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Panasonic TC-P50G10 Review
The Panasonic TC-P50G10
Many new models of HDTVs today are similar to the lower numbered models with just a few added touches. Some may have a new look. Others may have a new feature, while those with ground breaking technology usually come with a hefty price tag. The Panasonic TC-P50G10, though, comes with so many new features that make it stand out on its own. In addition, these new features come with a price tag that many people would find agreeable.
Design
The designers at Panasonic were able to reduce the overall size of the Panasonic TC-P50G10, creating a much more compact HDTV. This HDTV comes very close, in terms of size, to Panasonic’s 46″ TH46PZ800, making it more appealing to people who do not have the space for one of the other 50″ HDTVs.
The remote control is about the same as previous remote controls with the exception of a few added buttons, such as buttons to quickly access the Viera Link, the Viera Cast (a new feature from Panasonic), and the Viera Tool which gives direct access to the HDTV’s SD card functions, energy saving settings and other features. The system menu is the same as with previous models, so previous Panasonic users are sure to feel at ease.
Screen/Picture Clarity
The TC-P50G10 comes with the latest Neo PDP panel, which makes it capable of full motion resolution. This means that movies with plenty of high speed chases or fast moving objects do not become blurry. This HDTV is also THX certified, conforming to the 2008 display standard set by THX for home video. With such a certification, the Panasonic TC-P50G10 provides very vivid colors and picture quality especially when watching HD content.
Traditionally, with plasma HDTVs, your main concern would be the ambient light in the room which can ruin your viewing experience. But due to the Neo PDP panel, such worries are nonexistent as this HDTV is still able to display crisp images even in the brightest of rooms. Reflections on the screen are also taken care of by the improved anti-reflective filter which takes care of them while keeping the colors from the screen unaffected. The TC-P50G10 also has the ability to enhance the quality of standard definition content. Though it is not able to convert standard definition content into HD content, this HDTV makes viewing standard definition content more enjoyable by eliminating jagged edges and other visual distractions.
Features
Compared to LCD HDTVs, plasma HDTVs consume more power, but with the Neo PDP panel and preset energy saving settings of the TC-P50G10, power consumption has been greatly reduced. A new feature that comes with this HDTV is Panasonic’s Viera Cast. The Viera Cast enables the HDTV to connect to the internet and access pictures from Google’s Picasa to show off your pictures from your latest vacation. The Viera Cast also allows the HDTV to show videos straight from YouTube, which is a very useful feature especially since YouTube has started to offer Hollywood movies and the newest TV shows legally. The only downside to this feature is that only content from Picasa and YouTube can be accessed from the internet. This HDTV also comes with Panasonic’s tradmark feature, Viera Link, that allows you to synchronize all your HD equipment with just a touch of a button.
The Panasonic TC-P50G10 comes with two HDMI inputs and two component video inputs, along with s-video and component inputs. It also has an ethernet connection for the Viera Cast feature. On the side of the HDTV are component inputs where a video camera can be attached, a PC input where a computer can be connected to, and an SD card slot for viewing pictures straight from your digital camera’s SD card.
Indeed the TC-P50G10 is packed with new features and improved picture quality, allowing this HDTV to hold its own against other high end HDTVs. With such amazing features included, one would expect a high price tag for such a high performing HDTV, but Panasonic recently lowered its price, making it truly worth considering. So don’t settle for last year’s models by saving a few dollars. Invest just a bit more and you can get real value for your money with the Panasonic TC-P50G10.
<< Click HERE to Read The Latest Panasonic TC-P50G10 User Reviews >>
This TV is easy to start up, just plug in the various devices and the TV does the rest. It has a device connector which once you connect your devices it finds them. It has a great picture and it allows you to create a list of your favorite stations that you can retrive from the remote control, it is as if the manufactors were thinking of all the things a TV watcher would need to be comfortable and ready to experience full sound and picture. This TV has so many feature that are designed just for the watches taste. I like this TV a lot and will buy another soon.
By far the best TV for the money! Beyond awesome picture. Blacks are so black and the colors are perfect. There is no reason to buy any other set. LCD’s with LED backlight are the only ones even close and they cost several thousand more. The Vieracast works so easy. Just plug in a cat5 from your network and your all set. One touch of the remote and you have weather, Stocks, Youtube and more. If you buy anything else just remember you bought the wrong TV. THIS IS THE ONE YOU WANT.
I received the 50 inch G10 about a weak ago. Setup was a simple procedure and I have been able to view the tv in a variety of lighting situations and video source formats. The set is in a brightly lit room (ambient) and I have utilized the THX setting as well as the custom settings outlined in CNET. I do get some glare but it is from a bay window directly opposite the tv and is resolved by shutting the curtains. The picture is bright enough (I use the custom setting during the day) and the noise complaints I have read on other posts is non-existent. In fact, the Comcast cable box is far louder. Heat build up is not an issue either. Speakers? I have been pleasantly surprised. There have been a couple of times where I had to look and see if the surround system was on (amp was off). Picture in HD, blue-ray is jaw dropping. My wife and I both comment on the quality of both the detail and color. This TV replaced a 7 year old Sony HD set (34″ XBR) that failed and I am stunned how much the quality has improved and the costs have dropped in the intervening years
I have had the TC-P50G10 in the house for a few days now. My wife and I are thoroughly disappointed.
