Panasonic TC-P50U1 Plasma HDTV Review - Audio & Menus

Audio & Menus Summary
Editorial Note: This is a review of the Panasonic TC-P50U1. Test results are for this model, but should indicate the general performance of other sizes in the TC-PxxU1 series. The TC-PxxU1 series includes the following models: TC-P42U1, TC-P46U1, and TC-P50U1.  Read here for more details on series differences.
• Merely adequate audio quality • Simple, straightforward menu • Decent user's manual, but there's no glossary
	Connectivity	Page 10 of 18	Formats & Media

Audio Quality (4.0)

Panasonic does not make audio its first priority with the TC-P50U1. The built-in stereo speakers are adequate for everyday TV watching, but they in no way match the performance stand-alone speakers would provide. There are precious few menu options for the audio, as well, considering the size and price of the TV. You can manually adjust the bass and treble (but not the mids), and you can turn the simulated surround sound on or off (but not tweak any further).

Menu Interface (7.0)

The menu interface on the Panasonic TC-P50U1 is decent, but not stellar. Part of the problem stems from the remote control, which hides the "Menu" button rather than making it prominent. In addition, the menu seems to lack a little pep. How much processing power could is possibly require to make the menus appear a little faster? If Panasonic took the time to offer 2710 possible looks for the closed captioning display (yes, that's actually true, mathematically speaking), we could have seen a snappier system. 

The main menu

It's hard to get lost in the menus, which is a good thing. Once you're in a submenu, you need to track down the Return button on the remote control. Between the slight sluggishness of the menus and the poor button layout on the remote control, the whole experience is slow.

The Picture menu

Manual (4.0)

The manual for the Panasonic TC-P50U1 is not very good. They made the almost unforgivable error of omitting an index. Without this, you're really left on your own to track down explanations of all the features.

You can find the Panasonic TC-P50U1's manual online here.

All Models in the TC-PxxU1 Series
This is a review of the Panasonic TC-P50U1. The other sizes of HDTVs in this series should be similar in terms of performance and usability. For details about any differences, click on the image to jump to the Series Comparison page.
Panasonic TC-P42U1 42 inches	Panasonic TC-P46U1 46 inches	Panasonic TC-P50U1 50 inches