Customer Ratings & Reviews

I chose this television after experiencing some issues with inconsistent side lighting on slim LED televisions. This is a basic TV that does what it is supposed to do - deliver great picture quality. The sound is good for built-in speakers, with options for surround, bass boost, and other adjustments. There is no smart technology or networking internet connectivity built into the TV. Add an HDMI device such as a ROKU and presto - smart TV. What amazes me most about this unit is the price. This TV cost far less than the nine year old Panasonic 32-inch LCD TV it replaced. No it does not have 3D. No it is not ultra-thin. Yes it is a solid TV with a great picture. It is also much funnier if you say plasma like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers. Plas-mah.

I had always wanted a 50 inch plasma, but it just never seemed like the right time to buy one. Best Buy had a sale online so I took the chance. I am so glad I did because the picture on this TV is SUPERB!! I've watched a variety of TV shows, movies, sports, etc. in HD and standard definition. The HD picture is so vibrant and crystal clear, it's almost like you are right there. The standard def picture was a nice surprise in its clarity as well. Panasonic could improve on the quality of the speakers. The sound is a bit 'tinny' when you use the TV speakers alone, even with the bass turned up all the way. When I connected my Panasonic surround system, the sound was much better. I honestly don't think most people buy a TV now expecting 'great' sound from the speakers. That's just one thing that Panasonic needs to work on, but it shouldn't be the deciding factor in buying this TV. I've read reviews on this site, as well as other sites, where many complain about the black level of the picture. While it's true that the pic on this TV is a tad darker than my older 42 inch Panasonic plasma, the picture adjustments can really help with this. And you must remember to adjust the color temp to your liking. I find that baseball games are an excellent choice for adjusting the overall color...lots of green grass, flesh tones, different colors, etc. This is your basic 50 inch plasma. It has a couple of HDMI inputs, a slot for an SD card, and a USB port but that's about it. I wasn't looking for a lot of extra features so this fit my needs perfectly. Overall, an excellent TV for a great price!

As far as plasma's go I would say this one is a level entry one. However, for $699.00 it is very good. I am still experimenting with the settings, so I probably have not gotten my optimal picture yet. Plasma's have come a long way in terms of cost to quality ratio and most of the problems of the past have been resolved. This is a great TV for sports/action. I have never experienced any sort of blur.

Let me start off by saying that in looking for a television, I wanted something with the best picture quality possible while having a decent sized screen. I didn't want 3D because it costs extra and I would never use it, and I didnt need a smart TV since i will be using this with my PS3 and my computer. (Note: this TV can connect to the internet with an ethernet cable.) With all that taken into account, this was my best option. This TV only has 2 HDMI inputs, and not very many other inputs that one might use. I knew that going in, and I would rather deal with that than pay an extra $300 or more for a next step up TV. The biggest reason I rated this at 4 and not 5 is that the sound quality is POOR. (Note: I am NOT a sound enthusiast or expert or perfectionist, it was just that noticeably bad). I was watching Iron man on blu ray and the talking was too quiet and the action was too loud so I had to keep varying the volume. I had an idea of this going in but I didn't know how bad it would be. I did not buy speakers with this right away because I wanted to see if it was tolerable. After I got home, I ordered a sound bar online. The integrated sound is NOT tolerable for movie watching. The picture quality on this TV is flawless, especially if you can have it in a darker room to avoid glare. It is far better than my less than 1 year old samsung 42'' LCD tv. Buy this TV and some speakers with it, because even with buying the speakers, it's a great deal

TVs are worthless to me if they are not reliable. So people understand where I'm coming from, we bought our 27" Samsung TV in 1994. It still works. It is NOT as nice as the TVs of today, but it cost $250 and has given us 4-5 hours a day for 19 years. It has withstood countless thunderstorms, brownouts and power surges without the assistance of power conditioners. During our shopping to replace this old warhorse Samsung, we originally bought a 60" Sony for $1500. Beautiful picture. It lasted 8 days before the right half of the screen stopped working. We got a refund. Nice TV, but if it isn't reliable, I'm not spending $1500 on it. We don't buy extended warranties. I WILL not. If the manufacturer doesn't warrant their own product, that is a caution flag and I'm the sucker if I insure their product for them. We decided that we wouldn't spend more than $600 for TVs with this high a risk level and with warranties this poor. That was when we found this TV. This TV so far has been very nice: Great picture, nice size, and so far, no problems. We don't need the smart features because for us it is redundant: we already have this stuff on our BlueRay player and receiver. If this one doesn't hold up, we'll reinstall the old Samsung and wait until manufacturers have to make reliable TVs before customers buy them. Or just live without this life wasting distraction altogether and save ourselves $150 a month in Comcast bills while we're at it.

