Panasonic Viera TH-50PX80U 50" Plasma TV

Great TV!!

Posted 1 year ago - Ok, so after researching online about LCD's and Plasma's for god knows how many hours, my wife and I finally stepped into a Circuit City and spent a good 5 hours there. To be honest, our first trip was mighty confusing in terms of trying to make a buying decision, with rows and rows of TV's all around; it was hard to tell the difference. It was tough to concentrate on one screen, with them being so close by. We did take some notes on picture quality and dimensions (even with same screen size, different brands look different overall size, since, depending on the "frame" size, it gives them more of a "squarish" or "rectangularish" look, this makes some TV's look bigger than their same screen size counterparts (in case that makes a difference to you), pay attention to it. We had to decide on a criterion on which to buy our TV. We needed at least a 50 inch screen (large living room), and our budget was around $1500. That almost automatically excluded the LCD's. And since we also wanted a good brand (Panasonic, Samsung etc), it came down to a 50 inch Plasma. The 1080P version was a good $700-800 more than its younger sibling, the 720P. After reading the differences between the two and not being able to visually find much difference between them, we decided to go for the 720P version. Another reason for this is that most of the content today is still not in 1080P. Also, for TV's 50 inch or less, when viewed from 10-12 feet, it is hard to tell the difference, unless you genetically possess an eagle vision. After a couple of more trips to Circuit City/Best Buy, we narrowed our choice down to Panasonic and Samsung. The Samsung plasma was surprisingly brighter and almost on par with the LCD's. A closer observation of the settings revealed all of them were maxed out on vivid mode (sure way to reduce the life of the TV). When you go to a store make sure you play with the settings and crank it down from the "store settings". In consumer ratings the Panasonic Plasma was a notch higher than the Samsung and with the installation rebate that Panasonic was running, we narrowed down on our Panasonic 720P 50 inch Plasma HDTV. Check this page from time to time to see what specials Panasonic is running: www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/promotions Having reading about the burn-in and image retention issues, I procured a "burn-in" DVD. You can download it for free here: www.eaprogramming.com/... After getting our TV, the first 15 days I ran only the break in DVD on an average of 10-12 hours a day. After this "break-in" was over, we started watching any channel we wanted, including the ones with static logos. We must have so far logged over 500 hours on our TV in the past 3 months and (knock on wood) we have had no burn-in or image retention issues. So make sure you use the burn in DVD or just play regular DVD's (movies, sitcoms whatever), just make sure there are no static logos or bars for first 150 hours or so (Panasonic says first 100 hours, but I wanted to be extra cautious). Our TV is hooked up to a cable box (no HD programming subscription though), an upconverting DVD player and a VCR. Before moving to Cable, I had a satellite box (Dish Network, again no HD programming subscription), the picture quality between the two was more or less the same, the cable box aces it a bit on some channels. The Phillips upconverting DVD player was giving problems when I connected it using the RWY cable, but that issue soon got resolved when I hooked it up with a HDMI cable. You might observe bars on the top and bottom of the screen with some channels and most DVD's (widescreen mode ones, full screen mode ones shouldn't have this problem). Make sure when you have bars, you use the "Full" mode of the TV to stretch the image, in spite of that sometimes a thin bar might remain, I have watched TV for 3-4 hours at a stretch with those thin bars and fortunately had no issues. Initially during the burn-in period Panasonic advises us to run in "Standard" or "Cinema" mode, also all other settings should be calibrated 50 or less during burn-in. We fell in love with the "Cinema" mode and now we mostly watch in that mode. It is very pleasing and soothing to the eyes. One factor we considered during our purchase was the anti-glare property of this TV; our living room has large glass doors, even with blinds open and bright sun-light this TV delivers. There is hardly any glare. The colors on this Plasma are very deep especially the black, I couldn't find any LCD that comes close. Further more the 50PX80U offers a wide viewing angle; we can watch it from our dining area at an almost 50-55 degree angle, pretty clearly. Panasonic Concierge service is very helpful and answers most questions. I called 4-5 times and was happy with the help I got. All in all, a great TV, we love it and would highly recommend it!!

