Panasonic TC-L37X2 LCD HDTV Review

Calibration

The Panasonic TC-L37X2 proved to be a tough TV to calibrate, and we were forced to run full testing through few different scenarios in order to get the full story. The problem is that the contrast setting in the menu defaults to a value of 90. We could tell with our naked eye that this was way too high, and it was killing detail in the highlights. But when we lowered the contrast, it had a severe effect on screen brightness. Now, manufacturers frequently label a setting one thing, like contrast, while it actually alters a number of PQ elements other than contrast – perhaps a little brightness and a little gamma curve. But it's rare that we see such a dramatic effect. When we lowered the contrast setting to a value of 68, in order to retrieve some color detail, the brightness was drastically reduced, which affected the TV's overall contrast ratio.

Some people consider contrast ratio to be a TV's most important spec. We disagree, and put color performance first. Usually, we can find a nice balance between the two, but not with the Panasonic TC-L37X2. Therefore, we presented the test results for color and contrast as they occurred under both settings. The table below is the calibration for best color.

Any processing features not listed should be assumed disabled.

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All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

](http://www.displaymate.com/)

Video Modes

The Panasonic TC-L37X2 offers five preset video modes if you don't want to be bothered with all this calibration business. We recommend putting it in Cinema mode, if you plan on doing nothing else.