Panasonic TC-P55ST50 Plasma 3D HDTV Home Theater Mag

[gadgtfreek]

http://www.hometheater.com/content/p...plasma-3d-hdtv

Conclusions
The hardest part of doing this review was finding something to complain about. I wasn’t very successful. With a remarkable price, superb 2D performance, and 3D that can only be bettered by spending a lot more (and often, not even then), this Panasonic is a no-brainer. When I tested three different Panasonic plasmas last year, the TC-P55ST30 was my sentimental favorite. And while we haven’t yet tested Panasonic’s premier 2012 offering, the VT50-series, if your budget won’t stretch that far, it’s hard to imagine you not being thrilled with the TC-P55ST50.

[Dierk]

Yet another stellar review for the ST50.
At the same time, appreciated the author's willingness to note minor nits - while keeping them in perspective with / against other panels (something us users sometimes have difficulty doing....).

Panasonic’s printed user manual gives basic setup advice, but little else. There’s more detail in the onscreen Help menus, but even these are incomplete, amusingly unhelpful (example—“Contour emphasis: Adjusts the Contour emphasis of the image”), and sometimes misleading...

Alas, and as the author noted, the day of the printed manual - or, at least, one that is Actually Useful - seems to be all but gone, but liked the fact that the article pointed out several Specific Examples of Controls, along with a Better Idea of what they actually "Control" &/or Recommendations for proper settings....

I’ve found that the Panasonic plasmas I’ve tested have been moderately prone to temporary image retention—most visible on a black screen as dim ghosts of pictures past. The same was true here, but the ghosting faded fairly rapidly with no further action required on my part. And it never interfered with normal program material..... There’s no need to be paranoid about this, but it’s smart to be extra careful during any plasma’s first 100-200 hours of use

Have seen this on the ST50, but it seemed much more prevalent on the 2011 panels. In either case, however (& as noted), this has always been merely a temporary after-image, fading "instantly" once the black screen is replaced by Moving Content.

Won't talk about Bright White IR here ---- just as the Early Passat B5 boards "banned" talk about Cup Holders!


Still like the general advice to use care during the initial life of a plasma, even though understand that there appear to be different opinions about doing so.

[NightHawk]

Panasonic’s printed user manual gives basic setup advice, but little else. There’s more detail in the onscreen Help menus, but even these are incomplete, amusingly unhelpful (example—“Contour emphasis: Adjusts the Contour emphasis of the image”), and sometimes misleading...

Thats for sure. I miss the excellent Panasonic user manuals that you could download as a PDF file up thru 2011.
At least if they want to save printing the manuals they could still provide a complete downloadable PDF user manual.
The help file or built-in help on the TV is as mentioned pretty useless.

I still don't know exactly what "contour emphasis" is! Might it be like edge sharpening, an option Samsung TVs have?
I've tried it on and off and can't really see any difference in the picture.

[David Mackenzie]

I still don't know exactly what "contour emphasis" is! Might it be like edge sharpening, an option Samsung TVs have?

It's subtle edge enhancement, yes. I wondered this for years until I took part in Robert's Value Electronics shootout where I could easily spend time with the US models and see what it was.