I don't know much about technology so my dad helped me pick out my TV. We chose this Panasonic because it seemed a good value for the price and the quality. I'm a practical person and don't feel like I need the biggest TV but I definitely wanted something nice, because I was planning on keeping it for awhile (I don't need the latest-and-greatest technologies). My family has owned Panasonics before and they are a good brand. We chose Plasma over LED primarily because of the cost - the Plasmas were cheaper but yet still had great quality images. The 50 inch screen is big and impressive (to me, at least!) and I don't have any 'burns' on the screen that some plasmas can get. I am happy with my purchase and definitely get a lot of use out of it - every day for sure, sometimes six straight hours worth (admit it - you have some lazy days too!). Picture Quality To me the picture looks great - very sharp and clear, with good variations of colors. Sound Quality I like my TV loud so I turn it up and it doesn't degrade the sound quality - they sound rich and deep, especially when I watch a movie with lots of explosions and special effects. Durability My screen doesn't have any picture burns and I use my TV a lot and have had it for a couple of years already. Design It looks sleek like any other big plasma TV does. Performance I'm very happy with my TV - it performs well because it doesn't malfunction and allows me to watch TV and movies with good picture quality and good sound.

qtpixta

Huntington, NY

Obviously this is a dated TV now, but back when I first bought it from Circuit City (during their liquidation) it was a a great set at a great price. I had been watching sells from all electronic stores waiting for my chance to grab one of these sets. It was getting great reviews and was not too expensive if you caught it on sell. So far I have been very happy with it. Picture Quality This is my first HD TV so perhaps it just wows me since I have seen other large screens but maybe they were only 720p and not 1080p or had other issues that caused the image quality to suffer. This screen is sharp and I love watching movies and shows on this TV. Originally it was only setup with a home theater system but we've added a satellite feed to it so now it's our main TV. Sound Quality Base speakers are good enough for TV viewing. You'll want to have external speakers hooked up for any movies. Durability So far so good. I've hung my on the wall shortly after purchase and it's held up without issue. No dead pixels that I'm away of, no speaker issues, connections all work so I'm still happy with it. Design It wasn't too large originally, but today's TV's are slimmer. It's got some weight to it so need at least a couple people to move or wall mount it. The front ports aren't attractive when the door panel is open, but they do allow easy temporary access to HDMI, S-Video and other connections. I also like the SD Card reader in front, it allows you to do a slideshow of pics you may have on the card. Performance So far I have nothing to complain about after a few years use. Picture is fine, audio is decent and haven't had and trouble operating the TV.

The1Lion

Woodridge, IL

This is a great television. We got this for Christams and it looks fantastic hanging on the wall. It is easy to view from any angle and we have not had any problems with reflections from the overhead lights in the room. It was very easy to install and the remote makes using all the functions very easy. The TV also has a few features that I love. There is a timer which makes it automatically shut off if there is no picture on the screen. This is nice because we have a remote that controls the satelite and the tv and sometimes one can be left on by accident. The tv gives a countdown warning if the satelite is not on and then it will automatically shut down. Also, if the lights in the room are on, the picture stays bright, but if the lights are off, the picture will dim so that it is not too bright for the dark room. The are inputs on the side of the tv which makes it very easy to add additional components if you need to. It is a great value for a large tv and a good picture.

happymom13

Hamilton, OH

I got this TV a year ago after I had a samsung 50inch flat screen stolen. Before I got that samsung I had a tried and returned two different ones. I did a ton a research for a few months on both LCD & Plasmas. For what I need and what I was looking for I decided on the plasma. The viera to be exact. And let me tell you what a great decision. I love everything about it. It has an amazing picture. Very clear. The sound that comes out of it is also great. I do recommend to get an HD Box to get the full effect of the picture. Ever since I got an HD Box, I only watch those channels because the colors are so true and vibrant. I also like the fact that you can stick a micro SD card on it and look at pictures. You can plug in your computer to it and work off of it, works great with an HDMI cable. So far I haven't had any problems at all. I'm hoping that this one will last a long time. It's extremely flat, so if you get a flat bracket for it, you can have it right against the wll. Awesome purchase!!

cdupere

Point Roberts, WA

I bought this set a couple of years ago and have been very impressed by the overall quality of the image that a panasonic plasma can display. It is full 1080p, so that is currently the top resolution available for the consumer market. It has more than sufficient I/O ports- mostly you will just use HDMI when you are dealing with a modern home theater system. The remote and menus are easy to operate. Unfortunately I can no longer recommend this set as I did when I originally purchased it. Since then, LED has become the de facto king of the hill in tv technology. I have not seen much of these displays yet, but my understanding is that they display a sharper/more contrast-y image while also being much thinner, lighter, and more energy efficient. There is also no question of image burn as there is with Plasma. I have also had a problem with the hardware which required repair outside of warranty, which makes the durability come into question for me.

DocM2k

Waukesha, WI

When there are so many HDTV out there on the market, which one would you go. Plasma, LCD, LED whatever.  When you go into the store, the sales persons would be very likely to recommend LCD or LED TV to you, they will tell you this is super bright and they have cutting edge technology to make the contrast outstanding, and they will show you how plasma will look dull and dim compared to the LED/LCD counterparts.  This is very wrong, they are cheating you in this way.  If you do see the plasma are dull, they put this set in the energy-saving mode yet not the regular theater mode.  Only Plasma can achieve the indefinite black, also it restores color to the magnitude that NO LCD or LED can possibly match.  Of course you may also consider3D TV in your home, it's the trend anyway.  Plasma has much better processing speed than LCD/LED, so the 3D technology on plasma is far better than those on LED.

Eudreamality

Carrboro, NC

I absolutely love this TV.  One of the first events I watched on this tv was the Super Bowl and let me tell you, it was AMAZING.  I felt like i was right there, the picture (and the players!) seemed to jump off the screen.  The audio was quite impressive as well as it felt like i could hear fans yelling all around me.  The colors on this set are really great with unmatched darks and vivid colors.  I love that this tv comes with options to fine tune the display for your particular viewing area, including lighting.  I would recommend this TV to anyone.

ssbsts

Littleton, CO

I have been in the Audio/Video installation field for going on six years now and have had the opportunity to install(mount) about every type of flat panel television available.  I bought a 42 inch Samsung HDTV plasma as my first flat panel television's I have ever owned.  Then I ran into the Panasonic Viera 50" plasma TV one day on an installation that I was to perform.  Once the TV was mounted and hooked up to just standard definition cable service at the customers site, I was immediately in love with this TV.  The standard definition on this TV automatically looked like it HD service to it.  I have HD service through Direct TV on my Samsung and the picture quality was no where near the quality of the Panasonic Viera.  I regretted the purchase of my Samsung immediately and set out to buy myself one of these Viera TV's and move the Samsung to my bedroom.  I hooked the HD service up to my new TV and was blown away with picture quality difference than the Samsung.  It was like i was at the football game I was watching.  Every since then I have recommended the Panasonic Viera series tv to anyone looking to buy a new plasma TV.  I am not knocking Samsung because its still a great TV but if you want the best go with Panasonic.  As far as LCD TV's the Sony Bravia is the best one available in the LCD world.  Hope this information was very helpful and you enjoy your new TV purchase.

atillery5

Forney, TX