I have been buying Panasonic TVs for many years, all the way back to the pana-black square CRT days. They have always been my favorite. I have a Panasonic plasma in another room of the house which is a few years old and have been very pleased with it. I was very confident when I purchased the TC-P50G10 from amazon based on the rave reviews from all the blogs (cnet, HDGURU, etc..). Everyone seems to love it. However, this 1080p plasma tends to be blurry, fuzzy or hazy. There is a dullness to the picture as opposed to the crystal clear dynamism that I expect from a top notch 1080p plasma. I notice it most when watching sports. When there are graphics on the screen, such as on Fox during the World Series when they display the box with a batters statistics, its blurry and muted. The text is fuzzy. Actually, any text displayed on the set is fuzzy. My wife noticed it first and I didn’t want to accept it, but she is right. We have difficulty focusing on the thing. And don’t tell me its the picture settings. I have tried every combination of THX, Custom, Standard… while moving the other settings all over the place. Same thing, dull and muted. We thought that perhaps ours was defective, but we went to BB today and as we walked up to the same model TC-P50G10 on display, we saw it right away. When sitting next to the other flat panels, the Panasonic plasmas from the 2009 line-up all have a grayish, muted effect to them. Oh, and the color is a bit off too. The green isn’t right. I could deal with the color issue on its own, but this sucker is headed back to amazon. Don’t believe the hype. I see the potential for greatness, but the 2009 lineup of Panasonic plasmas are a resounding dud.
Ever tried to watch someone else play a game off angle on an LCD or RPTV?
Every tried to watch a film in the same condition?
Who owns the sweet spot in your house?
Sitting Dead Center and face on with an LCD and an RPTV is the only way to actually get to watch them properly–muchless being part of a co-op, turn-taking or just enjoying watching someone else play a game.
This is like the issue with stereo. There’s one good place to sit. Directly between the speakers.
Plasma HDTV’s have none of that and the cost to actually use one has dropped to darned close to a normal LCD–and way below a big Tube TV.
I’m very happy with my Panny.
You will be too.
This is a fantastic set. No doubt about it. Here are some thoughts for those looking into this TV.
- This plasma is not going to work well in a brightly lit room or one with a lot of sun light.
- It has zero input lag, so it will work well with games like the XBox 360 or PS3.
- Standard Def TV it upconverted well.
- Blue Ray movies? Simply awesome!
- The speakers are OK, nothing great. But then again, most people (like me) will hook this puppy up to an AV receiver anyway.
- Image quality is awesome!
- This TV is very fast at processing images. I have not seen any evidence of dropped pixels or other image quality issues with the XBox or Blue Ray. Its just smooth and will look better then they do in the store.
- No image retention issues at all.
- Delivery was handled quite well.
Just sit back, relax and enjoy!
Replaced a Sony Projection which was a better quality projection but a complete lemon (the optical block was replaced once and then died) this one cost me about half. I am very impressed and although the picture colors are not as bright as the Sony, it is good. I like the modes for Game, DVD, TV etc. I also appreciate the optical audio output, although it would have been nice to control the volume output from the TV (this messes up my remote settings).
I’ve had this TV for 3 months now and couldnt be happier. I was originally choosing between the equivalent-sized Samsung touch-of-color LCD TV for ~$1400 and a Sony 50″ LCD for ~ $1900.
Normally I buy all Sony home entertainment components but this time I strayed and went with the Panasonic Plasma. I had read countless reviews and talked to a lot of friends about the plasma/LCD “dilemma”. What I’ve seen, in general, is that anyone who has bought an LCD will likely tell you to buy LCD. It costs more, but it is undoubtedly a great TV with great picture for a reputable brand. However, the more I read the more it seemed like that all the “cons” of LCD TV (blurriness when watching fast-moving action like sports) has been corrected for the most part and likewise, the “cons” of plasma (burn-in) has been corrected. Based on what I read it seems like for you to ever have to worry about burn-in you’d have to watch such an ungodly amount of TV and (likely be pausing on action) that you have more to worry about than your TV burning and should be more concerned that you’re watching so much TV. I look at this TV as a maybe 10 year investment and dont think burn-in will be a problem…can I say that for certain? No, but so far it is magnificent and the VALUE at this price is unparalled. Make no mistake, this is a great deal and a quality brand…this coming from a former Sony enthusiast.
My only gripe is that I wish the Viera-cast had Netflix integrated in like many other manufacturers have done. That aside, it’s a gorgeous TV and delivers on everything it claims to.
The TV is awesome with lots of adjustable features including picture, sound, etc. It is everything I had hoped for.
This unit weighs roughly 75 pounds, and it comes unattached to its base. Installing it requires two strong men who know what they are doing even when it is to be placed on a table or TV stand-the TV must be lifted onto the base and then screwed to it. Hanging it on a wall would probably require three men.
The Panasonic tech people demonstrated no interest in helping me connect this device to another product called TV Ears which broadcasts to a set of headphones. TV Ears requires an “audio out” socket which the Panasonic lacks. I tried all of the audio sockets on the Panasonic, and none worked.
The picture quality is excellent although initially our Charter Cable installer attached the Panasonic to the set top box with RCA cables. The result is what appears to be a 720p image. This unit (and undoubtedly all 1080p sets) requires an HDMI cable. This information is provided in passing with no particular emphasis in the poorly written Panasonic manual.
Overall, getting this unit to work with the other components in our system has taken weeks of effort, roughly a dozen e-mails, and multiple trips to local stores. If I knew when I bought it how irritating and expensive the process would be, I would have waited for my ordinary television to wear out.
