Panasonic TC-P60ST60 (TCP60ST60) Review

Weaknesses

The TC-P60ST60 offers outstanding picture quality and 3D performance for a mid tier plasma from Panasonic. Active 3D quality is top notch as it has been in previous years, while the Infinite Black Pro Panel increases the black levels very nicely. The ST60 stand out over models below it by keeping 3D playback and implements a 2500 focused-field drive for smoothing fast action images. The 60ST60 is an incredible value for a 60 inch set that is as feature packed as this one.

Picture Quality Rating: 9.2

Infinite Black Pro Panel

The TC-P60ST60 received the panel that the GT50 series used from 2012. It is one step away from Panasonic's best panel that uses 'ultra' filter. This one still provides positive impact on the overall picture quality in a big way. Black levels are the main beneficiary due to the panel, which increases the blacks by a hefty amount. They blacks are roughly 20% better here than on models below it in the lineup. This is a fantastic panel and picture quality for such a value oriented and well priced active 3D plasma. The "self illuminating phosphor" panel has good contrast while the panel provides better light transmittance and clarity to images.

The TC-P60ST60 is a NeoPlasma model. The picture quality is very similar to the GT50 series from last year with smooth transitions and lots of depth to go along with rich coloration. Use our calibrated picture settings to bring forth the best color balance to maximize your picture quality and pay close attention to our notes below about the Motion Smoother. Contrast is a major strong point and measured 6200:1 in our testing – a very stout result for a mid-tier TV (cant wait to test the ZT60..).

Dark Shadow detail is quite excellent with the Black Level setting at Light. Most picture settings come with the Black Level set to Light. This setting will maximize the dark shadow detail. If you prefer a picture with even more contrast (OK for very dark rooms) then go to the Black Level settings and change it to the Dark setting. While a plasma TV cannot compare to a top LED TV in light out put and flow-through, the ST60 certainly competes well compared to average LED TVs.

The 5th Element on Blu-ray shows great contrast and and depth

Infinite Black Pro Panel

The ST60 uses the Infinite Black Pro panel which came from the GT50 and ST50 series from last year. The 'ultra' filter won't be found here, but the set still provides an impressive overall picture quality. Black levels are the main beneficiary due to the panel, which increases the blacks by a hefty amount. They blacks are roughly 20% better here than on models below it in the lineup. The panel is fantastic and picture quality is outstanding for such a value oriented and nicely priced active 3D plasma. The "self illuminating phosphor" panel has good contrast while the panel provides better light transmittance and clarity to images.

3D Viewing Quality – Dark and Deep!

After ramping up the 3D picture a bit through the Custom setting (Motion Smoother to Strong setting, 3D Adjustment setting to +3) we got a very solid 3D picture that popped. What you notice immediately about the 60ST60 compared to LED 3D TVs is that the 3D picture is much darker and this takes away somewhat from the 3D quality – whether caused by the glasses or the image. But after these adjustments you get a deep picture with lots of richness and certainly above average with no crosstalk or flicker from the glasses. Side-viewing angles with 3D images are perfect on the ST60. The glasses are larger and uglier than some but light and comfortable nonetheless.

The active 3D glasses that come in the box are a little bulky, but light. 2 pairs are included

2D to 3D Conversion – Leave it!

Nope, not there yet unless you are willing to punish your eyes. There is tons of crosstalk, fluttering images, blur, motion lag everything you do not want in a 3D picture (or any picture for that matter). We tried it with some good BluRays as well as regular DVDs and it's a feature that you will want to leave alone for now on the Panasonic ST60.

Standard Definition Content

Tested with 480i and 480p input. Picture markedly better in 480p with 100% better black levels and color and gray scaling.

The ST60 is an excellent performer when it comes to color reproduction. Some of the other notable picture qualities are depth and contrast. Notice the silver trim running around the entire frame of the TV

Picture Setting Mode Options

Vivid – ridiculous overblown except you will want to use it with non-animated 3D content with the Motion Smoother on Mid setting.
Standard – Too dim, energy saving mode, best to avoid this one.
Home Theater – Very nice picture in this mode brings a lot of light into the picture. TV set to Warm1 white balance.
Cinema – Similar to Home Theater mode in quality except it introduces a much greener tint to the picture (Warm2 WB setting).
Custom – Of course meant to customize, it starts out with 100% contrast and the Motion Smoother set to Mid and totally juices the picture color, overblown like the Vivid setting.

Of these preset picture modes, the Home Theater mode is our favorite with the motion smoother turned off, the contrast toned down to 85, and the Black Level set to Light. But follow our ISF calibrations settings for an even better picture quality.

Motion Smoother (IMPORTANT)

This is an important setting on the ST60 and the TV comes with this setting activated on all preset picture modes. You will have to play with it to find out what your preferences are for normal programming and movies. Your choice is to either turn it off and see the picture as naturally intended with some background blur and judder, or use the feature with much of the background blur and judder removing. This may bother you as it produces an artificial appearance – some call it the Soap Opera effect, others the Fishbowl appearance. The Weak setting option within the control does not seem to produce much problem and is worth considering. Otherwise, we prefer the feature be left off. The Mid and Strong settings produce too much (of that stuff). To get to the control go to the top left menu button, then the right arrow key to access Picture settings, then scroll down to the second page, and there you will find the Motion Smoother. Turn off or to the Weak setting.

Now let me confuse you. With both 3D programming and Gaming you will definitely want to use the Motion Smoother feature on at least the Mid setting as it enhances the performance of both.

