really put to the test late in the film, when Munny (Clint Eastwood) returns to the saloon to exact revenge for his friend Ned. In true gritty Western style, the camera shifts to show Munny emerging from shadows at the saloon door. Every detail is portrayed impeccably by the TH-42PX600U: the sheen of sweat on Munny's stubbled face, the fibers of his duster jacket, even the subtle glint of lamplight from the blued gun barrel. This smooth transition between dark shades can be attributed to the 3,072 shades of gradation in the TH-42PX600U—an attribute that sets Panasonic plasmas apart from the 2^nd tier plasmas manufacturers. It is also important to note that as the camera pans from face to face in the dark saloon, the bright oil lamps appear very clearly in the dark room without any elements of false contouring, a problem that can occur when plasmas try to display bright objects with dark surroundings.

After we performed the ISF calibration to optimize the television's picture, we decided to measure the TH-42PX600U's contrast ratio (light output ratio of "whitest white" to the "blackest black") for ourselves. We used a signal generator to display the checkboard test pattern for contrast, and the accompanying colorimeter to measure the light output from each sample. While the black levels on the TH-42PX600U are quite impressive, our measured contrast ratio for the television was 788:1 - one of the highest true contrast ratios we've measured! From our experience, all TV manufacturers, including Panasonic, greatly "enhance" their specifications to entice buyers and "beat" the competition. There are few standards for their measurements.

As is made evident by the Unforgiven HD-DVD, the quality of high-definition content on the 42PX600U is unparalleled. When we auditioned conventional DVDs including Kill Bill, part I in Progressive-Scan 480p, we saw similar sharp, detailed pictures with excellent contrast, but obviously not to the extent of the HD-DVD. It is important to note that the 42PX600U does not display the visual artifacts easily noticeable on lower-tier plasma displays with a conventional input source. Despite the upconversion necessary to display a 480p picture on a 1024 x 768 HDTV screen, we never noticed any edge artifacts or jagged motion on the PX600U.

The ATSC tuner pulls in digital broadcasts. When we watched the Evening News in high-definition, the image was very clear, and the news anchors' faces had accurate flesh tones. When they cut to reporters out in the field, the detail of their surroundings was excellent. Algorithmic scaling to full picture size was excellent. When we changed the channel to view the same program in regular definition, the picture was somewhat fuzzy. The image degradation is probably caused by the lower bandwidth emitted by local stations for their analog channels.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: 96/100

The PX600U series is a slight step up in aesthetics from the PX60U series. It's got that Pro appeal that says it costs more with black banding around the screen and a thin silver finish bezel surrounding the black banding. The excellent 31 watt audio system which incorporates 2 subwoofers is hidden in the casing. This is an 11 watt upgrade from the PX60U series. The new look of the TH-42PX600U is definitely very modern, and it has significant "pop." The unit is 42.5 inches wide, and 27.2 inches in height (29.3" with the table stand).

For the TH-42PX600U, Panasonic improves its already user-friendly remote control. The easy-to-find buttons are generally in the same place as the last model, but now they are bigger and easier to find without looking. The remote feels good in your hand, has intuitive controls, and would be a serviceable solution as a universal remote control.

The on-screen menu system on the TH-42PX600U is relatively unchanged from Panasonic's previous generation TH-42PX600U, however it has the new electronic programming guide included in this upgraded model. I found the whole system very intuitive. When the Menu button on the remote control is pressed, the main menu options—Picture, Audio, Timer, Lock, Memory Card, and Setup – appear in an easy-to-read fashion. The Picture menu includes the picture controls required to calibrate the picture. The Audio menu features Bass, Treble, and Balance adjustments. In the Other Adjust sub-menu for Audio, you can choose Surround for a marginal Virtual Surround Sound experience. Also in this sub-menu, the users with Home Theater systems may choose to simply turn off the internal speakers of the television in favor of your own surround sound set up. The invisible speakers system will complement this choice.