If your worried about LCD or Plasma, stop. Either way you get a good picture on both styles of TV. Thanks to all the negative advertising by the competition (Short monitor life and screen burn in) Plasmas have a lower price, and thats good for you. From what I have read online the negatives of owning a plasma have been remedied through technology. Newer plasmas have twice the screen life and built in anti burn in screen savers for inactive TV’s that are left on. I have no worries on my purchase of the Panasonic G10 50″. Great picture at about a $700 savings to a comparable LCD.
Great TV except for the sound quality. Too much buzz in bass and high tones.
OK at lower levels. Bad as volume is increased.
Finally, after a lot of reviews and investigation I decided to purchase this TV. I had been investigating some of the LED models especially the back lit ones from LG and Toshiba. The LG 47LH90 was on sale from Sears at a decent price along with its home theater but somehow it got sold out pretty quickly. Hearing that the LED tv’s match the quality of plasma with lower power consumption I got attracted to them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the backlit LED’s at a decent price and hence had to fall back to a plasma. Earlier this year I had read raving reviews of Panasonic 50PZ85U and saw that at local Costco for $1299 but it got sold before they discounted the price further. Anyway, the 50PG10 is latest version of the same model and had similar reviews from hometheatermag so I looked at that. After a lot of research, I finally pulled the trigger when Amazon offered very sweet deal during the black friday week. The TV arrived yesterday and I hooked it up with a local antenna (we dont have cable) and a PS3 that also arrived yesterday. I was worried about the brightness of the TV – if it would be good enough as the reviews in general complained about it. Fortunately, I had no issues with the brightness and it was pretty decent for the ambient lighting I had at my place. I tried netflix streaming (Pan’s Labyrinth) through PS3 and found that the quality was amazing – later realized that netflix uses HD when the equipment supports HD. Next I tried my favorite Gladiator DVD and Resident Evil (2nd part). Gladiator has very rich colors and the first battle scene gives a pretty good idea about the quality of the tv. Again, I was pleased with what I saw in the THX mode. The Vivid mode had better brightness but caused to wash out certain areas. Next, I reviewed the fight in the church scene from Resident Evil and capability of the tv amazed me in terms of handling the contrast. Most of the other tv’s never could handle the contrast of this scene very well.
In all, I am very impressed with this TV so far. It also seems that PS3 has very good upconversion for DVD’s. I will post more after review some of my favorite movies that would test this unit. In particular, here are the movies that I am going to review:
Spiderwick Chronicles
Narnia
Spiderman 3
Beowulf
Underworld Evolution
Golden Compass
Ice Age 2
Cars
This is our first ever hi-def TV, and at the same time we bought it, we also bought a Blu-Ray player.
Neither my wife or I are “extreme” users of this kind of equipment and we really haven’t explored all the technical aspects of this thing. But frankly how our computer looks over it or what kind of lighting and color adjustments it has wasn’t our primary purpuse in buying it to begin with. We bought it to watch TV and DVD’s on. No doubt we’ll be exploring the breadth of capabilities in the future (in particular renting movies on line), but our primary purpose will always remain the same.
That said, we were blown away by this thing right out of the box! We’ve made no adjustments to it, and the picture is incredible. We’ve had it about a month now, and we’re still amazed at the clarity and richness of the picture. The contrast between the deep black and the light/color parts is something to behold. And the Blu-Ray….yes, the Blu-Ray. I’ve spent more money on Amazon on these little discs than I care to admit since buying this TV. And although we’ve never done “Guitar Hero” or anything like that, we’re really wondering what fun that would be on this thing.
As for the sound, we can’t address that since we have surround sound. And the reflection off the screen is not outta line, but a little more than I expected from the reviews. You may have to adjust where you’re sitting when you watch it if you have a bright light source nearby or else pull the blinds so there’s not much direct light on the screen. But all in all, this is a minor niggle and even in retrospect, wouldn’t have kept me from buying this very fine unit.
All in all, and incredible piece of equipment. Frankly, after having this in our living room, the whole family agrees that unless we absolutely MUST see a first run movie when it first comes out and can’t wait for it to get to the open market, then there’s absolutely no need to ever go to a theater. It’s just that good.
As with many others on here, I did extensive research for months on TV’s before finally deciding on one. (Why wouldn’t you? It’s a lot of money). I weighed the Pros and Cons of Plasma vs. LCD (LED is out of my price range so I didn’t really consider them.)
I narrowed it down to Samsung LCD or Panasonic Plasma. I finally decided that the so-called issues with plasmas have been addressed, possibly over hyped even and that contrary to popular opinion, plasma was the way to go.
The hardest part was deciding on which model. I decided on the G10 but the price didn’t come down enough so I ordered an S series 50″ from BB for $897. They couldn’t deliver to me so they offered me the G10 for $1040! I feel like that is an awesome deal and I’m glad I did because this TV is Amazing with a capital A. I’ve heard the S series is a great TV if VieraCast and THX mode isn’t that important to you. Personally I wouldn’t consider anything below an S series.
I expected a break in period and was told that the picture wouldn’t be that great at first. Well if it gets any better I will be stunned. Right out of the box it had me at hello. Sports are just ______ insert adjective because I’m running out. Planet Earth on discovery will have you spellbound.
Don’t fall for the Pig in a poke mentality that says you have to go look at it in the store. I never understood why it’s necessary to see it in the store first if everyone says that the stores don’t do them justice with inconsistent settings? Why waste your time talking to someone when you probably know more about it through research or reading reviews.
