Introduction
Since the demise of its brilliant plasmas, Panasonic has gone a bit down-market.
2014 has so far seen Panasonic concentrate on entry-level and mid-range TVs, with the obvious exception of the 4K-ready AX800 and AX900 Series.
The TX-42AS600 stands-out by being the most affordable way to get Freetime.
Selling for £499 (RRP £699.99) at the time of writing (only in the UK and Europe) the 42-inch TX-42AS600 is distinctly mid-market, yet Panasonic has piled-on the features.
This Full HD LED TV is blessed with My Home Screen, perhaps the best looking and most helpful smart TV platform around. It also has an integrated Freeview HD tuner, which comes with Freetime for super-easy navigation.
Add a bunch of apps, including Netflix and BBC iPlayer, along with a dual core processor and the TX-42AS600 could be something special.
Out of the box it impresses with its super-slim 7mm bezel, though that's a characteristic of even budget small TVs in Panasonic's 2014 range. Where it differs hugely is the overall design, which eschews gloss black for a more refined metallic-look.
Measuring 552x947x53mm and slimmer than many rival TVs, there's no escaping the massive whiff of plastic that's all-encompassing amid the feather-light build. If it doesn't look like a high-end TV on close inspection, however, it's got more than enough going on inside to make it a real contender for living rooms that want convenience and web connectivity.
Features
Perhaps the key addition to the TX-42AS600 is Freetime, a competitor to YouView that lets users roll-back through seven days of TV listings and watch catch-up services like BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Demand 5.
My Home Screen is a polished smart TV user interface that will soon be complemented by software called My Stream. This is a new-for-2014 concept that powers a Showcase recommendation system for TV programmes that match your viewing habits.
Apps
Netflix and the full suite of BBC apps – BBC iPlayer, BBC News and BBC Sport – star, with the lack of ITV Layer, Demand Five and 4OD rendered irrelevant given their appearance within Freetime.
YouTube, Wuaki.tv, Meteonews TV, Eurosport Player, CNBC Real-Time, Aupeo radio, Skype, Euronews, Facebook, Twitter and AccuWeather.com are within the TX-42AS600's central apps page, with more distractions, games and utilities available in Panasonic's Apps Market.
Elsewhere there's just enough tech in the TX-42AS600 to make it a serious proposition, with 100Hz scanning (though it's merely a backlight algorithm rather than the real thing) for its panel and that dual core processor to keep everything well-oiled.
The rear of the TX-42AS600 hosts a panel for the majority of the ins and outs. Three HDMI inputs (one of them Audio Return Channel-compatible) nestle alongside an RGB Scart, a set of component video inputs, some left/right stereo phonos, an RF aerial feed, a digital optical audio output, and an Ethernet LAN slot (though a Wi-Fi module is also present).
A side-panel nearby adds a Common Interface slot for adding subscription TV channels to the Freeview HD tuner as well as a 3.5mm headphones jack and two USB slots. It's a shame Panasonic appears to have dropped the SD Card slot from its TVs, which was always a unique highlight.
Also available
The AS600 Series comes in two other sizes, the 32-inch Panasonic TX-32AS600 and the 50-inch Panasonic TX-50AS600, though there are cheaper options below and much pricier versions above in Panasonic's range. Below are the basic A400 and AS500 sets, while above are the AS640/AS650/AS680 (which add 3D, Hexa Core processing and the new Life+ user interface), the twin-tuner AS750, the AS800 (LED local dimming), AX800 (4K resolution) and AX900 (4K and a slinky design).
Picture quality
There are a few picture modes available on the TX-42AS600, including true cinema and a custom mode that can store the product of tweaks to gamma, white balance and a colour management suite, though for a quick fix the cinema setting is a good basis.
An early giveaway that this is a regular LED panel rather than anything special comes from the net between Andy Murray and David Goffin at Wimbledon on BBC Two HD. Shimmering as the camera slowly pans left and right to keep the ball in shot, it's indicative of a panel that doesn't have the fastest response times.
