Panasonic Viera TC-P55UT50

Bottom Line

In a dark room, the Panasonic UT50 offers a picture every bit as good as the step-up Viera ST50. However, things look a lot worse when the lights come up bright. The UT50 is available in several screen sizes, including the 50-inch TC-P50UT50 (*Est. $850), 55-inch TC-P55UT50 (*Est. $1,100) and 60-inch TC-P60UT50 (*Est. $1,300).

Performance

Terrific picture quality, but not in well-lit spaces. Critics say the UT50's picture is on par with the step-up Panasonic ST50 series like the Viera TC-P50ST50 (*Est. $1,100 to $2,300), so why is it so much less expensive? For one thing, it's missing the latter's excellent Infinite Black screen. The result is black levels that lose their quality in well-lit spaces where the ST50 still looks good -- better than just about any plasma or LED TV with a non-matte screen -- and glare from lamps and other light sources is much more pronounced. That's the bad news.

The good news is that the UT50's picture stands up well in dim viewing areas. Black levels outperform those of last year's flagship sets from other makers, CNET says, and are very close to this year's top-of-the-line offerings.

CNET does find a few test-bench foibles when it comes to colors, saying they're less saturated than those of the ST50 but still look very good when watching most program material. PlasmaTVBuyingGuide.com says even nicer things about color performance, but advises that owners do a little tweaking to fully unleash the set's color "horsepower" by digging down into a Pro Settings submenu; the site offers suggested settings for best picture quality. Power consumption will be higher than an LED TV, and only the 50-inch model is Energy Star qualified.

On the audio front, the 8-Train speaker setup in the ST50 is replaced by traditional speakers in the UT50. Sound quality is "disappointing," reports PlasmaTVBuyingGuide.com.

Features

Fully equipped, but some corners cut. The UT50's Internet features are the same as on the Viera ST50, meaning a good selection of providers but a sluggish interface. CNET adds that the interface isn't as slick as some competitors, but is easier to use. Built-in Wi-Fi is a big omission. That's not a problem if you have a wired Ethernet network connection nearby, but otherwise you'll need to spend an extra $50 for the optional Wi-Fi adapter.

3D performance comes in for some knocks, mainly from a tendency to show crosstalk-generated ghosts; that is, one eye sees information intended for the other. No 3D glasses come in the box and Panasonic charges about $50 per pair, but since the set complies with a universal standard for 3D, you can opt for less expensive specs from other makers starting at about $20 each.

Design

Staid, with a dash of flash. The Panasonic UT50 offers a bit of panache over the basic piano-black bezel by trimming it with a clear plastic edge. The remote is small, but usable. Connectivity is limited to two HDMI inputs and a shared component/composite video port. However, Panasonic is one of the very few TV makers to offer an SD memory card port.

Value

It's a great buy for certain situations. Fighting glare from lights is something plasma TV owners have come to expect. If your viewing setup is one where lighting levels and lamp placement play well with plasma technology, the Panasonic UT50 is a tempting bargain because its performance is excellent in such a setting. For others, the ST50 is likely a better choice. If features aren't important to you, the more basic Panasonic Viera U50 lacks 3D or streaming, but delivers the same excellent picture quality for a substantially lower price.