Better yet, just read this review and take my word for it. It will save you a lot of time. No need to inspect your “Pig in the poke,” this “Pig” is better than advertised.
Appearance is great. I do wish it didn’t have white at the bottom of the frame though. All black would have looked nicer.
Picture quality is great. Not as good as a Pioneer but still great. I would say after Pioneer, Panasonic is the next best plasma. And plasmas do have better picture quality than LCD’s. Motion blur and viewing angle – enough said.
TV has 3 HDMI inputs which is adequate. I wish it had 4 (Blu-Ray/Cable TV/Game/Camcorder). Menu is pretty easy to use. Set TV to THX mode for watching in medium to dark rooms. Set custom settings as suggested by the CNET review of this TV for watching in a bright room.
I have used the SD card to watch pictures (slideshow) and I have used viera cast to watch youtube videos straight to the TV. It was very easy to use. The bad thing is that it doesn’t make youtube videos full screen. Only a window about 1/3 of the TV screen. I suppose the quality would be horrible if made full screen. TV manual says AVCHD videos can be watched from SD card, but I haven’t gotten it to work with my AVCHD files from my Canon HF10 camcorder. Maybe it has to be from a Panasonic camcorder.
I would have given the Viera G10 5 starts but after 28 days of having the TV, a row of pixels died on the TV. I now need to get another one. But I figure its a fluke. I will get another Viera G10.
When you use a blu ray player you need a tv that can do 24 fps or 24p correctly , with a plasma you need to set the hertz to 96, this tv to my horror only offers a 24p in at 60 and 48hz. this was just a unbelievable shock that this is that way on such a expensive set. if you set it at 48hz the tv flickers , at 60hz the tv drops a frame and increase judder movements. this tv should have had this feature because even far less expensive tv’s have 24p in naturally. the picture is fantastic, it’s as good as a upper model but 96hz 24p in should be a given at this price. The tech said it was the v10 that does it, so basically , a feature that should be on any plasma over 1,500 isn’t on this one. This was just unfortunate and this tv had to go back. Which is a bad deal all around. and the specs on display should announce: “This tv cannot play at 96hz to deliever true blu 24p smooth motion playback.” I wish they had because this tv is great otherwise and I would have grabbed the upper model and saved everyone alot of heartbreak here. that being said panasonic plasmas have the best picture out there today. the pioneers are gone so they have the throne, but leaving that feature off the g10 which is a big seller was most shortsighted I think.
Once again, Amazon went beyond the call by pricing this at or below almost every competitor and shipping it so quickly that I received it before Christmas (even though I didn’t order it until Dec 17th). The picture and sound quality are outstanding and setup was effortless.
The shipper (Freight Systems) called me one day after placing the order to let me know they picked the item up from Amazon’s distribution center. I received two subsequent phone calls giving me a status. This is in addition to the website, which they also updated regularly. They scheduled delivery for the morning of Dec 24th and showed up right on time. The package was in excellent condition. The delivery driver opened the package and plugged it in to ensure it wasn’t damaged in transit. All of this for free standard shipping!
I’ve bought a lot of goods from Amazon over the past several years, and this latest purchase proves once again that you can’t go wrong ordering something from Amazon no matter what it is — a book, an appliance, or a high-end product like a plasma television.
I love the TV.It has a good picture,and easy to work.The only downside is the sound is not to good.If you turn the bass up it rattles,so u have to turn it down.If you have a home theater then you wont have any probelms.I guess all in all its a great tv.
So, I’ve never reviewed a television before. In all reality, this is my first product review for amazon.com – so you may want to take this with a grain of salt.
Getting that out of the way – I must say this TV is awesome. Let’s break down the categories to review:
Appearance: This is one slick looking motha’ fo fo. I’m impressed with the silver trim towards the bottom of the frame. As a living room centerpiece, it definitely looks great.
Ease of Use: The remote and operation are intuitive and easy. Navigation through the menu system becomes second nature in just a few minutes.
Integrity: Panasonic held up to what I was promised: A state-of-the-art plasma television that possess excellent aesthetic design and image quality.
Picture Quality: Excellent, excellent, excellent. Some tweaking may be required to get the optimal setting you like. The THX mode is a nice option.
Sound Quality: The only area I can find to really criticize the G10 is the speakers on the TV. Too much distortion and reverb for my liking.
Standard Def Quality: I mean, High-Def TV’s are built to show a high definition picture. So I’m not so sure this is a fair criteria to judge the TV. I think on a vast majority of high definition TV’s, standard definition material is going to look a bit pixelated and blocky.
Usability with Videogames: It’s very easy to connect and access any videogame console you want to the G10. Swapping between inputs with the remote is extremely easy as well.
I believe this is a tremendous television that possess an excellent picture, is very user-friendly, and will provide a long-term value for anyone who purchases it.
Our trusty 50″ Toshiba projection tv finally died on us after 12 years. This was a joy to watch and was great until the end. I started my search for a tv that would bring us as much joy. I compared LED tv’s with plasma and almost went with the LED because our son told us that would be the best tv. Well, I trusted my gut and ordered the plasma. Received a good price and some special offers with the purchase like TiVo and a credit with Amazon to use with the TiVo. The tv was delivered as promised and the delivery guys helped us set it up, even though they weren’t supposed to. I have had it set up for a month now and absolutly love the tv and the TiVo. This is a quality product and I would not hesitate to recomend it to anyone.
