The picture quality of this TV is simply excellent. Compared it with more expensive Panasonic "Infinite Black" G model and it's impossible to see the difference in real video content. You need to be in total darkness and have very high quality, low noise signal with large swatches of black and put them side to side to notice a slightly darker black in G models. Of course, just watching TV you will never think I wish blacks were deeper.
I've watched HD programs over the air, from blu-ray, Netflix from Roku, and from PC over HDMI. All modes 480/720/1080 progressive and interlaced displayed perfectly, and TV did a good job upscaling lower resolution to native 1080. No problems with motion, no blurring, no color fading or runoffs. TV does have a slightly lower moving picture resolution 900 lines (vs 1080 lines in top models), but it's quite impossible to notice that without measurements. So sports viewers will be satisfied. Also, on a positive side, the screen is not as glossy as the majority of other plasmas, so reflections are subdued.
I've been using this set for a few days now, so I can't comment on "image retention" problems that previous generations had. Supposedly the phosphors used in this set are improved from previous year, and reportedly they last longer. Just be sure you turn on the "pixel orbiter" to avoid burning in the logos and avoid prolonged display of static images. You can also run "scrolling bar" once a day for 15 minutes for the first week to age the phosphors evenly. Not all plasma owners believe a break-in period is necessary for the later generations of plasma TVs, and no plasma manufacturers now suggest their sets require break-in.
The description Amazon (and it looks now they removed it) seemed to suggest that TV had a built-in Wi-Fi. It doesn't, you need to buy a separate Wi-Fi USB adapter for that. Due to lack of adapter I cannot tell if IPTV and DLNA are working as expected. The other negative is common to all plasmas, which is high power consumption. You don't find this information advertised anywhere, because this set is rated at a whopping 339W. The built-in audio is weak, it has two tiny 10W speakers. It's fine for casual watching TV programs, but if you want to watch movies you probably want to invest in a separate audio system.
This TV may lack all the bells and features you can find in more advanced models, but it does deliver an excellent picture at a very reasonable price and that what matters most.
Edit 5-8-2011. I installed USB Wi-Fi adapter (Netgear N600) to test the Viera Tools. I didn't find them very useful though. It has Netflix client, but picture quality is poor (compared to Roku on the same network). Then there is CinemaNow, which I never used. Amazon Video on demand looks OK. I don't have any use for Pandora, Napster, or Facebook, so I can't comment. There is also Media Player for SD and USB cards, works pretty well. I popped in an SD card from Panasonic camcorder and picture was pretty good, no conversion was necessary. And finally, there is DLNA client, which I couldn't make to work. I does find the DLNA server, but connection always fails. Panasonic VIERA TC-P50S30 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
I have only had this set for a few days now, still in the 200 hour break in period. With the occasional pumping back up the contrast and brightness to get an idea on how everything will really look once the 200 hour break in is over.
One thing that I like about the TV is the Matte finish on the screen. It still reflects, but I have had a sliding door without a drape over it for a couple days and the reflection, while there, was greatly reduced over my last set. Last set Mitsibushi, 54inch, rear projection HDTV. So the screen itself does well with reflections overall. Perhaps there are better.
I originally bought this for $999 at best buy. It's now $899 here at Amazon. 4 days after my purchase. GET IT!!!!
Picture Quality so far:
As I have said, I am breaking in. For those that don't know what this is, but it's what you SHOULD DO, you run the TV with no static images for up to 200 hours and the contrast and brightness turned down. My contrast is about 25. My brightness is about 45. Occasionally I have raised the contrast up to check movies or video games, but only up to 50 contrast, and brightness up to about 65. This will help prevent image retention/burn in and improve the lifetime of the tv and over all picture quality. I also did this with my rear projection as well, and never had burn in issues, even with video games. I hope this tv will not have much of a burn in problem. But the TV provides 2 things in addition to help that.
To prevent and or fix burn in, this tv gives you the ability to turn on your screen and that the screen will slowly move around and position itself so standing pixels will at least move. Such as those logos on video games, or games with HUDs, or bullet counts, or on screen maps in the bottom corner of the game. In addition to that, there is also a 15 minutes moving white bar pattern that is supposed to help remove burn in. I have tried it but since I don't have burn it, I can't tell you if it works.
I hooked up the XBox 360 with HDMI and as soon as I turned it on, I saw an immediate improvement over my last TV, which I still think is a good TV. But I got some WOW factor here. Small Text is amazingly crystal clear and readable. Everything just looked sharp and detailed. And this is just moving around the XBox Menus.
Watched the 2012 John Cusak end of the world movie over Netflix. WOW!!!! Again, my settings are far from optional, and the detail was amazing. LA slipping into the pacific never looked so good. All those little details. Grant it, the source material, the movie, is exceptional when it comes to computer generated imagery, but this set seems to really steps up to the challenge of reproducing it.
Refresh rate: 600Hz. <- this is the main reason I decided on Plasma. This helps make 2012 look amazing, and it also helps if you play video games or watch sports.
Then I played some Red Dead Redemption, just a bit. WOW!!!! factor again. The graphics are pretty good in this game. And I have played it quite a bit on the old tv. The old TV was Component Hook Ups and only 1080i max. Now with this Plasma, it's HDMI, and 1080p, which the XBox and Read Dead Redemption can support. Again, the details were amazing. Colors very nice. (remember, my settings are way below even normal). Very smooth camera turning. I was riding along, and the sun started coming up over the horizon. The stars were twinkling away. Then the first rays of light hit the ground. And the shadows were long, as the sun passed between tree branches. OMG!!! It looked really really good. What an upgrade. My old TV wasn't cheap, $2300 back in 2000. It could preform. But this Panasonic just rocks it out of the water.
Sound. The speakers are small on this. I suggest Bass +4, Treble +1. Adding a little more Bass to your sound output will fatten up the sound enough and not give you such a tinny sound. My optimal viewing will be through a sound system though.
I like the SD card feature and the hook ups. Will even take a Keyboard.
Tried the Network connection and used their version of NETFLIX in the Viera section. I found NETFLIX to be a little slow compared to the XBox 360 with Netflix. Slow when moving around the menus. But no biggie, the movies played just fine. Has Facebook and Twitter, but I don't plan on using those. The Network features I may not use much at all. But it's still pretty cool if you want options to do so.
This is an early review. I am giving the set 4 stars. Not for anything being wrong with it though. I have seen so few reviews for this particular set, about none, just thought I'd get this up there.
I have it on the supplied base unit. Easy to install. Heavyish though, but lift-able by one person.
I like this TV. Plasma was for the video games and sports viewing. But Plasma is more susceptible to burn in with video games and static scores and logos. So I am taking the time to break this tv in. But you should get some WOW factors if you purchase this TV.'
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