Panasonic TH-50PX60U 50-Inch Plasma HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)I've had this TV for approximately 2 weeks now - It's my first Plasma TV - replaced a 10 year old 46" LCD television. After visiting every local store and kicking tires - I was sold that Plasma was the way to go. The clarity of the picture - 160 degree viewing angle with no decline in picture quality and sharp picture during fast moving picture ( i.e. sports ) + the vivid sharpness of blacks / reds / oranges / greens / blues made it pretty easy decision.
I went with the PANASONIC b/c of Consumer reports review of last years models. It was rated as best picture for non HD programming over any of it's competitors. Going shopping for these things locally is similar to buying a used car - b/c most stores won't show you anything but a HD signal - but I was able to get one store to show me a digital signal to a couple models and was able to view a DVD of TOP GUN on this and a few other models. Alot of brands will have a significant dropoff in quality from HD to digital signal - NOT this panasonic.
The picture in HD is simply amazing. Clarity / sharpness / at all angles of viewing both near and far away from the screen. The speakers are very good too - I will play a movie through the Home Theatrre - but day to day viewing the speakers will be more than adequate for most viewers.
The picture in non - HD programming - Comcast digital cable signal. About 85 % of the programming is pretty close to the same quality as High Def. Alot of the cable programming seems to be formatted in anticipation of High Def viewing and look very sharp and clear. Occasionally ( maybe 10 - 15 % of cable programming ) you'll get a feed that's not quite as sharp and ther'es a noticeable decline in picture quality from the HD or normal Digital programming. However - I've checked that same programming on my older CRT television - I found that the ( Non-HD programming with poor signal ) picture on the 50" plasma is the same quality as what I'm getting on my 20" non digital television. The only difference is that most of the programming is so much better in quality on this plasma TV that it seems like the picture isn't good for those few broadcasts. BUT - it's not poor picture from plasma Tube - it's just a bad signal that looks worse in comparison to the other channels and/or programming.
*** Don't let a salesperson talk you out of this TV if you have a large pictue window. I almost decided against the Plasma tube b/c a circuit city salesperson said the reflection would annoy me with a large window in the room. We have a west facing picture window in the rear with a tree outside the window. There is reflection on this tube - but it's no different than the reflection you'd get with a standard CRT tube television. We just pull down the shades a bit - and we haven't noticed anything that would be bothersome when viewing a program. We bought it with the assurance that if the reflection was an issue we could swap it out for a LCD or other television. We're keeping the Panasonic Plasma!!!!
I'm totally happy we bought this TV - and have no regrets for choosing the Panasonic. I'd buy this TV again in a heartbeat. The only thing I don't know about is the longevity of this type of tube - but I'll learn that over time. We spent 400 bucks on an in home 4 year service plan to accompany the TV. The marketing says it will last 27 years if viewed 6 hours per day - but I think that's a little optimistic. I did however learn in my research that this technology has been around for 30 or 40 years so I'm hoping that means there won't be any technical quirks to still work out.
Jake

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Featuring Panasonic's 9th generation gas-plasma screen, the 50-inch TH-50PX60U features a width-to-height 16:9 aspect ratio similar to movie theater screens, providing a theater-like experience at home. Its maximum of 29 billion colors and over 3,000 shades of gradation provide exceptionally fine detail for outstanding HDTV reproduction. The set's built-in ATSC (DTV) tuner pulls HD signals (480p/720p/1080i) right from the airwaves, and its QAM tuner is fully compatible with unscrambled HDTV cable reception. A standard analog NTSC tuner receives standard-definition (SD) programming. It also includes a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot, enabling you to take an SD card directly from a digital still camera or camcorder and insert it directly into the TV for quick and colorful photo slideshows. A plasma screen renders vivid colors like you've never seen before (as in, up to 29 billion in this case), extremely wide viewing angles (wider, even, than those of most LCD screens), and easy placement due to a plasma monitor's slim profile--the TH-42PX60U is a mere 3.7 inches deep, one of the slimmest plasmas around--perfect for desk or wall mounting. Brightness tends to be extremely uniform across plasma screens, which are also impervious to the picture distortion and negative color balances that afflict CRT monitors when placed near lighting or sound systems. The TH-50PX60U features a 1366 x 768-pixel resolution and an amazing contrast ratio of 10000:1. (The higher the contrast ratio, the greater a TV's ability to display subtle color details and not get washed out by ambient room light.) The 3D Y/C digital comb filter constantly analyzes the three dimensions of picture height, picture width, and picture changes-over-time, to reduce dramatically edge image artifacts while