Panasonic Viera TC-P50X3 50" Plasma TV

          After quite a bit of shopping around, comparison shopping both in-store and on-line, my husband and I recently decided to  purchase the Viera TCP 50x3 720 p plasma HDTV.  We based our decision on manufacturer reputation,  picture clarity and brightness, sound excellence, appearance of the television, and of course, value.

           We have always had excellent experiences with all of our previous Panasonic purchases.  This is the third Panasonic television we have purchased and  we are still enjoying the other two after several years of service in other parts of our home.  There were less expensive fifty-inch HD's available, but we had never heard of the brand, and could find few on-line reviews about them, so we decided to stick with a brand we knew.

 Picture Quality

           The picture clarity and brightness of this HD plasma model is superb.The number of pixels is 786.432 (1,024 (W)x768(H){3,072x768 dots}.  The picture is very sharp and the colors very true and clear.  I almost feel like I am in a theatre.

Audio         

    The sound quality matches in excellence.  It audio output is 20W {10W+10W} with (10% THD).

Appearance      

    The sleek black frame is 2" wide all around and with its matching pedestal its appearance is sharp and very state-of-the-art.  Should it get dirty, all it needs is a quick wipe with a soft cloth.

Value     

     We puchased this Viera plasma television at Best Buy on sale for $599.00. There were some 50 inch brands for significantly more and some for less, but this model seemed the perfect fit of quality and value that we were seeking.

Installation and Delivery

      The television went to an very large upstairs den that we are converting into an entertainment room. This will be especially nice for our visiting children and grandchildren.  It was going into a very large wall unit and anything smaller than a 50 " would be dwarfed.  The room is 26' by 20 ', thus the need for such a large screen.  Getting it home by ourselves was not an option, given its size and the need to get it up a very long, winding staircase.  Also, it needed to be hooked up to the cable box, a DVD player and even an old VCR (we have some old children's tapes that the grandkids will enjoy watching)
We paid the Geek Squad , supplied by Best Buy  $150 for delivery and set-up.  It went very smoothly, especially considering all of the cables and wires that had to be connected to the auxillary equipment.

Other Uses

     In addition to using it for watching cable tv along with network, we will be watching movies from our DVD and even our old VCR player.   My husband hopes to get an X-box to connect to this television at a later date. (perhaps this would make a great holiday surprise?)


 Warranty      

     Panasonic gives a one year warranty for parts and labor for this product, but it is in-store only.  We opted to take out an optional five year warranty, which covers parts and labor and provides at-home service.  With such a large television, there would have been no way we could have gotten it back to the store for service or replacement.  At $100, it seemed like the right decision for us.  The service is provided by Best Buy's Geek Squad, whom we have used in the past for installations and service, and they have always been excellent.

          I am looking forward to many years of enjoyment with this new beautiful plasma HD television.