We love our new Panasonic TV. The picture quality is great. We haven’t used the onboard speakers, so we can’t say either way. It is very thin for a plasma, and produces very little heat. The glare isn’t bad either, far better than a standard tube TV. The TV has plenty of connections, although we are only using the HDMI and ethernet. The Vieracast is nice, but it’s a little slow, the Youtube searching is awkward, and sadly, there is no Netflix integration, unlike the Samsung TVs. However, the Amazon digital TV/movie streaming is very nice, better than DVD quality. After a few weeks, there were two stuck subpixels, but they are only visible if you put up a solid color image on the screen and don’t in any way detract from the viewing. Blu ray videos look amazing. Standard def TV is also very nice, although it is our Dish DVR that is upconverting to 1080i.
I purchased this set about a month ago, after looking at a LOT of online reviews. I wasn’t sure about Plasma-didn’t they “burn in,” have overly-saturated colors, and run hot? This purchase was intended to replace a Panasonic 30″ CRT HD set, which had a great picture, but at about 175Lbs, was almost impossible to move. Also, it required a bit of tweaking to get a good picture, and had only one HDMI connector, and no optical audio out. So, I checked out the latest info on Plasma-only to learn that my fears about the technology have been allayed. Burn-in, or the retention of the image after the picture switches, is offset automatically by the set, which subtly moves the static images so burn-in doesn’t occur. There is also a utility built in to the set which “cleans” the screen. The power consumption/heat output of the set is more than LCD, but that too is in the comparable realm. They power management is simply better and more efficient than in years past.
So, the reviews I read, and believe me, I read a LOT of them, all mentioned that Panasonic knows how to do Plasma right. The price was reasonable for the set-and the options it has are sufficient. 3 HDMI slots, multiple component in connectors, optical audio out-these were all things I wanted. Plus, the VieraCast, not something that to me was too important, is actually a nice thing-if nothing else, it allowed me to update the firmware of the set within minutes of setting it up.
The picture quality-it’s amazing! Better than pretty much anything else out there. I think the closest competitor is the upper-end Panasonic-but that’s a subtle difference. The colors are rich (buy the BluRay “Up” just to show it off!) and true, and the brightness is great-no compromises, even in a moderately-lit room. Playing video games is a breeze-I have a PS3 and Xbox360 set up on the system, both with slightly different settings. The Panny allows different settings for each of the inputs-very cool. So, the BluRay player can make the set default to the THX setting, TV can be slightly less/more vivid, games can go through the Game mode on the set-you get the idea. It works well.
Sound through the optical out is great-although I’ve heard that it does NOT do true Dolby surround through it-not a huge deal to me, as I use an optical audio switch device, which runs straight from the various components to the speakers. I cannot comment whether or not this is the case, but if you check the various reviews, it’s there.
So, all in all, I got a GREAT set with a fantastic picture at a reasonable price. We decided on the 50″ to future-proof a bit, as we are temporarily living in an apartment, and will likely buy a house in the next year or so. Even in a relatively smaller room, the picture is great-you don’t get the pixelation or smearing of some LCD sets.
I highly recommend the set-it’s a great deal, and is getting increasingly more difficult to source-I have friends in the UK who have been looking for one in-stock for a while without success. It doesn’t surprise me they’re going fast
After spending a few months researching LCD and Plasma TVs and checking prices on-line and in stores, I settled on the Panasonic VIERA G10 plasma set. I needed a set that delivered an excellent picture when viewed from wide angles due to the configuration of my family room. This set delivers ! Wow ! My family and I are thrilled with the picture and we’ve hooked it up to an existing Bose surround sound system so the viewing experience is tremendous. The downsides: the delivery person was very unhelpful, barely spending enough time to get the set out of the box and turn it on; the first set we ordered worked for only 3 days, then suddenly went dark with a slight burning silicon smell! Upon close examination we found a large dent in the back upper corner of the set (metal backing) which must have occurred before the set was boxed up since the packaging was undamaged. 5 days delay for a local tech to show up, then he could not fix the set because he did not have the right board that was blown. Upside: I called Amazon and they were great with no questions asked and a immediate replacement set was immediately sent to my house. When it arrived the again unhelpful delivery person (different guy) took away the first set and brought in the new one. It has been a month and this new TV is working great. We have a Panasonic Blu-Ray player that we also ordered from Amazon.com which is connected via HDMI and it delivers an incredible movie picture and sound ! The screen is awesome for sports – my kids have commented that they feel like they are right on the field. Superb set. Great price.
I did a lot of research before purchasing this TV and found that it was a very good purchase. The picture is very good for the price. My only two complaints are:
1. as with most TVs like this one, the border around the screen is shiny and reflects any light
2. I wish it had a couple more inputs, I ran out of RCA inputs (red, white, yellow cords) far to quickly.
After a lot of research, we decided on the 50 inch Panasonic G10. However, we made the mistake of buying this TV from Amazon. After a delivery that showed up nearly 2 hours late, was not unpacked as it was supposed to be, we discovered the screen was shattered. Amazon is now out of stock and we will have to take more time off work just to have the busted TV carted away. The most they could offer for all this trouble was 10% off a new TV bought in the next 30 days. Appalling customer service. We went and bought the TV from Best Buy and couldn’t be happier.