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Best 50" TV for a lower price

Posted 1 year ago - I have spent a lot of time on reading the reviews of different 50” TVs. In my opinion, this one is considered the best in terms of quality and price. I have gone to store and look at other 1080 model with this one side by side. You will never tell the difference. I have watched several DVDs and HD channels from off-air. The picture quality is just excellent, especially the color is better than any LCD TV with the same size. I will strongly recommend this one for who want to get a big screen TV. Go for it.

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Very Satisfied

Posted May 30, 2008 - I researched the junk out of TV before deciding on this. I did a side by side compare with the Pioneer Kuro and even asked the sales reps to switch the sources to ensure to take that out of the equation. All in all this was VERY comparable for a lot better price. Personally the 1080P was just something I could not justify the price for. I went from a standard tv to this so in my world this thing looks great and the 1080p version couldn't justify the extra cost to me. If you are looking for a great tv at a great price and do not need 1080p then you should consider giving this a very strong look. Happy hunting everyone!

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Great Plasma

Posted May 9, 2008 - If you need a 1080p plasma don't buy this, but if you want to save $500-$1000 or more and still have a great picture, this would be a good choice. The speakers are ok, not any worse than any other tv i've listened to, but best listened through a surround system. After all, it would be like wearing a tuxedo with a sweatshirt without surround. Standard def. varies some broadcasts are very good and others so-so. HD is wonderful and there was very little adjusting out of the box (though this is a personal choice). Also, this tv remits very little heat from the screen.

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Big screen, low price, Panasonic quality

Posted 1 year ago - This is a great set with a very large, very high-end picture for a great price. Panasonic is on their 11th generation of plasma panels, and it shows. Blacks are excellent, colors are good (I expect them to get better over the first several hundred hours), and in general the image is very deep and natural. It's hard to fault the quality of the picture on this set, which compares well with much more expensive TVs -- especially LCDs. More surprisingly, though, is that the new panel excels in areas where plasmas typically underperform: energy use, heat, noise, and weight. Compared to last year's model, which drew an average of 366 watts (as tested by Crutchfield), this one draws only 188 watts -- a reduction of almost 50%. Even better, the reduced power use means that this panel stays cooler than the 2007 model and is very quiet; its slight buzz is audible only from immediately behind the TV. The rated life of the panel has increased from 60,000 hours to 100,000, and the weight has been reduced 20%, from 100 pounds to about 80. To me, these improvements almost completely negate the traditional advantages of LCDs; the TH-50PX80U is truly a modern TV. The only serious limitation of this set is its relative inflexibility when it comes to PC support. It accepts only HDTV formats (1280x720, 1920x1080, etc.) on the HDMI inputs, and won't display a signal in its native resolution of 1366x768. That means no 1:1 pixel mapping, which might be a dealbreaker for anyone hoping to use it as a monitor. The TV also has no option to turn off overscan, which means you'll need a video card that can compensate if you want to see the very edges of the screen. Finally, there is a known hardware issue that can make it difficult to use a computer on either of the rear HDMI inputs with certain video cards. For more info on this, Google the "ten blinks" issue. Having said all that, for HTPC use, where pixel mapping is of limited value and overscan is not a big deal even if left uncorrected, the TH-50PX80U works well. If your video card causes problems, a $20 equalizer seems to fix the rear HDMI issues -- or you can always use the front port. Overall, the value of this TV is incredible -- you get a beautiful 50" panel from one of the most experienced and reliable manufacturers in the industry. It won't work well as a PC monitor, but for HTPC use and, of course, watching TV, DVD, Blu-Ray, video games, etc. it's hard to beat.

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Panasonic 50" TH-50PX80U. Best value on the market today!

