Panasonic TH-50PX60U 50-Inch Plasma HDTV (2006 Model)
Amazing
I waited a long while before getting a plasma TV.  I adored my old standard JVC TV that I purchased in 1994 and requires two guys to move and a huge wooden entertainment center in the middle of our living room.  I researched a lot and found that the Panasonic TH-50PX60U was the item I wanted.  Then I waited a few months for the price to drop (which it did rather significantly in my view).    I could not be happier with this TV.      I just keep saying 'amazing' whenever I look at the picture (my wife is getting sick of hearing me say 'amazing').  The images are just spectacular.  The technical details are better discussed in other reviews (and very well on [...]).    Set up is no easy matter in my opinion.  We had a technician come out to have the Plasma TV mounted on the wall appropriately and make sure all the components (Digital Cable Box from Cox and the JVC Theater in a Box DVD player and speakers) were all connected to the plasma TV.  This was well worth it for me as I would have not enjoyed trying to set this up myself at all.  You also have to drop a few hundred more dollars for all the requsite 'monster' cables to connect the Plasma TV to the components and you have to buy a wall-mount if that is how you want to display your screen.  I had no real problem with my old TV but I honestly did not want to tackle this set up...I think having someone do it for you is very much worth considering and allowed me peace of mind (I would have lay awake at night listening for a crash of the Plasma TV falling off of our wall in the living room)...      The HD Channels are amazing.  Football games are a whole different experience.  You can see the blades of grass on the field, the faces of fans in the stands, the dimples on the football, the chalk lines' imperfections in the field...I am in awe.  Discovery and PBS have HD Channels and the nature images are simply breathtaking.    The settings of the TV out of the box are MAXIMIZED for contrast and sharpness...these need tobe adjusted for a better picture (and supposedly to prolong the life of the TV but I read somewhere that the half-life of the plasma is about 40 years with 4 hours a day playtime).      The remote control options are pretty self-explanatory.  I am still trying to figure out the DVR that is in our new cable television box as well so this is complicating the process a little.  I still have 3 remotes (TV, Cable Box and JVC Home Theater/DVD---I also have reviewed the JVC THC6 HTiB) and it does not seem likely that one will 'learn' the other two...this is not a big problem for me, but my wife would really like one remote to rule them all and it does not appear that the Panasonic remote will do that.      Even DVDs (like LOTR: The Two Towers) look wonderful on this Plasma TV.  There are picture settings for 'cinema' view (as well as others) which has a darker tone to the display.  I am still playing around with the settings a little bit.  I do not have a HD DVD player yet but I am considering it (though I cannot imagine movies will look that much better than I think they already do on this screen).    I really do not ever have to go to a movie theatre again and suffer through the high prices for tickets, popcorn, rude patrons, cell phones and screaming kids.  I am certainly not saying that buying the multi-thousand dollar plasma TV is a cost-saving measure to avoid going to movies---honestly, I think that the only valid justification to buy this is because you WANT to...but it is really an amazing piece of technology and we plan to get the most out of it.    We have not tried to display any of our digital camera's images from the memory card yet but there is a slot in the bottom front of the TV to allow for this and it seems to be pretty user-friendly.  Also, if you are like me and still have a lot of VHS movies, the front of the plasma TV appears to allow connection of another component (VCR) to the TV...which is nice but I have not tried this yet.      We did cave in and get the warranty for the product...      I absolutely love this Panasonic TH-50PX60U 50\\" Plasma HDTV and could not be more pleased with it thus far.