Panasonic 2009 Plasmas

The line of 2009 1080P Panasonic plasmas offer a confusing range of options, but as far as I can tell the 2009 models roughly correlate with the 2008 models in the following way.

The S1 and the G10 perform similarly, except that the G10 adds a THX mode for color accuracy. The V10 offers an improved mode for 1080p/24 input that lessens visible flicker and it places both white balance and gamma controls inside the user menu for easy access. However, these controls are disabled when using the THX mode.

That's about it. All in all, it is difficult for me to generate much enthusiasm for the 2009 Panasonics. The S, G, and V-series each performs similarly to their 2008 brethren, with one notable difference. The 2009 models have been plagued with bug-ridden firmware. This has been particularly noticeable in the THX mode. Early versions contained some fairly severe color decoding errors that completely undermined the THX mode's claim to fame—color accuracy. Additionally, the peak output in THX mode is lower than it was with the 2008 models. You can only get 27-28 fL (35 fL is my target). For that reason alone, many people may prefer to use the Custom mode, despite the fact that it is not very color accurate and the gamma is too low.

As it currently stands, I would recommend the S series. It is cheaper, its grayscale can be calibrated to near perfection, in Cinema mode its gamma is excellent, its black level is the same (0.009-0.013 fL) as the two more expensive models, and it easily offers 35 fL of output (and then some). Its only flaw is that both red and green are oversaturated and the color luminance values are a little ragged. In this way it performs very much the same as did 2008's 85U, which is to say reasonably good. Results of recent tests on an S1 are shown below.

The bottom line is that if you are thinking of buying a plasma now, and you can't afford one of the few remaining Pioneer Kuros, then Panasonic and Samsung are the only major options (other than LG, which I have not evaluated). Comparing the Panasonic S1 to the Samsung B650, both have similar black levels and light output in their best-performing modes (Cinema and Movie, respectively). The Panasonic's gamma is slightly more linear, but both are reasonably good. The one big difference is in color accuracy, where the Samsung surpasses the Panasonic by a rather large margin. You can get color accuracy that is nearly as good with the G10's THX mode, but then the light output suffers. Furthermore, Panasonic black levels are notorious for their tendency to rise after several hundred hours of use, which gives the Samsung a small edge in black levels in the long run, if not initially.

I'd have to give the nod to Samsung for 2009. I am anxious to see what Panasonic brings to the market in 2010. Supposedly their lineup will begin to reflect technology obtained from the now-discontinued excellent Pioneer Kuro displays as well as advances in 3D imaging. Of course, Samsung will probably not stand still either. In any case, 2010 promises to offer some exciting new options.