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Jeremy's Rating: 
Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT52 is one of the large and impressive 3D displays on the market today that you can actually afford. It is currently selling on Amazon.com for under $1,000 with free shipping – which is quite an incredible deal.
When it comes to purchasing a new 3D HDTV, you need to be well aware of your available options because there are a lot of different models out there for each manufacturer and just about all of them cost more than displays that lack 3D technologies.
In order to avoid purchasing a new TV that may become obsolete quickly in the near future, you might as well get something that has a complete set of features including high-end 3D enhancements.
If you are new to 3D TVs, be sure to check out our 3D HDTV Buyer’s Guide for more information.
Look And Feel
The Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT25 is a fairly large TV measuring nearly 50 inches diagonally so 3D visuals should look good for multiple viewers. It is 3.5-inch thick and weights 57 lbs without stand (64 lbs with stand).
Control buttons on the side
As far as design goes, it is sort of plain looking. The display is surrounded by a piano black bezel. There is not much on the front other than the Panasonic logo and a power indicator. All the control buttons are located on the left side, which has 2 USB connectors, volume control, channel selection, menu display, and input selection buttons.
Below them you will see a HDMI port (this is one of the three HDMI ports), a SD card slot, a set of composite A/V jacks, and the power button.
Turning to the back, you will see 2 HDMI ports, a VGA (PC Video) connector, a TV coaxial connector, an Ethernet port, 2 sets of HD component terminals, and one set of composite A/V jacks.
The screen has a semi-gloss coating that is not overly reflective and does a great job of reducing glare. This is great for people like myself who like to watch TV in a well-lit area.
It is important to note that this is a plasma display and not an LED display and while the VIERA TC-P50GT25 is not the thinnest model, it still manages to be energy efficient by meeting the Energy Star 4.0 standards.
Features & Performance
Setting up the TC-P50GT25 is straightforward. The on-screen menu is intuitive and easy to use. For picture settings, you can select from one of the four preset modes – Standard, THX, Vivid, and Game; or a custom setting based on your video inputs.
In addition to the basic adjustments like brightness, sharpness, color, and tint, it has the ability to do automatic adjustments based on ambient light which I found it did quite a good job in reaching the best picture settings.
Picture Quality
I was very impressed with the picture quality of the TC-P50GT25. The black level is among the darkest I’ve seen especially when you compare it with other LCD or LED models in the same price range.
The high definition pictures are sharp and very detailed. The color tone seemed a little too warm for my taste when I tried it with a Blu-ray movie but I haven’t bother to fine tune it yet (I left it at the THX mode.) Overall the HD quality and clarity are excellent.
Watching standard definition pictures is OK. The images are still clear without blurring.
Watching 3D
Connection ports on the back
3D is probably the main reason why you are considering this particular model. My son and I watched Avatar on this set and we both agreed it actually looked better on the Panasonic than in theater.
For you techies out there, the VIERA TC-P50GT25 uses a few unique technologies to give you a unique 3D experience. The main technology is known as the Frame Sequential technology which gives you a 60 frames per second frame rate to both eyes alternately so you get a nice effect when you wear the 3D eyewear.
This results to images that are better synchronized which fixes some of the image quality and blurring problems that you can experience with earlier models of 3D TVs. In short, 3D visuals look crisp on Full HD resolutions.
There is not a whole lot of 3D content yet but hopefully that will change soon. Panasonic sells a 3D starter kit with 2 rechargeable active shutter glasses and Avatar 3D Blu-ray disc for under $300, which is a fairly good deal. Of course you will also need a 3D Blu-ray disc player which runs about $150. The price drops frequently so be sure to check the latest price when you read this.
Media Player
The VIERA TC-P50GT25 has a build-in media player that plays standard video, music, and still image files. You can play these files stored on a SD card or USB flash memory and through its SD card slot or USB port.
VIERA Cast
The Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT25 gives you Internet experience through its VIERA Cast. It features all sorts of online content so you can freely stream videos in free sites like YouTube or go for the paid subscription services like the popular Netflix service. You can also visit your favorite news websites including FOX sports or you can browse photos in Picasa Web Albums.
You can also do your social networking tasks straight from your display and Twitter is one of the supported services. If you purchase the TY-CC10 camera accessory, you can also do some home video conferencing using the built-in Skype application. All of these features are available on the TV itself so you do not have to connect a PC to use them, just need a broadband connection through the Ethernet port on the back of the TV.
Panasonic 3D Starter Kit
Video Game Mode
For you video game lovers, the TC-P50GT25 is also a good display for connecting your video gaming consoles via HDMI because the display offers a special Game Mode feature. The motion resolution is improved with this feature activated so you can see more details.
The lag time in displaying game images is also reduced and the lifespan is prolonged significantly through anti-image retention technology. Panasonic claims the set has 100,000 hour panel life which of course is enough for long periods of gaming on different days.
Image Retention
Image retention, as known as screen burn-in, has been a common problem among plasma TVs. You should avoid displaying still images on a plasma TV for a long period of time.
Personally I have not had any burn-in problem with the Panasonic; although one reader did report that he “left a menu from his DVD player paused on the screen for about a half hour by accident, and after about a minute the retained image was gone.”
The TC-P50GT25 provides a couple of tools to help solving the image retention problem – a pixel orbiter shifts the picture around slightly to prevent burn-in and a vertical scrolling bar pattern that wipes a white bar over a black screen from left to right for 15 minutes.
Also, if you watch pictures in 4:3 mode for extended period of time, the left & right side bars can cause image retention problem. The VIERA allows you to adjust the brightness settings of the side bars to minimize the problem.
What Are Others Saying?
We found customers are very satisfied with Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT25. In fact, most users have given 5 starts in their reviews on Amazon. Here are some of the comments from customers:
- “Truly a great buy after lots of research…“
- “Great TV for both 2D and 3D content…“
- “This is my first plasma and love the accurate color and excellent viewing angles this tv offers…“
Click here to read more customer reviews.
Any Complaints?
One negative point some customers raised was the mediocre sound quality. Although not a big issue to most people, if you are an audio enthusiast you may want to get your own external speakers or surround sound system.
What’s In The Box
- Panasonic TC-P50GT25 Plasma TV
- Remote Control with Two AA Batteries
- AC Cord
- Pedestal
- Operating Instructions
- VIERA Concierge
- Quick Start Guide
Where Is The Best Place To Buy
The best place to buy is Amazon.com. In fact, for big ticket items like the TC-P50GT25, I won’t even consider getting it from any other online merchants. Amazon consistently beats out other places for the price. They offer TV low price guarantee, free shipping, and 30-day return policy. They even pay for the return shipping. You can’t get any better than that.