Let's dispense with the foreplay, the TX-P46Z1 streams 1080p24 wirelessly. Full HD Blu-ray video with no wires whatsoever. That's enough. Job done. Five stars. Now comes the padding.
Sitting at the top of Panasonic's Viera TV range, in both price terms and specification, the TX-P46Z1 is an object of tech beauty. It's sleek, svelte and unashamedly trendy. A metallic finish equals high-end in the TV business these days. And I approve.
To be honest, though, the Z1's aesthetic elegance comes as a bit of a shock. Panasonic is not generally known for its fashion sense. Cutting-edge kit, yes. Dependable devices, more often than not. Indeed, the company puts a lot of stock in functionality and we applaud the gesture – and we've given them plenty of glowing reviews to prove this. However, as natty as they perform, they're normally shrouded in blocky, plasticky, black boxes. Built by inventors, designed by undertakers.
This set bucks that trend and sticks two fingers up at the gloss black purists. There's still a wee nod towards the company's ebony leanings with the adoption of two, oddly-placed, black strips down either side of the glass, but with the speakers attached, the screen is handsomely and entirely framed in brushed aluminium.
It's also super skinny. In fact, at 24.7mm at its leanest point, it is easily the thinnest plasma panel I've seen (to buy, at least). It's LED TV thin, which is impressive for a plasma. There are even some that would buy this TV simply because of its waif-like nature, but they would be best advised to read on, there is a drawback…
The WirelessHD functionality requires the use of a transmitter and receiver, and the latter is bolted onto the back of the display. Therefore, the footprint, when mounted, is greater than expected – it sticks out approximately 50mm, twice the distance. That's still half the depth of, say, the Philips Cinema 21:9, but it undermines certain boasts.
In addition, the WiHD bolt-on isn't an aesthetic match to the bezel. It sticks out as a plastic anomaly. The end result is much like seeing Megan Fox with a massive, pustulant boil on her chin – you still admire the bodywork, but your eyes keep drifting towards the glowing lump.
CHIN UP: The TX-P46Z1's bolt-on WirelessHD receiver does upset the panel's aesthetic impact somewhat
Perhaps, though, that's a small price to pay for no wires, and those who are more adventurous than me may attempt to detach it and hide it out of sight, even though that's essentially against the point (it will still need to be wired to the HDMI port on the panel). It also doesn't look so bad when the set is sat upright on its stand (on a table), so maybe the add-on is not such a turn-off after all. It certainly does the job.
In the air tonight
Streaming Full HD video and high-res audio is no mean feat. It takes considerable bandwidth to ensure a constant and clean feed of 1080p24 footage over 10 metres, yet the gizmos here perform that task admirably.
Not once during testing was the signal interrupted or hampered by additional artefacts. Admittedly, I remained within the recommended catchment area, but it is highly unlikely that, with a set like this, you'll set the separate media box more than 32 feet away.
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