Panasonic VIERA TC-P50GT25 50-inch 1080p 3D Plasma HDTV, Black

Panasonic developed the Plasma TV in the beginning so it makes sense that this TV is the latest in Plasmas with "new" fast response phospors (pixels). Every review I have read about Plasmas complains about image retention. I will address that first.

Image retention is not the same as image burn in. Now to understand this phenomenon, stare at a light source for 20 seconds, then close your eyes. For several seconds you will still see the image in front of you. So in a very dark room watching any TV will induce your eyes to have "image retention" when switching from very bright scenes to very dark scenes. Image retention on this TV is similarly annoying as the mottled look that the Sony HX810 LED LCD has in "black" scenes.

If you plan to watch CNN or any other channel with still images, logos, etc., 24/7; a plasma TV is not for you. If you watch alot of movies, a plasma will be a very good investment. Panasoninc recommends 100 hours of break in before watching programs with still images that last more than 15 minutes to reduce image retention and burn in. That figure is very accurate. When I first got this TV (Feb 20, 2011) and set it up, I played several video games and watched movies on it. Image retention is most noticeable in a dark room with scenes switching from light and fading to black. If you have played Gran Turismo 5, the switching screens are perfect examples. Now that I have used the TV over 100 hours the image retention is reduced. Image retention gets better with every day. I believe any Plasma, just like CRT's can have images burned into them. I have looked at new Samsung and LG plasmas and Panasonic's image retention (or lack of) is much better.

2D images are just like any HDTV. Very clear and sharp. Blu-rays look excellent! Colors are very crisp and beautiful. Watching movies at night are better than going to the theatre. Very dark blacks. Standard definition is better than the Sony HX810 LED LCD.

Now the reason I got this TV in the first place was for 3D. I am glad I did. This TV can do 2D to 3D conversion, and it does it better than the Sony HX810. I know Samsung has this feature, but I can't say how well it does. 3D movies and games are excellent with this TV. The glasses had to be purchased separately, but they are very lightweight compared to the heavier glasses for the Sony. When watching 3D on this TV, you can move around and lay down and tilt your head, as long as you're looking at the TV everything stays in 3D and the image stays sharp. Convergence is dependant on each individual and settings either in the movie, game, or TV. The Sony HX810's 3D is not as flexible, as in, you have to stay sitting perfectly straight to watch and tilting your head more than 10 degrees left or right, and the image blurs and no more 3D.

Now to comment on sound. Why watch an HDTV with "SD" sound? I have my TV hooked up to a 7.2 receiver. Before I hooked everything up, I did watch a few programs with the TV with the speakers on, and it sounded good, but nothing beats speakers outside of a "flat" TV. The TV has audio return channel ARC, and so with the receiver hooked up, I also get the added feature of HDMI switching. With just the TV remote, I can turn on the TV and the receiver will come on. With everything off, I can open the Blu-ray player and insert a movie and the TV and receiver will come on with the correct inputs switched on. The ultimate in laziness!

Watching motion on this TV is excellent. No blurring and fast scene switching. I have noticed motion blur and induced scene stuttering from my PS3, but the TV has no problem keeping up with motion. Compared to the Sony LED @ 240Hz, the LED can't keep up with some fast scenes. On LCD's, response times (pixel going from black to white and back to black; off, on, off) are measured in milliseconds, and the only info I could find for the Sony is between 2ms and 5ms. Slower response times will induce "ghosting" on motion scenes. The bigger the screen, the more pronounced it becomes. But because response time is so fast on this plasma TV, it doesn't need to be measured, and picture processing is done with a 600Mhz sub-field drive.

This TV has streaming internet video, and I have used the feature several times, but I'm not much on internet videos. I also have hooked up my PC a couple times. Don't forget that this TV is THX certified!

I would buy this TV again.