Customer Reviews

Panasonic TC-P54Z1 54" Plasma 1080P

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is my first plasma HDTV purchase. The picture quality is fantastic. This is a NeoPDP panel (single pane of glass)

The panel thinness is still amazing to me. A screen this big and this thin looks crazy.

The sound is surprisingly good... the included speakers are also extremely thin. Not huge bass, but still very good for TV speakers.

The wireless feature is nice... especially for those who want a wall mount installation. You still have the option to use an HDMI cable from the separate tuner to the panel, if you like. I am using wireless, but on a stand. The stand has glass shelves. I have the tuner component on a lower shelf. Line of sight between transmitter and receiver, for the wireless, seems critical. This may be since I have the receiver almost directly over the transmitter.

The Viera Cast is nice, except I haven't been able to get the Amazon-On-Demand to play anything. It logs in and I can access content... nothing plays. I have contacted both Panasonic and Amazon... twice and have not received a comment from either. You Tube, Picassa, Weather Channel and Bloomberg all work well. Viera Cast could be a very nice feature if they can add more content... Vudu, Hulu, Netflix, etc. would be nice.

The THX picture setting option has a yellowish hue... this seems to be inherent in the THX settings that Panasonic is using.

Pros

Picture quality
THIN screen

Cons

Price (although I did get this well below MSRP)
Amazon-On-Demand doesn't play (has been corrected by firmware update see below)

2/4/10

I contacted Panasonic about the inability to stream Amazon VOD content. They were able to replicate the same problem on a TC-P54Z1 at their facility. Panasonic kept me posted via e-mail about their progress with this issue. A few days later, Panasonic tech support issued a firmware update that corrected the problem. Amazon VOD content now streams through Viera Cast. Very good customer support!

Wow! How did I get here! I can't believe I own a Z1. I was looking to buy either a Plasma or LED TV in the 46-50" range. Originally was looking at the Panasonic V10's and the Samsung c8000 LED's. I liked the performance of the Plasma & the looks of the LEDs. I was NOT looking for 3D TV's, but that's what corporate is pushing in their higher end units-I was quite frustrated by their market research and product direction (fad). The Z1 was in the upper stratosphere of price and quality, royalty really; I knew about it, but had no hopes of ever joining its inner circle. There was no way I was paying $5K for any TV. So I bought it (more later on this).This is an amazing TV. It combines the performance of Plasma with the aesthetics of an LED. It's just about 1" thin. It is only available in 54". The side mounted speakers add about 2.5" per side to the unit. Set-up time is just about 1 hour. Back-end connections are straight forward. The "controller" is not integrated to the TV (that's part of why it can be only 1" thin), so there is a separate "tuner" box that connects to HT and to the TV and to the remote receiver (it is a wireless remote, not IR-so you don't even have to point it to the TV, but you do need to register it to the TV). I have only hooked up through fios (1080i) so I have not tested the tuner's HD over the air function. The unit exhibits no sunlight glare or vieweing angle issues.
Viera CAST (IPTV)is pretty cool - got to see my Picassa slide shows, Stream HD movie from Amazon VOD, YouTube videos, Bloomberg, etc. - easy set-up and navigation - the unit even updated to latest firmware version- I wish I could add my own app's and content I like, both public and private. Also, this concept (IPTV) is not quite there yet by these manufacturers. Some of the data entry is cumbersome on the TV remote-better concept would be to have a registration site where I could manage content and accounts online as well. SD slide shows ran smoothly from the SD card directly from my Canon PS, but not from my Nikon DSLR (5MB ea photo). SD detection was automatic. HD movies are....phenomenal...on this unit, be it camcorder, DVR or BlueRay. Sound output is fantastic on a 7.2 AVR home theater set-up. I haven't spent too much time (yet) on THX and I haven't yet played PCHD TV fed from PC through the TV.
This is a phenomenal TV. It is last year's model and I am ok with that. It lists for $5K. IMO, it is not worth the list price. For $1700 you can get this unit on Amazon now. At that price it is worth every penny. The TV has much better performance than the new 3D TV's out there today in that price range and above. You'd be hard pressed to find a better TV at this price. It is a beautiful unit.
This is a phenomenal TV. It is last years model and i am ok with that. It lists for $5K. IMO, it is not worth the list price. For $1700 you can get this unit on Amazon today. at that price it is worth every bit and more. much better performance than the new 3D tv's out there now in this price range.

