Panasonic Viera TC-P65VT50 3D Smart Plasma HDTV Review

Performance

We find that rating and testing the average HDTV--be it an LCD or a Plasma--is often a game of give and take. If a TV has great core performance and screen dynamics, it sometimes has the drawback of using an excess of electricity. If it's very bright, it's not very dark. And if it's got blue ribbon audio and menus, it usually is lackluster in some other feature. It's rare to see any TV whose excellence in some area (or group of areas) doesn't result in at least some negligence to one or more key components of its performance.

This is not the case with the VT50. We were excited during initial testing--while Panasonic's smart platform is, in our opinion, poorly designed, everything else that this TV brings with it is top quality. It's got deep blacks, accurate color, and ear-pleasing audio, but still manages to only add around $20 per year to your electric bill.

While we'd expect nothing less for an MSRP of $3699, it's always a breath of fresh air to see a TV that doesn't cut corners.