Are Panasonic TVs compatible with DTT trial?

Satfinder

Hello People,

Some of the reception reports describing problems with pulling in the DTT trial transmissions relate to Panasonic gear. Can anyone confirm successful reception of the four unscrambled TV channels digitally using a (recent model) Panasonic telly with a DTT tuner? I know some brands are iffy in this regard, since no TV's DTT software is tested in/designed for the Irish market.

Thanks.

stanley1

I have a new 42in. Panasonic plasma, there is no built in freeview/dtt tuner.

Geemac

We have a Panasonic Viera and it works perfectly - all clear channels available + the text which a Sony won't access even though it allows the channels.

Pat Gleeson

stanley1 wrote: »

I have a new 42in. Panasonic plasma, there is no built in freeview/dtt tuner.

The new UK model Panasonic plasmas have a built-in FREESAT (DSat) not Freeview (DTT) tuner. There is some confusion as to the availabilty of the Freeview tuner in Irish models.

The plasmas will be available in Ireland (due in July) , so we'll know then.

maxg

The announced new Panasonic plasma series will have both freesat (dvb-s/s2 tuner) plus freeview (dvb-t tuner).
Beside that i don't think there is a currently sold Panasonic plasma on the market without freeview. The question is more if the software is willing to accept the channels from the irish dtt trial during a scan.

slegs

Pat Gleeson wrote: »

The new UK model Panasonic plasmas have a built-in FREESAT (DSat) not Freeview (DTT) tuner. There is some confusion as to the availabilty of the Freeview tuner in Irish models.

The plasmas will be available in Ireland (due in July) , so we'll know then.

Only the PZ81 range has freesat and it also has DTT. Most new Panasonics have DTT only. Check the Panasonic UK website for specifications.

watty

1) Unless it has MPEG4 & MHEG5 on its DTT tuner it's not compatible with Irish DTT standard.

2) The trial ends in about 7 weeks.


Plasmas may be big and good viewing area and better colour than older LCDs, but are rarely full 1920x1080 resolution and basically an EOL technology.

At the moment assume you need an external set box and any new large screen is a Game/PC/TV/HDTV monitor, like HiFi separates Tuner and Amp are separate.

stanley1

This is latest Panasonic plasma model, specs included.

http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?view_product=1&id=24294

slegs

stanley1 wrote: »

This is latest Panasonic plasma model, specs included.

http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?view_product=1&id=24294

This isnt the Pz81 which is not on sale in Ireland and has a freesat sat tuner built in along with the DTT/Analogue tuner

Satfinder

thanks folks for all the info.

My reason for asking is that I've my eye on one of those freesat-capable Pannies myself. The specs on the Panasonic UK site would have you believe they don't have a DVB-T (Freeview) tuner built in, though early reviews (and common sense) suggest otherwise.

Geemac has answered my question, though. Just because a TV supports Freeview, it doesn't mean it'll make sense of the signals broadcast in the Irish trial. So I wasn't sure whether, if I buy one of these PZ-81s, can I say goodbye to analog TV (at least until the trial shuts down)? It seems I can.

Where did I put that credit card?

John Dough

The 85 series is the latest from Pannys range but specs are different for UK and Ireland so check it out before plunging.

Plasmas are infinately better than LCDs as acknowledged by industry experts and technicians and will be around for a long time yet although LCDS have improved significantly in recent years but are still behind for sport and F1.:):)

maxg

The PZ81 series is the latest:

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/729692/index.html#anker_729694

watty

No, Plasmas are better in viewing angle and colour, but poorer in brightness, life and nuances of shade than LCD. They used to be better contrast, not any longer. Often Plasma is poorer resolution unless very large. You can't make small plasma dots.

CRT are better on multi-resolution, colour, contrast, nuances of shade, viewing angle (then LCD) and life. Large HD ones are only available to professional market and very expensive. Domestic CRTs only do SD, except some PC Monitors with component to VGA adaptor.

3 chip projectors beat any non-CRT flat screen and some types can equal CRT on contrast, colour, nuances of shade. Viewing angle is no problem.

Only 6weeks left of trial
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=56244789

You'll likely need a Neotion Pocket Duo adaptor for SD MPEG4 (fits CI slot like a CAM) and a separate Setbox for any HD transmission as the Pocket Duo can't handle bitrate for HD.

slegs

Watty, if the TV has a digital Tuner and can handle MHEG and MPEG4 signals - is that all that needed for the free to air signal part of Irish DTT when live?

thanks in advance

championc

Hi Satfinder

I have a Panasonic TX-28DTX10 with built in Freeview. It has DVB printed on the flap below the Panasonic badge under which are the button controls and phono connectors.

