TC-P50V10 50” Plasma TV
Ever since we gave the
Panasonic TH-50PZ800U an Editors' Choice award as our favorite plasma HDTV so
far, we've been bombarded by variations of the same question: "Is the more
expensive TH-50PZ850U better?" After finally getting the chance to review
the 850U, our answer is "no." The TH-50PZ850U is the company's
flagship plasma, the most expensive in its lineup, but the less expensive 800U
we tested delivered slightly better picture quality, mainly due to its superior
color accuracy. Don't get us wrong; the 850U still put up a great picture, and
some viewers may well appreciate its wider, albeit less accurate, color gamut.
The flagship model's biggest step-up feature is Viera Cast, Panasonic's first attempt at connecting one of its TVs directly to the
Internet, which currently allows the TV to display digital photos from Google's
Picasa service, YouTube videos, and stocks and weather info. Problem is, we're not sure how many high-end HDTV shoppers care about
viewing crud-quality YouTube videos on their beautiful HDTVs. In the end we
think sticklers for picture quality will opt for the 800U series, and YouTube
will not figure into the decision.