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Technical Details
Size: 50-Inch
- Brand Name: Panasonic
- Model: TC-P50ST30
- Display Technology: Plasma
- Display Size: 50 inches
- Image Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Product DetailsSize: 50-Inch
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Product Description
Size: 50-Inch
Amazon.com
3D Technology Checklist
This product is 3D-related. To help you get a great 3D experience, use the checklist below to ensure you have everything you need. 3D viewing requires:
 | A Display First, you'll need a 3D-ready display--whether it's a 3D HDTV, 3D projector, or 3D computer monitor. These displays have more processing power than standard 2D models for displaying 3D images in rapid succession. |
 | A Source Your display may be ready for 3D playback, but you'll still need a device to read 3D content. This can be a cable box with a subscription to a 3D channel, a 3D Blu-ray Disc player, or a PlayStation 3 system. |
 | 3D Content 3D content--the actual entertainment, in other words--will be played back using the source mentioned above, whether it's a 3D broadcast from your cable provider, a 3D Blu-ray Disc, or a 3D video game. |
 | 3D Glasses For now, the vast majority of 3D HDTVs require glasses for 3D viewing. Many use powered "active shutter" glasses, others polarized "passive" glasses. You'll need one pair per viewer, and they'll have to be compatible with your display, whether they're the same brand, or a pair of "universal" glasses designed to work across brands. |
 | HDMI Cable To connect your source (such as a 3D Blu-ray Disc player) to your display, you'll need a high-speed HDMI cable. Cables with this designation feature bandwidth speeds up to 10.2 Gbps (gigabits per second), for carrying the 3D signal without any loss of quality. |
If you want to get more information about 3D, shop our 3D products, watch videos, or interact with other customers, we invite you to visit 3D 101, our customer center about everything 3D. | |
Internet-Ready Television
Internet-ready TVs use your broadband connection to deliver dynamic content, whether it's streaming video from Netflix, new music from Pandora, or a quick glance at today's weather forecast.
Although there is overlap, each manufacturer offers a unique bundle of free or paid services, including streaming video and music, social networking apps, online photo galleries, news and financial updates, weather info, sports scores, and a variety of other smartphone-like applications.
Manufacturers continue to add new content to their offerings, keeping customers current through firmware updates, and making a bit of research a prudent step in your buying decision.
Learn more about Internet TVs, how they work, what services are offered by different manufacturers, and exactly what you'll need to get started at our Internet TV 101 customer center.
(March 2011)
Step into the 3D World. The VIERA ST30 Series Full HD 3D Plasmas create an all new viewing experience by putting you inside the action and creating a new world of TV viewing realism.
Infinite Black 2
In new VIERA models, contrast in brightly lit locations has been significantly improved. Enhancements to the panel and cells help reproduce images with smooth, natural gradation and deep, rich blacks even when viewed in bright surroundings. In movies, the true, deep blacks faithfully convey the intent of the filmmakers, adding power and realism to the viewing experience.
Full-time 1080 Moving Picture Resolution
VIERA plasma TVs have 1,080 lines of moving-picture resolution. Newly developed phosphors with minimal afterimages and a new motion compensating technology have made it possible to render faster-moving images with greater sharpness. This far surpasses the APDC moving-picture resolution measurement standard of 5 seconds by providing a moving-picture resolution of 1,080 lines at the 1.5-second level. And it shows the inherently clear motion of VIERA TVs in both 2D and 3D images.
3D 24p Cinema Smoother
VIERA incorporates technology that analyzes picture information in both the preceding and succeeding frames, and creates a precise supplementary frame between them. This suppresses the jerky effect seen in movies so that playback is smooth and natural-looking. The distinctive tonal qualities and atmosphere of the movie are preserved, and you enjoy extremely lifelike 3D images.
Frame Sequential Technology
Panasonic uses Full-HD Frame Sequential technology to create its 3D images. Images recorded in 1920 x 1080 pixels for both the right-eye and the left-eye alternately flash on the screen at the ultra-high rate of 120 frames per second. When you view the screen through active-shutter glasses that open and close each lens in sync with the alternating images, you see breathtaking FULL HD 3D pictures with stunning power and realism.
