Panasonic TC-P50S1 Plasma TV Review

Panasonic TC-P50S1 offers the right quality for the right price, being a mid range Panasonic plasma TV, with overall great performance, without adding extra features, such as Viera Cast advancements, 24p cinema mode, or THX certification, which are all traits that add to the final price. For the people searching for a 50 inch plasma TV, without having to pay a small fortune, Panasonic TC-P50S1 is the ideal buy, because it offers all the basics and more, but it doesn’t go for fancy extras that end costing more. That is why you cannot compare Panasonic TC-P50S1 with similar products from the G10 and V10 series, but, you will still find it a reliable product, worth spending the money on.

Brief Specifications

• Panel: NeoPDP
• Resolution: 1080p
• Contrast ratio: 40,000:1
• Shades of gradation: 6144
• Anti-glare filter: New AR Filter

Panasonic TC-P50S1 is not far from its V10 and G10 counterparts, if we evaluate only the basics one consumer would need from a new plasma TV. This means that its overall performance, its picture quality, and connectivity are beyond decent, and the only things that truly differentiate this model from more expensive ones are related to some fancy extras, that some consumers may feel they can live without. An important thing that must be mentioned about Panasonic TC-P50S1 is that it belongs to the first series from Panasonic, featuring the new NeoPDP panel, designed to save energy. This is an important issue, as the battle between plasma TV and LCD TV – still raging on – brought forward the problem of energy consumption, with plasma TVs being much greedier than their rivals in this aspect. Another thing that makes Panasonic TC-P50S1 a reliable mid range product is its 1080p resolution, one step better than the X1 series, that only has 720p resolution.

Connectivity Options

Panasonic TC-P50S1 is mid level in many respects, including its connectivity options. It features 3 HDMI inputs, 2 component-video inputs, a AV input with composite and S-Video, a RF input for cable or antenna, a digital audio input, and an SD card slot, and, with all these, we can easily say that the connectivity options are decent, despite the fact that you will not find a VGA input on this product’s specs list.

Image credit: Amazon.com

Design

Panasonic TC-P50S1 is not a luxury product like G10 and V10 models. This also shows in its appearance, which is not as glamorous. The model lacks a swivel stand, and it still features the design used previously for other Panasonic models. Even so, this does not mean that Panasonic TC-P50S1 does not take its pride in its rounded edges, hidden speakers, and glossy finish marked by a thin silver line. It is true that you won’t deem Panasonic TC-P50S1 as a fancy looker, but it still looks elegant enough to put in any room of your choice.

Performance

When presenting Panasonic TC-P50S1 as a mid level plasma, maybe not enough justice is being done to this model, especially since its performance is not so average. This Panasonic plasma features the best black levels seen on plasma TVs in 2009, because the company has implemented the new Infinite Black technology on all the models launched this year. As far as blacks are concerned, Panasonic TC-P50S1 is on par with the more expensive plasma TVs, and even with the now defunct Kuro. Because it does not have THX certification, nor 24p cinema mode, this model cannot ask for more money, like G10 and V10 series do, but this is actually a good thing, and it makes Panasonic TC-P50S1 a good deal for your hard earned dollar.

Black level performance

Black levels represent Panasonic TC-P50S1’s strongest point. You cannot get blacker screens than this. A picky watcher may tell you that its blacks are not as good as Pioneer’s, but we could say, in its defense, that you cannot get any closer than that. Plus, this amazing black level performance contributes to the best display of dark scenes, and shadow details, rendering your watching experience extremely realistic.

Colors

We could not possibly ask Panasonic TC-P50S1 to be completely color accuracy issue free, as long as the company does not seem to be able to overcome this problem even for its luxury plasma models. It is true that the lack of THX certification does not help at all, and you may need to tweak a little more with the controls to bring the colors where you want them to be. Color saturation is great for this product, and this is a good thing, because it contributes to color accuracy altogether, making Panasonic TC-P50S1 superior to lesser plasma models from previous series.

Video Processing

Its 1080p resolution makes the model capable of handling any high definition sources, but, without 24p cinema mode, it fails to grasp the possibilities of watching Blu-ray content in the cadence it was filmed. Some minor issues concerning de-interlacing movie based sources appear, but they are far too little to be truly considered a nuisance. Panasonic TC-P50S1 is also gifted with the 600Hz sub field drive feature, advertised as being capable of eliminating motion blur, when you are watching sports or other fast moving scenes. While it may, indeed, improve this aspect, its effects are not easily seen with the naked eye, just because Panasonic TC-P50S1 would not have any problem with motion blur, whatsoever, as most plasma do not experience such a thing.

Standard Definition (SDTV) Performance

As we have already seen, as a HD performer, Panasonic TC-P50S1 does well. The next question coming to mind is: how does it do when it comes to standard definition content? The answer is an average performance, as Panasonic TC-P50S1 tends to soften the image when standard definition content is displayed on the screen. On the positive part, the model does have solid noise reduction capabilities, which means that artefacts, such as moire, are not a problem.

Anti-Glare Performance

Anti-glare capabilities for this product are merely average, as this is one area Panasonic has yet to gain superiority. Because of the general problem plasma TVs face when you try to watch TV in a room filled with light, the company, like many others, has tried to overcome the issue, by installing an anti-reflective screen on its newer products. While the new AR filter Panasonic TC-P50S1 is gifted with does its job, its performance is only average, and the colors still tend to become a little washed out, if you do not dim the light in the room.

Conclusion

Panasonic TC-P50S1 is advertised as a mid level plasma model with more than decent performance when it comes to overall picture quality. It is not risky to say that this is, indeed, a product you cannot go wrong with. Its black levels are great, its color saturation as well, and it can handle high definition sources with good results, which is mostly what the average consumer would seek in a plasma TV. It is not as feature packed as V10 and G10 series, but it does not share the same price, which means that you will get a good deal, while not having to pay for fancy extras.