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Panasonic TX-40ES500B review

 Review: September 2017  
 

Rating: 3 stars

In a nutshell: The Panasonic TX-40ES500B is a good choice of 40-inch TV. The screen is sharp, with good shadow detail, although it's not the brightest screen we've seen this year. The silver stand gives this model a premium look, and the range of content available is impressive, with Freeview Play, Amazon, Netflix and more all included.



 

Design & looks

The Panasonic TX-40ES500B is a smartly designed TV, with black plastic surrounding the screen and a silver metal stand. The TV is quite deep, but feels solidly made.

It comes supplied with a standard remote control.

Picture quality

The ES500 isn't a 4K TV, but that's really no problem for a 40-inch screen. The 1080p resolution is perfectly sharp at normal viewing distances, so you're not missing out by choosing this HD television.

The screen isn't quite as bright as the rival Samsung 40MU6100, but it can match the Samsung for deep blacks, and shadow detail is excellent too. Overall the picture quality is very good, although colours do lack vibrancy and can appear a little dull in comparison to other models.

Audio quality

Like virtually all other 40-inch televisions, the ES500B is fitted with stereo speakers delivering a total power of 10W. Simulated surround sound can add an illusion of depth to the sound, and the overall quality is adequate for a TV of this type. You can connect the audio output to an external speaker system if you want to beef things up.

Smart TV

Like all of Panasonic's 2017 range, the ES500 comes with my Home Screen 2.0. This gives you access to a wide range of content, including the BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4, My5, Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and YouTube.

Connectivity

The ES500B has limited connectivity options, with only two HDMI connections, but it does have built-in Wi-Fi and LAN for connecting to the internet.

You'll also find two USB ports, a combined component/composite input and a digital audio optical output. FreeviewPlay is here too.

Conclusion - a good choice

There's really no point in splashing out on a 4K TV at the 40-inch screen size, and so the Panasonic is a good option. Picture quality is good, the Smart TV system gives you plenty of content, and the design of the TV is smart too.

You'd do well to shop around before buying however, as this model isn't particularly cheap. We'd like to see the price fall below £400. Other options worth considering are the Samsung MU6100 and LG UJ635V.


Panasonic TX-40ES500B features include:

User questions

Sorry - questions and comments on this page are now closed.

I want to know 32es500 panasonic TV launched year.

Asked by Jagmar from India on 20th Jul 2018

Good info there; can you please tell us if the panel is VA or IPS type ?

Asked by kika from UK on 18th Apr 2018
i have doubts as info online states IPS (or maybe 40 is VA and other sizes are IPS)

regards

Reply by Ossie from UK on 24th Jun 2018
I can confirm that the panel is indeed VA. Good uniformity with no visible backlight bleed. Calibration controls are extensive so you can tweek things to get a good picture. However, there is an 8sec delay between pressing tv guide button and actual guide appearing on screen! Not sure if this is my wifi or antenna etc. Currys have this for £270 in their sale right now.



Panasonic TX-40ES500B user reviews

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