Dynamic Contast
By combining the highly light-transmissive IPS Alpha Panel and high-brightness backlight, Panasonic has attained both high contrast and low power consumption. Also, by detecting the contrasting parts of the scene, the backlight is adjusted to maintain a brightness that is optimal for each area. Deep blacks are reproduced with no fading. The contrast between the brilliance of diamond-like stars and the deep black of the night sky produces a sharp, crisp image.600Hz Sub-field Drive
600Hz technology lets you view superb full-HD motion and still images. For even greater clarity with motion images, Panasonic uses its own unique image-analysis technology. This technology converts the motion in each scene into dots. And each frame is practically displayed for a shorter length of time than in previous systems, to reduce aftereffects.
3D Image Viewer
It's easy to view 3D photos and movies you shot yourself on the big VIERA screen. After shooting with your 3D-compatible camera or camcorder, simply insert the SD card into the slot on a 3D-compatible VIERA TV. The viewing is incredible, with images so realistic it feels as though you're right back in the moment. You'll find that life's special moments are even more memorable when you preserve them in 3D.
VIERA Connect
The exciting world of IPTV, centering on TV, is about to begin for the enjoyment of the entire family. Now you can enjoy intuitive remote control while relaxing on the living room sofa, with a wide variety of content at your fingertips. In the near future, TV will also be able to link with a tablet device to achieve completely new forms of entertainment that you've never before experienced.
VIERA Link
VIERA Link interlinks the operation of a variety of AV devices, so you can operate them all using only the VIERA remote control. Setup is easy simply connect the compatible devices to each other via HDMI cables.
VIERA Remote
VIERA remote is a TV remote controller app for select Panasonic VIERA HDTVs that uses your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad (of iOS 4.2 or later) to control TV channel selection, input selection, and volume control. Included features are gesture control, a keyboard user Interface, and a power off button. Learn more about Panasonic’s VIERA remote app.
Long Panel Life, Up to 100,000 Hours
One important way consumers can protect the environment is by choosing high-quality products and taking care of them so they last for a long time. A high-quality VIERA HDTV can help. Thanks to a newly designed phosphor process and rear panel process, our plasma panels last for up to 100,000 hours before the brightness decreases by half. That's more than 30 years of viewing 8 hours a day.
Mercury and Lead Free Plasma Display Panel Panasonic is committed to making our products more friendly to the environment. In line with this commitment, all VIERA plasma display panels are free of both lead and mercury. This reduces impact on the environment years down the road when the TV is recycled or retired from use.
Key Specifications
| Connections
Dimensions
|
Panasonic 2011 Plasma HDTV Comparison
| Series: | GT30 | ST30 | S30 | X3 |
| Models: | ||||
| Full HD 1080p |  | | | -- |
| HD 720p | -- | -- | -- | |
| 3D Ready | | | -- | -- |
| Motion Picture Resolution | 1080 Lines | 1080 Lines | 900 Lines | 720 Lines |
| THX Mode | | -- | -- | -- |
| VIERA Connect | | | -- | -- |
| EASY IPTV | -- | -- | | |
| DLNA | | | -- | -- |
| Wireless LAN | Ready | Ready | Ready | Ready |
| Ethernet | | | | |
| HDMI | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Component (Y/Pb/Pr) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Composite A/V | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Digital Audio Output | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| PC (DSub) | 1 | -- | -- | -- |
| USB 2.0 Port | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| MP3 Playback | | | | |
| JPEG Playback | | | | |
| MPEG Video Playback | | | | |
What's in the Box
Panasonic ST30 series Plasma HDTV, removable stand, wireless LAN adapter, remote control (with batteries), operating instructions, quick start guideProduct Description
Panasonic VIERA TC-P50ST30 50-Inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1,147 of 1,212 people found the following review helpful
By jimmienoman
Size Name:50-Inch|Amazon Verified Purchase
To preface this I have had 2 P50ST30s (one replacement because of the problems I will talk about below) and Amazon was awesome with the whole return and replacement. One of the best companies I have dealt with. This is a very long review as I would like you to understand what you are buying beforehand.
