One single firmware update in Jun2010 to include Skype to VieraCast. That's it as far as I know.

USB HDD recording feature is removed from the Asian version.

3,313 hrs now. I suppose it has stabilised and as a non-critical casual user, I have not noticed drastic degradation in black level under normal ambience. To be sure, I would probably need to engage bro anfieldude's services again to compare against the earlier reading.

As for the bias lighting, I'm not using one yet. Blue LEDs? I thought the most neutral would be the 6500K.

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Added on March 11, 2011, 6:57 pmAh , thanks for the correction.

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Added on March 11, 2011, 9:39 pmThe comments are littered all over the V1 thread. Anyway, V20 is one of the better ones in the market. You can't go wrong especially with the recent price decrease.

This post has been edited by PoorMan: Mar 11 2011, 09:39 PM

No, can't see any difference from when I first bought it under normal lighting. In darkness, can perceive very slight difference. The panel seems a tiny bit grayer when your eye's pupil dilate enough. Of course, it may be entirely psychological because I was looking for it.

But overall, still very happy with the black level considering the kind of abuse my family throws at it

How about when you played it on the PC LCD monitor? Do you also see the flickering? This is to eliminate source problem.

It could be the infamous floating black issue which is noticeable when you watch it in a dim environment.

Best to call in Panasonic support to eliminate faulty hardware issues e.g. backlight.

All 2010 Panny plasma models have been reported to suffer from this. Some people can notice it clearly. Some don't.

Anfieldude did post something earlier that can alleviate the problem slightly by lowering the brightness setting. Would appreciate if he can remind us again the details.

Not only that, the comments to the article claims the handling of 50Hz material is corrected improved as well!

Looks like 2011 Panny series have resolved most of the issues.

This post has been edited by PoorMan: Mar 18 2011, 11:36 PM

42" would be perfect for 6-7 feet viewing distance

Welcome to the family lol

It's OK through my own experience. Everyday for 2 hours since Nov2010, I've been using V20 for PS3 gaming. On weekends, straight 8-10 hours playing FF XIII. Once in a while, a bit of IR but that washes away quickly when you switch to other channels.

PS3 setting: HDMI to full range and deep colour to Auto.

HD gaming on V20 is breath taking.

Edit: Oh ... and make sure you have HT for the 5.1 surround sound and it's a real gaming experience.

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Added on March 22, 2011, 3:18 amSure, the bigger, the better investment.

42" is minimum for full HD enjoyment at 6' viewing distance.

This post has been edited by PoorMan: Mar 22 2011, 03:25 AM

I suppose I can see some problems. The mods can't differentiate between one trader that create multiple ids that recommend sales back to himself or have many partners (or brothers) creating ids with the aim of promoting his product (which creates an illusion of being reliable/popular and that is unethical) against bona fide recommendations from real customers.

iamsobloodysick is already well known enough in lowyat and gisella (being a brother/partner) doesn't need to do any promoting to create suspicious collaboration.

If price is the most important factor, I suggest you go for the V20 now.

But if you are more interested with the better black levels, less floating/rising blacks, improved 50Hz material handling ... then you should wait for the 2011 models. The price will likely be higher at launch (> RM1-2K, more than that for the 42") unless you are willing to wait until Mar 2012 when they are clearing stocks.

The other factor is the 3D series (ST, GT and VT) pricing. Will Panny Malaysia follow the US direction to make 3D mainstream? And hence the pricing could be very mainstream as well.

Also some features available in the V20 is gone in the replacement G/GT30 (ISFccc professional settings) and only retained in the flagship VT30.

Also useful if you can get DLNA to work for most media formats. VieraCast ... I hardly use.

If you want 3D, then I suggest you wait for the 2011 models where the price could be much more competitive. Of course if you are just interested in Infinite Black Pro performance, then you should look for the discounted VT20.

As per the above replies, if you're thinking about GT20 (basically just for 3D), might as well wait for the 2011 models. The VT20, on the other hand, offers better PQ features and therefore, better value especially with the heavily discounted price.

Even when you compare GT20 to the V20, I would still go for the V20 as the 3D feature is way overpriced in 2010.

Ah, yes ... all of us wish the same ... with infinite black pro, HDD recording, THX intact at that price. That would be awesome.

DLNA is definitely not easy to configure. I've tried for several weeks and in the end, gave up. I bought a media player with networking which is easy to use for the family and it can play almost all popular formats straight out of the box.

More interesting are the RRP for 2011 series:

3D Plasma
P65VT30K To be confirmed
P50VT30K To be confirmed
P55ST30K To be confirmed
P50ST30k To be confirmed
P42UT30K To be confirmed

2D Plasma
P50U30K RM4,499
P50X30K RM3,799
P42U30K RM2,299
P42X30K RM1,999

No Plasma S or G series (2D)??

3D LED/LCD
L37DT30K To be confirmed

2D LED/LCD
L42E30K (LED) To be confirmed
L42E3K (LED) RM3,099
L42U30K RM2,199
L32X30K (LED) RM1,999
L32C30K RM1,299
L32C3K RM1,199

Your 50U is 20K (2010 version) and not 30K.

Edit: It seems like Panny Malaysia is pushing the entry level 2D and 3D. This probably reflects on the HD content maturity in Asia at the moment.

Well, as long as the price is still fair and in line with entry level, there's not much to dwell on.

This post has been edited by PoorMan: Apr 3 2011, 11:26 AM

Small matter but re-read DannyOp's post and you will see he specifically said 50U30K for RM3,999.

To be frank, both are flagships and both are plasmas. I would think the PQ differences would not be that significant. If it is so one-sided, there won't be fans for the other camp. The remaining factor would be reliability, after-sales service and price/performance.

Since I post here often, my preference is obvious. Enough of my personal friends who has owned Samsung LCDs/LEDs has convinced me not to buy Samsung. Go ask around for more real world feedback instead of solely relying on just PQ and technicalities alone.

Did Carrefour offer it at a much cheaper price than market and upfront tell you that it's a used unit? If not, then I think you should return it.