Posted 1 year ago - Excellent value especially after recent MSRP drop to $1499 and many sale options lowering prices another 20% to up to 35% from that. After doing a lot of research I found that Pioneer offer the best blacks, highest quality and extra features but cost almost double. Samsung offer more features and slightly more accurate color/more user control but seemingly at the cost of long term reliability and support. Panasonic is the clear winner sitting between them! I also already owned a Panasonic 42” plasma for 1 year so know the technology well. They seemed to have addressed a lot of the concerns from the 2006/2007 models. Panasonic increased the 10,000:1 static contrast ratio up to 15,000:1. Blacks are blacker and don’t show as much of a light tint as their previous models (or most competitors’) show. Only the Pioneer Kuro can do better. LCD’s are much worse making a muddy near purple-charcoal-grey tint in dark areas. While contrast ratio and color rendition are benefits of plasma over LCD, plasma also has 2 disadvantages: Burn-in and image Retention. Both are real and can occur depending on your viewing habits and sources. Panasonic added new menu options to enable ‘pixel orbiting’. This slides the screen around by a few pixels imperceptibly while watching. This will NOT PREVENT burn-in, but it will reduce the sharp edges caused by burn in if you accidentially left a static image on a long time. It also lets you control the brightness of the side bars when watching an un-stretched 4:3 image. Image retention is just a temporary effect caused by differences in warmth of adjacent pixels based on previous images. This typically disappears quickly but the new panels have a mode to “wipe” the cells evenly across the screen should you cause significant image-retention and want it to go away faster. It sets the screen black and then wipes a few inch wide super-bright white column across the screen. This also is useful for detecting dead or stuck pixels as well. No, plasma’s aren’t bad technology. They just have these 2 drawbacks while others have their drawbacks (specifically: poor black levels and incorrect color rendition on LCD). The Panasonic does offer multiple preset modes for color saturation and brightness control. VIVID should never be used, it’s for store use to overdrive the panel to compete with others. It uses the most power and can cause screen burn much faster. There are multiple other modes (Game, Cinema, Normal) that can be used by default, or tweaked, or a custom mode that gives you closer to ‘correct’ levels. Unfortunately Panasonic’s don’t offer the ability to tweak the “gamma” curve (the relationship between the 3 RGB color components (red/green/blue) with respect to different brightness levels.) Other brands such as Samsung offer this and offer a better “default” level that isn’t as skewed towards green as Panasonic is. However, with a simple A/V setup DVD like Avia or Video Essentials, you can set the TV to custom mode and tweak the user settings and get a very close to ‘spec’ set. However to do it right, you need to find the service codes and enter the secret service menu. This is not for the tech-challenged, as it is possible to permanently mess up the set by doing so. But then you have the same controls available as other brands. A nice change is that the aspect ratio stays the same while changing between channels. Previous models reset to “FULL” mode. Digital station scan was a bit faster than before only taking a couple minutes. Sound quality is sufficient for TV watching like any tube-TV. For watching movies you’ll want a separate Dolby 5.1 system for significantly better sound of course. Remember that all TV’s are cranked to the maximum brightness/color settings in a store, so it’s common to see one look really bad and a competitor look really good. But be aware this is not how they should be left when brought home and all sets can be adjusted to give you a ‘real’ video quality, like that you’d see at the movie theatre, not on a 13” child’s cartoon watching TV. A common misconception is that plasma’s are power hogs. They are not--The maximum rated power only occurs with a full white screen at 100% brightness/saturation (~500 watts). A full black screen uses around 50 watts. Normal use is closer to 200 watts, comparable to a LCD. The 2008 panels use less average wattage than the 2007’s did. Picture quality is great, just as you’d expect from Panasonic and a plasma. This is “only” a 720p panel. Technically it’s a 768, because it has 1368x768 resolution. Any signal is always up-converted to 1080, then down-converted to 768 for display. It can display all resolutions, but just gets scaled to 768. If you sit farther than 8 feet away, this set is more than sufficient for you. No need to waste money on a 1080 as the human eye cannot discern any difference @ 8 feet @ 50"

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Excellent TV! The best Bang for the Buck!

