Customer Reviews
It's hard to find many reviews on this model... 
2005-02-06
I did a lot of online and in-store research before buying this TV from Amazon, but I had a hard time finding useful information about it -- and no luck finding it displayed at retail electronics stores. So I thought I'd offer my thoughts here for those wanting more user feedback.
I chose Panasonic over other brands because among 42" plasmas the brand was consistently well reviewed, and though I found a lot fewer reviews of 50" plasmas, Panasonic seemed to offer the best price/performance mix for that screen size too. However, when I was researching 50" TVs three months ago (I bought mine in December 2004), one of the obstacles I ran into is that Panasonic seems to offer three different 50" plasma TVs, with unclear differences among them: this one (25U/P), the 20U/P, and a non-consumer model that is supposedly stripped-down in terms of functionality but well reviewed for performance. I bought the 25U/P because I wanted the full functionality of the consumer model, and because I assumed the 20U/P was an earlier model number than the 25U/P. That choice was an educated guess; I have no way of knowing whether the other models are better or worse.
All I can say is that, like another reviewer here at Amazon, I found an online review (possibly ZDNet) that said the 25U/P had a very washed out picture that was difficult to see in daylight. In my experience, that's not true. My "old" TV is an eighteen-month-old 36" Toshiba conventional tube model that was highly ranked by Consumer Reports. The Panasonic plasma seems a little less bright than that, but is perfectly easy to see in direct sunlight. (Some of the difference in brightness may be that the Panasonic has more lifelike, subtle colors than the brighter but slightly more cartoonish Toshiba colors.) The image quality on the Panasonic 25U/P, when connected to standard (digital) cable is nothing to brag about (no better or worse than the Toshiba), and a DVD it looks sharp on it, but not noticeably sharper than what I got from the 36" Toshiba.
Now that I've got an HDTV box from the cable company, though, I can say that the image quality on the HD channels is amazing. The contrasts and detail are superb. When I'm watching CSI on CBS-HD, I'm blown away by the picture quality on this TV. I'm pleased by other things too -- the design of the TV is handsome, and functionally it's pretty user-friendly -- but what really matters to me is picture quality, and I'm very happy with it.
The only thing I'll add is that I've done a lot of shopping at Amazon, and in the past I'd always had my purchases arrive before the estimated delivery date. This plasma TV was the exception. The company that shipped my TV for Amazon, Eagle USA, did not deliver the TV on time. In fact, the tracking number Amazon gave me did not even appear in Eagle USA's shipping database; when my estimated delivery date came and went, I called Eagle and Amazon, and no one could tell me what had happened to my TV or where it was within the shipping grid. Amazon was even starting to process a refund ... when, a week after my estimated delivery date, Eagle called to say they were delivering the Panasonic the next day. Once that happened, everything went off without a hitch: the delivery guys arrived on time, unwrapped the TV, set it up, and took the box and packaging with them -- and Amazon even refunded my shipping costs to apologize for the situation. But buyers may want to be wary about purchasing these big-ticket items from Amazon if arrival dates are time-sensitive; non-standard shippers may not be as reliable as UPS or FedEx.
Other than that, I have no complaints about this TV.
Beautiful television 2005-01-27
I own this set. We were hooked when we saw it in a local high end stereo shop, for around $8 grand. I bought it on line for $5,000. The picture is amazing.
Downsides: It is heavy. If you wall mount it, you should either have a professional do it, or be prepared to do some serious carpentry. I did my own. It's not hard. Best Buy wanted a grand to install it, that is ridiculous.
Be very careful taking it out of the box, you need help, it can fall out of the box on the floor, not good. Two adults at a minimum.
Zdnet.com gave this TV a bad review, based on brightness and the lack of a true 720 input. I don't think either are a problem.
Pro's. The picture is amazing. It has a cable card input and so you can get rid of the cable box. It is quite thin, and wall mounted takes up very little space. You don't need the $3,000 ugly entertainment center, so in the end you save money (use that approach on your spouse) The remote is adequate.
I haven't really compare this to other sets, the online reviews are almost all outstanding.
My wife loves it, enough said.
