-
"Stunning picture, great on board sound, plenty of connectivity. No regrets." on by mschneller
Pros: Fantastic HD image, crisp, clear, sharp and vibrant colors. Plenty of adjustments.
Cons: only 2 hdmi ports
Summary: I was leaning heavily towards 1080p LCD tvs primarily because I felt their images were so much sharper and crisper than the comparably priced 720p plasmas. Then I stumbled across the 1080p th-50pz77u and it was even priced lower than many of the LCDs I was looking at. So I had a hard look at it and finally purchased one.
I'm only giving it a 9 rating after reading the rating guidelines but for my money, it's pretty darn close to perfect.
I've had it for a few weeks now and it's connected to a Dish network HD DVR and an upconversion DVD player and I am simply amazed at the HD quality. The SD picture quality is also very good.
Now that I've been watching it a few weeks, I finally appreciate what the CNET editors mean when they continue to reiterate the importance of the black level. I think because of the awesome black level of this set, the color depth and brilliance completely blow away those of any LCD I looked at.
There are a ton of menu options to choose from in terms of picture settings and there are several presets. After fiddling with the settings a while, I generally come back to the presets and I think they are right on target with those.
It's mounted on the wall in our basement TV room so there is not a lot of external light but I can say even with the lights on, there is no noticeable glare so I'd say the anti-glare coating is doing its job very well.
Under cons, I point out it only has 2 hdmi ports. I think for the price and quality of this tv, that is a very, very minor point - but it was really the only downside/inconvenience I've encountered. I believe the picture quality is pretty much the same when I connect with the component ports but the on board sound is a little better when going through the HDMI. That's not much of a drawback because I'm running the sound into an external receiver anyway - so bottom line is, I can still connect 4 hd devices, 2 hdmi and 2 component - and that's plenty for me.
Love this tv, extremely glad I went plasma over lcd and Panasonic has great dependability/repair ratings from consumer reports. I spent a little more than I planned on but I am now glad I did.
I highly recommend this model. Think it would be very hard to beat at any price level. -
"Excellent Television, Great Quality, Good Value for your money !" on by JohnReview4u
Pros: Surperb Black levels, Anti-Glare, Fast Response, 1080p
Cons: 2x HDMI, No PC input ... Wasn't an issue with me though.
Summary: At first I was thinking about an LCD, but doing more in depth research came across this beautiful unit. Priced close to or under what I was looking at so with comparable or better features than what I had seen to date, I went out and purchased one.
I have this unit now connected to a HD cable network, HDMI to a Panasonic DMP-BD30, a older Panasonic VHS/DVD recorder and a Wii Gaming console.
The noticable points I liked about this T.V. are ....
1. The connectivity, there is quite a lot
HDMI x2, Composite x2, RCA x3 one on the flip out side panel with 1x SD card slot as well. My pictures straight from the camera on the SD card look amazingly sharp. The unit also has Digital sound out.
2. The Picture quality ! The blacks are black, if you know what I mean, not grey, and this unit has no sharp viewing angle washout at all. The response time with action scenes is great, no noticable ghosting or delay at all. The color depth is brillant to say the least and this unit really needed no tweaking, right out of the box ! The Panasonic Bluray player does a exceptional job of upconverting my standard
DVD collection and matched with this unit, looks very nice. Although nothing can compare really to a pure 1080p signal going into this unit. My recommendation is definatley have at least one 1080i/p sorce to take full advantage to this TV.
3. The anti-glare coating. With out a doubt a really nice feature of this set. I have this unit in a brightly lit room ( during the day ) and the anti-glare coating does a great job of disfusing the reflected light.
Panasonic I think did a excellent job of balancing the glare reduction and at the same time being non intrusive of the picture quality.
The sound quality is as expected, these T.V.'s ( as most large panel displays ) are really meant to out source the sound. but all in all it still gives you sound ...
The remote and on screen menus are easy to navigate and matched with another Panasonic
unit ( BluRay etc .. ) through HDMI lets you use the "EzSync" feature, which is one remote to work all the separate units.
I would recommend a viewing distance of at least 8ft or more to really get the full HD experience, after all it is a 50 inch unit.
I have this unit placed in the center of a
home theater room with 1500 watts of surround power running 300 watts x2 to the subs alone, and have no vibration issues at all. The subs are less than 8ft away. One thing I would recommend though is not to go cheap on the audio,HDMI, or composite cables ( electrical noise could be an issue ) as well, make sure you have electrical surge/spike protection for this unit.