ALL VERSIONS OF PANASONIC 2011 TVs ARE EXHIBITING THIS PROBLEM.
I was excited when I first set up my TV and took the time to age the phosphors in the TV for 150 hours by running slides (a step that can be skipped but the phosphors degrade in the first 100 hours faster than the rest of it's life). I set up the blu-ray player and after dialing in the settings it looked awesome. Then the brightness fluctuations happened.
The best way I can explain brightness fluctuations ( Fluctuating Brightness or FBr) is will be a leap in lighting. When you have a dark scene the whole picture will darken some to give more detail to a shadowed area. It is necessary to give great picture quality in any plasma. Normally what will happen is that it will gradually fade into darker or lighter, this TV does it all in one step. A drastic comparison would be a pitch black room where you turn a light on vs turning a dimmer light on gradually. What you see on the screen is picture that will switch from dark to lighter. It is most noticeable when you have 2 scenes switching back and forth (think dialogue between 2 characters where it switches between ones face to the other) and one scene is darker than the other. You can easily see this in the movie Hereafter around minute 40.
This problem is exacerbated by a delay in the video processing of the switch between darker scenes and lighter scenes. In almost all video they will have scenes cut and pasted together. When this happens the lighting usually will change for various reasons. When the scenes cut from one to another this TV will take about 0.5-1 second to process the lighting difference to adjust to give more detail to shadowed areas. Given that it does it in one leap as mentioned above, it severely distracts you from watching the movie and enjoying it.
Darker Movies will usually bring out these symptoms to it's max. When I went to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, I came to the point where I started counting the fluctuations instead of watching the movie. I counted 56 total in one watching. My wife didn't watch HP with me but she commented on it while watching Castle a few times, then more and more on other shows.
The reviews are definitely favorable as it has a great picture quality without doubt. Most professional reviewers mention fluctuating brightness problem, but gloss over it. Why they did I am not sure. It seems that some sets show this dramatically, while others don't. My first one (the one I counted 56 fluctuations on for HP) I would say was very bad compared to a slightly less worse one that I got the second time around. I re watched HP on the second one to see if I could just enjoy the movie, got to the point I started counting again and only counter 32 which were more tame but still easy to spot without even looking for them. To make sure it just wasn't me seeing things because I knew when they were, I made (yes she wasn't to happy about it) her watch Tron with me. We first started Tron in 2d and she saw it some; then I popped in the 3d disc and she was pointing it out in every other scene.
I placed a complaint with US Panasonic as this was unacceptable, trying to explain it the best as I am now. I was walked through changing multiple settings (CATS off, trying all modes, changing contrast and all other settings, using 3 different HDMI cables along with composite and component cables) with nothing relieving the issue. Their response was that this is a feature of the TV and that it was working properly. Some of their exact words in the email I later received were " the picture dimming (fluctuating brightness) is negligible and should be considered within the TV's design specification."
In Spain a gentleman Documented this for Panasonic to prove that something was wrong. If you would like to see how bad this is; there has been a video posted by a member of a great forum for high def junkies that shows this instance (Google " VT30 hereafter " and it will show in the youtube vids) if you would like to see exactly what I am talking about. The TV here was the VT series which is Panasonic's flagship model and cost well over $1,200 of this TV.
Since the posting of the above video Spain got a firmware update to 1.520. The same person posted the exact same scene with the same setup which you can also view by clicking on his name or clicking on it on the right hand side. It eliminates this problem, since then Europe Panasonic have acknowledged that there is something that they are looking into (circumventing saying there is a problem). But US Panasonic calls this a feature that is working as intended. Unlike US Panasonic which I have opened 2 cases with them about this problem, one for both TVs, and just receive it's a feature of the TV which is working properly...
