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Panasonic TH-50PZ700U Review
Form and Function: A Guide to the New Panasonic TH-50PZ700U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
If you’re looking for a large, aesthetically pleasing, high-performance plasma TV, look no further than the Panasonic TH-50PZ700U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV. This product has earned consistently great ratings from users, and was voted the “best plasma HDTV” by Consumer Reports. It has also earned top marks on Amazon.com, and is listed as “Certified and Recommended” by Sound and Vision Magazine.
In addition to its stellar user and industry reviews, this is also one sexy TV. The narrow, side-set speakers blend right in, and hidden compartments stash your controls and inputs. When you add this to the shiny black surround, you get a sleek, streamlined look that will fit seamlessly with any décor. It comes with a pedestal, but can also, of course, be wall-mounted for a more space-effective display.
Smooth, graceful motion
When you’re watching sports or movies with fast-motion graphics, you want a TV that can keep up with the action. With over 900 lines of moving picture, self-illuminating plasma displays eliminate afterimages in fast-action scenes. So whether you’re watching a sporting event or an action-packed movie, you’ll always get the most impressive viewing experience possible.
The TH-50PZ700U also has available connections for all of your home theater and multimedia components. In total, the TH-50PZ700U has two HDMI inputs, three S-Video inputs, three composite inputs, three video component inputs, and a slot for SD cards. It has a clean, sharp, and vivid picture, thanks to the 1920 x 1080 resolution. The TH-50PZ700U also has the capability to upconvert any input signal to 1080p. Panasonic has also addressed the need for culture with its included Gallery Player software, which can be used to display art and photography in high-def. This feature can be used whether the TV is on or off. You can also use the HDMI connector to work with any Panasonic devices, as long as they also have EZ-Sync compatibility. This allows you control over all of your home theater components without having to deal with the elaborate set-up required by some other systems.
More Colors
Viera HDTVs support the xvYCC color profile (Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications), or “x.v. color” for short. Standard RGB color space allows the display of a portion of the colors that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation “xvYCC” color space actually offers an available range of colors that exceeds what human eyes can recognize.
- Next-generation “xvYCC” color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
- Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
- Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors
While not necessarily cheap, the Panasonic TH-50PLZ700U is reasonably priced. It retails for around $1900, but user ratings have been comparable to those of plasmas twice it’s price; and -as with most electronics- it can be found for considerably less if you shop around, particularly with major on line retailers. The TH-50PZ700U is backed by a 1-year limited warranty for parts and labor, and comes with all you need to get going: an AC cord, dual-cable clamper, antenna adapter, and a pedestal. All in all, a pretty great deal for a good-looking, 50-inch, high-definition plasma.
<< Click HERE to Read The Latest Panasonic TH-50PZ700U User Reviews >>
Have had the 50PZ700U for one month now. Fantastic TV that delivers vibrant real life pictures when paired with HD programming. I watched Jay Leno’s Tonight Show in HD and was blown away by the picture clarity and color reproduction. The built-in speakers deliver superb audio and I watch most shows without turning on my receiver.
I am a perfectionist for looks, picture clarity and an audiophile. I think the TV scores exceedingly well on all three grounds in my books. The look with the black piano finish is stunning. The remote is very user friendly and very comfy to hold.
The only thing buyers should consider is, plasma tv’s in general are not good handlers of glare caused by light sources. This is becuase of their glossy screens. This is true for any plasma. The anti reflective coating in this TV is not very effective – I had to draw my blinds and curtains to watch glare free during the day. Again, this is an issue only of you have a window directly opposite to your TV. If glare is a challenge for you, go for an LCD TV. I also own a Samsung 40″LCD (Samsung-LNT4065F-1080p-LCD-HDTV) in our Dining room that has a lot of light coming in. It handles the glare with ease and delivers equally good picture quality.
I think this 50PZ700U TV was well worth the investment and I am extremely pleased with my purchase. If you are looking to buy a 50″ plasma, this is your best bet on all counts!
Panasonic TH-50PZ700U – This is an absolutely gorgeous display.