I spent months leaning back and forth between a plasma and an LCD. I have a living room that is somewhere between bright and dark and was worried that a plasma wouldn’t be bright enough. But this TV performs great. The anti-reflective coating works wonders as well. The sound is better than some I’ve heard but if you aren’t running surround sound you are wasting your money. Video games look great, Blu-rays look great, sports are amazing. There might be better TV’s on the market but you aren’t going to find them anywhere near this price range.
I was concerned with a few things when buying a big screen tv.
1. Do I have to change my cable service – no you don’t. I kept my basic cable and got a number of channels in 1080i and 720p. You just have to run the normal set up of letting the tv search for channels which took about 10- to 15 minutes or longer if I remember.
2. I hate the complexity of using some set ups with cable boxes and complex remotes etc. I ran the cable right into the tv and it’s so easy to use my wife has no problem at all even with the viera cast and renting movies etc.
I have a blu ray player and an older dvd and vcr combo hooked up. We record shows on the vcr and they’re watchable. We also have everything hooked up to a monster
home theatre surge protector which works great and even cleans up the signal.
3. was worried about standard definition tv and if it would be watchable – no problem the 50g does a great job with sd tv channels
4. I have a small room and wanted to use the sound on the tv – for us it works great. If we had a big room we may have considered a surround speaker system but the sound on this is decent.
5. what size tv to get. we sit 8-9 feet away and though a 50 might be too big – no way, if anything could have gone a bit larger. If you’re watching blu ray or HD tv then you could go up to 65 but with sd tv 50 is a good size for 8-9 feet away.
What I like about this set is the naturalness of the picture. It is crystal clear and looks and feels as though you are there. I never really thought of Panasonic for a TV but this may be the best on the market. No motion blur at all even with THX mode. I’ve seen so many lcd tv’s at friends and they pop with color and contrast but they just don’t look natural and after awhile are a bit hard to watch. They also still have problems with motion blur.
I find no need to have this set professionally calibrated as a few tweaks to suit your taste and the picture is as Panasonic describes – STUNNING! Don’t forget, it depends on the source of your video. If watching a SD tv stations then it’s ok. If watching a 1080i station it’s incredible, blu ray – unbelievable. If you press ‘info’
on the remote you can see the type of resolution you’re watching.
We’ve rented a number of movies with amazon and very easy. Sometimes the picture just stops which is a pain and you should expect that if renting over the internet. I wish they would get netflix on the viera cast.
The weather on viera cast is helpful and you can put 5 or 6 different locations in to see what’s happening at friends and family far away.
I have the bd60 blu ray player by panasonic and it is outstanding. Regular dvd look great and blu ray is just out of this world. clarity, detail, naturalness of picture is stunning.
We’ve had the set about 2 months and I wanted to wait to write a review. We did the break in period and kept the color, contrast, sharpness and brightness at around 20 to 30 and varied it a bit. you’re suppose to do this for about 200 hours of use.
I found the best time to buy a tv on amazon is about 2 to 3 months before thanksgiving for some reason.
I think the g series is outstanding in every way. I checked with consumer reports and they were helpful and stated which sets had good sound. Sound can very with different sizes in the same series. These sets were rated as very good.
Don’t hesitate to buy this tv – don’t know how much better the picture can get. We have no problem with brightness at all and the colors are just spot on. If the sun is shining directly on the screen it effects the picture, and we have to shut the curtain, but we don’t seem to have any problems with glare other than that. While watching some blu rays, you feel like you’re in the picture or actually there on scene. If you want to wait till the new models come out, keep you’re eye on panasonic and read the reviews in cnet and consumer reports. I’d be happy to answer any questions if I can – just put them in comments.
Couldn’t be happier
After months of studying every home theater magazine, article, internet posting, and retail store; I found that this was “The One.” I had been leaning towards plasma all along. For the money this was an absolute best buy. The color is perfect, flesh tones are right on and in actual home use it is plenty bright enough. The THX setting really needs no tweaking out of the box. If given the choice I would gladly buy it again.
I’ve been a Panasonic fan since my teenage years. In the last 40 years, I have purchased dozens of amazing electroic products with the Panasonic label. Amazingly, all are still functioning !! Maybe I’m just lucky, but one thing is for sure, I do read the instruction manual to get the most use of my new product.
My latest Panasonic purchase is the 50 inch G10 series.I must admit I almost defected to the Samsung LED series. It was nerve wracking. I read every review on C-NET and dozens of others. I went out to visually check all the competeing sets at Best Buy, PC richard, and several other stores. Remember, you can see the same TV in many settings in any particular store, and every setting will be different. For my eyes the G10 stood out from every concieveable angle. Crisp, bright, simply amazing!! All my friends who visit my house and watch my TV are shocked at how much better my plasma looks. There’s really nothing else to say. I couldn’t be more happy with my latest Panasonic purchase.
So I researched getting a 50in tv for months. After looking what seemed like forever I came across this one at a great price. Was delivered in great shape and I put it on the wall immeditely. Very easy to configure and the VieraCast features are cool. Watched a movie on the Amazon Video ON Demand and it was flawless.
Now to the other side.
Certain bass tones create a buzzing sound at all volumes.
Troubleshot quite a bit and tried to chat with support. DON’T BOTHER 5 different times over 10 days and they never answered.
Called support and waited for over 20 minutes 3 different times and finally hung up. Called support again waited over 30 minutes finally got someone…troubleshooting was pointless. Scheduled a tech to come out and they replaced the main board which contains all of the video and audio connections for the tv.