Well worth the new low price. I have had this TV for 6 months now. It has an amazing amount of great features and the picture quality is amazing. Nothing bad to say. I don't get the people who are complaining about the detachable speakers, they are the best sounding 1' deep speakers you will find, and you cannot compare them to an aftermarket sound system, it's just sense. Panasonic made them 1' deep so they would not affect the slim profile of the rest of the TV.

Television did not work right out of the box. Panasonic customer support was helpful and within 2 weeks got it repaired. The TV looks great and I havent found a bad viewing angle but like most flatscreens the speakers are under powered. Still the freedom of the wireless receiver makes this TV worth all the initial trouble.

By far one of the best tv's on the market today. The picture is stunning and the sound is very good for a standalone tv. Vieracast is a little slow at times and I wish it had picture in picture but otherwise I have no complaints.

I won't get into the technical detail of this TV, because that info is out there and is discussed in great length by the pros. I started off my search for a 50" plasma to upgrade from my old 2006 42" Panasonic. I had great luck with my old one , so I wanted to stay with Panasonic. After doing tons of web surfing and reading review after review. I settled on last years model panasonics V10. None could be had new. Heartbroken, I went back to see if there was a model above the V10. I found it to be the Z1. I took a shot at going 4" bigger than what I thought I needed. I am very happy with the size of this TV. I am eleven feet away and find it very comfortable viewing it from this distance. I now feel that a 50" would have been too small for me. After calibrating it using what cnet.com found to be ideal settings the picture is so lifelike. Very deep blacks with no floating blacks like my old 42". This TV has come down so much from it's original price of $6000, it's a steal. BTW, if you're looking to mount this on your wall. This set is perfect at only 1" thick.

I love this tv. I am still in the process of breaking it in. I would have love more picture control. After several adjustment, I finally settled for the THX preset option on the picture control. This television looks great with BLU RAY, CABLE and typical $20 antenna. I would have love the PIP option which is available with my TOSHIBA plasma also. This television is well built with beautiful picture. The picture seems to look better every day. All in all I love this tv and would recommend this television to anyone who is interested in a PLASMA.

Great picture, but there's a potential problem depending on your application.
This is the 3rd Panasonic Plasma TV I have purchased (first two were great) so I expected a similar user interface. I guess I should have read the fine print. Instead of the infrared controller that works directly with the TV monitor there is a wireless remote control that communicates with a separate tuner. The tuner is the size of a DVD player. The only way to operate and control the TV monitor is with the tuner plugged in. If you try to connect a DVD player or receiver directly to the TV you get an error message, "No Tuner !". The remote only works with the tuner connected. Through trial I found that a Panasonic will work directly with the unit but there is no remote control and no way to adjust the picture.
There is a wireless option where the tuner will transmit the signals to a receiver on the TV. Unfornunately like all wireless connections the result is not very hi-fi and the link can pick up interferrence and cause interferrence with other electronics. Plus, it doesn't work through walls.
If you have a separate room/closet to house your electronics then obviously the tuner will have to housed there. Now you have the problem (as I encountered) that the wireless remote doesn't work (same problem as with the wireless link).
The outrigger speakers have poor sound quality and look funky. 54" Plasma 1080P
If you are able to locate the tuner near the TV, don't mind the extra cables and are not planning to use a high end receiver (separate amp and speakers), then no major problems. Mounting the unit on the wall means cables hanging down the wall.
Panasonic have made a major error by not providing a standard interface option.
If you are looking for a plasma monitor for your high end home theatre, then this unit is not for you.