I am hoping that this is heeded as a warning to many as I feel terrible about Amazon being outstanding in it's Customer Service trying to rectify what is obviously not their fault. I am a man that researches any large purchase to the T to try to avoid these problems. I weighed my options and since the professional reviewers either made no mention of this problem or said it was a minor problem; I decided to buy this Panasonic. I post this in hopes that those that do their research won't feel gypped as I do.
If you would like to read more comments a Facebook page was created in hope that it would have an effect as it did with Sony. It is on facebook under "My 2011 Panasonic TV is Defective".
UPDATE 7/26 : Various Panasonic emails have said that there will be an announcement this Wednesday 7/27. Also a A reliable higher up in Panasonic NA has said that there is a FW that will be aimed at fixing "panel dimming" very soon (this term has a different meaning then Fluctuating Brightness, but all other FW fixes in Europe that fixed the FBr were released to fix another problem). This could or could not be a fix to the above problems, but hopefully putting 2 and 2 together means we will be getting a FW fix this Wednesday. Whether this is a fix to the above problems or not remains to be seen. Since I published this report it has been confirmed that all European models are now shipped with the Firmware that fixes FBr, while here in NA it hasn't been addressed. Here is to hoping for a statement Wednesday.
*UPDATE* 8/6/11 : First there has been no true announcement from Panasonic NA as of yet. But after getting all the data collected and sent forward to the engineers (yes many people that owned the TV put in this work), the engineers were able to replicate the problem. Since then there is now a patch. This is not a Firmware update, instead it changes other "software" in the TV like the EEPROM. Since it is not strictly a Firmware update they cannot simply have your tv download it from the internet like normal. It REQUIRES, at least as of right now, a tech to come out to install it on your TV.
Note that this fix has been confirmed to be loaded on TVs coming from the factory now. When this change occurred I cannot tell you neither can anyone that you can talk to, so please do not hound amazon, Panasonic or any other retailer. I assume the earliest we will see TVs with this update will be very late July produced TVs if not August. If you decide to buy a TV from Amazon please just allow them to come out and patch the TV instead of sending it back. If you send it back Amazon has to eat the shipping and this is one company that tries it's hardest to help the customer. So please do not make them eat the cost or else they WILL eventually have to change the policies they have. It may take a few weeks to get the rep out, butit is worth it to allow amazon to keep its very lax and customer happiness driven CS.
Now onto the results :
I have had this patch on my TVs for 2 days now. I compiled a list of FBr material that was bad during the data collection phase before we passed this on to the Panasonic Engineers so I had a list prepared to test this afterward to see if it was fixed or not. Running through 20 of the worst scenes over 6 movies (Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 1, Tron, Casino Royale, Hereafter, Battlefield LA). In these movies I saw not 1 noticeable FBr ( I say noticeable because FBr is in the driving mechanism of this TV). I noticed only 1 instance of a small FBr in the movie The Rite, but it was under extreme circumstances (dark background to near white background with a shadowed face in a scene change). Besides that I also watched some streamed video (Master Chef, True Blood, Band of Brothers etc) and got the same results of no FBr. Gaming (Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins and Gears of War 2) was also the same, no FBr.
Overall it fixed the problem almost completely, if not completely. This patch surpassed my expectations and Panasonic owned up and fixed a glaring problem. There have been 3 forum users that have this fix and posted about it. They all report the same thing.
If you have purchased this TV or any other Panasonic NA ST30, GT30 or VT30 and have the problems mentioned above please call 1-800-973-4390. This is Panasonic Concierge and this is the number that was requested to call by the engineers. Tell them you have Fluctuating Brightness. Low end techs have been sent a memo regarding this. Many are now receiving emails to set up appointments.
Because of this fix I have amended my score of the TV. For this price this TV is amazing. Read more ›
ALL VERSIONS OF PANASONIC 2011 TVs ARE EXHIBITING THIS PROBLEM.
I was excited when I first set up my TV and took the time to age the phosphors in the TV for 150 hours by running slides (a step that can be skipped but the phosphors degrade in the first 100 hours faster than the rest of it's life). I set up the blu-ray player and after dialing in the settings it looked awesome. Then the brightness fluctuations happened.