Did not resolve the problem. I went in and started messing with it again and found that if I turn off Bass Boost it resolves the problem immediately.
Moral of the story. Don’t put Bass Boost on a tv who’s speakers can’t handle it.
The TV is great! I love the picture. The color is wonderful; clear and crisp. The sound is pair with any other TV, nothing to brag about, but ok for watching TV. I personally went to a serious surround sound, but my personal opinion. The thing weights close to 80 pounds so make sure you get a GOOD mount or stand. Do NOT skimp on this part! I put mine on the wall out of the reach of small fingers and my mount called for 6 serious lag bolts into 2 different studs and is rated for up to a 65″ TV. Also, get somebody to help put it up…you don’t want to drop your new toy! I called my brother-in-law as he owed me a favor.
To really see this TV at its peak potential, grab yourself a Blu-Ray player and a new movie: Star Trek, a Discovery Channel special, or something else that is cutting edge with special effects! I can’t wait to see Avatar on my TV…
Solid recommendation. I have NO issues with this TV and it’s been on the wall for a month. I play video games on it for hours at a time, including COD:MW2, MAG, and Assassin’s Creed 2 without issues.
took it out of the box, put it in thx mode, done. gorgeous picture !!!!!
After doing much research and finally pulling the trigger and buying Panasonic’s V10 plasma model, I was shocked to recently find many widespread reputable reports that black levels on Panasonic 2008 and 2009 model plasmas may double or in some cases triple after approximately 1000 hours of use.
At this point I can only wish I had found this information before I made my purchase, so I’m passing it on to anyone else who may be considering any of these models.
My V10 picture is fantastic at the moment, but I can only wait in fear that I may have spent $2K dollars on something that will lose one of it’s best qualities after only months of normal use.
The issue is described and commented in detail here:
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Good Luck!!!!
Although this is my first HD TV I can only say that I am very pleased with the Panasonic Series TC-P50G10 I purchased from Amazon.com.
With the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics just ahead I wanted to have a new TV in place and I don’t believe
that for the dollar spent I could not have purchased a better one.
Jim
To start with, I don’t play video games and I have my sound running out to two Paradigm Atom speakers, so I rated those aspects of the TV as average as I don’t have any experience with them. It wouldn’t be fair for me to rate them a 5, nor would it be fair to for me to rate them a 1.
The standard-definition (SD) picture is as crisp as it can be blown up to 50″. Unless the SD picture is letter boxed there is some picture distortion when you watch the 4:3 SD image in 16:9 aspect ratio. This, however, is to be expected.
I have a Blu-Ray DVD player, and the picture on Blu-Ray movies is absolutely stunning. The TV is THX certified, and while I’m not certain what exactly that means, when you watch a Blu-Ray movie on the THX setting it displays the colors, resolution and brightness level in such a way that it looks like you are viewing the movie in a theater. The THX setting does such a good job of displaying the image that you can use the THX setting for regular TV viewing and not have to mess around with adjusting the brightness, sharpness, color, tint, etc. yourself.
As with most plasmas, the colors are true to life whether it be on the THX setting or on the ‘normal’ TV setting. It produces the deep blacks and bright whites that plasmas are known for and the nuance in color that allows plasmas to create a much more life-like picture than the super bright, and dare I say artificially bright, LCD TV’s.
All in all, this is a great TV with a fantastic picture. Don’t worry about sound quality, no TV, IMO, provides good sound as their speakers are too small. If you want good sound, buy a decent set of speakers or better yet a home theater system. As for price, I checked Best Buy and Wal-Mart, and for the size, the 600 MHZ subfield drive, being THX certified, and being a Panasonic (great reputation), no other TV comes close. This is a great deal on a great TV. Period. Don’t take my word for it, do some ‘Googling’ of this TV (TC-P50G10)and read the reviews. This is one of the top rated HD TV’s of 2009.
As many of you know the 2009 panny’s will not retain black levels after less than 1000 hours. So if you want a superb picture for few months than by all means, go ahead and blow yor money, but after that time frame you will in a state of superb dissatisfaction. And by the way, Panny has decided to not offer a fix/firmware update for the affected panels and views this as a normal occurence. The 2010 models will be tham but will lose blacks in smaller increments, but still the same end result. Also, you will be more prone to image ret and burn in with this panny plasma disorder.
You could compare these black levels to a low/mid-line lcd…
We purchased this TV December 2009. From day one we have absolutely loved the picture quality. With HD reception you will be hard pressed to find a better picture. It’s OK with standard definition but if your going to purchase an HD TV take advantage of it’s capabilities and use HD programing! For those of you who may be hesitating because of Plasma’s reputation of having pronounced glare …you will be pleasantly surprised with this Plasma TV. Panasonic has reduced glare to a minimum and we actually use this TV in a room with a lot of natural light! Another concern that some may have is the potential for “burn-in” (images left on the screen from bright images). Well you can dismiss this too as Panasonic has dealt effectively with this old drawback of Plasma’s. However, you will occassionally see images on the screen of some images but only when the screen has no video feed of any kind. These images are temporary and DO NOT affect viewing of programing at all! We have had two party’s at our home since purchasing this TV, one was the NCAA Football National Championship Game and the other was the Superbowl. The picture was a hit at both as motion is excellent on Plasma’s! I have noticed Panasonic Plasma TV’s in many sports bar/restaurants leading me to believe that these TV’s are not only a great value as compared to LCD’s but reliable as well!
