TH-50PZ850U
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Panasonic's VIERA TH-50PZ850U plasma gets reviewed
We've seen a couple of Panasonic's plasmas reviewed in recent months, but the 50-inch TH-50PZ85OU has somehow eluded us thus far. The cats over at E-Gear just got ahold of this very unit and spent the bulk of its time testing things out over the Thanksgiving holiday. Right from the top, the HDTV was praised for its image quality, with critics noting that it "soared above most of the competition, both in feature offerings and in performance." Blacks were black, Blu-ray Discs were stunning and the colors were vivid. Sure, the bundled remote left a bit to be desired, but it's not like you don't have a universal remote to handle that "on / off stuff" anyway, right? We must say, we're a bit shocked that a Panny PDP was regarded this highly, but it's good to see the current king bringing out the best in all of the rivals.
The HD Guru puts Pioneer's Pro-111FD plasma to the test
You've got to respect the effort that Gary Merson, a.k.a. the HD Guru, puts into his TV reviews. Thorough and technically savvy, he relentlessly exposes the weaknesses of displays passing through his lab. His latest review is a showdown between two 50-inch plasmas vying for the top, the new Pioneer Pro-111FD and the Panasonic TH-50PZ850U. We've long heard about these 9th generation Pioneer plasmas, the last to come off of Pioneer production lines, so our eyes perked up at the comparison. We won't spoil the outcome of the "two plasmas enter, one plasma leaves" showdown (and that pesky $1500 price difference between the two units is significant), but we will say that the Pioneer lived up to the Kuro name by displaying blacks too dark for the Guru to reliably measure with his test gear. Oh, and the 10th generation promises to be darker still.
