American Express-Savings
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 92 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
41 out of 42 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"The best television out of many I considered"
Pros: Built-in QAM tuner, Brilliant picture quality, more inputs than competitors, Speakers underneath save width of cabinet
Cons: No Picture-in-picture, loose optical audio output, people without Home Theaters will wish speakers were on the side
Summary: I spent roughly the last year researching big-screen TVs, spending time on CNET, AVSforum, and assorted review sites. For the longest time, I thought I would end up with Sony's new 50XBR1 with their SXRD technology. The price on the XBR is about $3499 from reputable dealers, and the list price on the TH-50PX60U is about the same. I'm a gamer, and have been terrified of plasmas for the threat of burn-in, but the more and more I read, the more it seemed like great strides had been made in reducing plasma burn-in. A friend of mine has a Panasonic plasma from a couple of generations ago, and he is an absolute Halo addict. He says he was careful not to play for the first 200 hours of TV watching (apparently, the plasma screen is far more susceptible to burn-in during this time) and now he plays his Xbox freely with no problems. The fact that I can safely game on this plasma and that it has an expected half-life (that is, the time in which it takes the overall brightness capability of the plasma screen to reduce by half) of 60,000 hours (watching 5 hours of TV a day, every day, for the next 32 years) convinced me that I should at least consider it, given that the Sony 50XBR1 is a rear-projection set, and I would be replacing the bulb at $200 a pop roughly every 2-3 years (which would be around $3000 in bulb replacement over the same 32 years span).
I went down to my local Circuit City, which offered the most competitive price on the TH-50PX60U, at $3324.99, and also offered 36 month, 0% financing. When I saw the TH-50PX60U and the 50XBR1 side by side, I would say that the HD-picture quality of the Sony was actually marginally better than that of the TH-50PX60U, but I repeat, only MARGINALLY. And when I had the CC salesman show me a non-HD feed, not only was the TH-50PX60U's picture better, but (and I would recommend you consider this when you purchase a wide-screen television) the options for stretching the picture to fill the screen caused less distortion of the image. The XBR did have Picture-in-picture, which is something I was surprised to find lacking in the Panasonic, but it basically came down to that being a luxury I could do without, when weighed against the cost of replacing a lamp.
The design of the TH-50PX60U is very intelligent, as Panasonic hides the speakers underneath the screen, rather than on the sides, making for an overall width that is less than that of many similalrly sized sets. Given that most people who choose to spend $3000+on a TV likely have home-theaters, the relative loss in dynamic stereo sound is really a negligible consideration. That said, the sound quality is actually quite good, given the size and placement of the speakers. If you don't have a home theater set-up, you may want to consider a set with speakers mounted on the sides, but given the relatively low cost of a home theater-in-a-box of moderate quality, I expect it's a non-issue for the vast majority of consumers.
Set-up of the television is easy, and the matching pedastal adds to the sleek look of the set, rather than dominating the set-up (I didn't wall-mount it, though that is possible). The other major positive of this set is its vast array of inputs. Compared to the other 50-inch plasmas that I saw at Circuit City (LG, Zenith, Hitachi, and Samsung) the TH-50PX60U had far more inputs (2 HDMI, 2 component, 3 S-Video/Composite). There is also, though this is becoming much more common, a digital audio output, meaning that the digital channels the built-in tuner does find will be output to your home theater in digital sound, including 5.1 sound for the High-Def programs which broadcast in that format. The interface on the menu screen is a little tricky at first, but once you get used to the computer-like format, it becomes convenient and easy to add a channel to your favorites list, label a video input, or input the channel name to be displayed when you tune to a new channel (presets for ABC, CBS, ESPN and other common channels are included).
The extended warranty that I purchased also includes one incidence of burn-in repair, which may be something to ask for as there are still concerns about burn-in with the plasma TVs, though great strides have been made. I would definitly ask if your extended warranty will cover this, as the manufacturers' will not.
Lastly, the contrast ratio is excellent, and the Standard Definition channels really do look excellent, considering their size. One small concern that I have is that the digital audio output socket seems loose on my set. Currently, it is working and I have digital sound transmitted to my receiver, but I am keeping an eye on it. I haven't yet gone through the 200 hour break-in period, so I can't really comment on gaming yet, but I will update as necessary. Overall, an excellent choice for those in the market for a big-screen TV.Updated
I've now gotten through the break-in period, and have tried out the gaming aspects on this set. First of all, there have been no issues with after-image or burn-in, whatsoever. I think as long as you're sensible as far as keeping brightness levels fairly low, you should be fine. I played about 4 solid hours of Madden last Saturday with no discernible after-image effect. Admittedly, a first-person shooter, with health meters or maps in a fixed on-screen position would be a better test. I have played a 3rd person shooter on this set, with a fixed health meter for an hour and a half, and again, there was no issue of after-image. Obviously, if you pause the game, switch the set off, but I think it you're reasonable, you can safely game on this set to your heart's content. Incidentally, as I was researching TVs and considering DLPs, I continually read about a lag issue with gaming, where you would click a button and there would be a noticable delay before the corresponding action took place on-screen. I read all sorts of theories, one of which was that it was a result of the conversion from 480 to 720 or 1080, which one could worry might affect a plasma, as well, as all images are converted to display at the plasmas 768 resolution. Again, I have seen no hint of this. The kick meter on Madden works perfectly, with no delay whatsoever, which I think would be a very good indicator.