I also have a Panasonic DVD Recorder DMR-ES20D which also has Freeview. Again, the DVB logo's are printed on them. Both were bought on eBay via the UK.

Both have setup the Irish trial DVB channels from Three Rock and also have the radio channels too. Therefore, as far as the current standards being used, they are using standard Freeview as far as I can see but it obviously looks like i'll be in the dark as soon as they go to MPEG4

C

Satfinder

The TH-46PZ81 and TH-42PZ81 seem to have gone on sale today in the UK. Price is equivalent to 2000 euros. They're available with a two-week delivery time to NI postal addresses over the web from at least one major electrical chain.

Watty has provided a good summary of the advantages/disadvantages of LCD/Plasma. The dynamic contrast trick used by recent LCD sets to improve their previously pitiful contrast performance can't be as good as the native 10k:1 contrast on a good plasma but LCDs have the edge in many other respects. Unfortunately, if having an integrated satellite tuner is a must-have feature, it's either get a plasma set (the Panny above) or wait. And wait...

It'd be nice to know, before the trial shuts down, that your new set is compatible with it. This, of course, assumes, that the trial is a field test of the DVB protocols that will be used when DTT formally launches here.

It's unlikely any set bought today will pull in the HD test (though I have managed to tune in to Mr. Attenborough via an aerial connected to a PC tuner card...).

If anyone has brought a PZ-81 home from Newry in their car boot, maybe they'd post a quick review (in a new thread, natch - this one has mutated since my original question!)?

watty

The trial is nothing to do with the real service and never was. It's never been a Test in that sense. Field tests in MPEG2 done in VHF and UHF in 1999 and real tests by RTE starting now. It was a political stop gap to show EU we doing something. Hence DMNCR funding organising it and provison tender won by BT.

Wait is best bet at the minute. Any integrated Sat Tuner wants to be UK FreeSat compatible and any integrated Terrestrial wants to be DVB-T2 (supports DVB-T) with MPEG4, MHEG5 etc and compatible with UK & Irish Interactive and EPG. You don't want a DTT tuner that's obsolete in 2 years. UK is starting DVB-t2 next year. Ireland will follow sometime. Changing an external €80 set box is one thing, obsoleting a built in tuner in less than 3 years is another.

Or concentrate on lots of HDMI & SCART & VGA /DVI connections and regard it as a Monitor for PC, consoles, media centres/ PVRs and TV digtal set boxes. (IMO the only future for screens).

Satfinder

Watty's is sound advice for any of us thinking of the dream TV setup. In principle the PZ81s SHOULD be able to decode DVB-T2 signals when they are on air. They can decode DVB-S and DVB-S2 out of the box, so they've the requisite hardware.

They have an Ethernet port (part of the Freesat spec) and can receive data streams from the Astra 2D satellite, two possible paths for a firmware upgrade when Freeview HD: The Next Generation reaches UK screens.

Whether it would be part of their business model to do this rather than hope people junk their two-year old sets and buy new Pannies, and whether any such upgrade would decode Irish HD signals, is a question no-one can answer at the moment.

They have one more HDMI input than most new sets (three rather than two - the extra one is presumably for Irish customers to plug their DTT STBs into). They have NO CI slot (again part of the freesat spec), so any Irish pay-TV service (HD or SD) would need an STB anyhow. I'll bet we get at most one FTA HD channel whenever the "real" DTT service starts.

I'm keeping my wallet closed for the moment but it's tempting.

watty

DVBt2 is different HW to DVB-t or DVB-s, just as DVB-s2 does do DVB-s but not at all DVB-t

Satfinder

Just to correct a factual error in my last post. I've just checked the PZ81 manual online at panasonic.co.uk and these sets DO have a CI slot. This presumably is for Topup TV in the UK. So, in the (unlikely?) event that their firmware is compatible with whatever variant on DVB-T2 is bestowed upon us next year (deadlines were made to be broken), AND their CI slot with whatever encryption scheme the successful franchisee(s) for the pay-TV multiplexes uses, you could junk the service provider's STB and still decrypt the pay channels. I think I'll do the Lotto instead today, though. The odds would be better...