Panasonic VIERA TC-L42E30 Pro Reviews

The TC-L42E30 is a mixed bag. The bad-cop, video perfectionist in me will rant on into the night about its skewed color gamut and substandard black level. But the good-cop, casual viewer in me enjoyed its consistently crisp images, subtly addictive (though not exceptionally accurate) color, above-average off-axis performance for an LCD set, and appealing price—all of which combine to provide a reasonable measure of realworld appeal.

Panasonic’s Viera TC-L42E30 offers very good picture quality in a bland (but unobjectionable) package that retails for around $799 at legit online dealers. One of our biggest complaints is the fact you have to buy a Wi-Fi dongle for around $80 if you don’t have a LAN cable nearby. Built-in Wi-Fi should be a given as it is with competing sets in this price range. Vizio’s M420SV even costs $50 less, while a 40-inch Sharp Quattron has built-in Wi-Fi as well. Are there better HDTVs out there? Of course. We prefer the real pop of Sharp Aquos Quattrons in the LCD camp and Panasonic’s competing plasmas top the TC-L42E30 for black levels, color accuracy and handling motion. In fact, for just a little more you can get an Internet-ready Panasonic TC-P42ST30 plasma with 3D capability, while a 2D 40-inch Quattron with built-in Wi-Fi is around $950. So we’re rather torn about this HDTV. It’s not a slam-dunk winner or loser. Shop around, then let the best deal win.

If you want an HDTV but don't want to drop a lot of cash, the 42-inch LED-backlit Panasonic TC-L42E30 offers plenty of features and decent performance for its affordable price.