I used this particular tv for 7 weeks before writing this review. Ultimately I wasn't happy with many elements of the tv by the end of the 7 weeks. For starters, I would like to mention that there's a chance I had a defective model, but it worked well enough that I had a tough time determining if this was the case. So with that said, this will be a very up-front and unbiased list of pros and cons that I observed with the TC-P50U50. Pros: -Great color -Gaming was an utter pleasure with this TV, in terms of controller latency. Every button press seemed to respond instantaneously on the screen. -The finest of details on the screen refuse to blur or become fuzzy when movement is happening - unlike many LED / LCD tvs. -The TV has a nice look to it and feels awfully well built (metal backing) -The base is exceptionally sturdy -Never experienced image burn-in -Blacks are rich and dark -Shadows look good Cons: -The more white that is currently on-screen, the greyer it becomes. When playing games like "The Unfinished Swan", a very murky "white" is what you see most of the time. It's ugly and becomes "whiter" when more dark colors fill the screen. It's horribly distracting and simply looks awful -Most plasma TV's make a buzzing sound when the image becomes bright, but this particular model is the loudest I've ever heard. I could hear it buzzing over my 360's cooling fan, to give you an idea of volume. Very distracting during movies, as well. In addition, it was so loud, I could hear it across my entire apartment -When playing games that are 30 fps, you get some serious double imaging. (Games at 60 fps look much better, however.) -Minimal adjustment settings to tweak the image -This TV will raise your electricity bill by a noticeable amount -Doesn't work well at all in rooms that get sunlight. Depending on your setup, it could be a "night-time-only" TV. -You cannot lay the box down flat when transporting it home, so you may be forced into waiting for delivery if you don't have a truck, as the box is huge. The screen is likely to break if laid down, due to it being glass. -The built in speakers aren't very good at all Neutral: -It's a very heavy TV -The box it comes in is basically a 'one-time-use' box. If you decide to return it, you'll have to be incredibly careful transporting it back to the store. -50 inches is the smallest it comes in -It's an entry level Plasma TV, which is more costly than an entry level LED / LCD -The screen is glass, so it's reflective -Works better at low altitudes -Doesn't have smart features or 3d Despite all it's flaws and my ultimate displeasure with this TV, it's not a bad TV - per say. The colors are brilliant and movies look great on it. Gaming is very responsive, though the double imaging made me nauseous after a while (most games aim for 30 fps). The buzzing when the screen got bright was distracting and I could never adjust to it. White levels are typically not a problem, but certain movies / games will really test it's white capability and leave you disappointed / distracted. If you're curious about Plasma TVs, but don't have alot to spend on a TV, this isn't a horrible way to go, if the cons don't sound bothersome to you. Unfortunately most 'decent' Plasma TVs start around $1,000, as the technology behind Plasma is not cheap - but there's a reason for that.

For the price you can't find a TV with better picture quality. Don't be afraid of plasma, a comparable LED/LCD TV would cost twice as much. The screen is very glossy, so if there are lights directly behind the viewing area there will be some glare. Only 2 HDMI inputs is dissapointing. There is only 1 combined conponent/composite input, so if you have older components this could be an issue. Sound is average for flat screen TVs.

I shopped around and compared LCD, LED, and plasma and found that plasma worked in my house the best. It is kept fairly dark in the living room and there's not much to create glare which could be a problem in a brighter environment. It was easy to adjust the picture to suit me because there is a lot adjustability. I finally just used the "cinema" setting and it is perfect for me. I had a small HD tv before this one and the picture on this one blows away the picture on the old one. I have it hooked up to a surround sound system so I can't comment on the quality of the tv's speakers. I enjoyed the knowledge of the Best Buy employees that helped me while I was compareing all the choices.

