cbalano

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $7100.00 from plasmanext.com

Summary:
I've now had my TH-50PHD5UY for a little over eighteen months. It’s usually right in the beginning when you own something cool that you want to tell the world about it. That feeling eventually wears off or it breaks down and you get something else to brag about. Not in this case. When I opened up the box, I experienced a rare joyful feeling. Flawlessly clean and extremely carefully packaged, Panny’s flagship plasma awaited me to release him from his box. Due to my extensive experience with the effects of a Hilti hammer drill on concrete walls, I could safely ignore seller’s suggestion that a specialized contractor should be called in to mount the unit on the wall. I would certainly not recommend you do the same, unless you really know what you’re doing. In the end, $300 is nothing compared to the possibility… knock on wood. Next step was to test the baby. The most convenient tool to accomplish this was my computer. I set the resolution to 1360 x 768 (remember, the Panny is 1366 x 768) and connected it to the plasma. Little I did know that my biggest disappointment was about to come. Noticeable false contours around high contrast items, as well as severely blurred text were all I could witness. It was as if the plasma downconverted the image inside, then stretched it across the screen. This is when I called Panasonic to complain. In the process, I’ve learned that no plasma in this world provides true native rate support; an internal down scaling to 4:3 image ratio happens no matter what, save the component video block under certain conditions. After further experimenting, I found out that the internal scaler does a far better job when presented with a 720p or 1080i signal over component video. Obviously some specialized, highly accurate circuitry kicks in under these very specific circumstances. Surprisingly, a quite noticeable degradation in image quality occurs if you pass the very same signals through the RGBHV (RGB with H and V sync wires) or VGA15PIN inputs. In fact, setting computer resolution to 1280 x 720 at 60Hz (720p) over the VGA15PIN connector is the minimum requirement for having the text decently displayed. Despite these shortcomings, I still think as highly of the TH-50PHD5UY as the day I opened up the package and I would say it’s the single, shining beacon that makes my living room seem ageless despite the slew of new technology that is always just around the corner. However, if you happen to come across a plasma that provides native rate support – accepts digital connections at screen resolution and maps the pixels 1:1 – go for it. Make sure though the pixel count matches the 16:9 aspect ratio, unless you are comfortable with distorted pictures.

Strengths:
* very high quality display. My panel has ZERO dead pixels * very good HDTV support. 720p and 1080i signals over YPrPb are crisp and clear. * has no NTSC tuner, nor attached speakers * very nice, sleek looks * RGBHV support

Weaknesses:
* lacks native rate support, although resolution and pixel ratio makes it an ideal candidate * RGBHV is noticeably inferior to YPrPb, although they are the very same signals * dark scenes tend to lose detail. In fact, the more you boost the black through the 5 levels black expansion feature, the more dark scenes look just like black blobs. * newer models have 10 billion collors support, compared to 16 million on this one. * no DVI/HDMI board available for this model. You are stuck with component video. * very susceptible to burn-in, but I guess this goes for all plasmas out there.

Similar Products Used:
My first plasma TV ever.

Price Paid:  $6900.00 from DTV City

Summary:
In looking for an HDTV, I eliminated front and rear projection sets because of the amount of light present in room. Also eliminated CRTs because of the lack of screen size options. Purchased the Panasonic even though many reviews (of plasma TVs in general) note problems with pixilation during fast action scenes and the rendering of different shades of black. My fears were unfounded. Standard Def is great and the High Def picture is not just great, its wonderful. DVDs are also great. Use dish network 6000 receiver to get my programing.

Strengths:
Just a great picture.

Weaknesses:
Price. Also, no fault of Panasonic, but not enough HDTV programing.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $6499.00 from VisualApex.com

Summary:
Viewing HDTV programming via Cox Cable on PBS-HD, Discovery HD Theater, ABC, CBS and NBC prime-time HD programming is nothing short of AWESOME. The images are truly lifelike. The colors are incredible. This should be your primary reason for buying this unit. Regular cable and broadcast are not much better than can be seen on other TV sets. DVDs are of varying quality. During playback, some are pixelated at full screen, some are beautiful (even zoomed-in) approaching HD-quality. For instance, “Fellowship of the Ring” (a special set containing 2 discs for the movie) is spectacular. Cox Cable installed a Scientific Atlanta 3100 HD converter unit. It should only be used for HD programming. The five HD channels I receive (mentioned-above) actually override the aspect settings of the monitor. It is full screen, true 16:9 aspect, with most commercials auto-reducing to 4:3 aspect. So, you also have to have another regular digital cable tuner, such as a VCR tuner, to display all other TV programming. If you try to use the HD box, it will display non-HD channels only in 4:3 mode with side bars, which will eventually cause the dreaded burn-in. However, using the VCR tuner, the aspect controls for the plasma display become operable, and you can adjust to suit your taste. From what I’ve read from others, and for myself, I usually prefer the “just” mode, which spreads 4:3 programming to full screen (16:9). The better the quality of program signals you provide the plasma display, the better the quality of the images you will experience. Period. I hope my information helps you in your decision. Comments or questions? Contact me at holmer19@netscape.net

Strengths:
Incredible image capability.

Weaknesses:
Expensive, as all plasmas are. You might want to wait several months or more, until the prices drop, and HD programming becomes more widely available.

Similar Products Used:
None.