Gaming Quality

We fired up Gran Turismo 5 and Okami HD on the PS3 to test out the ST60's gaming capabilities. The TV has a Game mode located in the advanced picture settings. It's a good idea to turn it on for action games and shooters. Otherwise there will be a noticeable amount of input lag. There was a bit of judder in the Game mode, but that didn't take away from the experience. The Motion Smoother setting helps with the judder, but has to be disabled when the Game mode is running.

Input lag with the Motion Smoother enabled is higher than with the Game Mode with a 100 milisecond difference

Input lag in the game mode clocks in at 80 miliseconds. Seems like a small difference, but lag was not noticable during game play

Try out both ways for different games to see what works best, but I still recommend Game mode as best. We gave 3D a try on Gran Turismo 5 as well. The sense of depth was very subtle, but the picture quality did not take a turn for the worse like we saw with other TVs in tests. It could be a lot of fun with the right game. Important Note: This is a plasma TV, so try not to allow static images and HUD elements to remain on the screen for long periods of time to avoid ghosting and burn in.

Gran Turismo 5 on the Panasonic TC-P60ST60. The strong contrast of the plasma display is really showcased here

Features Rating: 8.4/10

Menu Settings

The picture menu for the 60ST60 is quite good with a 10 point or 2 point white balance control. As mentioned above there are additional picture mode settings as well. The menu is easy to access and very thorough with tons of picture, 3D, and Sound options.

Sound Quality (Still a bit of a downer but not too bad)

Sometimes has a hollow (tunnelesgue) effect that turning the volume up does not remedy. Sound is generally good from the 2.1 sound system, has a small 10 watt woofer with 2 X 10 watt speakers. There are lots of sound options available with a surround mode. The standard modes are Standard, Music, Ambience, User. The Natural Surround mode isnt bad for movies but we prefer the simple Standard mode with everything else off. Treble (+6) and bass (-5) which helped slightly.

Remote Control

The Standard Remote of the Panasonic TC-P60ST60, notice the 3D and Netflix buttons at the top and bottom

The remote is simple and old style but effective. It's black with matte finish with lots of buttons and a 5-way controller for controlling the menu, Smart TV and Browser. It has a dedicated Netflix, Apps, and 3D buttons for quick access.

Touch Pen

The optional Touch Pen allows you to add a pesonal touch to photos and video by writing directly on the screen. The result can then be shared using the Swipe & Share 2.0 features. 2 pens can be added for $80

The ST60 along with all Panasonic Smart TVs for this year contain the (kinda-cool-but-what-do-I-do-with-it) touch pen option (sold separately). It works well and easily although unless you are presenting some new gaming programming to your kids I cant think of many applications for it – maybe pointing out a great block on the gridiron to your buds during a college game?

Wifi Built In – Works Great!

Not only is it built in but it performs excellently well. We did not experience any buffering or connection problems like we did with other TVs. The ST60 played through any video content without a problem and connected any Internet searches extremely fast.

Appearance and Design

The TC-P60ST60 is somewhat reminiscent in looks to last years GT50 series plasma even though the framing bezel is made of plastic rather than the higher end glass and metal design. It takes close inspection to notice. It has a silver metal trim strip (also made of plastic) which surrounds the bezel. The stand is black gloss and very well constructed. It's a good but not great design.

Here you see the design of the ST60 series. It's the silver trim on the entire frame that makes this one different than the S60 series below it

Smart TV Features and Functionality

Internet Browsing

Browsing is not difficult to access through the Apps button on the remote. Then scroll across to the clearly noted box marked “Web Browser.” The Panasonic ST60 of course was extremely slow to browse with even though the Wifi connection through this TV is the best. The 5-way controller is just too slow to use when browsing to type in searches or URLs even though the browser worked well once you do get it typed in. The ST60 uses a url toolbar or a Google browser tab for searches.

Featured Apps include MLB.TV, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Games (Playjam), You Tube, Amazon IV, Accu Weather, Cinema Now, WSJ Live, MLS Soccer, Skpe, Fox Sports, Vudu HD Movies, Pandora, TCN TV Country. Notably missing was Picasa though. One area of superiority with the Panasonic TC-P60ST60 compared to some of the competition is that the wifi connection is excellent. MySpace is not a big part of the selection anymore and other Apps that have taken a backseat or that are not present anymore include Daily Motion, Bigflix VOD, Smagfilms. There are 33 games to choose from with most free and the others costing 99 cents.

This is the screen where you access the apps you have downloaded

The Viera Connect has been a decent competitor in the Smart TV battle. Panasonic has made some improvements in 2013 that won't hurt the platform at all. Do they improve it is the question. The ST60 gets new customization features with the Home Screen and Sharing options with Swipe & Share 2.0. The new Home screen allows users to select what content is shown on their personal home screen. With Swipe & Share 2.0 users can play content from their Android and iOS devices on the screen with a simple swipe of the finger. These features come with the standard Viera Connect suite that includes all of the premium apps for content as well as a number of apps from the Viera Connect Market that range in price and overall value.

Value Rating - 9.2/10

The TC-P60ST60 is one of the best value TVs for this year. At $1699.99 it will be a great seller and the price may get a bit better before the year is over. It's got good 3D, great blacks, a simple but effective remote control, ample Smart TV features, and pretty good looks. Samsung PN60F5500 is one competitor, though I prefer the ST60. The Samsung UN60F6400 is an LED competitor.

Overall Rating - 8.9/10