Panasonic TC-L60DT60 Review (TCL60DT60)

60" 1080p 3D LED TV

by Robert Wiley, Editor

60 inches is the second largest size in Panasonic's 2013/14 LED lineup. The TC-L60DT60 sheds a few of the features and new design of the WT60 to make it solid offering in the LED TV realm. The IPS LED panel that grants a 178 degree viewing angle is one of the most useful features followed by the Viera Connect suite paired with the Touch Pad controller.

Picture Quality Features

178° Wide Viewing Angle

Panasonic's IPS LED panels provide fantastic viewing angles. Especially when compared against other LED and LCD sets. The TC-L60DT60 has one and really takes away the problem of color and contrast degradation as you enter the side viewing angles that are typically unavailable. Panasonic gave it a 178 degree rating. That covers just about any viewing angle you can come up with.

Great contrast and color rendition are seen in this shot. You can see some reflection on the screen, so the light situation of the room the TV will be placed in is important

1920 Backlight Scanning

The TCL60DT60 has 1920 backlight scanning to push the limits of the panels native refresh rate. This feature provides extra smoothing in fast motion and side to side panning. Image edges also get some smoothing so you get the sharpest image possible. It works well and can be switched off if any negative side effects appear for content that may not need it.

This shot doesn't give a deep sense of depth and appears quite flat. The level of detail is good for an LCD/LED of this class

Dual Core Pro4 Chip Processor

This chip is new to the DT60 series. It is a much needed addition that speeds everything up from web browsing to the loading of Viera Connect apps. Slowness has been the bug plague of smart TV platforms of the past. This processor is an attempt to remedy the situation with nice results. The Hexa Processing Engine comes with the processor and boosts image processing speed.

Viera Connect Features

The DT60 is equipped with the usual Viera Connect platform and built-in wifi. This gives access to the web and a host of apps for social networking and finding video content. It was a nice addition on the sets last year and that remains the case. New features for the 2013/2014 sets are as follows:

My Home Screen

This is a new personalization function that allows users to create their own personal home screen giving them quick access to their favorite content. It must be a response to different family members having different ideas of what is important in the Viera Connect suite.

Swipe & Share 2.0

Is an improved way of connection between the TV and Android or iOS devices. All it takes is the swipe of a finger on the smartphone or tablet and the content is displayed on the big screen.

Interaction

The DT60 does away with the built-in camera but keep the Touch Pad Controller. Losing the camera is not necessarily a bad thing. Implementation of devices like these have not really been perfected to the point of needing them on the set. A camera is nice for Skype calling though. The Touch Pad Controller is included with the TCL60DT60. It is supposed to speed up web browsing and navigating through the smart TV platform. We tried it last year and didn't think it brought much to the table. LG's Magic Remote really hit the sweet spot in that arena. The Touch Pad does allow for the new voice interaction features to help with search and reading on screen text.

The included touch pad controller is great for speeding up web browsing, but doesn't add much speed for navigating around the Viera Connect menus. A mic button is located on the remote to initiate voice commands

Inputs

The TC-L60DT60 comes with three HDMI ports and three USB ports. That should provide plenty of space for all your devices like blu-ray players and video game consoles. The WT60 has a media player used through the USB ports that will play all your video, music, and photo content. Three ports here will be plenty for hard drives and flash drives.

The front of the DT60 seires shows off the design

Appearance

The DT60 series adopts the design and appearance of the ZT60 and VT60 top tier plasma models. This is an interesting move on Panasonic's part, but we like it. It has the glass and metal design with a two armed stand that gives the screen a nice floating appearance. The bezel is very slim which completes the excellent look of the set.

Here you can see the V-neck stand design similar to the VT60 series over on the plasma lineup. The slim metal bezel really works with the stand to create a simple design

Having reviewed and written about Television Technology for over 10 years, Wiley never tires of researching the newest qualitative trends related to the technology. Most people do not get excited about possibilities behind the latest video engine...Wiley does. Read more about Robert