I researched 50" TV's for a long time before purchasing the Panasonic TC-P50S2 on Amazon. Other reviewers have given technical reviews so I'll skip that. The image quality is excellent, the picture is gorgeous and the quality is solid. However there are lots of TVs that meet these criteria ... what makes the TC-P50S2 special is it's value. There are many 50" TVs of higher quality and better specs, (including some from Panasonic), however there is no other TV that delivers the features set and quality at the price of the TC-P50S2. If you've got the dough, you can go out there and buy a better television, but it'll cost you. As of October 2010, you won't find a 50" TV of any brand or technology that offers 1080p resolution for the competitive price which can be found on Amazon. I wanted a large, full HD television, but couldn't rationalize spending what most TVs in that category would cost. If you want 50 inches, modern technology, maximum resolution and a trustworthy brand, while not breaking the bank, this is the TV for you.
"Novice TV User", 2010-09-27Sure I've been watching TV all my life, but this is my first flat screen. I have no idea what tricks this TV does, but I know that it came out of the box, I plugged it into my converter and now I can watch all the sports I want in BIG HD with no learning curve. I'm sure I'll eventually learn more about the functionality, but for now, I'm happy -- though my other TV is a 30 inch CRT with a curved screen so I'm pretty easily impressed. Oh, the TV is in the basement and I use it for sports and I was told that with that combination I should go plasma.
"Panasonic TC-P50S2 great TV for the price", 2010-09-15This is my first plasma. My flagship TV is my 52" Samsung LCD LN52A750 which was also purchased from Amazon for ~1800.00 in 2009. I was running from room to room comparing the picture with Sammy. Since they both are feed from a HDMI switcher, both cable signals were identical. I tried every possible setting to get the pictures to at least parity but nothing could match the Sammy. Granted, I paid twice as much, in last years dollars, so I did get what I paid for with the Sammy. Where the difference really shows is in programs like football games and in TV shows like CSI, where a landscape shot of the city is shown just before the cameras switch to the inside.
There is this chart around that shows what screen size you need for your eyes to be able to resolve all the detail for a given distance for a HD picture. We'll, for the Sammy I notice that I start having trouble doing this at about 8ft.. With the Pani, this distance is about 12ft.. Hopefully, this gives some idea of how much sharper the Sammy is.
With the picture matched (as much as possible) between the 2 TVs, there is not much difference in the black levels... frankly; I expected more since the Pani is a plasma.
TV speakers sound fine to me and have adequate volume. I run mine at 50-60 (0-100) in my 16x26x8 bonus room. The room has good acoustics. Of course they don't compare with my home theater speakers but I have no problems running them any time other than during a "Saturday night" feature movie.
The screen is not as reflective as it is on the Sammy. This along with maybe the technology, perhaps unique to plasmas, might be the reason for the difference in PQ... I'm guessing here but I do notice that the colors and detail seem to "pop" more on highly reflective screens... my new laptop has such a screen too.
I've managed to pull in a few OTA high-def channels and I was impressed. The analog (from my cable) is well, analog... but is definitely watch able.
Even though these new plasmas output ~50% less heat, I believe this thing will keep my bonus room heated during the winter. The specs sheet says the TV consumes about 340watts. For comparison, the 30" Samsung CRT widescreen that I had consumed about 190watts. I don't watch much TV during the summer so during these times I always have the option to watch my Sammy downstairs.
This TV also supports ARC (Audio Return Channel) part of the HDMI 1.4 spec. It seems some newer receivers will require this for the HDMI passthrough to work properly when it's in stby mode. I haven't tried this yet as my Onkyo HT-RC260 hasn't arrived. One thing the TV does do, if fed a Dolby digital 5.1 signal from either the onboard tuner or received through the HDMI input, it sends this 5.1 audio to my Kenwood VR6050 older HT receiver. I have an optical cable running from the TV to the receiver. This rx has no HDMI inputs.
To sum it up, the Panasonic puts out a really good picture but the Sammy is absolutely mind blowing. For a 50" under 1000.00, I'm happy! The Pani is not a bad TV by any means, It's just that the Sammy is that impressive. I could not bring myself to dock a whole star for the slightly reduced PQ (Picture Quality).
I bought and evaluated this TV for about two weeks before taking it back and purchasing the new Sharp 52LE810UN edge-lit LED. I have since taken back the Sharp and will be picking up the TC-P58S2 tomorrow. Here are my thoughts:
Overall Picture Quality: Overall the S2 has superior picture quality to the Sharp Edge Lit. The LED's only advantage is the Film Mode/Motion Flow, which gives the picture a very smooth video like appearance. Some people don't like this as it doesn't represent the film in the manner the Director originally intended.
Black Levels: The S2 has great inky blacks. These black levels hold whether in a completely dark or brightly lit room. The LED edge-lit black levels were no where near as good. In a dark room the Sharp's screen looked white/cloudy, even with the backlight turned all the way down. A full LED set with local dimming would likely fair more favorably against the S2.
Constrast: The S2's contrast was far better than the Edge Lit LED. Again, in this area Plasmas still dominate.
Bright Room Performance: The S2's matte screen did an excellent job of handling bright rooms and it's backlight was plenty strong to handle even direct sunlight. The glossy screen of the Sharp was very, very reflective and seriously detracted from the viewing experience, despite it's very powerful backlight.
Viewing Angle: The S2's viewing angle is phenomenal. You can sit at any angle to this TV and still have a bright and vibrant picture. While the Sharp LED had good viewing angles, it can't keep up with the Plasma and began to get washed out at about 70 degrees.
Network Connectivity: The S2 does not have internet connectivity like the LE810. The LE810 has a host of internet widgets and features. This was not an issue for me though, as I utilize my PS3 for internet connectivity and BLU-Rays, meaning the Sharp was redundant for my purposes.
Connectivity: The S2 does not have a d-sub input. This could be an issue for some, but was not for me, as I have an HDMI output on my laptop.
Design: Thin Edge-lit LEDs have great visual appeal, but they sacrifice performance for looks. The S2 is comparable in design to mid-priced LCDs, though slightly heavier. The buttons on the S2 and its remote function well and are well laid out. The buttons on the Sharp are "supposed" to be touch sensitive, but require A LOT of pressure to activate. The Sharp's remote is stylistically and functionally similar to the S2. Again, this sacrifices looks for function. The Sharp's base is solid glass, whereas the S2's is plastic.
Sound: Surprisingly, the Sharp delivers great sound (for a flat panel) despite it's thin design. The Sharp pumped out more volume at 25% than the S2 did at 50%. The Panasonic has weak sound for large rooms. I'd recommend using a HTIB or Receiver/Speakers with the Panny. The S2 now sells for $899 on Amazon. This is a great value! The $1,200+ price of the 58 inch S2 is truly compelling. With the Sharp, for $1,799 your getting the newest LED technology with internet connectivity in a slim design.
Value: I purchased the S2 for $1099. The Sharp cost $1,799. The Panny outperformed the Sharp in almost every area and does so at over $900 less.
I highly recommend the Panasonic to anyone looking for picture quality first and design second.