The best way I can explain brightness fluctuations ( Fluctuating Brightness or FBr) is will be a leap in lighting. When you have a dark scene the whole picture will darken some to give more detail to a shadowed area. It is necessary to give great picture quality in any plasma. Normally what will happen is that it will gradually fade into darker or lighter, this TV does it all in one step. A drastic comparison would be a pitch black room where you turn a light on vs turning a dimmer light on gradually. What you see on the screen is picture that will switch from dark to lighter. It is most noticeable when you have 2 scenes switching back and forth (think dialogue between 2 characters where it switches between ones face to the other) and one scene is darker than the other. You can easily see this in the movie Hereafter around minute 40.
This problem is exacerbated by a delay in the video processing of the switch between darker scenes and lighter scenes. In almost all video they will have scenes cut and pasted together. When this happens the lighting usually will change for various reasons. When the scenes cut from one to another this TV will take about 0.5-1 second to process the lighting difference to adjust to give more detail to shadowed areas. Given that it does it in one leap as mentioned above, it severely distracts you from watching the movie and enjoying it.
Darker Movies will usually bring out these symptoms to it's max. When I went to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, I came to the point where I started counting the fluctuations instead of watching the movie. I counted 56 total in one watching. My wife didn't watch HP with me but she commented on it while watching Castle a few times, then more and more on other shows.
The reviews are definitely favorable as it has a great picture quality without doubt. Most professional reviewers mention fluctuating brightness problem, but gloss over it. Why they did I am not sure. It seems that some sets show this dramatically, while others don't. My first one (the one I counted 56 fluctuations on for HP) I would say was very bad compared to a slightly less worse one that I got the second time around. I re watched HP on the second one to see if I could just enjoy the movie, got to the point I started counting again and only counter 32 which were more tame but still easy to spot without even looking for them. To make sure it just wasn't me seeing things because I knew when they were, I made (yes she wasn't to happy about it) her watch Tron with me. We first started Tron in 2d and she saw it some; then I popped in the 3d disc and she was pointing it out in every other scene.
I placed a complaint with US Panasonic as this was unacceptable, trying to explain it the best as I am now. I was walked through changing multiple settings (CATS off, trying all modes, changing contrast and all other settings, using 3 different HDMI cables along with composite and component cables) with nothing relieving the issue. Their response was that this is a feature of the TV and that it was working properly. Some of their exact words in the email I later received were " the picture dimming (fluctuating brightness) is negligible and should be considered within the TV's design specification."
In Spain a gentleman Documented this for Panasonic to prove that something was wrong. If you would like to see how bad this is; there has been a video posted by a member of a great forum for high def junkies that shows this instance (Google " VT30 hereafter " and it will show in the youtube vids) if you would like to see exactly what I am talking about. The TV here was the VT series which is Panasonic's flagship model and cost well over $1,200 of this TV.
Since the posting of the above video Spain got a firmware update to 1.520. The same person posted the exact same scene with the same setup which you can also view by clicking on his name or clicking on it on the right hand side. It eliminates this problem, since then Europe Panasonic have acknowledged that there is something that they are looking into (circumventing saying there is a problem). But US Panasonic calls this a feature that is working as intended. Unlike US Panasonic which I have opened 2 cases with them about this problem, one for both TVs, and just receive it's a feature of the TV which is working properly...
I am hoping that this is heeded as a warning to many as I feel terrible about Amazon being outstanding in it's Customer Service trying to rectify what is obviously not their fault. I am a man that researches any large purchase to the T to try to avoid these problems. I weighed my options and since the professional reviewers either made no mention of this problem or said it was a minor problem; I decided to buy this Panasonic. I post this in hopes that those that do their research won't feel gypped as I do.
If you would like to read more comments a Facebook page was created in hope that it would have an effect as it did with Sony. It is on facebook under "My 2011 Panasonic TV is Defective".
