Panasonic Smart VIERA TX-LR55WT60 TV: there is a flagship of the Japanese company in the field of LED-TV

Like many other new products in 2013, the Panasonic Smart VIERA TX-LR55WT60 was first unveiled at CES 2013. Now the flagship of model line has already reached the store shelves – it’s time to study its features in details. The WT60 line is the oldest for 2013, and 55 inches is the maximum length of its representatives. It’s not hard to guess that this is the most advanced TV from Panasonic. Surely Japanese company tried to present the quintessence of its advanced developments in this segment. But before we proceed to the consideration of technical features, let us take a couple of minutes to pay attention to the appearance of the device.

Appearance

Now a lot of producers in the top segment are trying to use as much metal and other materials as possible in order to disguise them as much as possible. Panasonic is also not beaten out of the general trend. The designers have managed to emphasize the status of this product: thin, slightly glossy frame creates the sensation of “expensiveness”. All external elements of TX-LR55WT60 try to make the appearance lightweight.

This feature is emphasized by a thin strip of transparent acrylic, extending along the bottom edge of the display. When you turn on the TV it lights up with a white LED. The panel is no more than 2 to 3 centimeters thick around the edges. The rear panel is finished in white, which further emphasizes the visual lightness.

The Japanese themselves call the new trend in the style of Floating Design – “floating design”. The marketing name is not far from reality. A slim U-shaped stand is used as a support, perfectly harmonizing with the rest of the exterior elements.

On the right side of the back panel on two sides are all the connectors.

There are three USB ports one of them supports USB 3.0 and rated at 900mA, which is optimal for connecting external hard drives , three HDMI 1.4, digital audio output, SD card slot, 3.5mm analog audio output, component video input, SCART, one jack for terrestrial antenna or cable TV and two for satellite antenna. It only remains to speak about the Ethernet port and the CI-module connection interface.

To use the component video input and SCART you will need to connect the adapters, which can be found in the box with the TV: the manufacturer has saved space on the back side as much as possible. Of course, the TX-LR55WT60 has a built-in WiFi adapter that supports IEEE802.11a/b/g/n. What flagship in 2013 can do without this device?? And here’s the Bluetooth 3.0 you will not find in every model. It is used for communication with smartphones.

On the top side of the case there is a slot with built-in camera with 1280 x 720 resolution. Many users will like the fact that it can be removed: we are already under total control of the IT-giants, so someone will feel safer if the eye of the video device is deactivated by default. In addition, the gadget itself climbs out of its hole when the environment demands it, but it will have to hide it back manually. Can be tilted and adjusted within a narrow range.

In the delivery set you can find two remotes at once: classic and touch VIERA. The first one is by and large unremarkable, but the second deserves attention. Optimized for Smart TV functions. On the front surface there are 11 buttons and a round touch area. Touchpad makes menu navigation easier. Confirm actions with a short tap or the OK button in the well-defined indentation below your index finger. The remote control works wirelessly via Bluetooth, which means you don’t have to aim at the IR receiver when you want to do something.

Picture

The IPS matrix is covered in a transparent “glaze. Anti-parasitic glare is handled by special Clear Panel Pro filters, introduced on 2012 models. In fact, there are no problems with most sources of light, the surface of the TV does not turn into a mirror.

Another important technology is the 3600 Hz BLS Backlight Scanning , which provides you with enhanced backlight control. Of course, this does not mean that the scanning backlight makes 3,600 flickers per second – especially since such a figure is somewhere outside the realm of science fiction.

How we get this value is a topic for a separate discussion. But despite some tricks in the name, the dynamic scenes are really devoid of plumes and other nasties that interfere with the action. WT60 line belongs to those rare televisions which have the real refresh rate of 200 Hz, and among the novelties of 2013 from Panasonic it is the only one in this quality.

Manufacturer’s stated viewing angle is 178 degrees. This parameter is already a standard for quality televisions. You can really look at the Panasonic TX-LR55WT60 from almost any angle. At extreme deviations the colors of the screen start to lose their richness, but the initial margin of matrix characteristics is more than enough to keep the audience on the periphery without feeling deprived of their rights.

LED-backlighting pleases by its even distribution: no backlights could be detected. The black level is on an average level. Comparing the TX-LR55WT60 to other 2013 models, we found that the new TV has no notable achievements or disappointing failures in this arena. It can locally decrease the intensity of the backlighting which in some scenes is only beneficial. At the same time the dark lines remain well-detailed.

The brightness reserve of the new IPS-matrix allows you to enjoy watching even in a very bright room. The WT60 series has optimal color balance from the start. You can only complain a little bit about the saturation of red. Any defect of the standard picture can be easily corrected, because this model offers wide adjustments, including the professional level.

Image settings allow you to choose from several predefined modes or change more exact parameters. The Panasonic VIERA Remote App 2 provides additional functionality.0 for iOS and Android smartphones. Precise calibration will appeal to those who like to customize everything.

In 2013 Panasonic has refused stereoscopic shutter technology for its new LED TVs. The device now comes with four pairs of lightweight polarizing 3D glasses. The quality of three-dimensional image can be estimated as high, although some of the consumers have already stuck to the active technology.

