Panasonic TH-58PX60U 58-Inch Plasma HDTV

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 55.1 x 17 x 39.3 inches ; 138.9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 195 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000F70UY4
• Item model number: TH-58PX60U
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,388 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Featuring Panasonic's 9th generation gas-plasma screen, the 58-inch TH-58PX60U features a width-to-height 16:9 aspect ratio similar to movie theater screens, providing a theater-like experience at home. Its maximum of 29 billion colors and over 3,000 shades of gradation provide exceptionally fine detail for outstanding HDTV reproduction. The set's built-in ATSC (DTV) tuner pulls HD signals (480p/720p/1080i) right from the airwaves, and its QAM tuner is fully compatible with unscrambled HDTV cable reception. A standard analog NTSC tuner receives standard-definition (SD) programming. It also includes a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot, enabling you to take an SD card directly from a digital still camera or camcorder and insert it directly into the TV for quick and colorful photo slideshows.

A plasma screen renders vivid colors like you've never seen before (as in, up to 29 billion in this case), extremely wide viewing angles (wider, even, than those of most LCD screens), and easy placement due to a plasma monitor's slim profile--the TH-42PX60U is a mere 3.7 inches deep, one of the slimmest plasmas around--perfect for desk or wall mounting. Brightness tends to be extremely uniform across plasma screens, which are also impervious to the picture distortion and negative color balances that afflict CRT monitors when placed near lighting or sound systems.

The TH-58PX60U features a 1024 x 768-pixel resolution and an amazing contrast ratio of 10000:1. (The higher the contrast ratio, the greater a TV's ability to display subtle color details and not get washed out by ambient room light.) The 3D Y/C digital comb filter constantly analyzes the three dimensions of picture height, picture width, and picture changes-over-time, to reduce dramatically edge image artifacts while improving transition detail. Other features include V-Chip parental controls, on/off sleep timers, closed-caption decoding, aspect ratio control, and video input labeling.

The TV's internal stereo speakers are powered by 10 watts per channel (for 20 watts of total power). It features the following connection options:

• Component (Y/Pb/Pr): 2 inputs (with 2 audio inputs)
• HDMI: 2 inputs
• Composite (RCA audio/video): 3 inputs (1 on the front), 1 output
• S-Video: 3 inputs (1 on the front)

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link any AV source with an audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV). HDMI supports standard-definition (SD), enhanced definition (ED), or high-definition (HD) video, plus multi-channel digital audio--all using a single cable.

If a component doesn't have an HDMI connection, you'll also get great picture reproduction using the three-jack component video (Y/Pb/Pr) input, which provides separate connections for luminance (Y), blue color difference (PB) and red color difference (PR). This results in increased bandwidth for color information, resulting in a more accurate picture with clearer color reproduction and less bleeding than you would get with S-Video or composite (RCA yellow video plug) connections. Component video output is available only for DVD playback.

What's in the Box
Plasma TV, remote control (with batteries), pedestal base, power cord, printed operating instructions

Product Description

Panasonic TH-58PX60U

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Every Penny!, January 11, 2007

By 

Joshua Bond "[e-mail]" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic TH-58PX60U 58-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

This is phenomenal tv. I searched for quite some time, looking also at the Pioneer and Samusung models which are in the 60 to 63 inch range. I found this one to be the clearest, crispest, sharpest, and brightest picture. I went to Circuit City to see it in person, as I hate buying a product site unseen.

I am using a Comcast HDTV cable box with the DVR functionality. The HDTV channels look absolutely amazing, even when standing 1 foot from the set. UNBELIEVABLE. The normal (non-HD channels) also look very good. I noticed that normal channels also appear clearer and crisper than they did on other tv's. Not sure why that is exactly.

I mounted the tv to the wall, using the Omnimount tiltable wall mount system. As long as you hit studs for all 4 lag bolts, it will hold just fine. I was a bit nervous about mounting 115 pounds on the wall but its held just fine.

I am not a believer in over priced Monster cables. HDMI outputs are a digital signal--either it gets through or doesn't. It's not a sliding scale or progressive like an analog signal. I used the Philips HDMI cables from Walmart for $20. The picture is absolutely crisp from the cable box and from the dvd. It looks as good as the display model did in Circuit City, so I can't see the point of paying $140 for monster cables.

Whatever cable you choose, however, it will look good on this tv! You can't go wrong with this model!!