UPDATE 7/26 : Various Panasonic emails have said that there will be an announcement this Wednesday 7/27. Also a A reliable higher up in Panasonic NA has said that there is a FW that will be aimed at fixing "panel dimming" very soon (this term has a different meaning then Fluctuating Brightness, but all other FW fixes in Europe that fixed the FBr were released to fix another problem). This could or could not be a fix to the above problems, but hopefully putting 2 and 2 together means we will be getting a FW fix this Wednesday. Whether this is a fix to the above problems or not remains to be seen. Since I published this report it has been confirmed that all European models are now shipped with the Firmware that fixes FBr, while here in NA it hasn't been addressed. Here is to hoping for a statement Wednesday.
*UPDATE* 8/6/11 : First there has been no true announcement from Panasonic NA as of yet. But after getting all the data collected and sent forward to the engineers (yes many people that owned the TV put in this work), the engineers were able to replicate the problem. Since then there is now a patch. This is not a Firmware update, instead it changes other "software" in the TV like the EEPROM. Since it is not strictly a Firmware update they cannot simply have your tv download it from the internet like normal. It REQUIRES, at least as of right now, a tech to come out to install it on your TV.
Note that this fix has been confirmed to be loaded on TVs coming from the factory now. When this change occurred I cannot tell you neither can anyone that you can talk to, so please do not hound amazon, Panasonic or any other retailer. I assume the earliest we will see TVs with this update will be very late July produced TVs if not August. If you decide to buy a TV from Amazon please just allow them to come out and patch the TV instead of sending it back. If you send it back Amazon has to eat the shipping and this is one company that tries it's hardest to help the customer. So please do not make them eat the cost or else they WILL eventually have to change the policies they have. It may take a few weeks to get the rep out, butit is worth it to allow amazon to keep its very lax and customer happiness driven CS.
Now onto the results :
I have had this patch on my TVs for 2 days now. I compiled a list of FBr material that was bad during the data collection phase before we passed this on to the Panasonic Engineers so I had a list prepared to test this afterward to see if it was fixed or not. Running through 20 of the worst scenes over 6 movies (Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 1, Tron, Casino Royale, Hereafter, Battlefield LA). In these movies I saw not 1 noticeable FBr ( I say noticeable because FBr is in the driving mechanism of this TV). I noticed only 1 instance of a small FBr in the movie The Rite, but it was under extreme circumstances (dark background to near white background with a shadowed face in a scene change). Besides that I also watched some streamed video (Master Chef, True Blood, Band of Brothers etc) and got the same results of no FBr. Gaming (Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins and Gears of War 2) was also the same, no FBr.
Overall it fixed the problem almost completely, if not completely. This patch surpassed my expectations and Panasonic owned up and fixed a glaring problem. There have been 3 forum users that have this fix and posted about it. They all report the same thing.
If you have purchased this TV or any other Panasonic NA ST30, GT30 or VT30 and have the problems mentioned above please call 1-800-973-4390. This is Panasonic Concierge and this is the number that was requested to call by the engineers. Tell them you have Fluctuating Brightness. Low end techs have been sent a memo regarding this. Many are now receiving emails to set up appointments.
Because of this fix I have amended my score of the TV. For this price this TV is amazing. Read more ›
179 of 186 people found the following review helpful
By Vin
Size Name:55-Inch
Like everyone else interested in making the big screen purchase, I spent hours every night reading reviews, shopping around, comparing specs and prices, and trying to decide whether I should go lcd or plasma. Ultimately, I ended up just going to the local BB and seeing which one looked and felt right to me. I purchased this beautiful 55in plasma and I couldn't be happier about it. I've had it for over two weeks now and I don't have a single complaint. The picture is great and the sound is just fine for my living space(apartment). The 2D-3D conversion is alright but you should not expect much from any television's conversion. The 3D Blu-Ray is a different story - The Ultimate Wave Tahiti is AMAZING (I had to watch it twice because I didn't follow a word because I was so blown away by the picture) and Resident Evil Afterlife was fun to watch (the 3D at least).
I realized that all the hours I spent reading super detailed reviews was somewhat a waste of time because when it comes down to it, I don't really care about or even notice the subtle differences that so many people compare. I just wanted a solid tv with great picture at an affordable price and this was it.