It’s hard to tell from the photos, but the black plastic bezel is actually glossy, not matte. Black gloss on electronics has high class swank written all over it. Yes, I said swank. And yes, it gave you goosebumps.
The built-in speakers are located on either side of the screen, not below it like they used to be on earlier models. They sound great if you choose to use them, and if not they’re basically invisible and blend in naturally.
Out of the box the picture looks phenomenal. Standard definition looks as good as you could hope, but HD content is where it really shines. Take the time to calibrate your display settings using some kind of HD calibration disc like the Digital Video Essentials HD (HD DVD + DVD Combo Disc) or just search Google for one of the many free HD calibration images that’ll help you tweak your color, sharpness, and everything else to get the best picture. If you skip this step and just try to eyeball it, you’ll be missing out on the deep colors that this display has to offer.
This IS a 1080p TV, but it will ONLY display 1080p over an HDMI connection. It will not display 1080p picture over VGA, so if you’re an Xbox 360 owner and don’t have HDMI, 1080i is as good as it’s going to get for you with this TV.
This is a good TV! You should totally get it. Make me proud.
I’ve had my new HDTV for about three weeks now and I love it! It was quite heavy and a little difficult to remove from the box. The directions for building the stand were confusing at first, but all went smoothly after we figured them out. I have mine hooked to a regular roof antenna and receive around 20 stations much more clearly than my old 4:3 TV. Bought a 15-pin PC connection, hooked it up to my laptop and have viewed videos over the Internet on the TV and it worked fine. Nothing to complain about except the volume of commercials…which is probably more the stations than the TV. Overall, a great TV!
I am totally impressed with this set. I had extremely high expectations coming from an HDTV CRT and was prepared to have to deal with some sacrifice in quality to go flat panel. However, the picture quality on this set has exceeded that of the 720p/1080i CRT it replaced.
For reference, I am using an Oppo 980H upconverting DVD player via HDMI. I do not use the built-in speakers, so cannot comment there. I expect to be using the on-board ATSC tuner with a roof antenna to take advantage of free local HD broadcasts.
Standard DVDs look outstanding on this set. I may update this review in the future if I adopt whichever HD technology has an apparent winning stake in the next few months.
This HDTV is for those who know what to expect from the best in class. This is an expensive TV, but delivers perfection.
Before buying this TV, I had 27″ CRT SONY.
Before deciding to buy this I did a lot of research on the web & CNET about HDTVs and here is my evaluation. There are plenty of HDTVs in the market, the most preferred ones for those looking for the ultimate quality, products from SONY, Philips, Samsung, Panasonic and other manufacturers.
Unless you are considering buying an LCD HDTV, I strongly recommend buying Panasonic brand. Ofcourse, you will probably get a better pricing from Samsung but in my opinion Samsung delivers slight imperfections to the human eye. Samsung picture is ‘contrast’ rich, meaning that the color delivery is not natural. I tested many Samsung TVs in various stores – Walmart, Sears, Best Buy etc. I also looked at SONY HDTVs – I agree SONY picture quality is probably the ultimate, but SONY is more expensive than Panasonic.
Why go with Panasonic 50″?
- If your living room is 15′ long, and you expect to see picture 12′ or more far away
- Price is not a factor for you to spare
- This TV delivers the best with HDMI cable, even standard definition channels are very clear
- This TV supports all known input modes (HDMI, Component Video, S-Video, Regular Video, PC
- Supports 480i, 720i, 1080i, 1080p
- Natural color delivery
- Supports progressive scan DVD
- The black frame for the TV looks really impressive
- Supports Video Noise Reduciton
- Supports Mosquito Noise Reduction
- Surround sound audio for HD channels (I already had 5.1 system)
Minor drawbacks:
- Only 2 HDMI inputs, Samsung etc. offer 3 HDMI
I bought from Amazon after checking prices everywhere. Got the best offer. The delivery people do not install the TV, but I got hold of a handy man (too heavy for one person to lift and handle) and got it installed for $50!
