Plasma TV Reviews: Plasma TV for Less

Reviews

Let me preface this by telling you that I was a Broadcast Television Engineer for over 21 years and have been related electronic fields for over 40 years total. I know picky! My first prerequisite was a Plasma Screen, the lag in even the finest LCD/LED TVs drive me mad. Many people can't see this phenomenon and I'm fine with that. A bonus with the plasma screen is the large off-axis viewing, meaning that the picture looks as good from seats to the side as it does in my direct view comfy chair. A second prerequisite was 1080p, or so I thought. My preferred viewing position is 12 feet from screen to eyes. At 3 feet, real 1080p Blu-ray did look better on a Sony GXDL52H1 1080p screen than it did on the TC-P50X1 720p. But, at 10 feet the differences were not so apparent and at 12 feet, I could live with the difference. When you factor in that the Sony is $4200 vs. $700 for the Panasonic, the choice became a no brainer. It is only TV folks! You will find that TV broadcast is 1080i, if not 720i. It will be a while before you can get the full benefit of 1080p. I figure when that time comes, I'll move this one to the den and buy into 1080p. Maybe by then the price will have come down, too. A few reviews have complained of compressed blacks. The picture controls fix that problem handily. Early reviews found a moiré effect in the bright whites caused by the screen overlay glass interacting with the plasma screen. I did not find this to be so with the present production. I have found later reviews pointing out the same problem, but under closer scrutiny, I found them to be parroting the old reviews, to the point that errors were repeated. The Good: A great picture at a bargain price. Sure, there are better TVs, but expect to pay at least twice as much for a discernable difference. The screen is non-glare, a real plus in our viewing environment. Standard TV does not have the weird artifacts that I have seen on other HDTVs. The Bad: I miss PIP. Also, I hate having to go to menu choose the input. I would prefer direct access from the remote. The audio is on par with almost any other HDTV, which is to say, not great but bearable. I would have liked TV remote controllable RCA outputs so I could hook up my (cheap) little surround system. I don't really want to run regular TV through the `big' surround system all the time to get better audio.

I searched for hours looking at different sites and reviews for an HDTV. I quickly ruled out LCD's as you had to spend big bucks to get one that didn't blur in fast moving sequences. Bottom line, I've had this tv for 3 months. The picture and sound are incredible. I watch mainly HD content via Uverse and it is awesome. HD shows look just like DVD quality. Get this tv and you won't be sorry.

Due to a wall mounting incident with my old 42" Viewsonic LCD HDTV, I was forced to replace it. Long story...let's just say that if your kit comes with any thick plastic spacers, you should use them so you don't penetrate too deep and damage internal electronics of the TV. I did all the research, and the reviews are fantastic on this TV. Plus with the recent price drop, it's a steal of a deal. For me, I am converting from LCD to Plasma. And I love the brilliance of the plasma compared to the LCD, and the blacks are really black. The picture quality is awe inspiring. And gaming on it is a dream, if you are into that. I seriously doubted the people that said a 720p set could look like 1080p. But there is truth in that statement. My old set was a 720p and looked no where near as good as this one. Currently I am running HD channels through my local cable provider (component since Motorola has no HDMI output) and DVD/game content through an Xbox 360 (HDMI). I suspect HD channels would look even better with HDMI feeds, but that is what I'm stuck with for now. I don't have a Bluray player yet, but drool at the thought of how good it will look. By the way, I used the wall mount kit on this TV (being sure to use the spacers) and it looks even more beautiful hung on the wall. Everything is easy to setup as far as menus, etc. The stock sound is sufficient. But honestly I have ran surround sound for so many years, anything less don't sound right. While connection inputs are very good (3 HDMI's, 1 component, 1 composite, etc), there is only a digital TOSLINK fiber optic audio output. I like to run my components directly to the TV and then use the audio out to my Yamaha receiver so I did have to purchase a new cable (was using analog red/white cables before). Wow, what a difference! It sounds like I am in the middle of the action now, way better than before. While quality is much, much better you do need to make sure your audio receiver will accept TOSLINK connections. Most newer units should, but double check so you aren't disappointed. What seemed like a disaster at first, has turned into a dream come true in the end. Thanks Panasonic for making such a rockin' product!

Great product at a really great price -- I got it on sale for $699.99 from Best Buy about a month or so ago, Amazon.com seems to be around the same. We went from a 27" TV from the 80s to this one -- what a difference! TV is HUGE, it didn't fit in my '09 Honda Civic sedan laid down or standing up. Excellent picture while viewing HD, can be crappy with SD but that's most HDTVs. Can't tell the difference between 1080p and 720p -- I tried in the store with a 1080p 42" plasma. Quick start-up, no wait times like some TVs. Sound is from TV stock speakers is decent, but needs a good home theater added on. Plenty of inputs, fit everything in my system. VieraLink software is rather useless, doesn't seem like anyone sells or owns many Panasonic electronics, but SD card viewer is a bonus. Overall excellent price, great picture, decent sound, HUGE size!

WHAT A DEAL! I got the 50" X1 a couple weeks ago from sears for $699 + tax - 8% Bing cash back - 10% sears coupon = $625 boom!) After reading many positive reviews and checking it out at Sears next to other TVs' - namely the LG50-PQ30 I went with the X1. Both the Panny and LG were pretty comparable. I had trouble telling them apart side by side. The LED TVs are the only things out there that have major WOW factor but way too pricey. I mean... a 50" [name brand] plasma in the $600s' is insane! I REALLY think the 720p plasmas are the sweet spot in the flat panel TV market. It's just not justifiable to spend the extra for 1080p or LCD 120Hz units. For 50" and under screen sizes just about everything I've read says 720 vs 1080 is virtually indistinguishable. In stores I was hard pressed to tell the difference. On a budget I don't think you're sacrificing the farm with 720p even if it seems out-dated. On the plus you're getting a BIG TV for at least $300 - $600 less than similar 1080p models. I used those savings to buy a PS3! You should use them to buy speakers if you need. read on. PROS: The Panasonic has great blacks. You can't even compare LCD blacks to this. Solid, sharp picture - although you HAVE to tweak the picture settings. The factory settings are red heavy and dim! No big deal. [...] has a thread which tells you how to set if up if you aren't sure what means what. Easy Setup, sturdy base system. CONS: No analog (component) audio out. This is really only an issue for people that plan on running audio from the TV direct to a stereo system, rather than running the signal from your cable box, into a stereo receiver, then to the TV. There is an digital optical audio out however, if the speaker system you have accepts that, great. No PC-in - again, not a big deal for most people but a nice feature they should have added. If you're planning on using the TV as a monitor most of the time, take a look at LCDs over plasma. You'll get better love with resolutions on LCDs. The Speakers in the X1 are ok for people that don't care about sound. You're buying an awesome TV. spend a couple hundred on speakers. That said, the speakers on the X1 are WAY better than my new 32" LCD Samsung 720p, and just fine for watching the news. CONCLUSION - Killer buy you'll be stoked and have money left over to buy other stuff. If you can fit it, I also recommend 50" over the 42"...Don't save money by going smaller, you'll be stoked when you get this big TV home!