The setup was beyond easy. The remote and on-screen menus are very user-friendly.
The widgets all work just fine. Watching youtube videos on a 55in can be entertaining.
My roommate and I are traveling surfers and licensed skydivers so we have plenty of GoPro HD videos that we watch on this tv using the SD card slot(we also watch them through the youtube widget)and they look phenomenal.
BOTTOM LINE: If you want a solid big screen with great picture at the right price then this is it. Highly recommend. If you have any questions then just leave a comment.
I realized that all the hours I spent reading super detailed reviews was somewhat a waste of time because when it comes down to it, I don't really care about or even notice the subtle differences that so many people compare. I just wanted a solid tv with great picture at an affordable price and this was it.
The setup was beyond easy. The remote and on-screen menus are very user-friendly.
The widgets all work just fine. Watching youtube videos on a 55in can be entertaining.
My roommate and I are traveling surfers and licensed skydivers so we have plenty of GoPro HD videos that we watch on this tv using the SD card slot(we also watch them through the youtube widget)and they look phenomenal.
BOTTOM LINE: If you want a solid big screen with great picture at the right price then this is it. Highly recommend. If you have any questions then just leave a comment.
152 of 160 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fluctuating Brightness Can Break Your Movie Watching Experience...or not!
July 21, 2011
By Max Adams
Size Name:46-Inch|Amazon Verified Purchase
My previous tv (which I sold off already, regrettably) was a Panasonic th-42pz80u. This was my first step into the wonderful world of plasma tv's & I have nothing but praise for it. I recently decided that I wanted to squeeze the largest tv I could fit into my entertainment armoire & considering how much I loved my old tv I figured it was a safe bet to stick with the Panasonic brand.
Immediately after turning the st30 on & popping in Planet Earth on Blu Ray for a test run I was extremely happy with both the new size of screen in front of me & the fantastic picture quality. I played around some more, tweaking the picture & features on my new set & decided to start watching some of my select Blu Rays that don't have letterboxing. I read somewhere that it's best to watch movies that take up the whole screen for the first 100 hours or so of a new plasma. I'm no tech head so I just do what I'm told. :p
Not long into watching "Starship Troopers" I noticed my first flicker, or fluctuation. Every time the film made a cut there was an adjustment in brightness that came a half second later. I began rewinding it over & over & couldn't believe my eyes. After the awful flickering in the beginning I continued to watch & noticed it happening throughout, though not as bad as the start of the film. I've watched a few movies since then, such as - Sin City (noticeable but not terrible), LotR Fellowship of the Ring (noticeable but not terrible), & OH MY GOD Final Fantasy: Advent Children. Final Fantasy was just unwatchable with flickering all over the place. For those who don't know, Final Fantasy is entirely computer animated which might have something to do with it being so noticeable. I would expect the Pixar films to behave just as poorly but I can't say for certain.
I started researching & discovered that the fluctuating brightness (or "FBr") is not an unusual phenomenon. Just google "panasonic fluctuating brightness" & read up on it. The forum "high def junkies" is a good place to start as they have been discussing it in depth for a while.
I haven't lost all hope yet! There has been talk of Panasonic sending out a firmware upgrade to their Spanish customers on a case-by-case basis that actually FIXES this problem! Or at least adjusts it so the fluctuation isn't visible to the naked eye. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this firmware makes it stateside so I can begin enjoying my tv. If that happens I will definitely change my rating of 1 to a 5 star. I'll be keeping my eye on that 30-day return date in the meantime, however.
********EDIT**************
After emailing Panasonic & starting a case with them I waited patiently for an email or a phone call, but after a month none came. I kept up with the community on high def junkies & eventually discovered that Panasonic had started sending local repair guys out with a new A-Board, or if you're one of the lucky few a much simpler fix was available if a Panasonic employee could come to your house. I called Panasonic to see what the status on my case was, only to find out they had closed my case without any kind of notification. Jerks. The person I spoke with on the phone was apologetic & knew exactly what I was talking about when I brought up fluctuating brightness. I was FINALLY getting somewhere. Within a week of that phone call they sent the replacement A-Board to my local repair shop & I had an "FBr" free tv!
