It's pretty undisputed that any football fan would love a 50" big-screen TV. My husband has been lusting for one for a few months now and trying to convince me to jump on board. I, on the other hand, have resisted his request to upgrade as our trusty 6 year old 32" traditional tube TV seemed just fine for my TV watching habits (which basically consists of cooking shows and talking heads). Yet when his parents generously gave us the money to purchase a new big-screen TV for Christmas, I caved in. After extensive research, we brought home the Panasonic Viera 50" Plasma TV (model TH-50PX80U) for a very reasonable $999 plus tax.
About the TVLet me say up front that I'm not well-versed in the technical aspects of TVs. I'm one of those TV viewers who turns on the TV and enjoys it for what it is. I'll do my best to cover what I can given my limited expertise.
Factors influencing our purchase of this plasma screen TVMy husband and I surfed a lot of websites (including CNet) to distinguish between LCD and plasma flat-screen TVs, to figure out what screen size we wanted, and which brands/models were highly rated.
Briefly, for others in the same boat, we chose the Panasonic plasma TV in the 50" size because:
- Plasma TVs are known for richer, deeper blacks and offer better viewing angles from the side (which we needed for a huge sectional couch that wraps around the room).
- Plasma TVs are cheaper than LCD
- 50" screen TV's optimum viewing distance is 9.5 feet, per the Panasonic website, so it is actually a great size for our family room and
- Panasonic is highly rated for its flat-screen TVs
Panasonic offers several models of its flat-screen plasma TVs in different screen sizes and screen resolution capabilities. We chose the 50" class screen (actual diagonal measurement is 49.9") and the basic 720P resolution. We decided to go with the basic 720P resolution because of our viewing habits. Currently, we subscribe to Dish Network's HDTV plan and rely on that almost exclusively for all our TV. We rarely watch DVDs, so we don't plan on investing in a Blu-ray player yet, which is one of the best ways to really maximize a 1080P TV. Thus, we saved ourselves $400 and went for the 720P model. Screen resolution is 1366x768.
Technical details?In terms of technical details, when I read that this model has "native contrast resolution of 15,000:1; Game Mode; an SD Memory Card Slot, VIERA Link, and three HDMI connections to insure the highest audio/video quality," it didn't really mean much to me. We don't use SD cards, so I doubt we'll use that slot and am not sure how many typical users plan to do so. Apparently, it's for users who want to run photo slideshows while they're not watching TV.
VIERA Link is an option that allows you to control other VIERA Link components (i.e., those with HDMI connections) with one remote. Our surround sound system is an older one (installed by the previous homeowner) without an HDMI connection and the receiver is 15+ years old, too, so we don't have any equipment with VIERA Link. Therefore, it's not an option we can use now.
We only use 1 HDMI connection (to connect to our Dish Network HDTV receiver) and red/white/yellow component cables for the receiver and our DVD player. I assume the other 2 HDMI connections could be for a Blu-ray player and a gaming console. In addition to the 3 HDMI input connections, there are 6 audio, 2 composite video, 2 S-video, 1 RF and 2 component video.
I noticed that the front of the TV has a flip-up cover that provides access to more ports (including the third HDMI port and the SD card reader). My husband uses these for his PS2 (yes, he hopes to upgrade that soon, too!). We haven't used the Game mode on the TV yet, but his PS2 games seems to appear great nonetheless.
Anyhow, back to the details I can talk about.
Measuring 31.1'' x 47.6'' x 3.7'' (that's without the included pedestal stand, h x w x d), this TV has a fairly slim profile (especially compared to a traditional tube TV). It weighs 82.7 pounds (with the stand) and was easy for the two of us to manuever and bring into the house. It can be mounted on a wall with a separately purchased wall mount, but we decided to use our existing stand as the only appropriate wall space would be above our fireplace, which is too high. Most experts advise that a TV be placed at eye-level for optimal viewing comfort.
The pedestal base comes packed separately. It was easy for the two of us to lift the TV and slip it onto the two poles of the base. Then my husband attached the four screws. That was it.
In terms of sound, we actually use the surround sound system the previous homeowner installed, so we don't rely on the built-in 20 watt two speaker system. Suffice to say, it sounds fine without surround sound but with a TV this large you might want to install a surround sound system. It took my husband about a minute to set up all the cables for the sound, DVD, and satellite receiver. He says that as long as you can read, you can figure this out so I'm taking his at his word that it's very easy to install.
Menu and RemoteNavigating the menu is quite straightforward, too. It's trilingual, English/Spanish/French for those who care. There's also a sleep timer, which is handy if you're the kind of person who likes to fall asleep to the TV. We don't use this as our TV is in the family room. Frankly, we don't know how to calibrate color or require closed captioning, so we rarely use the menu. One of the little details I enjoyed from the menu is the ability to name your inputs rather than cycling through the entire list of "Input 1," "Input 2," etc.. For example, I named our Input 2 "DVD Player" so it's easy to tell at a glance which input I want.