When viewing material from a non-HDTV source, aspect ratio becomes a concern with the TH-42PX600U. There are four modes for adjusting regular 4:3 inputs to the widescreen 16:9. The first option is to watch the source in its native 4:3 ratio with the sidebar "letter-boxes." Panasonic allows the customer to change the color of the letter boxing, and it is wise to change these to black if you want to use this aspect ratio setting. With Full mode, the picture is uniformly horizontally stretched across the screen. With Zoom mode, the plasma cuts off the top and bottom of the screen and zooms in so that the sides match with the ends of the screen. Obviously, most people will not choose this setting because they don't want to lose any of the picture. The final choice is the most popular—Just mode - which most likely stands for 'justified". Just mode stretches the picture horizontally but uses a special stretching algorithm to minimize distortion, particularly in the middle of the screen. With this method, distortion on a 4:3 source is virtually undetectable and I have found this the preferred way to watch even 4:3 programming after a little break in period for your eyes to adjust.

Panasonic adds a front composite video input and digital card slot input at the front of the panel for this HDTV plasma. This is particularly useful if you want to display images from a digital camera or a source that you will use only temporarily. The 42PX600U also contains a 15 pin VGA input for convenient computer hook up and use. There is also an SD (secure digital) memory card slot for viewing digital camera and camcorder content.

Another important addition to the TH-42PX600U plasma TV is the second HDMI input. Because of the increase in popularity of new HD and Blue Ray DVD players and digital high-definition cable and satellite boxes which already support the HDMI format. One additional input over the PX60U series is the cable card slot for those who are adamant about losing that cable box. The plasma also includes digital audio output capabilities. Even though one cannot choose input sources directly on the remote, it is easy to navigate to the chosen source.

One more included feature of the TH-42PX600U series over the TH-42PX60U series is a PIP (picture in picture) option. Though rarely used, there are those football game days when sound is not a must but seeing both games is!

The two speaker two subwoofer audio system totals 31 Watts of power and are more than adequate for home viewing. This is an 11-watt upgrade over the PX60U series. With the beefier sound system, you notice discernable channel separation and a better soundstage than you might expect from TV speakers, and enough bass response to procide some punch. Panasonic offers a Virtual Surround option for the TH-42PX600U and its performance is robust for such a in-built system. While many home theater aficionados will want to use their own surround sound speaker system, the included speakers will impress the average consumer.

VALUE: 98/100

The Panasonic TH-42PX600U is an excellent value piece. It contains all of the features of the Pioneer PDP-4370HD but for much less money. It has the pro quality feature set of upgraded sound system, cool looks, cable card input, and computer compatibility and input that the TH-PX60U series lacks and at only a couple hundred dollars more.Panasonic introduced the TH-42PX600U with an MSRP of $2,999 at specialty retailers, but it can be found close to $2400 from some authorized Internet dealers.

OVERALL RATING (WITH PICTURE DOUBLE-WEIGHTED): 97.5/100*

* Ratings from 70 to 100. Ratings in the 60s for any category are reserved for product with a serious defect or design flaw.

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Panasonic TH-65PF9UK Review

Model: Panasonic TH-65PF9UK Plasma Screen
Description: 65” (diagonal) Plasma Television, Widescreen 16:9 Format
Resolution: 1920 X 1080 (1080P)
Dimensions: 61.2" x 36.4" x 3.9"

Includes: Speakers and table stand are optional. The unit includes some basic inputs and there are optional input “cards” which may be purchased and installed.

Color: Charcoal Black thin ribbon bezel

INTRODUCTION

This is the first 65" 1080p plasma to be produced. In fact, it is one of the first 1080p plasma monitors to be produced and plays an important part in the plasma vs. lcd struggle for supremacy in the flat panel TV market. Sharp has already produced and shipped a 65” LCD 1080p model (65D90U), and Panasonic has matched them with this screen, which is readily available and sells for a relatively strong price point. The 65PF9UK panel is produced at Panasonics’ new state of the art plasma factory outside of Osaka Japan. Panasonic also has a consumer version of the same 65” plasma model TH-65PX600U, which also sells without the table stand and speakers which are common to consumer products. The inputs of the two products are the main differences. The TH-65PX600U has HDMI input built in and a built in tuner, while the TH-65PF9UK has a built in RS232 port, a built in 15 pin VGA input for computer, a DVI port and optional input cards for HDMI or additional component or composite inputs.

