Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK 50-Inch Plasma HDTV

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Item Weight: 137 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 127 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B000B62NPS
• Item model number: TH50PHD8UK
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,071 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

This 16:9 widescreen plasma set a bright display that will look good in any room, on any wall or on any surface. It comes standard with both basic video and PC inputs and is easily expandable to accommodate a variety of different sources.

Image
Panasonic's Multi-Facet Asymmetrical Configuration Hyper-Pixel (MACH) panel features new materials and technology that improves the light-emitting efficiency and intensity of their plasma screens. The result is a deeper contrast ratio (up to 3,000:1 in dark areas), 2,048 shades of gradation (4,096 shades via HDMI or DVI connection and optional accessory board),3.62 billion full-time displayable colors. It boasts a 1,366 x 768 resolution and is compatible with a whole host of HD signals, from 1080i to 480p.

The TH-50PHD8UK also uses a host of Panasonic image improving features. Adaptive Gain Control raises contrast while suppressing noise by detecting and boosting only the image edges. Motion Picture Noise Disturbance Reduction detects motion patterns that tend to generate noise and makes adjustments to maximize image quality without diminishing the quality of stationary background objects. The Active Interlace/Progressive Conversion System reduces interlace to progressive conversion noise that often occurs when reproducing tiny movements, resulting in better vertical resolution.

Connections
The TH-50PHD8UK features both flexible A/V and IT system configurations. Built-in video connections include S-video, BNC, and component. Accessory boards expand your possibilities to include SDI, HD-SDI, HDMI, DVI-D w/HDCP, Twisted-Pair cable, and IEEE 802.11b. Have the set do double duty as your PC monitor, too, since it supports VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA, and UXGA PC signals and comes with a common PC monitor port. The Remotes System Monitoring Command feature allows users to control their TH-50PHD8UK via RS-232C interface. If you really want to get fancy, a built-in wall processor allows you to array TH-50PHD8UKs in 2x2, 3x3, or even 4x4 multi-screen video walls.

50-inch Wide Screen
A general rule of thumb for selecting the right size television screen is that the screen width--not its 37-inch diagonal measurement--should be between three and five times the optimum viewing distance, such as the distance from the TV screen to where your eyes are while sitting on the couch. Less than that and you may be distracted by the scan lines of the picture. More than that, and you may lose the detail of your TV. Based on this guide, the TH-50PHD8UK is ideal for viewing distances of 11 to 18 feet.

Other Features
Panasonic's new Advanced Dual Picture Mode simultaneously displays images from two different video sources or a video and PC source. 4x Digital Zoom allows you to divide the screen into zones and enlarge images up to 400%. The set also features enhanced screen saver and energy-saving functions.

What's in the Box
TH-50PHD8UK plasma TV, remote control unit, battery, band, power cord, warranty, and operating instructions bookEND

Product Description

Panasonic Pro (TH50PHD8UK) 50" Proline Plasma HD Display

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best! Forget the rest!, February 1, 2006

By 

Darrell Burns (Oakland, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK 50-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

I have done extensive research, testing and fiddleling on flat panels tv's. And I just have to tell you. You will not find a better display anywhere on this planet for sell right now(2-01-2006)! The Panasonic TH 50PHD8UK 50 commercial model is far superior to any other plasma display and non plasma displays, like DLP and others! Even the Panasonic consumer models are no match for this beast! The commercial models are built for precision viewing and durability ! You will never see a consumer model in a news room or government agency! If anyone tell you that the commercial and consumer models are the same, They're wrong! Do your own research! I purchased my plasma from 1800plasmas.com. They are very professional, and will give you a sweet price to boot! Make sure your Panasonic Plasma come from Japan, AND NO WHERE ELSE! These are my Exceptional picture settings for the commercial model:

picture menu = standard

picture = 0

brightness = -2

color = -2

tint = 0

sharpness = 2

color temp = normal

color manage = off

advance set = off

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding picture! Excellent versatility!, April 6, 2006

By 

Farid Khan "KHAAAAAAAAAAANN!!!" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK 50-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

ABOUT WHERE I PURCHASED THE TV FROM:
I bought this TV (technically a monitor) from Butterfly Photo. Although they weren't the cheapest (still got a great price), it was an online store I've bought from in the past and I knew they had a physical location if I needed to get in there face about something. Turned out to be one of my best shopping experiences which is very comforting for such a large purchase. They called me the next night after I placed my order to let me know that the TV DOES NOT come with the component video (RGB) connections that is used to connect to my DVD player, cable box, and Xbox. I thought he was just trying to get me to buy more stuff, but it checked out on Panasonic's website, so got me the component video terminal board for $100 off the cheapest site I could find. Then they upgraded my warranty and shipping for free! So, much to my surprise, I had the TV the next day.

ABOUT THE TV:
I should note that every part of my A/V system (TV, audio receiver, cable box, DVD, and Xbox) is connected and powered through Monster cabling and surge protector. Since this TV does not have speakers, the only thing I can comment on is the picture...and it is OUTSTANDING! I've had the TV for a couple of weeks now and used a Panasonic white paper (http://www.fcw.com/vendorsolutions/panasonicplasma.pdf) as a guide on "breaking in" the TV. In general, how plasma TVs are used in the first 100 hours is critical for the longevity and picture quality, particularly their susceptibility to burn-in. A lot of retailers say that if you are going to play console games, you should get anything other than a plasma. This is generally wrong for current generation plasmas, and especially wrong for this TV, Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK 50" Plasma HDTV, because it has a number of options (e.g. wobbling and screen savers) that can be activated to reduce the already low chance of burn-in to a negligible chance.
The space scenes in the Fifth Element looked incredible because the empty space was inky yet the stars still shone clearly and distinctly. Jet Li's Hero was fantastic! The color themes in the movie really demonstrated the exceptional color saturation and depth that the TV is capable of, especially the lake scene! There is no lag or blurring during fast action scenes in movies or on the Xbox.
My only complaint is that there are not enough HD channels. This TV does do a far better job of displaying non-HD (4:3) content without pixelating than other HDTVs I've seen.

If you're looking for something wrong with the TV, then you won't find it having to do with anything with the picture quality. It does not come with speakers, so you'll need the optional speakers or an external home theater system. It does not have a TV tuner, so you'll need a cable box or the optional terminal board. It does not come with the consumer component connections (RGB), and I did have to buy that.

BOTTOM LINE:
I honestly would rather watch movies with this TV (plus my sweet sound system) than going to a theater. It's that good.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best plasma for the money, August 11, 2006

By 

G. Clayton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic TH-50PHD8UK 50-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

I've had experience with several HDTVs and this one is the best especially at this price. This is actually a commercial model TV which is a good thing. You don't have to pay for extra speakers and a tuner you won't use and its a generation ahead of consumer models in display tech.

Forget having to tweak the settings all day using a setup DVD to get the best picture, this thing looked amazing out of the box. I barely had to change anything to get a perfect picture. My old Sony HDTV required hours of tweaking to get anywhere near the image quality.

I've never seen a better picture than this TV displaying from an HD-DVD. Its simply like you are looking through a window.

In regards to the person saying you have to buy an add-on board for 'consumer' component inputs, he is wrong. This TV comes with the component input board and you just have to buy BNC->RCA adaptors to connect up to it. Whoever made him buy a consumer component input board just robbed him of 120 bucks when he could of just bought the BNC adaptors for 5 bucks.

However you DO have to buy an HDMI input board if you want HDMI. It is recommended with this set because of this (from Panasonics info page): "Up to 2,048 shades of gradation (4,096 shades via HDMI or DVI connection)". I'm not sure why that is.