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Onscreen menus on Panasonic TVs haven't changed for years – and for good reason. High-rez graphics and menus that couldn't be simpler are a clue that its TVs are aimed almost entirely at the mass-market, though that does mean that a professional calibration is not possible.
Arguably its main feature, 100Hz Intelligent Frame Creation is unfortunately it's hidden away in the 'other settings' of the set-up menu, though it's largely ineffective anyhow.
The remote control itself is easy to navigate despite its many functions, though some of the buttons are too small. Viera Tools is a shortcut marvel, bringing-up icons for Viera Link (useful if you've a Panasonic DVD or Blu-ray recorder), pause live TV (ditto), and three playback options from media stored on an SD or SDHC Card; slideshows, movies and photos.
The SD functions are similarly easy to use, though sadly no music files – not even MP3 – can be played, which does seem a shame. For video, only DixV, MPEG2 and AVC-HD video files are playable.
Slideshows of JPEG photos are quick to start using Viera Tools, with three choices of (rather bland) background music and four different display effects. It's actually quite effective and worth using, though largely for its speed rather than its presentation.
Misc features
Viera Tools also contains an icon for Media Server (something other sets in the Viera range do not), which relies on DLNA networking. It's also listed on the inputs list called up directly from the remote control, though the names – and even the list itself – can easily be edited and slimmed-down to suit your own home entertainment needs.
The TV places a small icon of a film strip next to video formats and files it can play, though it takes a minute or two to actually play the content.
On some TV's media players – notably those from LG – moving thumbnails of video content are presented. On the Panasonic, no such niceties are provided, but there is one distinct advantage to DLNA on the TX-L32V10 when compared to rivals; if you make a mistake, or files are irritatingly slow to load, you can jump back to where you were in the menus, cancelling any action instantly.
A small point, perhaps, but unique – and important in creating an overall user-friendly feel to the TX-L32V10.
Viera Cast
Worthy of its own shortcut button is Viera Cast. Its limitations are obvious, but the user-friendly portal hosts genuinely engaging Eurosport news and videos delivered in an instant.
There's other nice touches; leave Viera Cast untouched for a few minutes and a screensaver kicks-in – the entire Viera Cast interface suddenly disappears into the distance, instantly re-setting itself when you touch the remote. Clever stuff.
Although the design of the TX-L32V10 is a cut above Panasonic's budget sets, there is the odd faux pa; there are no side inputs for HDMI and cables do stick out at the rear. The solution is to use HDMI cables with folding terminals, but a slightly recessed panel would be useful. Otherwise, what's the point of a super-slim panel?
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