Customer Reviews
Excellent Product - Great Service 
2008-05-03
The picture is great, just as good as other plasmas costing twice the money (or LCDs for that matter) that I considered before buying this set. I was a little hesitant about purchasing this online and trusting the thing to arrive in one piece, but the delivery folks were extremely professional. They called ahead and made arrangements with me a few days prior to the TV arriving. Trust me, as anyone who lives in a rural area will attest to, this isn't always the case. I'm extremely pleased with both the product and the service. One thing to be aware of... I purchased the TV through Amazon even though the price was a little higher (not much considering the free shipping) rather then one of the other 3rd party merchants that sell through Amazon for one reason, the return policy. If you read the fine print, many of these companies offer only manufacturer warranties on returns, meaning if something is wrong you have to go through Panasonic for service. They offer no assistance themselves. Good luck with that. Amazon actually has a full 30 day return policy, if you don't like the set just return it in the original box with-in a month for a full refund. I'll pay a few more dollars on an online purchase for that piece of mind. Also as others have pointed out, keep an eye on the advertised price for a month. The week after I purchased it the Amazon advertised price dropped $90.00 which they refunded once I contacted them. Another reason to stick with Amazon.
Just bought for $1,000 - Love It 2008-04-21
Just purchased this product at HH Gregg for $1,000 and love it. I have a 50" Sony 1080p LCD and prefer this 720p so much better. The contrasts are amazing! The remote is wonderful and the JUST feature makes the screen size always fit the screen (no annoying black bars beside and above like on the Sony). Would definately recommend to anyone.
Happy. Happy. Happy. 2008-04-16
I've had this TV for a little over a week and it's been great. I replaced an HD CRT (Sony 36" XBR) and was nervous that I wouldn't see the same picture quality. I chose plasma over LCD b/c I believe it provides a better picture (not so harsh or sterile - more lifelike) and I haven't been disappointed. DVDs and HD content are stunning, and, surprisingly, the SD content I watch (from Dish Network) ain't too bad, either.
I decided to save money by going 720p instead of 1080p and, at least until I have a Blu-Ray player, I am 100% satisfied with that decision: the 720p looks just great over a wide variety of sources (Dish, DVD, OTA HD).
The anti-reflective coating works, at least for me in my family room, as promised. In fact, we have a white ottoman about 8 feet from the TV and I noticed I could see its reflection in the bezel *around* the TV (shiny black plastic) but not on the TV itself.
Availability on this TV from Amazon comes and goes - I made sure to buy from them and wasn't disappointed. The free delivery was professional and on-time and they took it out of the box, plugged it in, made sure it worked, and offered to take the box.
If you buy from Amazon, be sure to keep an eye out on the price for a full 30 days after you buy it. I got mine on 3/31/08 for $1496 and it has dropped in price twice since then (now $1436). Amazon promptly refunded me both times - the second time within *five* minutes of my request.
Love it. Love it. Love it. 2008-04-14
How do I feel about my new Panasonic 50px80u? I know the title of this review leaves that a little ambiguous, so let me clarify... I love it. This is my first big screen (moving from an Aquos 32") and I researched the heck out of this thing before I pulled the trigger.
I looked at Samsung, Sony, Sharp, Pioneer, and Vizio before settling on Panasonic as the perfect blend of performance and price. I wanted to go 50" or above, and I needed to spend somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000. Normally, I do most of my electronics shopping at Costco because they have the best return policy and their prices are normally competitive with online stores such as Amazon. But unfortunately, Costco is still selling the 50px77u and hasn't begun to sell the 50px80u, and I wasn't about to wait for months to get the big screen.
After looking online and trying to get reviews (cnet has been excruciatingly slow with this model) and seeing it in person at Circuit City, I decided that I had seen enough positive reviews to make my decision. Finally, I went to Vanns and ordered it for $1,499.98 (Amazon's prices are like a yo-yo - $1420 one day, $1520 the next). A week later, it shows up at my house, and I put it together. YES!
So the picture looks great. The SD card slot in the front is convenient and pretty sweet. High def from Directv looks great and even standard def isn't bad. I popped in the complementary copy of 300 into my HD-DVD player and sat back transfixed by the picture. I'm not sure what more can be gained by 1080p because 720p looks absolutely fantastic and I see no pixelation whatsoever. I'd rather have a 720p set with accurate colors than some 1080p set with strange blues, greens, and reds, and this Panasonic set looks as true as can be.
In short, I'd definitely recommend the TH-50PX80U to anyone looking for a great picture at a reasonable price. You can pay more, but I doubt you'll get more. If you enjoy the prestige of hanging and paying for a Sony, then by all means, do it. But if you want a great set at a great price, look no further.
Love the TV, but is it just me, or does thing get HOT? 
2008-04-13
I picked this set up from Video Only about two weeks ago and I'm really loving it. It's my first big flat panel TV and I also upgraded to a new receiver and BluRay player as well. I purchased a nice 3 shelf stand the TV actually bolts onto, so it's mounted in the air, but not to the wall.
Everything is black and really looks sharp!
But one thing I noticed, especially today when it's hot, is that my tv is cranking out heat like crazy. The top along the back is so hot I can hardly touch it and you can stand back about 5 feet and literally feel the heat coming off this thing.
I'm going back to the store tomorrow to check the tv on display, but either way I think this one's going back. Do all plasmas run this hot or just the Panasonics?
Would appreciate anyone else posting here if there's runs really hot as well. Other than that, I love it.
Thanks for reading.
