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Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P50S1 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
(49 Panasonic TC-P50S1 Reviews)
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(49 Panasonic TC-P50S1 Reviews)
Your Price: item not currently available
Height: 30.30 inches
Width: 48.00 inches
Length: 4.20 inches
Weight: 72.80 pounds
Model: TC-P50S1
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Display Size: 50 inches
Model SKU: B001U3YJTY
Price: $5.90
Price: $12.17
Blacks will turn to greys in 1000 hours! Avoid all pansonic 09 - 10 plasmas
by amazonionial
from North Pole,
2010-03-09
I loved this set untill about 1000 Hours. Simply do a google search on panasonic black levels or check Cnet. My S1 is worse then an LCD. Pansonic claims this is a feature but after a coulpe more thosand hours I think my set will be fully washed out. I now leaving it on 24/7 wasting 500watts so I can show them the full extent and of thier problem and fight to get my warranty. This is pathetic. I will NEVER buy Panasonic again.
Panasonic S1 50 inch plasma ... my first HDTV
by M. K.
from United States of America,
2010-02-12
I have had this TV for a little over two months now. I won't do a full review since so many others have done it justice. I will say that overall, I love it. It has rich colors and deep blacks. I was deciding between this 50 inch S1 and the 42 inch G10. I'm happy with my choice because you'll always want a bigger size screen. I went from a Sony 32" CRT to this and I was a little overwhelmed by the size once we put it on the stand. Of course, after a month, you become used to the size ... so get the biggest size you can afford that will fit your room. I'm telling you, it will appear to "shrink" in size after a month or so.
There have been a lot of complaining recently with Panasonic Plasmas losing their black levels after a certain period of time. I haven't noticed it yet and hope it doesn't happen or if it does, then I hope it will be so small of a raise that I wouldn't even notice. Panasonic says it's by design. Who knows who is telling the truth? They may or may not be searching for a solution, but so far ... it's staying as is. They have lost many future customers though, so they really should try to do something.
I still prefer Plasmas over LCDs. The blacks are so much better and the viewing angle doesn't change the picture quality. No matter how many different LCDs I see, I can't stand the black levels. Don't judge a TV by store lighting. LCDs will always appear brighter in stores and thus ... more appealing. Plasmas will appear darker in stores, which is why the average people stay away from them. These are the same people who spend $50 on an HDMI cable when a $10 cable will do the same thing. Trust me. The plasma screens (when calibrated properly) will blow you away. The reflection is not a problem at all. You get more reflection from the surrounding bezel than you do the screen. My LCD monitor has more reflection. My previous CRT TV had more reflection, so that problem seems resolved to me. Friends come over and they want to upgrade their LCDs to a plasma after seeing this TV. Of course, different people have different tastes, so you'll have to do your own research.
This TV isn't perfect. I don't see it as a five star television, but it is definitely a nice one. Problems I have with it is the Image Retention. There is no Burn-in as far as I can tell (which is different than IR). Image Retention can last a whole day sometimes, but it's barely noticeable. For example: I played "Batman: Arkham Asylum" all day one time. It was just a fun game that I couldn't put down. Anyway, there is a health bar/semi circle that stays on screen and only goes away if you are at full health. Well, after I finished for the night ... I could see that outline on the screen. It was very faint and only when the screen was otherwise completely dark, so it didn't bother me ... but it stayed there the next day. Again, I can't stress enough that you actually have to look for it to be able to see it. Plus, it does go away. Older plasma will have the burn-in problem. I just wish the image retention would go away quicker because it is a scary thing to see after a few hours ... and it makes me wary of playing games that have constant HUDs.
Another problem is that the sound is mediocre. It's not terrible, but since they put the speakers behind the TV, the sound is kinda muffled. They did this for design looks, thinking that most people would use a receiver anyway. Well, I couldn't use my receiver really until I got an optical cable. My receiver is eight years old, so it didn't have HDMI cables. I would've preferred the speakers being in front for better sound.
The three HDMI inputs are okay, though I wish there were at least four. I plan on upgrading my receiver at some point so this might not be an issue. One thing I didn't know before purchasing this TV was that you can NOT get 1080p signals using component cables. This makes no sense to me. I have one of the older Xbox 360s that does not have HDMI, so I'm stuck with component. It's not horrible because most games are made for 720p, but Netflix is supposed to be 1080p. Since Panasonic doesn't seem to want to upgrade their Viera-Cast Blu-Ray players with Netflix (saving that for 2010 models), I was thinking about using the 360, but I can't get 1080p. I'm fine since I can use my computer via HDMI, but it would be nicer without having to put my computer on. You can get 720p and 1080i with component in case you are wondering.
The SD card slot is basically a joke. If you put in a card that has pictures that have a higher than 2 megapixel resolution, be prepared to wait to view a slideshow. Most cameras nowadays have at least 8 megapixels which makes viewing them painfully slow. If I have friends come over that want to show their pictures on the big TV, I won't put it in the SD slot because it's way too slow. I'll put it in my Wii SD slot. That has a much better slideshow performance, plus ... you can actually make a puzzle out of the pictures.
Overall, I do love the TV regardless of the minor quibbles. The black levels are great, but they aren't as great as I'd like them. The greens do look a tad neon in some instances, but who knows if that is really the TVs fault or if it's the issue with the source material because I don't see it on every channel or Blu-Ray. I didn't like the look of the Standard Definition channels compared to my CRT, but I think that's the problem with the service. Standard Def DVDs look more than fine on this TV. The TV's not perfect, but there's isn't much out there that is. I know this TV is getting harder to find. I paid under nine bills for it, so it was a good deal for me. If you're thinking about waiting for the 2010 models, you may have to wait until November to get a great deal. If you are waiting for 3D, then I'd suggest you wait another two years at least while they get all the kinks out. The biggest concern is that rise in black levels after a certain amount of hours that people are complaining about on forums. Are they being too picky about it? I don't know because I haven't noticed it. But ... it does make someone think twice about choosing Panasonic.
beautiful picture
by dr
from ohio,
2010-02-03
this television has the best color i have ever seen.very easy to program.the picture is very crisp an clear.as you can see im very pleased
Great TV so far!!!
by Movie Man
from Dacula, GA,
2010-02-01
I have had this set for about 8 months so far and I am quite happy with it.
The only complaint I have is alot of green on the screen when you get to the lower resolution signals but that is to be expected.
Excellent TV! Poor shipping by Amazon
by N. Parsons
,
2010-01-13
Very brief review, the tv is excellent---a best buy if you will. That's why I give it 5 stars.
This review is for Amazon's shipping. I love Amazon and I purchase everything from them (literally), however I do not recommend them for high dollar, large items such as 50" plasma tv's. Why? Shipping took over 2 months and customer service was very lacking, friendly but absolutely unhelpful--their polices offer very little to mititage their problems. Bascially they will sell items they don't currently have enough of to meet demand (oversell) and so some people will get their tv as promised while others will have to wait awhile. I was going to host a BCS championship party. Had to send out apologies and cancel because Amazon fumbled big.
Could have paid an extra hunded bucks and had tv immediately from a black friday sale--I would recommend other, non-Amazon sellers on certain items because they don't do anything for the customer when they make mistakes.
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Price: $9.99
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