Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Panasonic G25 54" Plasma, June 22, 2010
This review is from: Panasonic TC-P54G25 54-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)
After spending a couple of weeks seriously researching tv's, I decided I wanted to go plasma. I weighed the options of LCD, LED-LCD, Plasma and DLP, and concluded that all along I've wanted Plasma. Friends and acquaintances tried (hard) to convince me that LCD or even LED was the way to go...especially in my living room with 3 windows. I spent many hours trying to convince myself that LCD was what I wanted, but no matter what, I always came back to, "...but with Plasma, I can..." Thus, the search began for the Plasma that best suited our needs.
I considered LG (PK750/950), Samsung (C550/590) and Panasonic (S2/G25). I knew going in that Panasonic was the brand to have (some might argue) if you want Plasma. Given their purchase of Pioneer's Plasma tech in the last year, I figured they'd be a lot more expensive than the price I paid. LG's looked great, but although slimmer, were priced a little higher and had a major glare issue. Not for us. Samsung is leading the way in tv tech. Their LCD's are top-notch (from what I've seen), so I figured their Plasmas must be close behind. They looked good, had good specs, but 2 things kept me from Samsung - Glare (not as bad as LG, but not as good as Panasonic) and Buzz. So many people complain about their Samsung Plasmas making loud buzzing noises. I didn't want to take a chance and narrowed it down to Panasonic. There's about $400 price difference between the S2 and G25, and before yesterday, only 2 reviews existed on Amazon for this tv and both were not-so-good. But I made the decision to go with the G25 and I couldn't be happier. On to the review...
I purchased from Amazon for almost $250 less than Best Buy's "on sale" price, saved on tax (about $150) and got free shipping. Amazon contracted Pilot freight to deliver my tv and they did a great job...especially for free shipping. Wasn't white glove, but the delivery guy was well within the time frame, friendly and put the box exactly where I asked him. I opened the box and there stood the largest purchase I've made in quite a few years. I thought the tv stand I had would suffice for this, but it is a little larger than I thought, so we need to shop for a new tv stand. The pedestal the tv comes with is solid - wide base and has two posts on each end to support the tv. Eight screws later, the tv is mounted on the pedestal, sitting on my now-dwarfed tv stand. I didn't have any HDMI cables at that moment, so I hooked up my antenna and ran a quick setup and tuned in to the lcoal digital channels. WOW!!! I'm not sure I've ever seen a tv display look so good. I've always been in awe of my friends DLP and LCD tv's, but from a not-so-great antenna signal, our tv looked way better than theirs. I purchased HDMI cables last night and hooked up the satellite receiver and my PS3. WOW again!!!! I've never seen a movie, game or tv programming look so clear with so many colors and black blacks...not like the LCD we have upstairs in our room. I switched the tv to THX setting and to my untrained eye, it looked liked a well-calibrated tv. I softened the contrast, brightness, sharpness, etc down to 50, as Panasonic and other tech-ies recommend a 100 hour "break-in" of the tv. So I'm gonna be cool with it for a week or two and then modify the settings more to my liking. The frame of the tv is black, and one of my two least-favorite parts of the tv. It will definitely retain a lot of fingerprints and smudges, but I figure once the tv is on a new stand and placed where we want it, there will be no need to go touch the tv except to dust it off. There are 3 HDMI connections (2 back, 1 side), 2 component connections, SD card slot, USB ports and an ethernet port. Plenty of connections to do what you want...although my second least-favorite part of the tv is the fact that the Digital Optical out only sends out a PCM/Stereo signal to my audio receiver, not Dolby Digital 5.1. Only what is being pulled in from the OTA tuner will be sent DD/5.1 if available. From what I understand though, all tv's do this, not just the Panasonic. The remote is handy, has a "light" button and lights up almost all the buttons in red (helps in the dark). The menu is not too complicated to navigate through and use. The speakers a just ok, but I am running all sound through my reciever and speakers. The screen is large and does and excellent job blocking out glare. The display is crystal clear and like said earlier, the tv produces such rich, beautiful colors and some very black blacks...and all with very little glare. Very smooth motion for sports or action flicks to round it out.