Lastly, any gamers who are in the market for a big-screen TV, I cannot recommend this model enough. The image quality is amazing, and with the Xbox360 out already and the PS3 on its way in November, I can only imagine it will get better. I don't have the 360 yet, but I am using the Monster HD cables with my Xbox and the image is excellent. I'm excited to try the HDMI inputs, which I haven't been able to, yet. Apparently, the higher-priced PS3 model will offer HDMI outputs, and there are rumors that one is in the works for the 360. My apologies for the extraneous information in this comment, but I thought fellow gamers might be particularly interested.
- 12 replies to this review
-
I am a hardcore gamer, and thanks to this and other user reviews, settled on this TV. I'm still in the break-in period, but I played a couple of minutes of the new GRAW 2 demo, Gran Turismo HD demo and Shadow of the Colossus the first night I got it. Incredible, it's hard to describe how good these games look on this TV, even with the contrast set very low during the break-in period.
A lot of HDTV reviews focus exclusively on viewing movies. What's nice about this review is it gives a great perspective for gamers. If you want to play one game all the time, this TV is probably not for you. However, if you like to play lots of different games for a couple of hours at a time, and watch a mix movies and TV, I haven't read a user review with anything but praise for this set. -
Hello. Just read your review and i thought it was excellent.Just got mine today and I'm curious on how you set up your pana as far as brightness,contrast,color....etc is concerned.Appreciate any help you can pass along.
Thanks
Pat -
I'm still researching big screens therefore I'm learning something new all the time. I noticed that this TV doesn't have an HD-TUNER included and that it recieves it's HD quality via satellite or cable box. Does this affect the quality of a DVD?
-
I am looking seriously at buying one of these two, but the 60U is $2800 at Costco, $2900 at Best Buy and the 600U is normapp $3995, on sale for $3795 this week only. What are the diferences and is it worth $1000 more than the 60U? I mainly watch HD TV, some sports and some movies, no games.
-
Appreciate your review very much. I've been researching large flat-screen HDTVs for quite some time and had read a number of reviews on this model but hadn't noticed the lack of PIP as a shortcoming. That is important to me but might not keep me from picking this model. I'm also seriously considering the Samsung HP-S5053, which is well rated also, and the much more expensive Pioneer Elite Pro 1130HD. Now I'll re-check whether or not they have the PIP function. Thanks for the update also.
-
I'm getting the surge protector since it makes sense and all.
What about the cables? do I need to buy cables and if so what kind we I need. We have DirecTV and DVD player. What does the TV come with?
Thank you -
Thank you for the detailed review. It was very helpful. I'm getting the surge protector since it makes sense and all.
What about the cables? do I need to buy cables and if so what kind we I need. We have DirecTV and DVD player. What does the TV come with?
Thank you -
I too am considering the Sony SBXR. I plan to use it primarily for watching DVD's. The 50 in Panasonic is about the same price as the 60 in Sony. However, I am concerned that the 60 in is too big for watching action movies from about 12 feet away.
For watching DVD's which do you think is better TV? The Sony or the Panasonic?
Do you think the 60 in is too big for watching action movies from 12 feet?
Again, great review. -
Dear jcress96,
It was great to read your review about the Panasonic TH-50PX60U.
I am burned (literally) with my first plasma TV (VIZIO 42") that I bought a little less then a year ago at Costco. It was reasonable priced and I thought it had everything I wanted from a plasma TV?. Except the burning in images that I have now (not only from playing Halo, also from watching normal TV an DVD?s. It is horrible and I want something else, the after sales from Vizio are so bad that I do not even want to discuss that here?
The only thing I will say is VIZIO?do NOT buy it!!! A complete waste of your money unless you like to watch ghost imaging on your expensive TV!!
Anyway, after reading a lot of reviews about the Panasonic TH-50PX60U, yours really stands out especially because of your update and I am curious if you still feel the same about your purchase?
Thanks for putting so much time and effort to help people like me out in making a choice in this difficult world of plasma and lcd.
Best regards
Ron -
Thanks for your detailed review. I'm getting this unit and your comments helped alot.
Two questions: 1) Do you think the 'Monster 2500 Power Filter' is a necessary purchase or will a much cheaper surge protector be okay? 2)Did you get the extended warranty protection plan? -
thanks for the informative details like lack of PIP (CNET didn't list that info) which i want on my future plasma. i was hoping to get this for both movies and video games but the lack of PIP is somewhat disappointing. i might go to another model in this series that includes PIP. but thanks again for the review.
i look forward to your update on the gaming aspect of this unit. -
please do comment as i am a gamer myself and interested in this line of plasma...i want the 600 series tho w/the cablecard, pc input.
thanks.
Where to buy
Panasonic TH-50PX60U:
$1,899.95
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Amazon.com Marketplace
|
$1,899.95 | Yes |
|
