The Plasma TV Blog

This unit is a 42 inch diagonal screen television with Panasonic’s current complete package of extra features. It is capable of progressive scan resolution in 480p and 720p HDTV, and has a 1024 x 768 pixel array. This combination can produce a maximum of 29 billion colors with 3.072 shades of gradation. There are several other features that contribute to high picture quality like Video Noise Reduction, a color purity optimizer, and a Digital Comb Filter. The result is one of the most vivid and brilliant pictures available in any television of any type.

It not only looks good, but sounds good as well. It has the four speaker sound system with 2 woofers and 2 tweeters that put out 31 watts of output power. The SD card slot allows the reproduction of JPEG photos on screen, and the CableCard feature allows reception of HD broadcasts without the need for additional “boxes” on top of the unit. There is a complete array of inputs and outputs. The HMI-HDCP interface slots in the rear allow one cable hookup to just about anything, but there are also Composite Video, S-Video, and Video Audio Input connections in both the front and the rear. A mini D-sub 15-pin RGB/VGA input allows connection to a personal computer.

The 600U package has a TV Guide ™ On Screen Program Guide, and split screen Picture-in Picture. The V-Chip Program Lockout for parental control is included on all of the current family of Panasonic big screen plasma television. There is a Pedestal Stand included, and the dimensions of this unit are 29.8” x 42.5” x 14.6” when on the stand. The unit itself has a depth of 5.5” making it a true flat screen television. It has a rated power consumption of 399 watts and a weight without the stand of only 71.7 pounds.

The TH-50PX6U is Panasonics 50 inch plasma unit minus many of the extra features that are included in the 60U and 600U models. This is not necessarily a bad thing as the important thing in any television is the quality of the reception and reproduction of the picture, and the 6U does not lose anything there. It is capable of progressive scan in 480p and 720p resolution, and boasts the possible 29 billion colors with 3,072 shades of gradation. The pixel count is 1366×768 and the contrast ratio is up to 10,000:1 giving excellent black shading on color images and providing a sharp and clear image.

All of the input and output ports are there including HDMI, composite video, and S-video, but on this unit they are all in the rear. The standard NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuning is present along with Panasonic’s exclusive EZ Sync tuning control via the HDMI port. There is no PC hookup available though. The two speaker 20 watt sound is a slight downgrade, and the Screen on Screen, and built in TV Guide on screen program guide are not include either.

The V-chip Program Lockout that allows parental control, and a Sleep off timer is included as well as the Pedestal stand. The power consumption figure is only 515 watts, and the unit is ultra thin with a depth of only 3.8”. Although the 6U lacks many of the bells and whistles of the other 50 inch screen models made by Panasonic, it is a good choice for a consumer with budget concerns, but still wanting the excellent performance of the basic viewing experience.

When looking at large screen Plasma Televisions from Panasonic, it is helpful to understand that they usually come in three basic packages. The 600U includes the most extra features, and the 6U contains the least. The 50PX60U is the middle choice. It is important to know that the choice has nothing to do with picture quality which is usually the most important thing to the consumer. They all handle progressive scan in 480 and 720 resolution, and claim up to 29 billion colors in 3,072 shades of gradation. The 10,000:1 contrast ratio is awesome in its ability to produce vivid images with brilliant color. The pixel count is 1366 x 768 on all three models.

Some of the things that are slightly downgraded on the 60U units include the speaker system and some of the onscreen features. The speaker system consists of two 20 watt speaks, rather than the four of the 600U, and there is no screen on screen capability or on screen TV Guide ™ programming guide. The input and output connections do have front and rear ports, and accommodates HDMI, Composite Video, S-Video, but does not have a PC RGB/VGA connection. The V-Chip Program lockout, closed caption decoder, and an off only sleep timer.

The package comes with a Pedestal Stand, and a remote control, and measures 34.” x 47” x 14.6” when on the stand. Off the stand the depth is an amazingly thin 3.7” which allows it to be placed or mounted just about anywhere. The power consumption figure given by Panasonic is 515 watts. Panasonic Plasmas come with a wide variety of optional packages, and the TH-50PX60U, while not the top in its size in fringes, is a sensible middle of the road choice that gives you true value for its price.

This model has a 50” diagonal screen capable of handling 480p/720p/1080i resolution. It is capable of up to 29 billion displayable colors with 3,072 shades of gradation. With a contrast ratio of up to 10,000:1 and a native resolution of 1366×768 pixels, this unit delivers a remarkably vivid picture. It also is equipped with Panasonic’s upscale package including 4 speakers with 2 woofers and 2 tweeters with a combined 31 watts of output power.

The tuners are NTSC/ATSC/QAM to handle standard analog as well SD and HDTV. There is a complete array of inputs and outputs with the main connection being a pair of rear HDMI-HDCP interface slots. Composite video, S-video, and audio input for video all have two rear and one front connection. There is also a RGB/VGA mini D-sub 15 pin rear connection for Personal Computer input.