Josh
[e-mail]

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent TV, July 6, 2007

By 

W. Patton (Temecula, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic TH-58PX60U 58-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

I researched dozens of tv's over the last few weeks and it is very difficult to determine in a store and online which tv has the best picture. Although money was a consideration my primary interest was screen size and quality of the picture. I primarily watch sports such as football, basketball and golf however we do like to watch our shows such as Lost, Heroes, etc... You know... the good ones that are in HD...

Anyways, I was seriously looking at the 61" Samsung DLP and the Mitsubishi 57" DLP because you get more screen size for the buck and they are 1080P. My thought was that 1080P is the future and so I want to future proof my setup. Unfortunately 1080P plasma's were way to out of reach for my budget. I wasn't considering plasma's at first because I wasn't about to buy a 1080i/720p model however, I came across this model TH-58PX60U at Costco for $2300.00.

How I made my decision was based on the refresh rates of action sports which I've concluded that Plasma is the only way to go...In stores, the DLP's seem pixelated and the screen couldn't keep up with the motion. I think if electronic stores want to sell more DLP tv's...they need to enhance their signal.

I did buy an HDMI cable (rocketfish 4' for $65) for my Verizon FiOS HD DVR and hooked it up and I could tell a slight difference in quality vs. the component video feed. Now that I have it setup the picture is amazing. Here is what I tested:

I tested late night drama's and the picture is super clear. I did get some football clips on ESPN sportcenter and the picture and clarity was exactly what I was hoping for. I started watching non HD broadcast and the picture is good...I was watching the Golf Channel and even though it is not broadcast in HD, the picture is very good. I am excited to see what it looks like on HD over the weekend.

The price to value ratio for this particular tv is awesome! I am a little concerned still that I didn't buy the 1080P but it is way to expensive to keep up with technology. 2 Years ago this TV was over 5K and now it is less than half that. In the stores, I couldn't tell the difference between 1080P and 1080i/720P and although I am taking somewhat of a risk by going with the 1080i/720p I should be good to go for the next 5-7 years before I buy again. Besides, broadcast TV is only 1080i/720p and since that is what I predominately watch a 1080P TV isn't going to do me much good. Of course Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are out however, now that I blew my wad on this TV...it's going to be a while before I can get one of those...not too mention that they are going to have to come down in price to about $200-250 before I would consider them. I did test my DVD player and it was ok...We watched 'Cars' and there were absolutely no artifacts from the speed of the picture. It was clear and overall, I'm very happy.

58" Plasma for less than 2500 bucks...Wow! you can not go wrong...especially from Panasonic and their quality products that they put out...I would recommend this set to anyone.

Another reason to buy from Costco is they extend the manufacturer's warranty by an additional year so you get 2 years for the price of one. And if you pick it up...not that heavy and the box is easy to manuveur because someone got smart and put handles in the box although you will need a truck...

Anyways, hope this helps!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my best purchases ever, January 16, 2007

By 

Mark Spicer "Original Kings Fan" (Nor Cal) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic TH-58PX60U 58-Inch Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

I've had this panel for a little over 2 months now and am still amazed at the quality of the picture. I was upgrading from a traditional style (big box) rear projection HDTV and was definitely concernced that the picture would be better, but not enough so to justify the $3500 I paid. I must say this is one of the best investments I've made in entertainment value. I don't get to watch very much TV, but when I do have a few minutes to enjoy a show, sports game, or movie - I want to really enjoy it e.g. great visual and audio experience. Part of the reason I don't watch much TV (aside from my 3 kids, busy job, and numerous other interests) is that the picture has always been dull, dark, without much life when compared to actually being outside and doing things. A few years back I spent over $3800 on a new "top of the line" HDTV thinking it would be a whole new experience. It was not. The picture was certainly better, but it was still very one dimensional. The color reproduction, contrast, and brightness wasn't lifelike and I was easily bored with what I was watching. After looking at numerous Plasma TV's in electronics stores over the past several months I decided to give one a chance in my own home to see if the in store WOW factor translated to a real world experience in my own home. For the first time ever watching TV, the experience is as close to actually being there as I've ever had. The clarity, brightness, and vivid colors combine to create an almost 3 dimensional clarity. I have mine mounted on the wall which really ads to the experience, like you're watching what's happening through a window. It's a rare occasion when a piece of technology actually delivers on its promise. This is one of those occasions. I strongly recommend going and checking this panel out at your local store. Sit in front of it for 10-15 minutes and you'll notice things you've never seen before while watching TV. Good luck in your search for the right TV for you. This was definitely the one for me!