Posted 1 year ago - This was my first Plasma TV purchase and I was amazed with the picture quality! The viewing angle of 160 degrees was a dramatic improvement over my older DPL. With 3D motion adaptive you do not have to worry about annoying burn in. The contrast ratio and resolution quality are both awesome for the price. I hooked my computer up to this monster and was blown away with the clarity. There are tons of hookups to plug in virtually any device your may want to view on this TV. End result why pay hundreds more for other TV's when you could have a very sturdy, inexpensive, versatile, name brand plasma with in incredible picture to enjoy for years to come.

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50 inch Panasonic Plasma TV TH-50PX80U

Posted May 27, 2008 - This TV is a newer version then the one reported on in Consumer Reports and it has out done our expectations. My wife doesn't need her glasses to be able to see the TV. The sound is good too. We are going to hook it up to a BOSE surround sound system. Oustanding TV.

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TH-50PX80U - 50" High-definition Plasma TV

Posted 1 year ago - I have not upgraded to HD - but finally got rid of my 14 year old monster. Standard definition is very clear on this set. Was going to by a LCD - but after reading more about this plasma and not finding any bad reviews, I could not pass up the $1099 from Sears. Glad I did - Would buy again in a heartbeat.

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Panasonic Viera TH-50PX80U 50

Posted 1 year ago - Just purchased through Sears believe it or not was cheaper than buying directly through Panasonic, don't know how long it will last but 1199.00 was a great price. I also agree with other reviews prior to my that the 720m vs 1080m is not worth the extra 800.00 dollars. The high deph picture is awesome, don't plan to upgrade my dvd so the 720m was good for me. The set up was very easy to put together 8 screws hold the base to the tv while that may not sound like alot it was very steady. The weight of the tv is also very manangable for husband and wife team. So for the price and the view a great buy I say happy TV viewing.

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Excellent TV

Posted May 31, 2008 - Excellent product, great price. I would recommend this to anyone. HD looks awesome on this and sound is good although it won't beat real surround sound.

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Nice TV - 50" Plasma at an affordable price

Posted May 25, 2008 - Been looking for sometime to replace a 14 year old big screen TV. Thought a 1080p LCD was the answer, but saw this one on sale, did some checking and a bit of research. For the money this 720p Plasma is the way to go. Good looking TV, easy set up, stand seems quite sturdy and stable, speakers seem fine for general TV watching, and picture is awsome. Can't see any obvious faults. Save yourself some cash and get yourself one. No regrets here.

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High Quality TV, Amazingly Reasonable Price

Posted May 2, 2008 - It boggles the mind why anyone would buy a non-Panasonic plasma. They've been making plasmas for years, and they keep getting better--clearly they know what they're doing. This model, which is considered their base 50" model, has an anti-glare screen which works remarkably well even in the most sun-lit room (which is where I'm using it). The picture needs to be tweaked slightly if you want the most ideal picture, but the picture is great out of the box. This model is a 720p model, which is inexplicably considered to be inferior. Not one single broadcast/cable system broadcasts in anything higher than 1080i, so why would you buy a 1080p model and pay almost double the price? Don't buy the hype--buy a 720p model and get some nice components to trick-out your TV. The downsides are few--only two component video inputs, substandard built-in speakers, and a less-than-picture-perfect stand. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this again.

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Great Value

Posted 1 year ago - This is the latest model of the 50" Panasonic 720p resolution plasmas. However, the speakers are a little weak and seem to be distorted. I would recommend hooking up this television to an A/V receiver and external speakers since the sound is noticeable better. On the other hand, the picture quality is great. For me, the 720p HDTV output is more than adequate since I solely use my television for HDTV signals. If you are a gamer or a movie enthusiast, it may be work the extra $600-$1000 difference in price. If you are someone who only watches HDTV, it is an excellent television especially for the price.

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Beware of Panasonic if using an Antenna ROTATOR.

Posted 1 year ago - When I called Panasonic, I was told that most people do not live between cities and have no need to change the direction of their antenna. I was also told that I should be satisfied since I CAN manually enter ANALOG channels, which are going away in Feb 2009.

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