Panasonic TX-L32E5B review

Smart looks, smart pictures and smart TV on this Edge LED stunner

Panasonic TX-L32E5B
Best in Class
The definitive Panasonic TX-L32E5B review

TechRadar Verdict

Achieving greatness with almost all sources, and with no discernable weaknesses in the picture department, it's left to the TX-L37E5B to assert its all-round worthiness with some engaging smart TV shenanigans and reliable handling of digital files. With profound blacks, natural colours and impressive hi-def sharpness, and a judder-free performance with Blu-ray, the TX-L37E5B is a worthy addition to any living room after that extra slab of quality where it counts. It also helps prove that IPS LCD panels are at their best in smaller sizes.

Pros

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    Wide viewing angle

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    Contrast & colour

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    FLAC music support

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    Versatile pictures

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    Engaging smart TV

Cons

  • -

    Some LED leakage

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    Lacklustre Freeview EPG

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    Wired LAN only

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    MKV via USB only

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Your average 32-inch TV rarely gets our pulses racing. While the headline-grabbing big screens get smart TV, 3D and swanky controllers, sets like the TX-L32E5B usually end up with far less attention and price cuts a-plenty.

Thankfully we're now seeing some of those high-end features trickling down to smaller screen sizes, but the TX-L32E5B does that rarest of double-acts – it comes with smart TV features, networking and a relatively low price from the off.

Its native panel tech isn't bad either. Built around a step-up IPS LCD panel and fitted with Edge LED backlighting, with smart TV services in the guise of VEIRA Connect, a Freeview HD tuner and some handy digital file playback and streaming options, the TX-L37E5B will be a tempting all-in-one upgrade for living rooms after something a bit more core quality.

Panasonic TX-L32E5B

There's no 3D, of course, and nor is there built-in Wi-Fi, but the TX-L32E5B is an attractive proposition in more ways than one.

Stretching back around 40mm – not exactly the slimmest Edge LED in town, then – a thin transparent rim clings to the entire product's edge. It catches the light nicely, and though it's plastic, like the rather flimsy desktop stand, lends an unusual (though hardly 'out there'), understated look.

Panasonic TX-L32E5B review

Also consider

Elsewhere in Panasonic's huge range of Edge LED TVs are a number of significantly more expensive options.

Most significant is the 32-inch TX-L32ET5B, which for a few hundred pounds extra adds Easy 3D. Shipping with four pairs of 3D glasses, this passive 3D set is built around an LG-made LCD panel.

Jamie Carter

Jamie is a freelance tech, travel and space journalist based in the UK. He’s been writing regularly for Techradar since it was launched in 2008 and also writes regularly for Forbes, The Telegraph, the South China Morning Post, Sky & Telescope and the Sky At Night magazine as well as other Future titles T3, Digital Camera World, All About Space and Space.com. He also edits two of his own websites, TravGear.com and WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com that reflect his obsession with travel gear and solar eclipse travel. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners (Springer, 2015),