This package also includes Panasonics large selection of bells and whistles like Picture-in-Picture from two sources, TV Guide™ On Screen Program guide, and the EZ Sync HDAVI tuning control. There is a sleep (off) timer, and the V-Chip Program lockout that allows parental control over programming. The SD Card slot allows viewing of JPEG photos on the screen, and the CableCard feature allows the reception of cable HD broadcasts without the need for a cable box in areas where this service is available.

The Pedestal Stand is included with the 600U units, and when it is used the dimensions are 34.3” x 49.9” x 15.8”. When the pedestal stand is not used the depth is a mere 5.5”. The whole package, including stand, weighs a mere 123.5”, and its power consumption is rated at 525 watts.

The TH-58PX600U is a monster of a home theater style plasma television with a 58” screen. It has HDTV compatibility with 480p/720p/1080i resolution. It boasts a maximum of 29 billion displayable colors with 3,072 shades of gradation. The native resolution is 1366×768 pixels. The main fall off between the larger TH-60 models and the TH-58 is the inability to handle 1080 progressive scan video, but the 720 progressive scan coupled with a contrast ratio of up to 10,000:1 produces a picture quality that will be almost shocking in its clarity and definition.

The TH-58PX60U features all of those extras that make Panasonic Plasmas such a good choice. These include 2speakers with 20 watts of output power, and NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners to allow standard analog broadcasts as well as SD and HDTV broadcasts. It also features Panasonic’s SD card slot that allows JPEG photos to be viewed on screen. The hookups include two rear HDMI-HDCP interface slots, Composite Video slots (2 rear 1 front), S-Video Input and Audio Input (For Video). Both the S-Video and Audio Input are 2 rear and 1 front configuration.

The TH-58PX60U Model gives up a couple of the special features of the 600U Unit in exchange for a significant drop in price. It does retain some of the more essential and useful features such as the V-Chip Program Lockout for parental control and Panasonic’s trademarked EZ Sync HDAVI tuning control.

The Pedestal Stand for this model is included in the base package, and the dimensions with the pedestal stand check in at 39.3“high, 55.1” wide, and 17” deep. The unit itself has a depth of less than 4”. This flat screen giant has a rated power consumption of only 655 watts, and weighs only 138.9 lbs with the pedestal stand.

The TH-58PX600U is a monster of a home theater style plasma television with a 58” screen. It has HDTV compatibility with 480p/720p/1080i resolution. It boasts a maximum of 29 billion displayable colors with 3,072 shades of gradation. The native resolution is 1366×768 pixels. The main fall off between the larger TH-60 models and the TH-58 is the inability to handle 1080 progressive scan video, but the 720 progressive scan coupled with a contrast ratio of up to 10,000:1 produces a picture quality that will be almost shocking in its clarity and definition.

The TH-58PX600U features all of those extras that make Panasonic Plasmas such a good choice. These include 4 speakers with 31 watts of output power, and NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners to allow standard analog broadcasts as well as SD and HDTV broadcasts. It also features Panasonic’s SD card slot that allows JPEG photos to be viewed on screen. The hookups include two rear HDMI-HDCP interface slots, Composite Video slots (2 rear 1 front), S-Video Input and Audio Input (For Video). Both the S-Video and Audio Input are 2 rear and 1 front configuration. It also features a RGB/VGA plug for connection to a personal computer.

Some extra perks of this model include TV Guide On-Screen program guide, Picture in Picture split screen display from two sources, and the V-Chip Program Lockout for parental control. The Sleep/on/off Timer on this model is of the Sleep (off only) type.

The Pedestal Stand for this model is included in the base package, and the dimensions with the pedestal stand check in at 38.9” high, 57.3” wide, and 16.6” deep. The unit itself has a depth of less than 6”. This flat screen giant has a rated power consumption of only 665 watts, and weighs only 174.2 lbs with the pedestal stand.

The TH-60PX600U is the flagship of the Panasonic Plasma Television family. It has the largest screen size, at 60 inches, and is so loaded down with extra features that you might be surprised when you discover that it doesn’t automatically rake the leaves in your backyard while you watch the Sunday football game. It is compatible with up to 1080p resolution with a native resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. This combination is capable of producing over 29 billion colors with 4,096 gradations. The contrast ratio is estimated at 5000:1, which is a bit lower than can be found on some of the smaller screen models, but still is capable of producing the black range needed for clear and crisp picture reproduction.

This 60” plasma giant comes with optional detachable speakers, but features surround sound. It is ready to be connected to just about anything in your Home Theater array having both front and rear HDMI connector ports. Also included, both front and rear are HDMI analog audio ports, composite video ports, and s-video ports. A special feature is a rear mini D-sub 15 pin RGB/VGA connection to hook up with your personal computer.

