The Official Panasonic U50/54 Owners' Thread - Page 3

NICE!

Looks like I'll be picking mine up tonight!

Very interested in getting this, but they don't carry it at any of my local Costco's (US). It's available online, but $99 shipping kind of kills the deal. The only plasmas they have locally are the Samsung 51" PN51E535 and the LG 60" 60PA6550 (both under $1000 before tax).

It's $648 at Sam's club too

Eek!

$900 (CDN) at my local Costco... suppose the fact that it's easily returnable and carriers a 3-year warranty eases that pain...

Thanks for this info. It looks like a Sam's Club near me has it in stock. I could pick it up there vs Costco; the only additional cost being the Sam's Club membership (not currently a member there). That would still save me $75 over going through Costco. I might give that a try. Still seems like a great deal for a budget Panasonic plasma.

Picked this up from Sam's Club tonight. Just got it plugged in and set-up; but won't be able to spend much time with it until this weekend. Although I've had a 720p Epson LCD projector/110" screen combo for a few years, this is my first non-CRT TV. Looking forward to enjoying this new plasma.

Thinking really seriously about the 50U50/54 (had been looking at the LG 50PA5500/6500 but this seems like a better TV). I'm coming from a Samsung 5087SAX DLP and have never had a plasma or LCD so I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons. The only thing I'm really concerned about with a plasma is glare but I just don't feel like it's worth sacrificing PQ for that 1 aspect. Is there really any other reason to choose an LCD? Also, are green blobs still an issue for Panasonic plasmas?

Bought it tonight!
Looks really great with the calibrated settings posted 20 or so posts up!

Do I need to wait a couple of hundred hours before seeing the true quality of this?

It's super hard to compare televisions, I realized today.
I took back my LG 47LK520 (cost me $750 after taxes) and brought in my Panny ($1030 after taxes) and the quality difference is not SO clear. I'm sure if I had both of them running parallel to each other in calibrated settings I could tell a big difference, but as it stands, the biggest difference for me is the extra 3" of real estate!

So, like I said earlier, I'm trying to decide between the 50U50/54 and the LG 50PA5500/6500. Anyone have any thoughts?

I had actually ordered the LG 50PA6500, but the delivery company smashed the hell out of it so I refused delivery and went to costco and bought this and a blue ray player with wireless and net apps for about 200 less. From what I have heard this tv has a much better picture, better blacks. the LG is a bit thinner with a smaller frame around the screen but this TV is not that much bigger.

Was considering buying a UT50 but I'm not a fan of 3D and as far as internet/streaming apps go, I'm pretty happy just using my PS3 to stream content.

So is the U50 picture quality fairly close to that of the UT50? Would like to save a few dollars if I can.

Sounds like you bought it at Costco Canada? If so, they have a $100 discount on it till June 17. You might wanna go in and get your price adjusted.

]

What do you mean? I don't see that anywhere...
The price I paid was $898 before taxes...

Well, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a 50U50 from Amazon. Unfortunately there are no Costco's near me and none of the local Sam's had it in stock so I had to pay a little extra but I really don't have any way to transport it vertically and Amazon's free shipping includes delivery, setup and removal of packing materials so I feel like that's worth it. Won't get it for about a week though...man, I can't wait! I'm coming from a Samsung HL-T5087SAX DLP which was my first HDTV (and which I loved) so I'm very excited for my first plasma experience.
Edited by mektarus - 6/8/12 at 3:51pm

Ah, I forget to mention that I am in Canada, so I'm probably not eligible for this "price reduction".

Dang!

That's weird. My local Costco (I'm in Alberta) shows it as $889 - $100 discount (or instant rebate) = $789 (before any taxes and fees). On the website it's $949 - $100 also but the higher original price online is because shipping is included (link). In any case, the discount is marked till June 17 so it's a limited time offer.

Amazing!

THANK YOU!

My first post in 7 years!

Short version:
I'm buying one of these bad larrys tomorrow. I was pretty it impressed with it in the store, and I'd be setting one up now if it fit into my car.

Long version:
In 2005 this site was a tremendous help in steering me towards my first HDTV. I ultimately bought a Sammy 46" DLP (HLP model, I believe) and absolutely loved it b/c it did what I expected (based on the tons of research I did here) and it's picture might've exceeded my expectations. Well, I think the color wheel just went out on old Sammy. Its the 2nd wheel, and I'm on my 3rd bulb, so I think I'm moving on.

I dont have quite the time or inclination to research as much as I did back then, so I just checked out a few basics (meaning, where the technologies now stand relative to 2005). I walked in Sams today, thinking I'd just buy a set that looked good in a brand I could trust (essentially I was aiming at a Sammy, likely an LED), and just return it if I hated it. After some pretty quick but intense scrutiny, the U54 just blew away everything that I looked at (around this size). I'm certainly no expert, and I never fully trust the look of a set (or comparing sets) in the store, b/c I have no idea what settings they're using, or what their sources are, etc. But, money aside, this t/v was VERY impressive. When you factor in the low price ($693 after tax) it seemed like a no-brainer. I was almost skeptical b/c it looked so much better than several higher priced models. Even my wife thought it was clear cut..

I'm a little concerned about glare, b/c my DLP had virtually none (one big reason I loved it) so I'm almost certain that I'll notice any and all glare w/ a plasma. And I do have a window on the opposite wall from my TV, but we have blinds and a curtain, so I'm hoping those will help. I figure (or hope) if glare is my only reason to not go plasma, then I should just go plasma (I can't believe how cheap they are now. Why would you buy an LCD for almost the same money as a plasma?).

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded BS, but I'm officially pumped now that I've read this thread and all the high praise, confirming what my eyes seemed to be telling me in the store. I'm borrowing a friends vehicle tomorrow so I can go grab a U54. I'll try to get back in here and let you know what I think. I was very much in love w/ my old Sammy, so I'm slightly worried that I might miss it. But I suspect the jump to 1080, and plasma, will have me praising a Panny.
Edited by Phish Fan - 6/8/12 at 8:20pm

I take back what I said about not being able to see a difference between this and the 47LK520.

This thing looks AWESOME.

Exceeds expectations.

sweet, thank you for the reply!

Hey everyone, just picked up this tv a few days ago, really good black levels on it. Was wondering, my U50 seems to have some sort of dynamic contrast setting permanently on in every mode except cinema, is anyone else's U50 doing this? Wondering if my set is defective or not ,thanks!

Tried that, graphics just produces a more mild form of it. I am using the AVS HD 709 test patterns to set the brightness levels, and it is still crushing shadow detail. I'm thinking something is just wrong with my tv at this point.

The only mode I will use for now is Cinema, that works fine. For game and custom modes, my settings are:


Contrast- +90
Brightness- +60
Color- +50
Tint- 0
Sharpness- 0
Color Temp- warm 1
Color mgmt- off
C.A.T.S- off
Video NR- off
Aspect- FULL
HD size- Size 2
HDMI/DVI RGB- Auto
HDMI 1/2- Graphics
Black Level- light

Source for these settings are my Xbox 360, that is set to all auto for now, tried the other hdmi settings in there, and still getting crushed shadow detail. I have hooked up my 360 to 2 other plasmas in my house , so I don't think that the 360 is the problem.

Man, I just keep reading more and more about IR and burn-in and it seems like the newer models may be even more susceptible. It's starting to really make me worry about buying a plasma tv. My U50 hasn't shipped yet and I'm thinking seriously about cancelling my order and looking for a LCD. Is this just something plasma owners have to live with? Is it really worth the hassle?