Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT20

Overall Design

After looking at the tremendous strides that Samsung has displayed recently in beautifying television design (followed at some distance by Sony), you have to wonder what Panasonic was thinking when it created its first 3D TV. Panasonic feels like a company of engineers. Samsung feels like a company of engineers with a fashionable sibling who steps in to help them dress for the big dance.

The TC-P50VT20 is an ugly hunk of plastic surrounding a very good display. The plastic looks cheap, and the buttons on the TV and remote look gawky and, well… also cheap. The whole thing looks cheap, except for the screen.

Front

The front of the Panasonic TC-P50VT20 is not the prettiest TV, and certainly no match for a looker like the Samsung UN55C7000. As you can see from the front, the bezel is rather thick for a TV of this price range, we think. The material is definitely low-styling as well – a semi-gloss dark grey plastic. Come on, Panasonic. Sell us on this whole 3D thing!

Along the bottom of the bezel is an area that contains the indicator lights and sensors for the remote control and 3D glasses syncing.

Back

The back of the Panasonic TC-P50VT20 is simple. All the ports are located in one corner, for easier access. The AC power cable plugs into the center, and through a handy bit of engineering, snaps into place so it can’t accidentally be yanked out.

Sides

As you can see from the pictures, the Panasonic TC-P50VT20 is not a particularly svelte television, but that is perhaps because the rising popularity of LED-backlit LCDs has created an shift in the desire for ‘skinny’ TVs. The Samsung UN55C7000, for example, is incredibly thin, and it’s not even the thinnest that Samsung is releasing this year.

The extra inches on the Panasonic allow for some useful bits, though. On the left side, you’ll find all the onboard controls and several ports, including the USBs and SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Stand/Mount

The stand is a plain, ovular piece of plastic. We’re pleased to see that the TV is able to rotate on its base, but Samsung has set a new bar for design with its 4-legged stand.

Controls

All the onboard controls are located on the left side of the TV, mixed in with several ports. The buttons are strangely fat and cheap looking, but they do the job perfectly well. Performing no-look operation here is tricky because there’s no clear separation between ‘group of buttons’ and ‘group of ports.’

Remote Control

The remote control for the Panasonic TC-P50VT20 is not a thing of elegance either, but it gets the job done. It’s essentially the same as last year’s remote, but with white buttons for better illumination when you turn on the backlighting feature (always handy in a dark room). It fits nicely balanced in the hand, but the hard corners could have been made more comfortable.

In the Box

The Panasonic TC-P50VT20 ships with a remote control, batteries, the stand, an instruction manual, and one pair of 3D glasses. This last part is crucial if you have any intention of trying out the 3D display. Of course, in order to see anything in 3D, you’ll also need a Blu-Ray player that supports 3D, as well as a disc with 3D content.

The exact model of the TC-P50VT20 that we purchased was a Best Buy bundle including the DMP-BDT300 3D Blu-Ray player and a disc full of terrible but technically acceptable 3D content.

Other Models in the TC-PxxVT25 Series
For more information on other models in this series, check our Series Comparison Page.
Panasonic Viera TC-P50VT25 50 in.	Panasonic Viera TC-P54VT25 54 in.	Panasonic Viera TC-P58VT25 58 in.	Panasonic TC-P65VT25 65 in.