This TV doesn't offer Picture-in-Picture, but we have a two-room HD receiver from Dish Network so my husband tells me we could watch Picture-in-PIcture if we switched the receiver from Dual Mode (two different programs on two different TVs) to Single-Mode (which allows two different programs on the same TV, but both TVs show the same content).
In terms of the remote, it would likely be more useful if we had VIERA Link equipment. Since we don't, we only use the Panasonic remote to change inputs (e.g., DVD to satellite to PS2, etc.). Our Dish Network receiver remote has been programmed to control the TV (other than the inputs), so we rarely use the Panasonic remote.
AccessoriesAs I mentioned earlier, surround sound system makes the TV viewing experience even better, but that's a major "accessory" to purchase. In terms of smaller more reasonable accessories, there are two that we purchased.
My husband purchased a DVI to HDMI connector so he can hook his
MacBook Pro to the TV. This means we can watch YouTube videos or iTune store film clips (like my daughter's
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan cartoon show episodes) on the TV.
We also purchased a special HDMI cable to connect our Dish Network HDTV receiver with the TV, but I was told by the Dish Network technician that the regular component cables will work fine for HDTV, too. Nevertheless, we opted for HDMI cables. Note: we initially purchased the Monster cables recommended by the retailer, but then discovered on the CNet website that cheap cables work just as well.
DrawbacksNow, in terms of drawbacks, the biggest one is that Plasma TVs have a higher risk of burn-in, which means we need to be more aware of not pausing the live TV and leaving it on (like we used to do). Some experts say that burn-in is no longer permanent on these new generation Plasmas, but we're not taking any chances by leaving the TV on while paused for several hours. When we pause the TV now for a phone call or some other reason, we turn off the TV.
Still, potential buyers should know that Panasonic has some built-in anti-burn in features, like adjusting screen format (full screen, gray bars, zoom, etc.) and a "whitewash" feature to wash the screen to eliminate any lingering images. We haven't had to use this yet, but it's good to know it's there in case the ABC or CNN logo "burns in" on the screen.
Another less troubling feature is the glare on the screen. This model has Panasonic's new "anti-glare coating" which does help immensely. However, our TV is next to a large set of sliding glass doors so there is some glare on a bright sunny day despite the curtains. I'm thinking about getting black-out liners, but it's not severe enough to rush out today to do it.
Finally, there is a 1 year warranty on parts and labor, with 2 years for the glass panel.
About Our ExperienceFirst thing's first: you should spring for HDTV programming if you buy this TV. We pay $10 extra per month (plus a one-time $50 fee to upgrade our Dish Network DVR to an HDTV DVR and a 24 month commitment) to receive HDTV programming.
So let me just say that football fans watching games broadcast on HDTV signals WILL love this TV. You can see the pores on the coach's nose when the camera zooms in on him, individual blades of grass (when it's real turf), the perforations in the mesh football jerseys, and the players themselves seem to "pop" against the green field as they run plays. When I occasionally watched football on our old TV, I sometimes would lose sight of the football on long passes as it would fade into the background of the crowd. On this Panasonic, the ball is clearly defined and easy to follow. Sure, part of the enhanced viewing experience is the large 50" screen, but the HDTV clarity makes the ball appear to pop from the background as well.
My husband was watching a college basketball game on a non-HDTV channel recently and I was amazed at how blurry and faded the image quality was. Switching from HDTV back to standard TV is like taking your glasses off and seeing the tree in front of you turn into a blob of green. Thus, the biggest advantage of upgrading to this model is the ability to receive HDTV channels.
But let me also reach out to the non-sports viewers. I am surprised to see that the screen size and high-definition detail can make my food shows more enjoyable, too. For instance, I can see all the exquisite details on the cakes being decorated on the Food Channel's
Ace of Cakes. This new level of detail may spark a few too many late-night snacks, but I think the trade-off is worth it.
I also have begun to watch nature shows on the Discovery Channel, where you can see individual leaves on trees, contours of snowy landscapes (as opposed to flat white expanses), and gain a better appreciation for wide shots of natural scenery that pop off the screen! We saw several episodes of
Planet Earth on our old TV and recently re-watched the HDTV episodes and WOW--what a difference!
The one drawback to this enhanced viewing experience is that you can see the make-up on some of my talking head shows. That's a little too much detail but one I can live with.
Final Thoughts
Given its outstanding features and comparatively reasonable price, this Panasonic plasma TV is a "best buy" in my book. We have no regrets and are absolutely delighted with our purchase.
