Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P50G10 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)The P50G10 is my second HD Plasma experience, the first being a 2004 Panasonic, which still looks and works quite well. It has found another spot in our home to make room for the new G10 in our family room. When searching for and finally selecting the new Panasonic G10, I was comparing choices against this first experience considering both the manufacturer and the plasma technology. While I have a few smaller sized LCD's, mostly in the 20-32" range, I have never been overly impressed with the picture. The seem a bit cartoonish, even in HD mode, so I quickly settled on a plasma as my technology choice. Having made that decision the alternatives in terms of manufacturers narrowed quickly. Wh Pioneer exiting the Plasma business, and considering my experience with my original Panasonic plasma the brand decision was made. Selecting which model from Panasonic boiled down to scouring the 2009 product announcements and available reviews (CNET), and making the trade-offs on size, cost and availability. This all led me to the P50G10, which was a good fit on all points.
I have had the unit installed and working for 4 weeks now, and must say its been an extremely satisfying time. The G10 is a major step up, from my previous plasma, in terms of picture, inputs i.e. 3 HDMI vs 1, and ability to control each picture setting independently. I have tweaked the picture setting on the Standard and THX settings a bit to sharpen and brighten the picture a bit, but most of the other settings are very good out of the box. As the unit is stand mounted, and in a room with mostly indirect and overhead lighting there are no issues with glare or light reflection, from the main glass or its glossy black bezel.
In the process I also moved up to a Panasonic BMP-BD60 (will write a separate review on it) Blu Ray player and the 1080P picture is nothing short of amazing. As these are both Panasonic units they inter-operate with VieraLink which simplifies and automates the way the two units operate together, a nice but not essential feature. I setup a Wireless ethernet bridge (Linksys WET54G) to feed the VieraCast function on the G10, and it works flawlessly. At this time the amount of content available is limited, but one can see the potential, if Panasonic can bring more content services to this function. The G10 does employ a set of power consumption controls. There are both Input Idle and In-Activity based auto-power off modes to save on power consumption, which is good as plasma's are a bit power hungry.
To be balanced the G10 does have a few shortcomings. The sound from the onboard speakers is a bit thin. You can mitigate this some by pumping up the Bass control and turning on the Bass Boost, but its just not a rich sound experience. I think Panasonic can do better with some higher quality speakers and a small sub-woofer. I, and I suspect most others, have a surround system connected and utilize it for a better sound experience.
I also preferred when Panasonic placed the additional inputs into a trap door on the front of the plasma, the G10 has these on the left (facing) edge. To me it was more convenient and accessible to have these set of inputs up-front.
All in all, the G10 is a high quality Plasma with terrific features and future expandability. If offers a near perfect picture across multiple inputs and types of content.


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50" Plasma, 1080p, THX, Viera Cast, H.264, IP Camera Ready, PC Input, NEO PDP Panel which is brighter, Full-time 1080p TV lines of moving picture resolution, 3 HDMI, Native contrast ratio 40,000:1, Dynamic contrast infinite black 2,000,000:1, Game Mode, Anti Reflective Filter, 600 Hz Subfield Drive