I bought this TV and have about 500 hours on it. The black levels abruptly rose one day making black colored content appear much more grey. This killed my picture quality (which was otherwise very good). I contacted Panasonic support regarding this issue, and even though I am still under warranty, they completely blew me off. BUYER BEWARE, and do research before buying this product. See the (…) review of this product for more information (I wish I would have before buying).
After a couple of mnoths with this TV, I couldn’t be happier. I did months of research and this was definitely the best TV for the money. I hooked up to a PS3 and Yamaha 7.1 receiver so my son is in seventh heaven. I’m even amazed at how good non-HD channels look on it.
Excellent Picture!
Great Looks!
Haven’t experienced increase in black levels but the fact that Panasonic acknowledges this is a problem. The fact that they say that it’s part of the tv’s progress makes it an even bigger problem. The only reason I gave three stars to each of the ratings is because of this problem. I do not recommend that you buy this tv until Panasonic offers a solution to this problem.
With new found riches of my tax return in my pockets, I performed an extensive search for a new television. At first I favored LCD, however, I chose plasma based upon reviews indicating the excellence of the picture. I purchased a 50″ Panasonic TC-P50G10 plasma television along with a Panasonic SC-BT300 home theater system and I am very impressed with the picture and sound quality. The colors are strong and natural. The blacks are deep and the contrast very good. The audio is strong with blu ray, standard dvd, and regular televsion. I have an extensive library of black and white movies which play well on this television. I watch a great deal of older movies on TCM and I am very happy with the picture and audio. My stress levels have now eased with the knowledge I made the right purchase.
I, along with many other Panasonic TV owners, bought this TV after reading a multitude of both user and professional reviews. The TV was billed as having incredibly rich and deep blacks, great picture quality, and much more.
We were lied to. Panasonic has admitted that 2008, 2009, and new 2010 plasmas have a feature that increases the voltage to the screen over time, reducing the contrast ratios and increasing black levels (less black, more grey) enormously. The TV will look great for the first few hundred hours of use, and then the black levels will increase noticeably. This is not something that only videophiles can notice; novices and professionals alike have discovered this problem on their sets.
While some users may not find this to be a problem, you should know that it DOES exist before you buy. You should also know that Panasonic’s response to this problem has been to essentially admit fault, but claim that it is, in fact, a ‘feature’. Needless to say many consumers of this product feel betrayed, especially given that one of the main strengths of Panasonic Plasma (in fact, one of their main marketing points), has been the deep and genuine blacks exhibited by their plasma screens.
If you feel compelled to research this issue further, please visit AVforum or simply search for the issue on Google. Also note the fact that CNET, a major professional review site, has lowered their 2009 rating of this product by a full point/star (out of five) due to this issue.
I, for one, await a satisfactory response from Panasonic
Buyer be warned.
I’ve had this TV for 10 months and I’m very happy with it. It was simple to set up and customize. The remote is laid out well and easy to use. Sound quality of on board speakers is marginal, however, the audio out to my 12 yr old receiver alows for simultaneous use of these speakers w/external speakers for very good sound in TV, Blu-Ray and VCR modes. Blu-Ray player(via HDMI cable) and VCR are hooked up directly to TV. I do not have a home theater system. I would recommend this TV to anyone on a tight budget. Amazon had the right price and quick home delivery/installation.
I purchased this TV almost a year ago. It has had some disappointments but it was in my expatiation of the reviews and specs.
My biggest concern now is that Panasonic is going to disappoint all of us that had paid a quite of bit of money for their products that has Viera Cast the last two years. Well I am talking about the our TV’s and other products are not upgradable for Netflix and most likely every new streaming feture that they are adding to their Viera Cast, (That’s going to be in the 2010+ models only). So we are not able to steam Netflix on this TV or any pre-2010 models of all their products. So we have to stream by other means, unless you have and 360 or the new PS3 (the fat PS3 requires a disk that gets a little irritating when I have to get up and change it back to my game) or add a $100 device to stream Netflix. It would be nice to just use the TV and not have to turn another device on to use power and what not.
There is no telling what Panasonic is going to add to their Viera Cast lineup in the future that they are not going to add the pre-2010 models (or even the pre-2011 models later on.) This is for all devices including DVD players TV’s etc.
So I would not buy another Panasonic product ever again in my life I will not allow any friend to get screwed either. This is a good time to boycott Panasonic until they fixed there false advisement about Viera Cast on there old products, or even a good time to start a class action maybe.
Keep in mind Panasonic that Viera Cast was one of the reasons I had purchased this TV. If i had known you were going to pull this then I would had never had purchased this TV.
This huge TV was delivered on time and installed by two very competent and knowledgeable gentlemen who took the time to explain all the functions to me, and removed all the packaging (and there is a lot). We just love the huge screen, bright enough in our south facing room. Have had it over 7 months now and the acid test was the world cup from South Africa. Superb picture, no motion artifacts and a perfect view from any angle in the room. Blu-Ray discs give a true cinema experience, especially with the THX setting.
Saw some sports at a friend’s four month old 46 inch Sony Bravia LCD and was surprised at how often fast motion artifacts occurred. Plasma beats LCD, I’m afraid.
Don’t do gaming, so cannot rate it for that, but for Blu-Ray, live HD TV and even old-fashioned DVD – I don’t think that one can do better than Panasonic’ Plasma sets, especially the ones with THX certification.