PICTURE: 93/100

Whether using this very impressive plasma as a home theater centerpiece or as a public display for a fine garments store you will get very solid performance. I expected deviation in color and motion artifacts from this giant as opposed to its smaller relatives. Not the case at all. It performs in very much the same manner as the TH-42PH9UK. It has the same style of color rendition and white balance as the smaller Panasonic plasma products - though I did not experience the blacks as intense as they are on the smaller plasma products. This is a natural by-product of the larger screen and partially to be expected.

I tested the unit using a new Sony Blu-Ray player as well as a 1080p computer signal generator. My overall impressions were that the color was realistic and spectacular - not over saturated but still pronounced. The plasma displayed excellent dark scene detail which is a sticking point with most displays with a super high definition signal. While viewing our test 1080p DVD Black Hawk Down, we could clearly see the acne, sweat and cracks in Aidid’s and Sam Shepard’s faces during their face to face cigar smoking confrontation. The flesh tones were incredibly realistic. Emulating this type of performance with this much film-transferred dark scene material is a very tough test. In a couple of scenes some of the mesh camouflage netting behind a couple of the tents displayed some mapping and banding. I didn’t see it as an ongoing problem that existed however, rather an anomaly of those individual scenes.

After running a couple of test DVDs and signal generators to the plasma I ended up with the following settings as optimum and close enough to D6500K:

Picture (which is really contrast) - Set to 22
Brightness - Set to 8
Sharpness - Set to -14

The menu picture setting options for this plasma TV are standard, dynamic, cimema and supercinema. My adjustments were made from the standard option, but cinema option is also a good choice. The only bad option on this plasma (which is not set to overwhelm the showroom floor like consumer models) is the dynamic mode, which should only be used in extremely bright conditions. The dynamic mode naturally superficially enhances (by increases the sharpness control) edges and tweaks contrast while decreases brightness. The choice of these preset picture modes will depend greatly on the surrounding lighting in the viewing room as well as the signal being input. For HD signals you will not need as much contrast to see detail and depth in the picture. With lower end signals you may to use a slightly increased contrast setting such as with super cinema mode.

Individual color settings are surprisingly not accessible through the standard menu.

The just aspect ratio mode did an excellent job with algorithmically “stretching” a 4:3 picture for pleasing viewing on the 16:9 screen.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: 87/100

The aesthetics of the TH-65PF9UK is a high point for me. I like the simple non-obtrusive design of the inch and a quarter bezel in charcoal black. It doesn’t take away from the picture image. The unit is also super thin for such a huge screen, at only 3.9 inches in depth.

The menu is very easy to navigate and the unit has plenty of preset picture settings as mentioned above as well as plenty of aspect ratio settings which include the aforementioned Just mode. The remote is extremely plain; simple but with adequate functionality (no backlighting or anything fancy on the professional line). If you are using this plasma has a home theater TV, chances are you will have a universal remote to cover this function. The one drawback in the menu options of course is the lack of color adjustments.

The picture settings which you choose can be set individually for each input, allowing for flexibility with your signal input.

This plasma monitor has optional accessory cards so for a little more money you can set the inputs exactly the way you want them (This can been seen as a drawback, because of the limited included inputs, or as a positive due to the option of purchasing and implementing the inputs however you want them.) The included inputs are one DVI, one composite, one VGA 15 pin, one RS232 port, and one BNC component video input.

This plasma has the ability to show PIP or side by side picture from different inputs - so practically the user can answer e-mail on one side of the screen while watching a ball game on the other.

Lastly, this plasma is sold without a table top stand or speakers.

VALUE: 90/100

Surprisingly, I believe this unit is a good value at around $8000. I expected glitches in the picture performance for such a large screen and a first generation 1080p plasma. Instead, what I saw was rock solid performance. Sure, there are a few shortcomings like the lack of a color adjustment and limited (but flexible) inputs. The only competitor in the 65” 1080p market is the Sharp LC-65D90U, which sells for a couple thousand more dollars, so there isn’t much competition in this size range for 1080p.

OVERALL RATING (WITH PICTURE DOUBLE-WEIGHTED): 90.75/100*

* Ratings from 70 to 100. Ratings in the 60s for any category are reserved for product with a serious defect or design flaw.

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Panasonic TH-50PH9UK Review

Excellent

8.0

out of 10

The good: Relatively inexpensive; excellent black-level performance; accurate color decoding; solid video processing with 2:3 pull-down; independent memory per input; versatile PIP function; extensive picture adjustments; customizable inputs.