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Panasonic VIERA TC-P42S30 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)I am the ecstatic owner of a Panasonic TC-L32X2 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV with iPod Dock, so when it came time to move up to a 42" set for the living room (and move the 32" to the bedroom to replace the 27" tube TV), I mostly confined my search to Panasonic. I had considered the previous version of this unit (TC-P42S2) because it was highly rated on Amazon, as well as slightly less expensive, but I decided to take a chance on the newer model--even though it's so new that it has no ratings or reviews. (As of 3/27/11, however, this unit is less expensive.)
I ordered this TV on a Saturday and received it via delivery truck on Wednesday. Setup was painless (it is pretty heavy, though). I was pleasantly surprised to see that it supports Internet connectivity (although it wasn't something I was looking for, the concept has really grown on me), but less pleasantly surprised to learn that the wireless dongle (Panasonic DY-WL10 Wireless LAN Adapter for select Panasonic Viera HDTVs and Blu-Ray Disc Players) is another $99. For that much, I think I'll run a LAN cable. [I did; see below. Also see the comments for another wireless alternative.] I'm using the three HDMI ports for my Verizon FIOS set top box, Apple TV 2, and JVC XVBP11 Blu-ray Player. A set of RCA audio/video inputs takes care of my Pioneer laserdisc player. (Yeah, I'm old school.) I don't foresee using the SD card slot for anything but firmware updates, but I like having USB ports so we can watch our Flip movies in full HD glory--once I learn how to do it, that is.
I was very happy with my LCD TV even in the middle of the day; maybe that's why I never realized just how bright our living room is. The first time I tried to watch this TV from the couch, the reflection from the skylight was terrible. Around noon, the glare was nearly unbearable.
In late afternoon/full dark, this TV looks fantastic. It's so good, in fact, that I couldn't tear myself away from 2 Fast 2 Furious, which says a lot. The problem is that I do most of my viewing during the day, so I'm not sure that it's going to work for me in the long run. I'll have to give it a few more days. The preset color modes aren't perfect, but they're fairly accurate right out of the box. Both Netflix and iTunes movies streamed over the Apple TV look great. When I have some time I'll run Video Essentials to get the levels dialed in.
The speakers are adequate at low volumes, and there are separate bass and treble adjustments, but at normal volumes, certain low frequencies rattle the cabinet. It was particularly bad while I was watching Inception, but my wife even noticed it during "Top Chef." I know I'll eventually have to upgrade my 15-year-old Sony receiver (it has only RCA input, and the TV has only digital audio output), but it's a little irritating that I have to do it just to watch TV without annoying rattles. If the sound quality were better, I would be happy to give this TV a full 5-star rating. (If it were just about the picture, I would.) Additionally, I need to jack up the volume when I use my Blu-ray player--a problem I also have with my 32" TV. I suspect that the player's audio output level is lower than the DVR and Apple TV. NOTE: After the first few days of viewing, the rattles disappeared. Also, I wired up the DVR box and the BD player to the receiver, so I have big sound when I want it (unless I'm using the ATV).
One feature I will never use is called C.A.T.S., which adjusts the TV's brightness according to the room's light level. Evidently it's set to On in Standard picture mode, which I discovered by accident. After exploring the settings, I found it and turned it off. I want my TV to stay at a consistent brightness level no matter what the room light is doing. (I'll bet this is why the picture looked so bad at high noon. We'll see.)
So all things considered, am I happy with my purchase? Yes. The detail and clarity blow my mind. I'll test it with some more Blu-ray movies over the next few weeks and see how it performs during the day, but I think we have a winner. Welcome to the family.
Update 3/19/11: I ran a 50-foot ethernet cable (BluCables 50 ft CAT 5e LAN Network Ethernet Cable 350MHz) from my Verizon FIOS router to the TV. I wasn't able to connect automatically; after a few failed and frustrating attempts that made me consider buying the dongle, I manually input the network settings for the TV (the trick was finding and assigning an unused IP address) and bingo. Bonus: firmware updates over the 'net. I might move the Apple TV to the 32" in the bedroom, but the Viera Cast selections are limited. Netflix is essential and Amazon VOD is nice to have, but I really want Hulu. I'm still very pleased with the TV; my only minor gripe is the amount of heat it puts out. (I understand that this gets better. I hope so.)
Update 3/25/11: For those of you who, like me, are interested in getting Hulu via Viera Cast, I received this from Panasonic: "Thank you for your inquiry. This Model TCP42S30 includes a feature called EASY IPTV. Easy IPTV includes and is limited to: Netflix, Pandora Internet Radio, Cinema Now, Facebook, Napster, & Amazon Video On Demand. Hulu is an application featured in Viera Connect which this TV does not have. The TVs that have Viera Connect & Hulu capabilities are:
PLASMA: TCP65VT30, TCP55VT30, TCP65GT30, TCP60GT30, TCP55GT30, TCP50GT30, TCP65ST30, TCP60ST30, TCP55ST30, TCP50ST30, TCP46ST30, and TCP42ST30.
LED: TCL37DT30, TCL32DT30, and TCL42D30
[Some models are not available yet and are still awaiting release in Late Spring / Early Summer 2011]"
Why there would be a difference between models, I have no idea. But there you go.
Update 4/14/11: I moved the Apple TV into the bedroom with the 32" TV and have been using Viera Cast to watch Netflix movies. I haven't noticed a single stutter so far. Picture quality appears to be the same as with the ATV. My only gripe is that there's no search feature, and the recommendations in each category are limited in number. The best way around this, I've found, is to use my computer to put movies into my Watch Instantly queue and move them to the top. I also replaced my BD player with an all-region JVC XV-BP10 so I can watch my Region 2 Godzilla movies. ("Godzilla vs. Megalon" didn't look this good in the theater!)

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Panasonic VIERA TC-P42X3 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV Review

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(More customer reviews)I just got a new X3 for a great price, and here's my experience.
As a TV the X3 is excellent. I have it connected to a roof antenna, and the reception is excellent. It has a very good picture on hd broadcasts, and good also on sd broadcasts. The sound is good for a TV. The remote is a good size and easy to use. I could wish for a dedicated sleep-timer button, I suppose, but it's still a well-designed remote. Given that the current price on the 42" X3 is comparable to a non-network TV, just for these virtues this set represents a great buy.
If you want a wifi connection, you'll need a usb network adapter and there are apparently only two choices--the panasonic model DY-WL10 (~$90) or the cheaper Netgear WNDA3100 v2. There is some confusion about the Netgear, since it has to be the v2 and the serial number has to start with 2D4 or 20A (actually, it's really hard to tell the difference between these two sequences when the print is that small--maybe they're actually the same). These are sometimes identified on the package as being compatible with panasonic TVs. There is no particular reason to think the panasonic adapter is better than the netgear. I got both accidentally: the panasonic adapter can be easier to find, but I also found a used netgear on amazon without much difficulty for ~$20.
But my experience trying to get a wifi connection has been frustrating, mainly because of a problem with my dsl modem/router. The setup procedure is simple and straightforward. But I had difficulties and worked through the procedure with a cs rep on the phone with no success. I am glad to report that the cs rep was patient and helpful, even though he couldn't solve my problem.
Subsequently it became clear that my old modem/router was causing the trouble. It used the older "G" wifi protocol, but it was also prone to dropping the internet connection. So I needed to replace it in any event. Anyway, I got the latest "N" protocol modem/router compatible with my ISP. As soon as I set it up, the tv recognised the router's wifi signal with either the netgear or the panasonic wireless usb adapter. The reception of streaming videos is flawless--excellent picture and sound quality.
Another option not quite as elegant as the tiny usb adapter is to configure a second wifi router to serve as a bridge. That would give you an ethernet connection you can place next to the TV, and as a bonus extend the range of your wifi throughout your house. There are lots of guides for how to do this online.
Anyway, the result of all of this is that I've changed my rating to 5 stars for a truly excellent tv. Second, I'm returning the panasonic wireless adapter. The netgear works perfectly for less than a quarter of the price.
I couldn't be happier with this tv now. But I would recommend making sure your router uses the "N" protocol. I'm not certain that this matters, but I haven't had any problems since I switched my router.
Updated 3/26/2011

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(March 2011)
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