improving transition detail. Other features include V-Chip parental controls, on/off sleep timers, closed-caption decoding, aspect ratio control, and video input labeling. The TV's internal stereo speakers are powered by 10 watts per channel (for 20 watts of total power). It features the following connection options: Component (Y/Pb/Pr): 2 inputs (with 2 audio inputs) HDMI: 2 inputs Composite (RCA audio/video): 3 inputs (1 on the front), 1 output S-Video: 3 inputs (1 on the front) HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link any AV source with an audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV). HDMI supports standard-definition (SD), enhanced definition (ED), or high-definition (HD) video, plus multi-channel digital audio--all using a single cable. If a component doesn't have an HDMI connection, you'll also get great picture reproduction using the three-jack component video (Y/Pb/Pr) input, which provides separate connections for luminance (Y), blue color difference (PB) and red color difference (PR). This results in increased bandwidth for color information, resulting in a more accurate picture with clearer color reproduction and less bleeding than you would get with S-Video or composite (RCA yellow video plug) connections. Component video output is available only for DVD playback. What's in the Box Plasma TV, remote control (with batteries), pedestal base, power cord, printed operating instructions

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Toshiba REGZA 55ZV650U 55-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV with ClearScan 240, Black Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had this TV for about a month now and absolutely love it. I have a 40" Samsung 550 TV as well. A family member who lives next door has a 46" Samsung 650 series so we we're pretty familiar with the Samsungs and that is what we were looking at when purchasing this one. After looking at the prices for 52" and 55" Samsung 650 series I kept coming back to look at this one as it seemed like an incredible value compared to those. I was actually concerned because the price was significantly lower. However, I have owned Toshiba, Hitachi, and JVC TVs in the past and have been pleased with the Japanese TV companies in the past so I bought this from Amazon sight unseen. I had read a lot of reviews on the net on the Toshiba Regza models and most appeared to be positive.
The TV gets shipped via an air freight company and was delivered to my house as scheduled. I elected to not have them do anything but help get the TV in the house and unboxed and setup everything myself. Packaging was standard as was the same as the Samungs. (remove the white clips from the bottom of the box and lift the top off)
I placed it on a solid stand and did not feel the need to attach the recommended safety straps. It is solid on the pedestal and is not going anywhere with the location I have it at.
When I first powered on the TV I was very happy to see a prompt asking me if the TV was being used in a store or at home. I chose home for the obvious reason. Many manufacturers crank up the brightness and contrast to make them look better at the store. Unfortunately, this is the default out of the box experience for other manufacturers. I remember having to turn these down on the Samsungs. While this was a small thing, it was greatly appreciated. Here are my experiences with other areas of the TV:
APPEARANCE
The TV looks beautiful. A solid black border would have suited me just fine. However, this TV has a light gray gradient on the edges with a checkered pattern. From the viewing position you really do not notice it and it certainly is not a factor when watching TV but it looks like art in that regard. There is an illuminated Toshiba logo centered at the bottom of the TV. If the illumination bothers you then you can disable it in the preferences. Overall it looks a little nicer than my plain black Samsung.
PICTURE
Excellent picture. Sharp crisp detail. I played Blu-Ray discs through a Samsung 3600 player I had connected to it and they looked awesome. When I purchased this TV from Amazon I got a free Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-ray player with it and moved the 3600 to another room and used it after a couple of days. No difference in the picture between the two. I've also watched much HD programming via satellite as well as some SD material too. I hooked my Roku up and streamed SD content from it as well. Regardless of source, the TV performs beautifully. The detail is razor sharp, the colors look true, and the picture continues to impress me. I watch a LOT of movies via HD premium channels as well as Blu-Ray discs. I was really concerned about an LCD over a plasma in this regard but have not bit disappointed in this regard. My other major concern was that movies would look more video-like as opposed to movie-like. On the 46" Samsung my personal opinion is that things appear to look more video-like. On the 40" Samsung not so much so, but neither look as good as this Toshiba in my opinion. Of course sitcoms and your standard TV fare look great on the Toshiba as well. Bottom like is that I think this Toshiba looks better for movie buffs. I also noticed that the depth of field on the 40" and 46" Samsung do not seem as accurate as on this TV. Depth of field looks normal here and perspective looks accurate to me. I don't see how anyone can knock anything with the picture on this set. It has a good as anything I have seen in the stores.
