Real-World Performance
With standard-definition cable programming of variable quality, whether output from my cable box at 480i or 1080i component or 1080i HDMI, I did see frequent motion artifacts. Yes, these artifacts were, from all the evidence, inherent in the sources. But despite the Panasonic Premiere's generally good performance on material free of serious artifacts, its video processing did a worse job on marginal sources than other—and often less expensive—displays. For example, a Sony VPL-HW10 projector ($3500) showed far fewer visible artifacts on the same material, and on a much bigger screen (90 inches diagonal).

Over many hours of watching native 1080i high-definition cable sources on the Panasonic Premiere, I never experienced these problems. Neither did I see artifacts on good DVD or Blu-ray sources. While this doesn't mean you never will, it does mean that they should be rare.

Apart from the above issues, the Panasonic Premiere performed reasonably well on standard-definition cable programming, including some mediocre analog cable channels. But the best SD digital-cable channels were a big step up from analog cable. On programming with minimum inherent artifacts, this monitor might well fool less critical viewers into thinking they were watching HD.

High definition was something else again. I'm often amazed at how good it can look, even on cable. Of course, a lot depends on the technical quality of the program, the HD cable channel, and your cable system. I had many more good HD cable experiences on the Panasonic Premiere than mediocre ones. When I tuned in to watch Star Trek: First Contact on Universal HD, it looked so good that I salivated over the prospect of seeing this and other Star Trek films on Blu-ray. (Memo to Paramount—Star Trek films on Blu-ray in 2009, please!)

But I can hardly imagine this film looking better than it did from my cable box into the Panasonic Premiere. The colors sparkled, and detail was precise down to the last crease in the costumes without falling into the trap of edginess or artificial enhancement. While the entire film was a delight to see, one scene, in particular, stood out for me. It takes place in a 1930s nightclub. (Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation will recognize this as taking place on a holodeck; others, just go with it.) The resolution in this scene—and in the rest of the film as well—was incredible.

But the Panasonic Premiere's detail could almost be an excess of riches. In some scenes from this film, Data's android makeup was obvious, with the textures of actor Brent Spiner's skin clearly visible through it. And while the special effects never looked cheap, they sometimes looked a bit fake. Still, don't blame the messenger. The 65VX100U was simply telling it like it is—which is what any good display should do.

Moving on to Blu-ray, I've recently been working my way through the new HD version of Band of Brothers. This transfer has taken some Internet flack for employing grain removal, though not to the extent that Patton did. Frankly, this didn't bother me at all; if grain removal was used here, it's relatively subtle. And since this production was made for television and was never seen in a pure film presentation by those making the criticisms, I'm not sure how anyone not on the inside can know exactly how it's supposed to look. I'll take the HD version any day. On the Panasonic Premiere, it was noticeably more detailed than the SD version. The color was appropriately subdued (inherent in the material), the dark scenes were deep and rich with no graying out, and the shadow detail was excellent.