Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic 50" Digital Plasma HDTV - TH50PX600U

This is the best TV on the market! Consumer Reports ranks it number one again this year (500U last year). Please turn the settings down out of the box though. Panasonic puts the TV in the horrid "Vivid" mode which makes you feel like you got ripped off, but once you turn down the settings the TV couldn't look any better. The sound quality is excellent for non-auxillary sound. CableCard, PIP, VGA input, better sound and much nicer bezel than the 60U were the reasons I chose this one over the 60U.

This is my first plasma TV and I love it. We bought this to put the icing on the cake after having remodeled our complete house. The TV sounds great, and looks great. HDTV is stunning! I am very pleased with my purchase and would recommend this TV to anyone.

First off as a background, I view HD programs on this TV from a FIOS subscription. I also watch blu-ray movies and play games using PS3.

It has only been 10 months and the price of this TV (TH-50PX600U) has dropped to more than half. I purchased mine from BB for $3,200++ on September last year with 36 months, 0% financing . Back then, this was Panasonic's top of the line for their 50-inch models and it was available only at the Magnolia Home Theater section (BB had the 60U, which was $500 less). 1080p models available then were limited and the price was too steep. The price points between the 720p and 1080p made me decide to go for this TV.

The good thing with shopping around first and looking at the floor models before making a purchase is that you can personally view the different manufacturer models' side by side so you can clearly discern the difference between them.

PROS:
- better picture clarity and vividness
- comparable to picture quality with the pioneer elite (arguably the best plasmas but the price difference is not justifiable to me).
- blacker blacks

CONS:
- Aesthetically, this TV was on the losing end because all the competition had the elegant pure black front side (panasonic has since then followed suit).
- does not have PIP feature when using HDMI
- PIP has only one mode (split sreen)
- when viewing pictures, you cannot resize or zoom in
- has different aspect ratio views but you cannot resize/stretch each setting (I have a toshiba HD TV and it has that feature)

Overall, I rate this TV 4 stars because of the cons stated above. Would I recommend to buy this 720p model now that there are 1080p? You have to consider a number of factors. The obvious reasons would be the price point and the screen size.

For a 50" screen is it worth getting a 1080p? I don't think so. The eye can only distinguish or resolve individual pixels at a certain TV viewing distance. Increasing the resolution at this distance will not make any difference unless the viewer goes closer or the TV is enlarged.

If you have DVD collections like myself, will there be a difference viewing them on a 720p or a 1080p display? DVDs have 480p resolution. No matter what they say about upscaling of 480p to either 720p or 1080p, it is still 480P and there is really no difference.

As regards the technology, there are no 1080p programs at the moment and most HD transmissions are either in 1080i or 720p. Both 1080p and 720p are capable of 1080i image conversions. Which is better in converting 1080i? Well, I only have 720p HD TVs so I cannot make a comparison. For 720p, definitely the 720p will be better as this is it's native resolution and unlike 1080p, no image scaling is required.

There is no question that 1080p will eventually be the choice as it is inevitable, but is it worth now to spend twice the cost of a 720p TV or roughly coughing up $1500 more? If you are getting a 50" TV with a limited budget, then NO. But if you can get the same financing that I got from BB, then GO FOR IT and get a 60" or a bigger TV.

Just got this 50" Panny on Father's Day. It was a terrific Father's Day gift to myself. I was torn between this 1080i plasma and the new 1080p, but the new models cost twice as much and there is no 1080p programming, unless you have a blue ray or HD dvd player. Some say go with 1080p to future proof your tv. However, since the major network just spent millions buying 720p/1080i cameras, I'm doubtful 1080p will appear soon. I'm in the process of ordering HD cable, so I can't attest to the quality of the HD picture yet. However, SD and dvd are great so HD should be too. It does reflect unwanted images in bright light, but this isn't a problem for me because I usually watch tv when it's dark. (That's why it gets 4 stars.) For the price, it's hard to go wrong with this tv.

I have hardly any criticisms of this set. The picture is brilliant and makes watching Planet Earth on Discovery HD a pleasure. If fact, I would not watch this show were it not for the 600U. It was very easy to set up and my Samsung DLP rear projection which I moved upstairs can't touch it. The 600U is a great TV...