Customer Reviews

Panasonic TH-37PX50U 37-Inch Flat-Panel HD-Ready Plasma TV

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

 

 

My family and I thrilled with this unit. The picture is so nice. I have only two minor gripes about this unit which I bought 11/24/2005. One is that the direction manual is not tremendously user-friendly. The other is that in the on-screen menu you cannot "hide" unused connections. In other words, if you've got nothing plugged into "video-2" you can mark that input as "skip", but it still shows up in the list of inputs to select. It is greyed out, but it's still there. This can be confusing. But otherwise I have no complaints. the picture is fabulous and sharp, the controls are simple. The remote is very nice, and its universal features even allow it to be programmed as a TiVo remote (the power button acts as the Tivo button)! I could not, however, get it to act as a comcast digital cable remote, but I'm guessing that's comcast/motorola's issue not theirs.

some things to consider as you shop:

-37" is probably the largest flat screen that one human can lift without help.
-If you want a quality picture, plan on upgrading your cable to HD. standard cable actually looks lousy on a picture this detailed.
-plan on spending plenty of money on cables. A reasonably good component video cable starts at $30.
-I compared this to the Sharp Aquos. It really was a toss-up with the final decision coming down to price.
-I actually didn't buy it here, as our local BB had enough freebies, gift cards, etc to make it equivalent to amazon's price without having to worry about shipping.
-check out [...] for a detailed review that was quite accurate, especially in regards to tweaking the color settings once you get it.

Overall, you cannot go wrong with this unit.

After reading other reviews of HDTV's indicating that regular antenna reception could be worse than a tube TV, I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent picture this TV gives with only an antenna. I choose not to have cable or satellite service but live near Dallas where we have about a dozen digital channels over the air as well as the correspondilng analog signals. I don't know how the picture quality could be any better with cable service.

This TV has outstanding reception with both the digital and analog signals and it is much better than my old 27" tube TV using the same Radio Shack attic antenna. It is very easy to operate with the built in HDTV tuner and also has a great picture with my old VCR. My only wish is for some video connections in the front, but it is a light 60 lbs set that easily rotates on my turntable for access to the back.

I went through a long process to finally end up with this 37" panasonic plasma. I first got the 42" version. It was too large a screen for my bedroom. When I brought the first one home, I didnt even bother checking a dvd picture, since I knew it was too big. I didnt realize at the time how amazing the picture quality is.

I tried the 40" $4000 Sony Bravia LCD. Brought it home, screen was acceptable size, put on DVD of Star Wars III.... space never looked so .. GREY. There is nothing near true blacks on even sonys latest lcd technology. LCDs arent even worth it. Just save you money until you can get a plasma.

Next, I went small. I bought the 30" sony hdtv XBR tube. I had it for two weeks. It ended up having a defective speaker. I lifted the heavy monster without breaking my back, and at PC richards, (which by the way will not let you return or upgrade your plasma once you walk out of the store with it, best buy does) They set my tv on a shelf and right down on the other end was the panasonic 37" plasma. Seeing the HDTV feed on the screen, I knew I had made a mistake. They agreed to let me buy the plasma for an additional $1000. I easily lifted it into the car. Set it up. Hooked in Phillips dvd with prog scan using monster component cables. Hooked up comcast HDTV. Hooked up xbox 360. Only regret is that there isnt another HDMI input, one for cable, one for DVD. Seems obvious enough. Oh well.

Picture quality. Amazing. Everything looks incredible. Even regular old non digital tv feed is better than expected.

This TV will have you in awe... seriously. Put on something like Sin City on DVD... wow. The colors are so rich...like a painting.

Next week Im having DISH network install HDTV service, with VOOM HD...15 unique HDTV channels. Cant wait. This plasma has me salivating.

One last note, sound. The sound is acceptable for a television. Thats it. I am upgrading to a $1400 aperion audio/onkyo receiver 5.1 surround sound system. The image on this plasma demands an equally good home theatre setup.

I will start off right away by saying I am probably not the average customer for this product, in that I don't have either cable or satellite TV. The good news is that all of my local stations have an HDTV broadcast band, and that the reception is phenomenal. I was sold on this model when I saw a football game on it broadcast in HDTV at the store. The colors and precision are really awe-inspiring.

I principally use the TV to watch movies, and I live in a small Manhattan apartment, so 37" was about as big as I could handle--and, since it was the smallest available plasma screen size, that made the size decision easy. I use a three cable color separation feed from the DVD player to the TV, and for the most part, the color on traditional DVDs is excellent. However, on some DVD's taken from older source materials, the whites and skin tones tend to be greenish. I noticed this above all on, of all things, "The Matrix," --when Keanu Reeves is in his office high-rise--he looked positively Martian. Fortunately, I took the DVD to an Electronics store, and the color read as more or less green on all the HD sets. I don't know if this is a general problem with current color DVD's which will be corrected with the advent of HD-DVD's, but I do occasionally have to adjust the color on some movies to eliminate the green tone.

But for watching television it is superb, as it is for most of the DVD's I've watched. I have had the TV for two months, and I am thrilled with it. I was told that it had the best color out there right now, and I think that is probably accurate. The remote control and setup are all easy for anyone familiar with home electronics.

When all is said and done there is no better picture out there right now. Turn to Discovery HD Theater, few viewers will be able to watch without getting chills. YES it is that amazing. Just got a Panasonic S77S DVD player with HDMI, WOW what a combo!! Only thing is if in doubt and funds allow it go for the 42". I got a great deal on the 37" and sit relatively close (6 ft) so the 37 was a shoe-in. But I can see where the 42' would be great and still not to big. Note setting the unit up in a HT is a bit tricky. It does not have a cable digital out only optical. HDMI is for input only so setting up with digital cable is tricky. Plan on spending a couple of bucks on extra cables. That said, this thing so awesome!!! There is no finer picture out there right forthe price. GET IT!!!

I was a commercial photographer (back in the day when we used real film, so I know about serious resolution and fine image quality). Because of this, my standards are high. I researched FOREVER! I debated between Sony Bravia and this. The Sony was extremely sharp, but actually too sharp for my taste. I prefer the slightly more smooth "cinematic" quality of the Panasonic. The depths in the blacks is great. Built in speakers do just fine in my small room.
I have lately noticed a slight buzz coming from the unit, kind of like the hum of a refridgerator but much much more subtle. I've pointed it out to other people and they don't hear it, but it bugs me.
Overall I would recommend this TV highly.

The picture is great, however, I needed a Panasonic technician to come to my home to upgrade the audio software. Apparently the factory-installed software for the optical audio output is not compatable with the Cablecard option from some cable providers. This took several calls back and forth with my cable provider and Panasonic's in-house support, but in the end everthing works well.

What a magnificent picture, vibrant colors, seems to almost jump
out of the screen. Sound is good. Very pleased, exceeded my expectations.