Overall, the G25 is a top-notch tv with plenty of bells and whistles. One could go larger for the same price, but will sacrifice many features that this tv provides. And I'm conviced that no other retailer could beat the price that Amazon sells this for. For a plasma, or any tv for that matter, at the $1,600 price-point, this is the tv to have.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The G25 is Awsome!, July 13, 2010
This review is from: Panasonic TC-P54G25 54-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)
I purchased this TV on July 2 and it was delivered on time with no hassle on July 12 as requested.
I consider myself a pretty knowledgeable tech guy, as I have an extensive home theater set-up (Onkyo AVR, Polk Audio 5.1 surround, Blu Ray, XBOX 360, Audioquest cables, cheap HDMI cables, etc...) No, I do not have a $10,000 system, but it is a quality system that performs great. Research returns results!
Before my purchase, I researched this model and the Panasonic 3D VT25 for about 3 months on AVSForum, Home Theater mag, CNET, and other sites for price and reviews. The reviews overall were pretty good for this TV and the picture quality is unmatched by any 2010 model HDTV at this price point, PERIOD.
This is my first plasma, as my previous TV was a 5 yr old 46in Toshiba DLP, so I am not new to HD. Out of the box, the highly recommended THX mode is near perfect. If you are extra picky, you can check AVS Forum for the calibration settings for this model by doing a search for D-Nice (licensed pro calibrator), and his break in slides and settings. If you do not wish to pro calibrate this TV through the Service Menu (risky), don't worry about running the slides.
For best results out of this TV and to prevent Temporary Image Retention (IR), just keep it on THX (the best setting), and keep the brightness and contrast around 50 for the first 100 hrs of watching. Keeping these settings down while watching TV with static images like ESPNHD bottom ticker or playing games will help you out a great deal.
As for performance, my G25 is a May 2010 build (kinks worked out at the factory by this time) and the Picture was better than I'd even thought it would be. Blu Rays looked great and the black level is dark as ink. I am still "breaking in" the set of course, but I don't seem to have any of the issues from early builds like buzzing during bright lighted scenes. I tested Dark Knight, Book of Eli, and HD broadcasts during the 1st night without any issues.
Again, for this price point, there is no better value or quality 2010 HDTV to be had. LCD and LED black levels don't come close to this Panny plasma. Only the Panny 3D VT25 has better PQ, but only by a small margin.
If you are in the market for a new HDTV, look no further than the G25, and Amazon again has the best service, easy returns, and lowest prices you will find. I say go for it!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
AMAZING PLASMA TV--HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!, July 29, 2010
This review is from: Panasonic TC-P54G25 54-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)
All the hype is true. This is one BADASS tv!! I did months of research before purchasing this unit. Picture is phenomenal. I've owned 5 HD LCD tv's but never a plasma. If you are an LCD/LED owner now, it takes a little while to get used to the this tv. LCD/LED is a brighter technology, however, plasma blows it away in deeper/richer colors and detail. Make sure you break the tv in for the first 100-200 hrs. In this time, do not put the tv in vivid mode and lower the contrast to 50% in whatever other mode you choose (standard, custom, etc, etc). Do not pause tv for long periods of time, play video games on it, or watch tv with bars on the side (stretch the picture if there are bars) during the break in. This will increase the longevity of the unit and increase image quality. Also, buy the Blu Ray calibration DVD on Amazon and calibrate the tv after 100 hrs of break in. The picture of this tv gets better with time. I would NOT recommend this tv (or any plasma) if you have a very bright room (ie tv next to large windows, etc). LCD/LED will suit you better if your room is very bright. For all others, this is the tv. Forget about the 3-D tv's for now--the technology is not there yet. No motion blur whatsoever which even the newest LCD/LED's cannot claim (they claim it but it's BS). If you watch HD sports, HD movies, HD tv, and Blu Ray, this is the BEST bang for your buck. The free standard delivery took a bit long (13 days) b/c Pilot needed two guys for the delivery. If you want the tv quickly, pay the extra shipping....I would have had I know it took 13 days. Pilot Freight was excellent other than that. One other note, get the 3 yr plasma tv service plan off of Amazon for around $100. 4x's cheaper than a Best Buy warranty and Sqauretrade is the real deal..had a LCD model replaced by them with NO hassle.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|