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After setup, we compared the picture quality of the TH-58PX600U directly to a few other large-screen flat-panel TVs we had on hand: the Vizio GV47LF HDTV 47-inch LCD model; Panasonic's own TH-50PH9UK 50-inch plasma TV, and our reference Pioneer Pro-FHD1 50-inch plasma TV. We chose to watch the HD DVD version of V for Vendetta, played over a Toshiba HD-A1's HDMI output at 1080i resolution.
As usual the first observations had to do with the Panasonic's ability to deliver the darkness. In nighttime scenes, its black level performance was excellent; the black of its letterbox bars and other dark parts of the film, such as the dim hallway Guy Fox traverses in the intro, was almost imperceptibly lighter than the 50-inch Panasonic, a bit darker than the Pioneer, and noticeably darker than the Vizio. These dark blacks lent punch and impact to numerous scenes, such as when Evie (Natalie Portman) meets V for the first time in the alleyway. They also improved saturation in all scenes.
Like some previous Panasonic panels we've tested, the TH-58PX600U floated black. In very dark test patterns, we noticed that after a few seconds the black areas of the picture would actually get darker, obscuring shadow detail. It occurred only during patterns with a very low APL (average picture level), meaning they were almost completely black with no bright areas, and as soon as the image became brighter the shade of black corrected to its original level. As a result of this issue, the TH-58PX600U did fail the black-level retention Geek box test, but we're not docking it significantly otherwise. That's mainly because we couldn't replicate the issue with normal viewing material, even in V's numerous nighttime scenes.
We kept a keen eye out for any extra noise or false contouring but the TH-58PX600U did not evince either of these two problems to any major degree. We did see almost imperceptible contouring around a cop's flashlight during V's final showdown--contouring that did not appear on the Pioneer and was noticeably worse on both the Vizio and the 50-inch Panasonic--but that was it. Dark scenes were also cleaner on the TH-58PX600U than on any of the others aside from the Pioneer.
Color on the Panasonic TH-58PX600U was quite accurate, although again not quite up to the standards of our reference Pioneer. Thanks to excellent color decoding and relatively linear grayscale, the Panasonic's rendition of Evie's skin tone was very natural and healthy-looking, without too much red or paleness. The colors weren't quite as saturated as with the Pioneer, however, so items in V's house for example, like the bright red rug, the warm-brown piano, and the paintings in the background, appeared slightly less rich and lush than on the Pioneer--but the difference was subtle. The TH-58PX600U also had a relatively yellowish color of green, which made the shrubs outside Deitrich's house and the leaves on the ubiquitous "Scarlet Carson" roses, for example, appear slightly less natural.
We conducted our testing from a seating distance of about nine feet, where it was impossible to make out individual pixels on the big 58-inch screen. Not until we moved to about six feet from the screen did we see pixels, and we doubt most folks want to sit that close to such a big screen. Looking closely between the TH-58PX600U and the Pioneer (which was placed about seven feet from our seat), we couldn't discern any difference in detail--both looked very sharp with the excellent V HD DVD. As we mentioned above there might be some benefit if the TH-58PX600U had 1080p resolution, but you'd probably have to sit closer than nine feet from the screen to see it.
Although we didn't compare the TH-58PX600U directly to any similarly sized rear-projection HDTVs, it's worth noting the general advantages and disadvantages of plasma TVs compared with RPTVs. In terms of advantages, the Panasonic delivers better uniformity, both in brightness and color across the screen, and its image remains truer regardless of your viewing angle. On the flip side, its big pane of glass will reflect more ambient light, so if you have an incurably bright room you may want to go with a microdisplay at this size. Black levels vary per display, but compared with our measurements of the Mitsubishi WD-65831 and the Samsung HL-S5687W--which both delivered the best black levels among RPTVs we tested recently--the Panasonic delivered significantly deeper blacks.
Next we checked out the Panasonic's ability to deal with standard-definition sources, and it turned in a commendable performance according to the HQV test DVD. It smoothed out jagged edges in diagonal lines well; engaged 2:3 pull-down without a hitch; and delivered all of the detail of the disc. Its noise-reduction functions, labeled "Video NR" and "MPEG NR," each took part in squelching the snowy video noise on HQV's difficult shots of skies and flowers, and combined they really cleaned up the image well.
Unlike the step-down 60U series, the 600U Panasonics offer a PC input, so we put it through its paces. Compared with most flat-panel LCD HDTVs we've tested as monitors, the TH-58PX600U didn't perform all that well. First off, neither of the two computers we tried connecting were able to send the panel a signal equivalent to its native resolution (1,366x768) unless we used a third-party solution, namely PowerStrip. With the standard video drivers we were only able to achieve 1,280x768 resolution, which looked pretty soft with text and, according to DisplayMate, was not fully resolved by the Panasonic (that's to be expected when using a non-native resolution). The point is that, depending on your video card, you may have problems getting the most out of the TH-58PX600U's PC input.
| TEST | RESULT | SCORE |
| Before color temp (20/80) | 6965/6762K | Good |
| After color temp | 6425/6581K | Good |
| Before grayscale variation | +/- 281K | Good |
| After grayscale variation | +/- 97K | Good |
| Color of red (x/y) | 0.662/0.328 | Average |
| Color of green | 0.265/0.644 | Poor |
| Color of blue | 0.150/0.061 | Good |
| Overscan | 2.5 % | Good |
| Black-level retention | No stable pattern | Poor |
| 2:3 pull-down, 24fps | Y | Good |
| Defeatable edge enhancement | Y | Good |
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