This was my first flat screen purchase which replaced my son's 19" CRT which is like comparing night to day as to mentioning any viewing benefits made. Great picture, price & very easy to hang on wall mount & setup functions. Sound was ok to me, but wanted to hook-up my old Bose 901 speakers via a 1976 Harmon Kardon receiver. The TV's digital fiber optical audio out is Dolby 5.1 surround sound encoded & needs to be Dolby decoded into 2 channel RCA L & R out for any of those that wish to utilize an older 2 channel sound system. Panasonic Tech Support nor BB Techs/Sales knew of this. Panasonic TS was actually trying to tell me that the TV's audio out can be connected to its RCA audio in jacks!! In addition it was found that not all audio DA converters are able to decode 5.1 Dolby into 2 channel analog audio unless they specifically say. The correct audio DA Dolby decoded 5-2 channel converter can be had for $50.00..

This was our second plasma TV...the first purchased 7 years ago. What a nice surprise to find that the TV's are lighter in weight and thinner so they sit closer to the wall. The picture quality is excellent! The Geek Squad was professional and quickly hooked up our other sound system and DVD to the new TV...it was a great experience!

We are pleased with this TV. It has a good picture quality and is excellent for playing action games. TV was easy to set up for use. We were warned that the plasma TV's may not be good in a room with bright light but we are using it in a finished basement and it has worked out great. Excellent value.

My brother wanted a 50" tv and when we saw the amazing picture and shape, I bought it for him. This plasma rocks for the price that I paid. If you want a non 3D 50" Panasonic Plasma tv then you've found a great one. Buy it and enjoy!!!

Looked extensively at many TV's, where price and size were my major concerns. This TV is an excellent product and the price was the best I could find, even comparing to some "big box" stores that sell lesser-generation models. The factory settings were pretty good compared to the calibration that I did on the set, I would recommend calibration w/o any lighting in the background, as it will make a difference on the blacks and whites. Haven't had any issues, pretty basic setup and great picture quality. The sound is pretty weak, however, I would recommend using a reciever to run your cable box and dvd through. Overall it is an excellent set and well worth the money.

This is a great bare bones tv, which is exactly what I wanted. I just wanted a 1080p plasma screen. I'm not even slightly interested in 3D and only need two HDMI inputs for the cable box and the bluray player. No need for internet because I already have the Bluray hooked up.The color and picture looks really quite nice after adjustment. Out of the box it looked terrible. Had me worried at first. BestBuy.com was less than stellar. They said I could pick it up in two different stores nearby but it turned out it wasn't really in stock. Finally after a couple of phone calls I was able to pick it up at a store about 45 minutes away. They also told me the 599.99 sale was only going to last for one more day, and I happen to check now over a week later to find that it is still 599.99. So, apparently the person on the online chat lied to me. I've had great experience with Panasonic over the years though. Every single Panasonic product I have owned has been very reliable. This Panasonic replaced a Samsung that only lasted a little over a year. I will never buy a Samsung product again.

I was looking for a TV for my family room for mostly playing video games (Xbox 360) and did a lot of research. This new model from Panasonic is perfect. Incredible picture, great for video games or anything really, and awesome value...not to mention beautiful styling. You can't go wrong with Panasonic, their plasmas are awesome. I highly recommend this TV.

I bought this tv awhile and was extremely impressed with the picture quality at such a low price. Panasonic makes some great plasma TVs and for this being the lowest model I'm impressed, then after I had geek squad come out and calibrate it, it was amazing. I got a fantastic picture, didn't spent 2000 dollars and got the quality of a 2000 dollar tv.

My first flat screen. After considering LED, LCD and Plasma, we chose the Panasonic for the color. The price was great and just what we wanted for watching sports and movies. Love it!!!!!

Very affordable TV with great visual and sound quality. Only lacking more HDMI ports and internet connection. Otherwise a great deal!

We have had this tv for a little over a month and couldn't be happier. Just add a home theatre system and you are good to go. We researched tv's for quite sometime and in my husbands own words....it's the best bang for your buck. The picture is crisp and clear. If you enjoy watching spots the picture is so good you will feel like you are there. I would recommend this tv to everyone.

The Pansonic Plasma HD TV model I purchased last month has extraordinary picture clarity and numerous extra features. While the sound is a wee bit "tinny", it is certainly no reason to dislike the set. The new set makes me wonder what my late parents would have thought about today's television technology when I remember their jealousy upon knowing that the next door neighbors had a new "color" television set back in the distant day. (Eisenhower was President!) Surely they would have been dazzled by what I now have! And they would have appreciated its relative bargain price as well.