*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

* 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.

I've now had my TH-50PHD5UY for a little over six 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 YPrPb (RGB with sync on green) connectors. 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.

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none

slim, very cool looking, light, easy to carry/mount, provides great picture with all signals

some motion blur when a lower end signal is depicting fast-moving images

I have the 5UY model. This thing is da bomb. Basically, just check out the reviews at plasmatvbuyingguide.com This is indeed the best picture you can get today. Satellite or cable looks as good or better then a CRT TV. (I'm comparing against WEGA/Trinitrons, etc...) A prog scan DVD signal is awesome. It's a perfect looking picture. But then, HDTV is even better! (I've tested the XBOX HDTV signal) A computer signal is also awesome. Basically it's like looking at a 50" LCD (but from further away) The bottom line is that you can't display the incoming signals significantly better in terms of color reproduction, brightness (you wouldn't WANT it any brighter! I actually turned the brightness down!), color saturation. OH, actually, there IS a bit of motion blur on lower end signals with fast moving objects (like when the camera pans fast to follow the path of a thrown football or kicked soccer ball). This is an artifact of plasmas that has been greatly reduced over the years, and can in theory still be reduced further (they have an algorithm that reduces pixelization, and does a great job of doing so, but in the process, and can result in motion blur. There are image processing algorithms that can remove jabbies but without producing any motoin blur) But when there are HDTV signal versions of such sporting events (which they have starting this year), this becomes moot. The 42" model is the basically the same TV and is a slightly better value. I'm giving this 3 stars for value because, let's face it, it's still relatively a luxury to spend this much on even a 50" TV.

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I saw first hand EVERY plasma model available, with a wide variety of signals. (At the SIGGRAPH computer graphics conference)

Great picture.

100 lbs. Heavy but in line with others. Expensive.

No blurring or streaking (slight issue during football games in full or zoom mode). Good Auto format detection. Good zoom feature. Great for bright, sun-filled rooms. Price is expensive so value for the $$ is questionable.

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Fujitsu 42" plasma