For those curious, they did have to take apart my tv. After watching that terrifying ordeal it was just a simple unplug-this plug-in-that & they were done. VERY happy overall.
After the fix this is easily a 5-star tv in my book. I'm a little conflicted on showering it with nothing but praise, however. I didn't exactly buy this tv day-1 of it's release & it took them this long to even acknowledge there was a terrible defect in a large number of their sets.
For those few who complain about picture quality I will agree that right out of the box the picture quality doesn't really jump out at you, but after buying a calibration disc & tweaking the custom settings it really looks amazing. Easily the best in its price range.
In short - if you're on the fence about this set, don't be. If you're unlucky & get one that was built before they had this fix installed, Panasonic will handle it!
Immediately after turning the st30 on & popping in Planet Earth on Blu Ray for a test run I was extremely happy with both the new size of screen in front of me & the fantastic picture quality. I played around some more, tweaking the picture & features on my new set & decided to start watching some of my select Blu Rays that don't have letterboxing. I read somewhere that it's best to watch movies that take up the whole screen for the first 100 hours or so of a new plasma. I'm no tech head so I just do what I'm told. :p
Not long into watching "Starship Troopers" I noticed my first flicker, or fluctuation. Every time the film made a cut there was an adjustment in brightness that came a half second later. I began rewinding it over & over & couldn't believe my eyes. After the awful flickering in the beginning I continued to watch & noticed it happening throughout, though not as bad as the start of the film. I've watched a few movies since then, such as - Sin City (noticeable but not terrible), LotR Fellowship of the Ring (noticeable but not terrible), & OH MY GOD Final Fantasy: Advent Children. Final Fantasy was just unwatchable with flickering all over the place. For those who don't know, Final Fantasy is entirely computer animated which might have something to do with it being so noticeable. I would expect the Pixar films to behave just as poorly but I can't say for certain.
I started researching & discovered that the fluctuating brightness (or "FBr") is not an unusual phenomenon. Just google "panasonic fluctuating brightness" & read up on it. The forum "high def junkies" is a good place to start as they have been discussing it in depth for a while.
I haven't lost all hope yet! There has been talk of Panasonic sending out a firmware upgrade to their Spanish customers on a case-by-case basis that actually FIXES this problem! Or at least adjusts it so the fluctuation isn't visible to the naked eye. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this firmware makes it stateside so I can begin enjoying my tv. If that happens I will definitely change my rating of 1 to a 5 star. I'll be keeping my eye on that 30-day return date in the meantime, however.
********EDIT**************
After emailing Panasonic & starting a case with them I waited patiently for an email or a phone call, but after a month none came. I kept up with the community on high def junkies & eventually discovered that Panasonic had started sending local repair guys out with a new A-Board, or if you're one of the lucky few a much simpler fix was available if a Panasonic employee could come to your house. I called Panasonic to see what the status on my case was, only to find out they had closed my case without any kind of notification. Jerks. The person I spoke with on the phone was apologetic & knew exactly what I was talking about when I brought up fluctuating brightness. I was FINALLY getting somewhere. Within a week of that phone call they sent the replacement A-Board to my local repair shop & I had an "FBr" free tv!
For those curious, they did have to take apart my tv. After watching that terrifying ordeal it was just a simple unplug-this plug-in-that & they were done. VERY happy overall.
After the fix this is easily a 5-star tv in my book. I'm a little conflicted on showering it with nothing but praise, however. I didn't exactly buy this tv day-1 of it's release & it took them this long to even acknowledge there was a terrible defect in a large number of their sets.
For those few who complain about picture quality I will agree that right out of the box the picture quality doesn't really jump out at you, but after buying a calibration disc & tweaking the custom settings it really looks amazing. Easily the best in its price range.
In short - if you're on the fence about this set, don't be. If you're unlucky & get one that was built before they had this fix installed, Panasonic will handle it!
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