GLARE
Toshiba says this TV has a "CrystalCoat high contrast screen coating". The best way I can describe the look is by comparing a laptop screen that is glossy vs. one that is matte. This TV definitely falls into the glossy category. The tradeoff between glossy vs. matte has always been glare with vivid, bright, beautiful display vs no glare and a more muted picture in that regard. No TV made is going to have zero glare. This is just part of the way light behaves in regard to reflective surfaces. I have seen complaints that this TV has too much glare. Those who feel strongly in that regard might be a candidate for a set that is more matte-like. However, what we are really talking about here is glare when dark images are displayed on the screen. For example, if you are watching a sitcom or things that are generally more lit then you aren't going to see any glare even with the windows open and the sun shining in. The difference comes when you have something like the Dark Knight playing where you have many night scenes and dark environments. In those cases, you are going to see glare from any light sources that give off any light in front of the TV. The bottom line is that glare may be worse here than on other LCD TVs. However, and this is a big however...this is also what makes this picture look a lot better in my opinion. So if you choose to go the less-glare route you are also sacrificing something picture-wise to accomplish this. It will not look and bright, vivid, and beautiful. Personally, I do not find the glare to be an issue.
BLACK LEVELS
A couple of the reviews I had read stated that the black levels on this TV were not good or accurate. This is simply not even close to true. Black levels are excellent. Black levels here are better than the Samsungs in my opinion. Toshiba states that the "DynaLight Backlight Control" automatically adjusts the backlighting to help in this regard and I believe them. To me, this looks more like a plasma in this regard that other LCD TVs. Black levels have always been an issue with LCD TVs to some degree but it looks like Toshiba has resolved that issue here. My last 50"+ TV was rear projection and I was worried that the black levels (especially in movies) might be an issue with the new LCD TV but it simply is not the case.
SOUND
First, I do not use the internal sound. I set the volume level to 0 after 5 minutes. I find it hard to fathom that someone buys a 55" TV and uses the internal speakers. At this size I would expect must people have a home theater audio setup. (I do) The few minutes I listened to it through the internal speakers, I did not notice any problems so I cannot speak to the internal audio. Bottom line, if you do not have a 5.1/7.1 setup outside of the TV, do yourself a favor and get one.
FEATURES
First, you normally do not see LCD TVs with 120Hz at this price point but you get it here. Toshiba uses the backlighting to simulate 240Hz performance but personally I haven't seen any of this motion blur in sports even on my 40" Samsung without 120Hz. I have watched HD NFL and NASCAR and just have never seen it on any of the LCD TVs I have seen. Tons of people and reviews have talked about it and I guess that where this would occur, 120Hz is going to help.
Next, another feature you do not see on sets in this price range and many that cost much more and that is the ambient light sensor which can automatically adjust the picture based on the room lighting.
Finally, this TV supports 1080p24. If you do not know what that is or why it is important then do a google search. For those of us that love movies, it is a great feature.
I won't go through all the features as you can read them in the description or by downloading the user manual. However, I have to say that this TV has more (and friendly) options in the menus and has some really cool stuff that many of the Samsungs do not. (ambient light sensor mentioned above for example). Overall this set has every feature I have seen on other TVs and more. Again, at a great value.
VALUE
I paid $1631 with free shipping and I see it is now down to $1573. Comparable Samsung TVs will set you back $500-$800 more. Personally, I found this set to exceed my expectations and feel it is better that the Samsungs. Add the price difference in it because a huge value in my opinion. Personally, I am not sure why Toshiba is currently selling at these amazing price points but I am glad I jumped onboard while they were. I assure you that if you buy a Vizio, Insignia, or Sharp LCD TV at this price point then you are getting a sub-par TV. You can spend more to get the LG, Sony, or Samsung but I don't believe the extra money is buying you a better TV. Best Buy is still selling this TV for $1999 so buy it here from Amazon.
OVERALL
There is a reason Consumer Reports rated this the #3 TV Overall and the #2 Recommended TV in the 52-inch and larger category. It is a fantastic TV and I think it is being overlooked at the moment only because Samsung and LG are doing so well at the present. If you are reluctant about the price being lower than other TVs with less features, do not be concerned. I would not hesitate to buy this TV again and would recommend it highly to others. Feel free to comment if you have any specific questions.

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The ZV650 Series takes LCD TV to the next level of picture quality, design, and features. ClearScan 240? raises the bar for picture clarity with fast motion video, the Deep Lagoon? design creates a new level of design elegance, and the long list of new features and next-gen connectivity are more than you could ever expect.

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