The bad: Inaccurate primary colors; does not include a stand, a tuner, or speakers; limited to only four total inputs and doesn't include a digital input out of the box; cannot change aspect ratios with HDTV sources.

The bottom line: Although its features can't compete against typical consumer plasmas, the "professional" Panasonic TH-50PH9UK's excellent picture quality and price make it the best value at this size, bar none.

(pictured above) around $150, and Panasonic's latest line of professional plasma panels, the TH-PH9UK series, continues to turn everyday TV shoppers' heads for some very compelling reasons. While designed primarily for professional use, the picture quality of these TVs is better than that of most consumer models, and their prices are extremely competitive. The trade-off? Panasonic's pro plasmas come with just a couple of inputs, no speakers, and no stand, although you can purchase them separately. The HDMI input--a necessity in today's world--will cost you at least an extra $110, the standthe speakers, if you choose to add them, about $250. (The full list of accessories can be found here.) If the customization and extra accessories sounds like a chore, then the professional models probably aren't right for you.

If you can handle their limitations, however, the pro models still represent a fantastic value. The 50-inch TH-50PH9UK reviewed here follows in the footsteps of last year's TH-50PHD8UK with essentially the same feature set, although it does offer at least one significant improvement in picture performance. And while the Panasonic TH-50PH9UK didn't perform quite as well as the Pioneer PDP-5070HD, which earned our 2006 Editors' Choice award among the 50-inch plasmas we've tested, it costs significantly less and still produces a superb picture.

Design of Panasonic TH-50PH9UK

As you might expect from a product aimed toward the professional market, the Panasonic TH-50PH9UK is quite simple with no industrial design flare whatsoever. It is finished in a very dark gray, and other than the Panasonic name below the center of the screen and the power light all the way to the left, there is nothing else to distinguish it. The all-screen look results in relatively tiny overall dimensions for a 50-inch plasma: 47.6 by 28.5 by 3.7 inches WHD for the panel itself, with a weight of 81.6 pounds.

As we mentioned, stereo speakers are an optional accessory. You must also opt for either the table-top stand or the wall-mount kit to support the panel.

The remote is intelligently designed and as a result, very easy to use. We especially appreciated the separate keys for each input slot. Unfortunately, the clicker is not backlit at all and cannot control other devices. Internally, the menu system hasn't changed on the industrial models for many years and remains extremely simple and easy to navigate.

Features of Panasonic TH-50PH9UK

With a native resolution of 1,366x768, the Panasonic TH-50PH9UK matches the pixel count of just about every other 50-inch plasma on the market. It has enough pixels to display every detail of 720p sources; and all sources, from standard TV to DVD, to HDTV, to computers, are scaled to fit the native resolution.

As you may have surmised, the TH-50PH9UK doesn't offer much in the way of a feature package. Interestingly, it does have a PIP feature, which allows you to watch any two sources simultaneously, but that's about all she wrote for conveniences. There's no tuner, ATSC or otherwise, so to watch standard or high-def TV, you'll need to connect an external source, such as a cable or satellite box. Likewise, the lack of speakers means you'll need to connect your A/V sources to an external audio system or buy Panasonic's optional speakers to hear anything.

We were annoyed that the TH-50PH9UK still can't switch aspect ratios with HD sources, which is an issue if you're watching high-def on a channel that's sized improperly--like a lot of TNT channels--and your cable or satellite box can't change aspects. There are four aspect-ratio choices available for high-def sources.

The Panasonic TH-50PH9UK does have several picture enhancing features worth mentioning. First off, 2:3 pull-down is available in the video processing but must be engaged for all inputs individually in the setup menu, as the default setting is Off. Selectable color temperatures are on tap and include Warm (the closest to the broadcast standard of 6,500K), Normal, and Cool. Panasonic also gives you three Picture mode choices: Dynamic, Standard, and Cinema. The TH-50PH9UK has independent memory per input; this means you can use any mode you wish at any input and still be able to make changes to the picture controls (with the consumer models such as the TH-50PX60U, you must assign a picture mode to an input in order to set it up independently of other inputs). Finally, in the advanced menu, there are fine-tuneable grayscale controls and selectable gamma settings.

