Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ81 (freesat)

I'm standing in front of the Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ81, but this video review is also relevant to the 46-inch version as well, both of which are plasma TVs with a built in Freesat tuner designed to make high definition broadcasts available to people who can't get access to Freeview broadcasts in their area. It also a great way to receive HD. As you can see, there isn't much to separate this TV from any of the others in the Viera range. The Panasonic TVs are all attractive enough, although they don't have the visual impact of some of the thin bezel LCDs we've seen recently. The main advantage of course is that this TV has analogue, digital terrestrial and digital satellite receivers built-in. This means, if you have a satellite dish already on you house, you could access HD channels from the BBC and ITV as well as a multitude of other channels. Not all of which are aimed at flogging you tat. If we take a look at the rear of the set you can see the inputs for traditional aerial and satellite dish. You'll also find two HDMI sockets at the back, with a third on the side. Component and VGA inputs are also included and of course, there are two SCART sockets for your older hardware. The Menu systems on the Panny are also dead easy to use. Selecting between Freesat and Freeview is very easy, and the TV presents you with a programme guide appropriate for the service. In Freeview, it's the traditional EPG, in Freesat it's a genre based system that is consistent with all Freesat receivers. As with all Panasonic's recent plasma TVs, the picture quality of this particular model is superb. We watched a six minute Blu-ray preview of the new Batman movie, and we were totally blown away by the amazing quality. It also has decent enough speakers to get you by, although you'd be crazy not to add a surround sound system to get the best out of movies. Freeview and Freesat SD look okay on this TV, but of course the limiting factor is always going to be the quality the broadcasters use to encode their channels. Of course, HD channels look magnificent. Especially BBC HD, which has long had a reputation for stunning looking material. Of course, at the moment there aren't very many HD services, but we hope, with time, more broadcasters will get involved. We have it on good authority that other manufacturers are keen to produce Freesat TVs too, so it could very well be something we see a lot more of in the future. The good thing is, this TV is a brilliant performer, and if you want Freesat, it's not going to disappoint. I'm Ian Morris and this is the Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ81.