Design and build

The Panasonic F201DX is a 32-inch HD TV with IPS LED panel. The screen has an anti-glare coating to it, which makes content visible even in brightly lit conditions. The device follows a thin design profile, only to get slightly thicker at the bottom. The bezel-less design along with the brushed metal frame adds a nice premium touch to the TV.

The body is constructed of hard plastic giving it a rugged build. The fit and finish levels on the TV feels top notch, as there are barely any quirks or loose ends. All the connectivity ports are placed at the back, so accessing them may not be always easy if you wall-mount your TV. The device comes bundled with a two-piece table stand made up of hard plastic. The base of the stand has rubberised bottoms, which provides a good grip while placing the TV on flat surfaces.

As the Panasonic F201DX is a non-smart TV, the remote does not get too many fancy options. It has the essentials - playback and navigation controls. It is made of plastic with neatly placed, rubberised buttons. We didn’t need to spend much time getting used to it.

Features

The Panasonic F201DX 32-inch HD TV comes with a screen resolution of 1366 x 768, popularly called HD or HD Ready. The TV sports an IPS LED panel, which Panasonic claims can produce greater colour representation along with bright colours. The IPS LED panel also helps the TV achieve great viewing angles even in bright room lightning.

In terms of connectivity, Panasonic has included two HDMI ports, which can be very useful for connecting a set-top box, AV players, sound bar as well as gaming consoles. The TV also sports a USB port, which supports most of the formats such as MP3, MPEG, MP4, HEVC, WMA, JPEG and more. You can easily plug a pen drive or hard-disk drives to play content on the TV. We would have loved it if Panasonic had included more USB ports and a VGA port which can really come handy at while connecting laptops or PCs. Keep in mind, this is a really affordable TV.

Performance

The F201DX runs on Panasonic’s proprietary OS and has a simple interface with minimal tabs. The interface is easy to use and navigating through menus can be done without experiencing any sort of slowdown. The device quickly detects external USB drives and playing large movie file from them can be done is effortless.

To compare the picture quality with other TVs in this price range, we ran a number of sample HD photos on the F201DX. This TV simply impresses. Most of the images appear sharp and vivid even on the default setting. If you prefer your picture quality to appear more natural, we recommend switching to the standard mode. You can also slightly tone down the contrast and colour levels which makes the picture quality appear more realistic.

We ran a couple of HD movies and content playback is smooth and enjoyable. You can easily spend hours watching movies and other content on this TV without tiring your eyes.

The Panasonic F201DX is equipped with two 16W output speakers. They provide great sound quality, something that is maintained even if you crank the volume to maximum. By accessing the sound settings, you can also tweak the bass and treble to your preferences. The TV also gets a 3.5mm audio jack which is great to have if you wish to plug external speakers. However, it lacks an optical port which would have come handy while connecting it a sound bar or home theatre system.

Verdict

The Panasonic F201DX undoubtedly has a great picture quality when compared to the competition, in this price range. With an attractive price of Rs. 15,990*, this TV is great for buyers looking for a budget HD TV or a secondary TV in small rooms at home. Yes, the absence of smart features is felt, but there are several smart TV solutions such as the Amazon Fire TV Sticks or a Google Chromecast to choose from. These solutions even when combined with the price of the TV would still cost you less than a Smart HD TV.