Panasonic Viera 50" 3D Plasma HDTV

3D televisions are on their way, and Panasonic may be ahead of the curve with their 3D plasma TV. Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn take a look its special features like the included LCD shutter glasses, Viera Cast and 600 Hz refresh rate, all for $2,500.

What You Need To Know

• This Panasonic TV isn't as sleek as the Samsung 3D TV we reviewed before, but it does have twice as many inputs.
• Most of them are on the back, so it'll be harder to wall mount. The rest of the inputs are along the side.
• The TV measures about 3.5" thick with a plain gray and black finish.
• The 3D feature is much better on this TV than the Samsung.
• We immediately noticed a difference in that there was little to no cross-talk, which is the way 3D is supposed to look.
• We also didn't have to warm up the TV or adjust any settings. It works perfectly right off the bat.
• The reason why the 3D looks better is because the plasma has better response times and refresh rates than an LCD TV.
• This means images are rendered quicker and won't leave behind "ghosts" of themselves.
• Panasonic's Viera Cast service works fine with access to YouTube, Netflix and other Internet Apps.
• It's easy to navigate around but might slow down when loading a lot of data.
• A lot more apps like Skype and Twitter are coming soon
• Overall, it's not as complete as Samsung's App store but it's promising.
• The TV also looks great when not using the 3D feature.
• Blacks are some of the deepest we've seen.
• The colors aren't quite as vivid as yesterday's Samsung, but they are incredibly accurate.
• Since it's a plasma, it doesn't have the smooth motion feature but fast moving action scenes still look terrific.
• Overall, picture quality is rock solid. 

Price

• $2,500.00

Rating

• 4 Seals of Approval out of 5. (How do we rate gadgets?)
• If you absolutely need to buy a 3D television right now, this is the one to get.
• It's the best 3D experience on the market.
• A pair of 3D glasses are included.
• You'll also need a 3D Blu-ray player for $400.
• The total price is about $2,900 for the full 3D effect.

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