The 100Hz backlight scanning used by the TX-42AS600 does reduce the issue to being easily bearable during this HD broadcast, but the problem is a lot more of an issue when watching standard definition channels. A close-up pan during The Big Bang Theory is visibly stepped and lacks the fluidity that a really good panel – and especially one with some frame interpolation circuitry – would bring.
That's not on offer here, and it's an issue underlined by a USA Vs Portugal World Cup match, which features the same image lag as the camera pans on BBC One, but on the HD broadcast appears more fluid. On neither broadcast did I notice much blur or resolution loss, though the TX-42AS600 certainly doesn't offer the ultimate in sharpness.
If standard definition is stained by lag and appears very soft, at least it's reasonably clean without the need to engage either the set's noise reduction or MPEG noise reduction options.
With The Wonders of the Universe playing on Blu-ray playing, the TX-42AS600 immediately shows its skill with colour, though that image lag is still apparent, and so is an innate lack of contrast (it doesn't compare to the IPS LED panel found in the brand's smaller and cheaper TX-32A400).
However, mixed brightness scenes can still impress. A sequence where Brian Cox sits in a dark hut with bright sunshine streaming through the windows is coped with well, with just enough detail apparent in both the jet-black and bright white areas of the image. It's best if the ambient light sensor is switched-off; doing so always seems to take the brightness down a touch whatever the light conditions of the viewing room.
If you want proof of exactly how average the panel inside the TX-42AS600 is, just watch from the wings and you'll notice both colour and contrast drain from the screen. I also noticed issues with the LED panel's uniformity in the form of striping - light from the edge-mounted LEDs isn't being evenly distributed.
Usability, Sound & Value
Usability
My Home Cloud is one of the best smart TV innovations around, largely because it makes the whole concept of smart TV far bigger than just a list of apps.
Live TV – either as a large window or a small thumbnail – plays in the corner of every screen you navigate, with a choice between TV home screen, lifestyle screen and info screen (the latter of which can store four bookmarks for the TX-42AS600's surprisingly usable web browser).
The absence of ITV Player, 4OD and Demand Five apps are completely nullified by the presence of those services within Freetime. Though the platform's lack of Amazon Instant will put a reasonably large dent in the TX-42AS600's appeal.
Freetime
As well as boasting an excellent colour scheme, Freetime is easily the highlight on the TX-42AS600. The stylish division on the Freetime-flavoured 'Free Digital TV' version of My Home Screen is between shortcuts to TV guide, on demand, search TV and showcase sections, each of them colour-coded.
The TV guide makes it easy to browse to up to a week back in time to find on-demand content, showing previous broadcasts earlier that day, yesterday, and then by date back to seven days previously, with a 'watch now' or 'not available' sign beside it.
Channels where no on-demand material is included in Freetime can't be explored except for the now/next tab that pops-up on the screen if you press the OK button during live TV.
Sadly, scanning through the channel list is slow progress, with channel information loading gradually. It makes jumping back or forth between more than three or more adjacent channels time-consuming. Adding a layer of Freetime is welcome – and the design and use of channel logos adds a really professional look – but it needs to come with a tad more processing power.
Since Freetime is primarily a catch-up service, the on demand page is key. With just six apps available – BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD, Demand Five, BBC Sport and BBC News – this is simplicity itself. Netflix isn't part of Freetime, but it's only two button pushes away.
The search TV feature is nicely dynamic, with just a few letters punched-in using the remote bringing-up instant suggestions for TV programmes. During testing, the Showcase service was 'coming soon'.
Given the presence of Freetime navigation, the TX-42AS600 doesn't need to repeat features with its own electronic programme guide for Freeview HD. With far too much of a central role by dint of its shortcut guide button on the remote, it looks rather basic in comparison, though it does at least have a live TV thumbnail.
Remote control
The alternative to the long, well-weighted and big-buttoned standard remote is the Panasonic Remote 2 app for iOS and Android, but it's more than just a virtual version of the hardware. It allows text entry when the TX-42AS600's web browser is being used, and powers the novel Swipe & Share system of file-swapping between smartphone and TV.