Greg
Love the TV, but is it just me, or does thing get HOT? 2008-04-13
Treat yourself with the new Panasonic Viera Plasma 50" HDTV, you'll enjoy watching your favorite shows and sporting events on the large 50" screen TV in high-definition. The Panasonic Viera Plasma gives you intense colors and the sharpest images with 1 million dynamic contrast ratio. You can use this to display all your favorite photos from your Digital camera with the built-in SD card slot, giving you your own photo galley inside your living room. Pixel Pitch - Horizontal 0.81 x Vertical 0.81 mm Panel Type - G11 Progressive 1080p HD Plasma Display Panel Aspect Control for TV/AV Modes - 4 - 3 Zoom, Full, Just, H-Fill 720 lines or more Moving Picture Resolution Progressive Scan Video Noise Reduction Digital Comb Filter - Motion Adaptive 3D-Y/C Color Purity Optimizer (3D Color Management) Sub-Pixel Controller Motion Pattern Noise Reduction Digital Cinema Reality 480 Hz Sub-field Drive 24p Playback (2 - 3) Deep Color x.v.Color 2x Full-range (L,R) Speakers Audio Output - 20W (10% THD) (8 ohms, 70Hz-17kHz) VIERA Link Game Mode Pixel Shifter (Anti-Image Retention) Video Picture Memory On-Screen Display Languages - English/Spanish/French V-Chip Program Lockout Built-In Closed Caption Decoder Timers - Sleep/On/Off Video Input Labeling Inputs and Outputs - ATSC Integrated Tuners, Photo Viewer, SD Card Slot, 3x HDMI Input (1 front), 2x Analog Audio Input (for HDMI), 2x Composite Video Input (1 front), 2x S-Video Input (1 front), 2x Audio Input for Video (1 front), 2x Component Video Input, 2x Audio Input for Component Video, 1x Composite Video Output, 1x Audio Output, and 1x Digital Audio Out Dimensions - Height 31.1 x Width 47.6 x Depth 3.7 / 33.1 x 47.6 x 15.2 with stand Weight - 76.8 pounds / 82.7 pounds with stand
Absolutely Brilliant ! 2008-04-11
Few models I considered before purchasing this one were
Samsung 50 inch plasmas HT 5054 (1299 $), 5064 (1400$) the 56 inch LED DLP (1499$) and LG 5PCD 50 inch plasma( 1249$).
I am glad I chose this model as in terms of look and clarity , I doubt if any model in the market can beat this. My uncle has Sony XBR 52 inch LCD and this PLASMAS is as good as that. Even a microscope would find it hard to decipher the difference.
This is as good as it gets ! I bought mine for 1419 from Amazon. They raised the price to 1519 the next day :)
Pros :- Excellent picture , SD card slot , Not too heavy ( I had Philips 42 inch Plasma which was twice as heavy), great looks (black glossy frame), very good set of inputs , nice intuitive remote, Excellent SD picture as well infact some channels look as good as HD !!
Cons :- No PIP , No glow on the remote buttons.
In spite of these minor cons, I am very very happy. I would end up buying it again given a choice. :)
Im Mad 2008-04-03
I'm mad. Not about the TV, but about the price. I was almost about to buy this TV. I even had it in my Cart. Then when I sign on the next day, its up $50. Mad. So I buy this TV and love it. Now I go to leave feed back 10 days later, and it is down over $100. IM mad. What a steel this TV is. I thought I got a good deal when it was $100 more.
The TV is fabulous. No burn in of any kind for 2 weeks now. The pic is perfect. It looks so much better then a lot of other TV's. I was going with another, but when I saw it at Sams Club, it just didn't impress me with a wow. This TV looks WOW just hangin on the wall turned off.
The Glare of plasma's in daylight is not that bid deal. At least not on this TV. It is accross the room from 3 windows and it is minimal. The anti-glare glass really makes a different. I hung it on the wall and have had no issues. I have no complaints. This TV is WOW and I have not even had a chance to get HD installed yet. This is all just standard TV. My wife doesn't think we should even get HD. She is happy with the SD picture. No motion blurr.
I love the format options. It has ZOOM, FULL, 4:3 and JUST. We keep it on JUST right now. If fills up the whole screen (no black lines), but yet it doesn't distort the picture by making the picture fat or wide. Not sure how it does it but it looks real good. While watching ticker tape on the buttom you can see that it stretches the ends but not the middle. Not sure what it does but it looks real nice with no black lines.
I will update when I get HD installed.
ken is pleased 2008-03-25
Great monitor for the money. I'm totally loving it. I'm particularly impressed with the high contrast, the front glass (I have a 2 year old with applesauce and stuff all over the place) and the attention to detail with the number of imputs in the front and back. Great box, great buy. It also feels really sturdy. I almost bought the TH-50PX75U, the model right before this and it was well worth the money to step up just a bit.
I get the feeling my next tv will also be a Panasonic. Very impressed for the price.
Excellent Plasma 2008-03-23
This is the 3rd plasma that I ordered from Panasonic, and this technology never let me down. I love this product! I have it hooked up to my DirecTV satellite and tested the picture quality with the regular signal and HD signal. With both signals, the pictures is crisp and clear from watching about 4 feet away from the screen and everything is the same at 8 feet away. This plasma is 720p native resolution and it is great. So unless you have a small room where you need a 1080p native resolution, that is if you are watching very close and ruin your eyes at the same time, you really don't need a 1080p resolution. So save yourself some big bucks by getting the 720p instead of 1080p. Buy yourself some good recliners and of course the flat panel tv stand or wall mount instead, because you gonna need them.