Connection options are definitely limited compared to other HDTVs on the market. The panel comes with one component-video input that is also configurable to RGBHV (for computers or other RGB gear); an S-Video input; a composite video input; a 15-pin VGA input for computers (1,366x768 maximum resolution) that can also serve as a second component-video input with the addition of an inexpensive adapter; and an RS-232 control port. It's also worth noting that the component- and composite-video ports don't use standard RCA-style connectors. You'll have to buy inexpensive adapters, available at any RadioShack, to turn the BNC-style jacks into RCA jacks that will fit most A/V gear.

The good news is that the TH-50PH9UK has hot-swappable inputs housed on removable boards. The set comes with two boards preinstalled--the component-video input on one and the composite and S-Video inputs on another (the VGA input is fixed). There is also an empty bay for adding a board your choice. We strongly recommend purchasing the optional HDMI board mentioned above for this slot. You can also remove existing slots and change them to suit your system's needs. Also, note that although there are only four total slots, you can connect more gear by utilizing an HDMI- or component-video switching device, such as some A/V receivers.

Performance of Panasonic TH-50PH9UK

In terms of reference-quality picture performance, the Panasonic industrial models, which have been among our favorites for several years, have recently been eclipsed by the latest generation of Pioneer panels. (See our review of the Pioneer PDP-5070HD for details.) That is because Pioneer has finally made its black-level performance competitive with the best Panasonic models, if not quite equal to them, while delivering more accurate primary colors, which means overall color accuracy is better on the Pioneers. With that said, you will pay a premium for the Pioneer over the Panasonic. Therefore, the TH-50PH9UK does represent the absolute best value-to-performance ratio in its size and category.

We began our evaluation of the Panasonic TH-50PH9UK by calibrating it for a darkened room using the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player as the primary source. Even before calibration, the TH-50PH9UK exhibited really good out-of-the-box performance compared to that of most other 50-inch plasma panels (see the geek box, below). If you check out the box, you'll notice that the Kelvin numbers are a little closer prior to grayscale calibration; however, the post calibration is actually more accurate and produces the better picture. The reason for this is that you can be very close to 6,500K and be significantly plus or minus green in the grayscale. In the calibration process, we fixed the plus-green problem, and the Kelvin numbers got a little bit worse. To see all of the final picture settings we used, click the Tips & Tricks tab at the top of the page.

As we have come to expect from the Panasonic industrial models, the color decoding was extremely acurate with no red push whatsoever. This resulted in excellent color saturation. Gamma and grayscale tracking were pretty decent, which resulted in solid overall color reproduction and exceptionally natural-looking skin tones. The Panasonic's weakness comes in the area of primary color accuracy. Red is reasonably close to the ATSC standard, but green is way off and heavily pushed toward yellow, making grass and trees, for example, look unrealistic.

Black-level performance remains among the Panasonic's main strengths. In fact, it could be argued that the TH-50PH9UK is better at black than any other panel on the market. Opening scenes from the HD-DVD version of Unforgiven were rendered perfectly with every bit of shadow detail visible, as well as blacks that were truly inky in nature. Thanks to the excellent blacks, the brighter scenes in the movie also had a real snap or pop to them, indicating an excellent contrast ratio, largely due to black level performance. Chapter four of Training Day, also on HD-DVD, was razor sharp, with even the most subtle details clearly visible.

Panasonic also made one big improvement with the 9UK series: it fixed the floating black problem of the previous 8UK generation, earning a passing grade in the black-level retention test in the geek box. The darkness of black areas is now constant and doesn't change depending on how bright or dark the picture content is, which helps improve details in shadows.

Geek box

TEST	RESULT	SCORE
Before color temp (20/80)	6,400/6,500K	Good
After color temp	6,500/6,800K	Average
Before grayscale variation	+/- 97K	Good
After grayscale variation	+/- 278K	Average
Color of red (x/y)	0.660/0.330	Average
Color of green	0.261/0.663	Poor
Color of blue	0.147/0.061	Good
Overscan	2.5 percent	Good
Black-level retention	All patterns stable	Good
2:3 pull-down, 24fps	Yes	Good
Defeatable edge enhancement	Yes	Good

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