There is also a special Easy Sync ™ HDAVI tuner for HDMI. The unit is capable of receiving every type of transmission up to High Definition broadcasts. It has split screen picture on picture, a sleep/on/off timer, and video input labeling. The pedestal is optional with this model, and without it, the dimensions are (HxWxD) 38.9”x 61.2” x 5.7”. A remarkable depth of less than six inches and a weight of only 174 pounds show how much television can be packed into a relatively small package. The power consumption is listed at 795 watts

This model comes with the V-chip parental control that is fairly standard on the Panasonic models. There is also the TV Guide on screen program guide. The TH-60PX600U is the top of the line, and although a bit pricey, features just about everything that state of the art Home Theater Television has to offer.

Thinking about the purchase of an upconverting DVD player at this time is comparable to thinking about living in Switzerland during World War II. With a major win brewing between Blu-ray and HD-TV, it might be wise to take a wait and see attitude. In the mean time an upconverting DVD player could be a wise choice. Although the issue of larger capacity is not addressed, the quality of the picture you can now squeeze out of your DVD collection onto your new Plasma, LCD, or DLP television can be mind boggling.

The Upconverting DVD works through the use of a processing chip. The standard DVD resolution is 480i. This refers to the fact that the image is interlacing, with 30 frames consisting of 240 horizontal lines are displayed on the screen per second. Because they are interlacing, there is actually space between the horizontal lines. These spaces are not noticeable at all on the older small screen television, but when shown on larger display screens, the flaws in interspacing and smaller resolution produces flicker, and distortion of detail.

The processing chip used in the upconverting DVD player deinterlaces the picture, converting it to progressive scan, and adjusting the resolution to match the unit receiving the signal. While this might sound relatively simple, it is actually very complex, and made more so because of the lack of standard resolution in either the display units and in the video and film that provide the subjects of the DVD. The processing chip must detect and match the resolution as well as performing the de-interlacing.

There are some very good chips that are quite capable of performing this function, but they must be integrated into the DVD unit properly to achieve the desired result. This means that the best way to test an upconverting DVD player is to actually play some of your DVDs on it, and have them displayed on a TV that matches the one you have at home fairly closely. This might mean walking into Walmart with a stack of your personal DVD collection under your arm, but if you do find a compatible unit for use at home, you are going to have some excellent high definition video movies while you wait out the new technology war.

The HDMI is a connector that transmits digital TV audio-visual signals from DVD players, set-top boxes, and just about any other source to televisions, projectors, and similar video displays. It carries all standard, enhanced, and High Definition formats, and does it in a single cable, with a smaller and more user friendly plug in. It is also fully capable of handling multi-channel digital audio on the same cable. It does all of this and still has ample bandwidth left over to handle any future improvements, and technological advancements.

The HDMI is an industry backed standard, and this has led to its being the connector of choice among many as it can pretty much connect any recording device or transmission signal source to any display monitor, or audio player. Over 400 companies have adopted it as their standard, and it is the connector of choice for over 60 million electronic units expected to be shipped this year.

Another important advantage of the HDMI is that it is a highly compatible connector to help facilitate the increasingly important converging of PC and Media technology and requirements. Movies are being downloaded and played on computers, as well as large collections of music, and more and more the computer is moving toward becoming an integral part of the whole Home Entertainment Industry. Computers, Televisions, Stereo’s, and Gaming all coming together into the world of High Definition, and the HDMI is going to be there to hook them all together.

The war between blu-ray technology and HD-DVD is heating up, and appears to be headed in the same direction as the VHS vs. Betamax format war of the 1980’s. Which means one side is going to win, and the other is going to find its ways into a lot of yard sales. It would be wise to have a good understanding of the advantages offered by blu-ray before committing yourself to one side or the another.

The main advantage that blu-ray brings to the battle is capacity. HD-DVD discs hold about 40% less storage capacity than the blu-ray disk. The blu-ray can manage 50 GB on a double sided disc, while the HD-DVD checks in at 30GB. In both cases, this is a major jump over the 4.7 GB of the DVD disc. There is work being done to develop a multi-layered disc capable of holding up to 100GB, which seems to indicate that capacity is going to be blu-ray’s battle cry on into the future.

This is even more likely because in the important area of quality of picture reproduction, the two formats seems to be even, and HD-DVD has a lead in not only being the first on the market, but also is considerably less expensive. Blu-ray technology requires totally different production methods, and so is going to have to endure higher prices at least for awhile. HD-DVD requires less re-tooling to convert production from the older formats, and is able to hold a price advantage initially. Both products have what is called backward compatibility, which means they can play the older style DVD’s which will please the owners of large collections.

So, in the end, it is the larger capacity that is blu-ray’s trump card. Already easily able to handle up to 1080p resolution, this advantage is not a small one. Technology is exploding at a rapid pace, and a lead in capacity makes blu-ray better positioned to accommodate the next new wave of improvements and advances. Is bigger really better? That is going to be the question answered over the next few years.