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Panasonic Viera TX-P50VT50 review

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Verdict:

The TX-P50VT50's fantastic image quality, excellent 3D and smart features makes it the ultimate TV

Review Date: 22 May 2012

Price when reviewed: £1,750

Buy it now for: £1129
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.directtvs.co.uk

Reviewed By: Tom Morgan

Our Rating 5 stars out of 5

User Rating

ExpertReviews Award

For this review we tested the 50in model in the VT50 range, but it's also available in in 55in (TX-P55VT50) and 65in (TX-P65VT50) screen sizes. All models have identical specifications except for their dimensions and power usage. We're confident that image quality will be practically identical across the range.

As soon as we lifted the monolithic VT50 out of its box, it was clear that the company has gone out of its way to impress. Its minimalist black bezel with contrasting silver trim is a huge upgrade from previous models and gives the TV a stunning yet simple appearance. The panel itself is covered by anti-reflective treated glass that Panasonic calls Infinite Black Ultra. It does a fantastic job of reducing light reflections, even in a brightly lit room. We looked at the 50in VT50, but you have the option of a 55in (TX-P55VT50, £3094) or 65in (TX-P65VT50, £4000) model if you prefer a larger display.

We immediately noticed the difference it made during our image quality tests. Standard definition footage looked reasonable thanks to some effective noise reduction, but high definition content was where it really shined. Colour detail was incredibly vibrant, even during darker scenes where we could always pick out minor details. Even when the rest of the scene was completely black, there was never any loss of definition. Brightness is still a little behind the brightest LCD displays, so you’ll want to watch in subdued lighting to get the absolute best picture, that said the VT50 is a noticeable improvement over last year’s model in normal lighting conditions.

3D pictures were unsurprisingly dimmer than 2D pictures, but this is to be expected when using active shutter glasses. Panasonic includes two in the box, with each extra pair costing £51. Motion was smooth and there were very few signs of crosstalk, with depth effects really jumping out of the screen.

Its I/O connectivity is also excellent. It has four HDMI ports, proprietary SCART, component and composite adaptors, digital and analogue audio outputs, Ethernet, three USB ports and both Freeview HD and Freesat tuners.

It also has built-in Wi-Fi, and you can stream content from a networked PC or NAS using DLNA. We had no trouble playing all our test files, including MKV and DivX files. You can also play media from connected USB drives and you also can turn it into a PVR to record programs.

VIERA Connect is the other reason to get your TV online, because it provides a huge range of internet-connected services, ranging from BBC iPlayer, YouTube, on-demand films and social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook. It also has a web browser. Browsing the web with a remote control can be rather difficult, so Panasonic has bundled a second touchpad remote along with the traditional controller. It’s much simpler, with only a few buttons, but makes moving a cursor around the screen much more intuitive than using a directional keypad.

The VT50 is a phenomenal TV whether you stick with the out-of-box presets or take the time to properly calibrate the image. Its main competition comes from its own stable because the less expensive ST50 range - the Panasonic Viera TX-P42ST50B is simply much better value. Both sets have near identical features and connectivity, with only minor design flourishes and a few advanced picture modes separating the two. If money is no object, any sized VT50 is a fantastic buy, but an ST50 set is better value overall.

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User comments

Panasonic - The True Colours of an Olympic Sponsor: "Burnt Out"

Expert Reviews,

I recently bought a Panasonic TXP55VT50B on your publications recommendation – just before the start of the Olympics. I have had the TV in hands for just over 3 weeks – of which I’ve only used it over a 1 week for an estimated total of 8-10 hours to watch the Olympics. Over these few hours of the TV’s use (2 hours a night to watch our sporting hero’s perform in the nightly Athletics) – it has now developed a permanent image of the Olympic Logo in the top right hand screen.

I find this ironic this has occurred from the official television sponsor for the Olympics. This is taking corporate sponsorship to a new level. Clearly the television wasn’t able to handle our sporting athletes for more than a few hours – very unpatriotic.

However, considering the circumstances and the minimal use of expensive and top of the line £3000 TV, I find it frustrating that the Television operational life has spent more time trying to fix the issues at the hands of Panasonic helpline, via methods of white noise and scrolling bars. Roughly the television has spent 10-12 hours completing these operations at Panasonics request. Unfortunately these operations only reduced the Olympic logos from appearing on all surfaces images excluding Black backgrounds. For a brand new television someone isn’t right.

A technician from Panasonic came around to look at the Television. He agreed with me that something was wrong with the television – but for generic categorisation of this problem fell under sub category of “Burn In” – which under their warranty terms and conditions is branded “Abuse and Misuse”. Panasonic even charged me an additional £80+VAT to tell me that I have “Abused” the television after 8 hours of use. Insane, let alone charging me £80 for a service that was provided by Panasonic.

Considering the statement from Panasonics own website - I find it impossible that within 8 hours of use you could “abuse” a television… let alone a television that has only been owned for 3 weeks: “This high-level 100,000-hour service life has also greatly improved Panasonic Plasmas resistance to image burn-in. This performance now exceeds the typical burn-in resistance provided in conventional CRT TVs, meaning that if your current CRT technology has not burned in, neither will your Panasonic Plasma in similar operation. While no technology including DLP or LCD is immune to burn-in, (or what is called Static Image Retention) the Panasonic Plasma, when operated as outlined in the product instruction manual, will resist burn-in in the vast majority of all applications.”1 This must exclude Olympics programs. But maybe not…

Defeated. After a week of my time spent being transferred from one Panasonic department to another -- I gave up. It was only the Olympic logo; and I was more scared that Panasonic would send me another invoice for misuse of their call centre’s time. I returned to my normal television schedule; spending 2 hours watching the Discovery channel and guess what.. I now have another form of permanent sponsorship available on my screen in the form of a big Discovery channel logo. What a waste of money. Back to my old 5 year old Samsung television and £3080 out of pocket for it. And I still have a 5 year manufactures warranty on my TV – I wonder what its actually for?

1http://www.panasonic.com/business/plasma/flat-pan
el-tv-innovative-technology-peace-mind.asp

By mtusa on 20 Aug 2012

Same problem here!

I'm now on my second Panasonic VT50 and will have to return this one too. The first one had terrible burn in: I think the shop palmed me off with a demo set as it had the Eurosport logo in the corner. I've never watched that channel and despite my best efforts it wouldn't go away. The shop sheepishly agreed to change it and I happily received it. However, after watching a football game the score and channel logo are emblazoned on the TV for all to see when there is a white background. How I wish I'd never shelled out the 1800 pounds of hard-earned money for it!

By sedge72 on 10 Nov 2012