Panasonic TC-P50U1 Plasma TV Review

People looking for a cheap plasma TV, often are prone for compromises in terms of quality. With Panasonic TC-P50U1, the compromise required is not that big, and, if you will read this review, you may end up thinking that this particular Panasonic plasma TV can really be a sweet deal. For a 50 inch plasma TV, it displays a clear and crisp picture, at up to 1080p native resolution, and a contrast ratio that is double than the one found on Panasonic TC-P50C1. All in all, price versus quality ratio presents Panasonic TC-P50U1 in a bright light, so, if you do now expect high end features, you will get yourself a nice bargain.

Features

• Panel: G12 Progressive HD PDP
• Resolution: 1080p
• Contrast ratio: 30,000:1
• Shades of gradation: 5120

Performance

Picture quality depends on some particular aspects, like black levels, color accuracy, and video processing abilities. We will be straightforward with you: while it does display incredible black levels and shadow detail, Panasonic TC-P50U1 still has some color accuracy issues, and its video processing capabilities cannot be compared with top of the line products. Yet, for the price, you still get a great deal, that cannot be overlooked that easily.

Black Levels

Overall picture quality has nothing but to gain from the great black levels this product exhibits. Decided to take over the first place in 2009, Panasonic has come up with an innovation, called Infinite Black technology, and they put it on all the plasma models they released in 2009, including Panasonic TC-P50U1. With ink like blacks, the picture looks very good, and the level of shadow detail is also great.

Colors

The biggest drawback for Panasonic TC-P50U1 is the lack of THX certification. Without it, you can hardly do any tweakings, so, basically, you get stuck with the little options for color correction the system has. Unfortunately, the colors are not so great, green being the main culprit, failing to deliver the same crispiness as the other basic colors.

HDTV Performance

As a competitive HDTV, Panasonic TC-P50U1 is quite the performer when displaying high definition content on its screen. Maybe it does not go over the top, but, for the price, it can handle 720p, 1080p, and 1080i content, without a glitch. It is, however, better than C1 series, but, a little less competitive than the models from the S1 series.

SDTV Performance

Unfortunately, not the same praises can be addressed when it comes to standard definition content. Panasonic TC-P50U1 does just an average job for SD programs and regular DVDs, and, overall, the image is deemed to be too soft for comfort, and jaggies still appear around diagonal lines.

Conclusion

The best conclusion that can be drawn for Panasonic TC-P50U1 is that it delivers more than decent quality for a more than decent price. That being said, its great black levels and HD capabilities qualify the model on a wish list for the budget minded consumer.