Swipe & Share is remarkably easy to use, though file support is small. From a massive collection of files stored on a USB HDD connected to the TX-42AS600, the iOS app was only able to fetch and stream MP4 video files, though it down-converts from MP4 files of any resolution; even a batch of 4K MP4 files were successfully streamed to my smartphone.
As well as video, JPEG photos, and MP3, M4A and WAV music files are supported, with all files transferred instantly and playing very stably on a smartphone. For owners of a NAS drive, it's potentially exciting stuff, though probably best used only for photos. Swipe & Share also lets you stream videos, photos and music from a smartphone to the TX-42AS600, though in my test only videos filmed by a smartphone, in this case, a short MOV file in an iPhone's Camera Roll, could be transferred. The transfer, which is done by first playing the video within the app then physically swiping it towards the TV, takes about eight seconds. Music and photos transfer in half the time.
The app also includes all kinds of shortcuts to various features on the TX-42AS600, including to the full suite of apps; it goes way beyond rival brands' apps.
Digital media
While Swipe & Share is impressive, there's a much more hands-on feel to the TX-42AS600's handling of digital media files via its Media Player software. Accessing files from a networked PC or from a USB thumbdrive, the TX-42AS600 plays MKV, AVI, AVC HD, MPEG-2, MP4, WMV and WMV HD files, MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV and WMA music, and JPEG photos.
Sound
The audio from the TX-42AS600's onboard 20W stereo speakers is not good. Thin and with very little dynamic range, only the music preset drags out any discernible low frequency action. However, dialogue is clear enough, though avoid the speech preset unless you're keen to kill most of the background noise.
Instead of creating a quasi-home cinema feel, the Surround option simply widens the soundstage a little, while adding an echo to the ball during matches at Wimbledon.
Value
Most of the value in the TX-42AS600 is wrapped-up in its smart TV antics. There is no cheaper way to get either Freetime, or a smart TV that carries all catch-up apps for the UK's terrestrial broadcasters. I'm not wholly convinced about the panel inside the TX-42AS600, but as a product for the living room there's simply nothing else available with as much smart stuff for this price.
Verdict
Can a TV with inherent image lag and poor contrast compete? Not in the home cinema stakes it can't, but a canny combination of apps, My Home Screen and Freetime make the TX-42AS600 worth considering as an all-rounder for living rooms looking to ditch Sky or Virgin, but who don't want to give-up on good user interfaces and catch-up TV.
We liked
The TX-42AS600 is all about usability. Pictures from all sources are clean, with HD channels and Blu-ray in particular reasonably fluid and with just enough contrast and colour to compete. It's Freetime that really excites however. Bringing not only excellent usability, but all key catch-up TV apps for the UK, it complements the excellent My Home Screen user interface, and adds a Netflix app. The TX-42AS600 also plays nicely with digital video, music and photo files.
We disliked
It's great to see Freetime's use of the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4OD and Demand Five, which make-up for the TX-42AS600's lack of dedicated apps, though it's under-powered – and the lack of an Amazon Instant app is another concern.
However, more of a concern is this TV's unimpressive audio, image lag and poor contrast, the latter of which washes-out colours in bright conditions.
Final verdict
Is Freetime worth a sacrifice? The panel in the TX-42AS600 is prone to image lag and poor contrast, and offers only so-so upscaling from SD to HD, but that doesn't stop this 42-inch LED TV being an early candidate for best value smart TV. The excellent usability offered by both Freetime and the My Home Screen smart TV platform could do with more processing power, and so could the TV's speakers. But if used in a relatively small room, and mostly with HDTV channels in ambient light conditions, the TX-42AS600 will make a mostly fine addition to a living room.
Also consider
While the TX-42AS600 is the most affordable way to get Freetime into your life, there are other 42 and 40-inchers available. The similarly priced Samsung UE40H6200 (32-inch version reviewed here) includes Smart Hub, which claims the same full roster of UK catch-up TV apps as Freetime and adds 3D and an extra HDMI slot, too. Finlux produce the 40F8073-T, which includes Netflix, the BBC iPlayer and YouTube, while Sony's 42W653A from 2013 might also be worth hunting down.
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