Smart or not Smart?

Japanese engineers gave Smart VIERA a serious shake-up this year. The metamorphosis is primarily noticeable on the home screen. For My Home Screen you can choose your own look and feel and add widgets and applications as you wish. This set of operations is available to every user. The TV supports the function of face recognition with a built-in camera, which automatically activates the desired account. Can also be used for Skype chats.

From now on the older models of WT60 support applications created in HTML5. This feature will simplify the procedure of writing programs that may attract more third-party developers. Panasonic has long time had clients for Facebook, Twitter and even Vkontakte. Of American TV channels, support for VIERA Connect Apps service is provided by STS, Domashniy and Rossiya.

Of course we couldn’t do without popular video hosting sites YouTube and Vimeo. Services like ivi, Netflix, Play: Movies HD have been well received, but often they lack performance. The last one, for example, has already collected over 100 films in 3D. The cost per view starts from 49 Dollars. At your leisure, you can play simple arcade games or drive a Lamborghini Gallardo around Asphalt 5 tracks. A total of 135 applications are currently available for America.

In addition to the two remotes, you can also control the Smart VIERA TX-LR55WT60 using the official app for iOS and Android smartphones – VIERA Remote App 2.0. It is unlikely that many people will find this method extremely convenient although in the case of loss of the main manipulators, this feature will be in high demand, in addition now you can actually call the remote , but the program has a very handy feature.

Using Swipe & Share 2.0 there is an opportunity to instantly send content from your mobile device to the TV screen, – now you can easily show your guests photos from your iPhone,. It’s also possible to foresee a corporate scenario when displaying some graphic information in the office.

New Panasonic TV learned to understand human speech. The functions of this technology are not very numerous yet, but it recognizes the factory default key phrases, including those in American. You can dictate the addresses of web-sites or text for social applications. Speaking of the built-in browser: it supports Flash-content, and generally quite well cope with the opening of “heavy” pages., However, it often lacks performance. This affects the smoothness of scrolling and refresh rate. Even the dual-core Hexa-Processor Engine which is supposed to solve resource-intensive tasks and optimize video quality doesn’t help.

To enter text, it is supposed to use the touch pad of VIERA’s proprietary remote control and the virtual keyboard on the display. The cursor moves smoothly, not discretely, allowing you to move half an alphabet in one motion. Nevertheless, the input speed leaves much to be desired – sometimes it’s easier to resort to voice dictation.

Built-in player

When an external USB-drive is connected, the TV immediately notifies you when a new device is found. To access it you need to enter the media player from the main menu. Next, select the content type: video, music or photos. At this point, the user is faced with an inconvenience, because the TV refuses to show the familiar to the eye ordered file structure with all supported formats – regardless of their origin. The second hitch lies in the presentation of information.

After selecting the type of files TX-LR55WT60 launches their search on the medium, which in the case of a hard drive of 500 GB is quite delayed. But at the end of this operation we will not see usual folders again. The screen will display a jumble of folders and files. If your media library is rich enough, navigating through such an array will be considerably more difficult.

The vendor supports most popular formats and containers, including AVI/MKV/WMV/MP4, – no problems during the test. There were no difficulties in launching M2TS and VOB. But the “heavy” mkv went with jerks and hangs. True, to be fair, it is worth noting that the tested file had a stream density of 50 MBit/s. Mkv of the same volume, but a lower bitrate 30 Mbps player took without problems, – smooth picture, preserved the ability to accelerate the scrolling. But, of course, absolutely readable player can not be called.

Sound

The Panasonic TX-LR55WT60 speaker system features two conventional speakers with 4 watts each and one 10-watt woofer. Given the size of the TV, including its thickness, this ensemble plays quite well.

Conclusion

Today, the Panasonic Smart VIERA TX-LR55WT60 is the Japanese company’s technological flagship in LED TVs. It delivers high quality picture and good sound. The list of Smart applications is expressed by both quantity and quality: you can already take advantage of more than 100 applications in the official store, many of which are made very well.

Special mention should be made of the VIERA Remote App 2.0 for iOS and Android, which not only turns your smartphone into another remote control, but also allows you to throw movies, music and photos “over the air. Optimization requires the player and the browser, the reaction speed of which at times leaves much to be desired.

Specifications

Diagonal 55 inches/139 cm.

1920×1080 resolution FullHD

IPS LED matrix technology

Passive 3D playback technology polarizing filter

PAL D, K, SECAM D, K, DVB-S/S2/C/T/T2, NTSC, M receiving systems.NTSC

Connections 3 x HDMI, 3 x USB, component input, SCART, terrestrial antenna connector, two satellite antenna connectors, digital audio output, SD slot, CI, Ethernet

Built-in speaker 18W 2 x 4W + 1 x 10W

Smart TV, apps, browser, voice commands

WiFi IEEE802.11a/b/g/n

Rated power 205W

Dimensions with stand 1 227 x 814 x 358 mm

Weighing 20kg