I've researched HDTVs for the past 3 weeks very intensely and shocked myself when I ended up with this Panasonic 50PZ80U. I told myself I would stay away from Plasma due to the stories of burn-in (image "burned" into the screen and faintly visible always, no matter what you are watching) and image retention (image is temporary "stuck" on the screen - slightly visible with anything you are watching, but fades after a short period of time)... It turns out that these things are really a thing of the past. Plasmas have really come a long way!
Trying not to ramble, I will get down to the good stuff for those considering this TV.
Pros:
-Unbeatable price for quality. I was looking at the new Samsung 52" 650A LCD for almost 1000$ more, but the picture quality on this Panasonic was better, especially standard definition TV (which is important since most stations are still SD!).
-The most amazing blacks ever! Watching shows like Cold Case are just amazing. Those black suits never looked sooo good. Any LCD was just crushed by this Panasonic's blacks.
-Very easy to get a good picture. This is a pro and a con, as it's easy to get a great picture, but there really aren't that many options to mess with. So, for those that like to get down to the nitty gritty with adjustments, this really doesn't have that. Those that like simple options that produce great picture will love this though.
-Anti-reflection is awesome on this TV. My partner and I just stared at it and she said over and over that she couldn't see any reflection from our windows in the living room, no matter how hard she tried to look for them. I agree with her :)
Cons:
-With the brightness high, you can start to see some very minor "noise" on the picture (little speckles), but you can only see these up close. Our couch is 10 ft from the TV and you cannot see this at all. Even up close, it is very very minor and may partially be due to the HD feed from our cable provider. I also think this may be due to the built in pixel mover to help remove any problems of burn-in and image retention that I mentioned earlier.
-No nitty gritty adjustments for the picture. This was the pro that I listed as well. Although picture quality (PQ) is great, some advance users like to reaaallly adjust things to make their TV best for them, but this TV really only has options like Picture, Brightness, Tint, Sharpness, and Color (with some other options like noise reduction and stuff).
-Stand is kind of cheap plastic. Although the stand works great for it's job, it does feel a little cheapy... it works fine though and it's not like people move their TV all over the place anyway. It almost seemed like an afterthought with Panasonic (like, "Whoops! Boss, we need a stand for this thing!" -- "Oh here, just slap this on there...").
All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase. (I bought mine from 6 Ave as they match prices from price grabber!). I was a little nervous has I hadn't looked them up before I jumped the gun, but after looking around and then actually getting my TV about 5 days after I ordered it in perfect shape, I could not be happier.
Consider this plasma for your next HDTV purchase. This is considered a mid-range priced HDTV and for the money will beat out any LCD at equal size. I was really an LCD only guy before this and I couldn't be happier with my purchase.
Oh and I hate giving things 5 stars as nothing is perfect, but this TV is definitely more than 4 stars... maybe 4.5 :)
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