The Plasma TV Owners Thread

I know ther are some plasma TV threads floating around, however the search feature is currently not functioning, and I thought it would be nice to have a general thread for plasma owners and enthusiasts to compare notes, relay experiences, and just plain discuss plasma TVs.

I'll start. I just ordered my first plasma television - a Panasonic TC-P55GT50 - from Amazon.com today, thanks to a Black Friday deal that I thought was fair. I've been wanting a Panny plasma for the last 5 years or more, and finally pulled the trigger!

I'm beyond ecstatic, and will follow up with my thoughts once the set arrives and I get it set up properly.

In the meantime, are there any other TC-P55GT50 owners here that can tell me about your experience with this - or similar - model?

 

At the very least get a setup disc if you don't have one already.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6463_7-5085739-3.html?tag=txt

John K.

 

I purchased a Samsung plasma about 6 weeks ago. Just had it calibrated and it is beautiful.

 

I agree. Turn on the THX mode for accuracy and use tweak to taste.

Derek

 

Satisfied owner of a (2007) Panasonic TH-42PZ77U. It stopped working in September (known issue with the SC Board), but was repaired (4 yrs) out of warranty by Panasonic free of charge.

 

I have a Panasonic TC-P42S30 and love it. I have yet to use any of the presets as I found a good batch of settings online and tweeked my set using them.

 

I have a VT50. Pro calibration someday, but for now I relied on settings from CNET and AVS Forum. This year may be the last hurrah for plasma. The VT50 is the king for PQ. Gotta spend a bunch on an LCD to match it. Hopefully OLED were give us absolute black and more for a decent price within 5 years.

 

I love my 58 inch Panasonic plasma. I have had it two years and love the blacks and how movies look on it. I would like a 65 inch but the space on my wall is limited by big speakers, subwoofer, rack, etc. I would only be able to fit a 65 inch LCD in the space due to their almost non existent bezels. But none have a comparable picture. For me PQ trumps size.

 

What's the source of all of this talk about plasma sets being phased out?

 

No idea.

 

It's starting to sound like an urban legend. I've been reading about it since 2008.

 

Well, Pioneer certainly phased them out. It remains to be seen what the other manufacturers do. Until there is another technology that provides equivalent performance I think there will always be a market, size undetermined.

John K.

 

Who's going to manufacture Plasma when OLED R&D is necessary? Panasonic is the leader and I understood that they were about done with it. I'll look for articles later....

 

Panasonic has a website full of plasma sets. If you find something official, post the link. I have been unable to find anything.

 

Will do. Frankly, I doubt most people even realize that plasma is still around. Seems that there is little or no marketing effort. If plasma remains viable by 2016 then I'll take some crow. I suppose we'll find out in a few months about the 2013 developments (over 2012). Panny has been going through major cost cutting after disappointing financial results in 2011. The writing appears to be "on the wall", but we shall see....

In any event, there has never been a better time to buy plasma. The Panny GT50 series is one heck of a bargain! Gotta pay a great deal to get black levels in that zip code with LCD. A shame that consumers don't understand how expensive LCD is for equivalent overall picture quality. Those super bright LCDs on display at retail stores have won consumers over. Oh well....

 

I think that is certainly true if all of your information comes from visiting big box stores, but enthusiasts are certainly well aware of plasma, and even if people prefer the look of plasma, other details may dictate what is chosen. For example, my 80-year-old mother can tell the difference between my 50-inch Panasonic 50V10 and her 50-inch Sony Wega LCD, but her display is in a very bright room with lots of sun all day, the worst possible location for a plasma, so she had to settle for an LCD.

John K.

 

Planning to fire up the 3D on my VT50 tonight for the first time! 2012 Panny's didn't come with 3D glasses so I've got a pair of Samsung SSG-4100GBs arriving tonight. I'll get a pair of the Panasonic TY-ER3D4MU once the price drops.

Anyone enjoy the 3D on their plasma?

 

I certainly do I just wish there was more titles/shows available. Avatar is about the best I've seen.

 

Yes, I have a Panny Plasma and enjoy the 3D options. Be sure to check your cable company's VOD for 3D programs. Bright House has several FREE programs available as well as 3D Pay-per-view programs.

Derek

 

I got a panasonic 42 inch in 2006. I like it a lot has a great picture and have used it pretty much daily since I bought it. At the time the refresh rates and contrast on lcd's were not so good so I went with a plasma. The only complaint I have is that it has some minor burn in on the bottom of the screen that you can barely notice when the screen is black, thankfully most of the time you don't notice it. I think that it's not an issue for newer models as they have improved since then.

 

Happy owner of 2 Panny plasmas.

 

Treat yourself to a 2012 55" GT50 at Best Buy for 3 years same as cash. Can't beat that deal (less than $50/month).

Avatar storyline is so crummy, but I doubt the eye candy can be beaten. I do have Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, which I'm very curious to see in 3D.

 

Looks awesome thanks. My problem is my old apartment was rather large but since moving in with my fiance things have downsized considerably, the living room is very tiny and anything more than 42" would be ridiculous, even the 42" looks rather big. I actually sold my home theater set up and panasonic HD projector before moving in. Watching movies on an 122" screen in hd was awesome and every once in a while I miss it.