Waited 2 yrs. to find the right HD TV. Excellent product. No problems Great picture No pip but who needs one. worth the money
I gave it a 5 star for image quality, and that’s why people buy this TV. The following are some minor points that might affect your buying decisions:
* It only has two HDMI inputs: I have my cable box and DVD player plugged in and that’s it. If you need to plug other sources in, such as HD-camcorder, etc, you have to use other messy inputs. It really needs a front HDMI or DVI input (see below).
* No DVI inputs: how about plugging my laptop computer in to do slide shows?
* Well, there is a VGA input, but it limits the resolution to WXGA. Why have a wonderful 1080p resolution and not take full advantage of it?
* Sound is good, but I wouldn’t say it’s great.
* The TV bulges out at the bottom. This might affects how much it can be tilted down if you hang it on the wall.
* Although it has an anti-reflection coating, the reflection might bother some people, especially during dark scenes.
* It’s great to have a SD card slot. Slide show functions are adequate, but SLOW.
At less than $2000 at Costco and just slightly more (but without taxes potentially) at Amazon, this TV is a fantastic value. If the above points don’t bother you, you’ll be very happy with the set.
I just received this TV and what can I say except that it is a beautifully designed product from the inside out. The picture is fantastic (especially HD), the built in speakers sound great, the remote is easy to use, the programming is very well layed out, and the menus are fairly easy to navigate without cracking the book.
The unit has every kind of input you could want (two HDMI inputs). I highly reommend this product. I waited years to purchase one and did my homework. This TV is the best balance of dollars versus performance.
I bought this set about 6 months ago. Before buying I did extensive research at avsforum. Great source of information audio and video equipment. I cannot be any happier about my choice.
When it was delivered, the shipper unpacked and did the initial setup to be sure it worked. At first the pic was below expectations until I realized my cable company was not broadcasting in HD. Once I started supplying a HD signal to the set I couldn’t believe my eyes. The picture was awesome. Picture setup is a breeze with the optional Avia calibration disc. It was pretty close to perfect right from the factory. All functions are easily attended to thru the OSD menus. Peripheral hookups are adequate and easy. Factory sound is good enough for me. I imagine a home theatre sound system could be a big plus as well.
Size matters……..It’s a 50 inch set !!! My wife thought I was crazy going this big. It sounds huge I know, but the biggest mistake people can make here is buying too small. She loves it. Buy as big as your budget and/or space will allow. It is worth it.
Absolutely no complaints…….excellent unit.
I bought a Panasonic plasma 2 years ago and it died for no reason. It will now cost $2000 for the board just to fix it. The TV repairman said he has never seen such a high cost for a replacement board. Multiple different board tried without luck. Still waiting.
Excellent. TV came quickly with no damage, which was a concern because of its size and delicacy!!
straight up, i did my research for about a year while i saved money. this is the best set you will find for your money, everything you’ve read about it is true, except one thing. Burn-in. Gamers beware. Even if you watch HD-TV with a symbol in the corner like ‘TLC’ you’ll get burn in if the icon doesn’t move. I have this set and a good friend does too. what really upsets me is playing my ps3 through this. Sharp as a razor yes. adding a static wallpaper for a custom theme though is a BAD idea. Try it, you’ll see. then play some music and turn the visualizer on. if you cant see the burn in, then get your eyes checked. play rock band or guitar hero FOR AN HOUR (which is’nt hard to do), turn any white background on, look for the game icon burn ins (rock meter, etc). Generally they go away after a couple hours, but its frustrating. BOTH my set and my good friend’s set do the same thing. even a half hour of a static image will create burn in. Granted its better now a days than it used to be, at least it goes away after some time…. if you’re a gamer, pick up the sharp aquos. no burn-in on an lcd set; and the runner up as far as a great picture goes (reds are a little funny at times though). Reviews are slightly lower, but hell, you could at least leave a game system on pause without havening to worry about switching the inputs to avoid burn in. Im serious folks. take heed. great set, bad for gamers and burn-in. sharp as a razor though….