The plasma may be a dying breed, but the ones that are left are undoubtedly some of the best the world has ever seen. Take
Panasonic's 54-inch
TC-P54Z1 for example, which wowed audiences (us included) when it was
first unveiled way back at CES. The
HD Guru recently had an opportunity to take this very screen into his abode for review, and after a labor-intensive (around "one hour") setup process, the gazing was officially on. Panny's engineers were able to slim the set down to an inch by requiring that a dedicated (wireless) set-top-box be used for tuning OTA channels and managing connections, and the result was nothing less than elegant. If you're wondering what north of five large really buys in an
HDTV these days, wonder no more -- the set was deemed darn near perfect, with "outstanding" color, contrast and deep black levels. Potentially best of all, there were no motion artifacts to speak of, and anyone with a 120Hz / 240Hz set can testify to just how annoying those things are. Hit the read link for a detailed unboxing, setup and review, but don't even bother if you're looking for someone to talk you out of what you're about to do.
posted Oct 22nd 2009 9:56AM
I am glad I bought my 50" Kuro for $1800 in March. The Panny is getting there though. I hope Panny will end up releasing a set that will match the Pioneer 10G extreme contrast that never got released. Panny, pricing will be key.
I think the price tag of $4500 will put it in the same boat that sank Pioneer.
You know, for $1800 you could have gotten two 50in Insignia plasmas plus a 32in lcd tv at Best Buy... You are missing out on excellent gray's (blacks are over-rated).
This panny is the only one that's a true successor to the Pioneers. If it were a lot cheaper, it would be a better TV than the remaining Pios because of it's efficiency and brightness levels.
I think the industry should bring back CRT TV's... cause, "I like big butts and I can not lie
You other brothers can't deny"
...They're trying to bring back CRT, kinda. It's called SED.
I assume that's the TV in the picture? If so, it isn't a very flattering picture. The image looks washed out and the blacks are distinctly gray.
I must admit that after buying my 60" Kouro (2400 euros on sale) I suffered of a severe buyer's remorse attak , but now every time I look at it, even when it's off , I'm just so happy I vacuumed my bank account to bring it home.
Even compared to this state of the art, ultra expensive telly my Kouro still shines, not to mention how much more elegant it looks: I wonder where Panasonic ished out that metallic bezel and that horrid foot, a 70's catalogue probably?
This set looks great, but I'll wait for it come down from its initial price. From what I've read in the forums, Panasonic's what you want if you're looking for black levels that rival the Kuro.
And plasma isn't dead! Although I own a 120 Hz LCD and love it, I just got a great deal on a Samsung PN50B860 (which also has a super-slim bezel), and the colors are sensational, with black levels as deep as you can get without "crushing" the picture. It really sings when displaying 1080p/24 films (at a perfect 96Hz WITHOUT artifacts or hitching), in addition to flawless 2:3 pulldown of 1080i material, which breathes new life into cable broadcasts and DVDs. A 54" Panny that can do all of this would be a dream come true.
I saw this television at my distributor and must admit it looked amazing. I would like to see it side by side with a Kuro. I like Kuro's a lot, but I would not kick the Z1 out of bed.
The 4 piece bezel looks crappy too. Why not a 1 piece like every other tv has. It looks like it was pieced together with scrap parts.
I believe the sides are not part of the bezel, but detachable speakers.
This is a not 4 piece bezel. In fact left and right pieces are just speakers. You can remove them if you want.
What is this fixation with thin? Are TVs supermodels now?
Jeez, just give me the best quality I can get in the right size box.
Can't find a Samsung local dimming anywhere online now, but you can find these less quality thinner edge lit ones. What gives, are consumers and manufacturers that brain dead?
>> I think the industry should bring back CRT TV's... cause, "I like big butts and I can not lie
You other brothers can't deny"
Kevin, LMAO - love it