I am absolutly satified and happy about buying this unit. For the money and it's price range, it is probably the best Plasma
you can get. I did a lot of research before
investing in this one and I belive it paid off nicely.
I hope this review helps soildify your choice, you will not be dissapointed at all. -
"Nice features and great value. Don't have Hi Def subscription yet, so can't give full review" on by zinay
Pros: Great slow or normal action image
Cons: Some blur when watching sports, i.e. football
Summary: The features, the color, the remote, the value for the money are great. My only concern is the slight ghosting/blur when viewing sports, same issue reported by last reviewer. I have standard Dish satelite connection now, will upgrade to HD in January. I can only hope this would resolve this issue. If the HD signal eliminates this blur then my rating would go up to 9 at least (may be 10). Did anyone experience this problem in HD viewing as well?? Please post or send me feedback. Thanks
Updated
I finally got my HD subscription from Dish Network and now I am in a better position to properly review this TV. Well, in a nutshell, it is fanstastic, the HD images are super clear with rich colors. I got to watch my first Football game in HD, the Pats x Chargers. All I can is wow, even my wife who cares less about football was impressed and watched part of the game!
Now when we watch our old 32 Inch Toshiba std def TV in the bedroom, which had great pictures before, seems defective! I would give this TV 10 for image and 9 overall for its features. It is a hell of a deal especially when buy it online, just use a reputable vendor like buydig.Updated
I finally got my HD subscription from Dish Network and now I am in a better position to properly review this TV. Well, in a nutshell, it is fanstastic, the HD images are super clear with rich colors. I got to watch my first Football game in HD, the Pats x Chargers. All I can is wow, even my wife who cares less about football was impressed and watched part of the game!
Now when we watch our old 32 Inch Toshiba std def TV in the bedroom, which had great pictures before, seems defective! I would give this TV 10 for image and 9 overall for its features. It is a hell of a deal especially when buy it online, just use a reputable vendor like buydig. -
"Great buy!" on by rickrob553
Pros: great low movement picture
Cons: only OK high movement picture
Summary: Great TV for the price. Digital cable/FiOS/Dish is a MUST! Whether it’s the screen or my cable provider high movement/action shows (sports etc.) tend to "blur". It's minimal but I notice it every time. Blue-ray looks great. Position screen at least 12 feet for viewing.
-
"alot of bang for the buck" on by loud9266
Pros: beautiful picture
Cons: could have more things to tweak in the picture menu
Summary: ive had it hung for 2 days now
and i dont miss my Sharp aquos one bit
i wish id saved my money and bought this beauty first.
i watched my lions get trounced by arizona yesterday and due to the awesome picture
i actually watched the whole thing.
the black levels are incredible even when you turn the brightness up.Updated
I originaly loved this tv .
shortly after 90 days it stoped working.
it blinks 10 times over and over.
best buy has been out to the house 3 times once with a part,and it still blinks 10 times... not sure if its best buy or panasonic im most upset with at this point. Ive been without a tv for over a month and still paying for it as well as dish.
note: that best buy does not go out of their way to be friendly once you've bought their warranty. Once they touch your tv panasonic wont help you till best buy closes the case. be warned my friends
best dosent mean best when best buy is involved. as far as my tv i can only pray it works in time for football season
Updated
shortly after 90 days it stoped working.
it blinks 10 times over and over.
best buy has been out to the house 3 times once with a part,and it still blinks 10 times... not sure if its best buy or panasonic im most upset with at this point. Ive been without a tv for over a month and still paying for it as well as dish.
note: that best buy does not go out of their way to be friendly once you've bought their warranty. Once they touch your tv panasonic wont help you till best buy closes the case. be warned my friends
best dosent mean best when best buy is involved. as far as my tv i can only pray it works in time for football seasonUpdated
this beauty that i thought was perfect is anything but.
its been broke since feb 8 its now march 22.
now taht best buty has attempted to fix it .panasonic wont touch it,
best buy has been here 3 times once with a part, 2 other time he looks at tv and says its blinking 10 times i need to order a part.
after many calls telling them that same thing,
im disgusted with best buy and panasonic wont step up to the plate.
good luck if you buy this!!!!
and dont depend on best buy's warrany it's useless.
Write a Review
Online Stores
| Store | Promotions | In Stock | Price | Total Cost | Initial Sort Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | No | Yes | Tax: TBD Ship: TBD | $2,799.99 Shop Now | |
| See all prices | |||||
Compare to other flat-panel tvs
Compare Selected
