Very NICE!
I have only had the TV 2 days, so this review is based on what I have noticed so far. The TV was very easy to setup, so you should not really have any problems mounting the TV, and getting it working. Of course, mine was easy to mount because I mounted it on the stand above my audio equipment, so those mounting it on the wall will have more of a challenge. Right out of the box, the picture was rather dull on SD, but that is mostly because the colors are not perfectly set for every signal from the various broadcasting mediums, so you will need to adjust according to your taste. At this stage, I have reduced contrast to 50, and will leave it at that setting for at least 100 hrs (the picture is not bright enough at this setting for my taste, but I will leave it alone until burn-in is complete). I did try some small adjustments in SD and will note that once you tune the TV, I believe SD will be adequate -- but I returned it to the defaults afterward -- but not wonderful, but the issue is not the TV, but the capability of Standard TV to broadcast a clear signal. On high def is where the TV really shines, so if you have a high def signal coming to your home then you will notice very accurate colors with minor adjustments.
Next, I tried a blue ray (The Avatar) and the picture was stunning. It should be noted that both the blue ray player and TV are only a couple hours old, so I did not expect anything to be perfect at that point. What I noticed here is that as the movie continued to play the colors in the set became more defined, but I was absolutely stunned by the depth of colors and there clarity.
In one scene where they show a space ship in space, it looked so real that I just wanted to watch the scene over and over. No jaggies, or distortion of any kind, and the blacks in space were deep with no grayish tent - I mean really black blacks. The scene is stunning. In another scene, a guy has just been trough a work out, and you can see every detail of the sweat on his skin and the colors are very accurate -- breathtaking the accuracy of the scene. The movie was played in THX mode, and while it is good, it does need slight adjustments, which I will do after burn-in. In some scenes on the blue ray, the colors are wonderful, but on others, you see slightly too much green.
There have been some reviews that stated colors are over saturated, but I really do not believe that is the case. Color saturation is one of the adjustments that will need to be made to suit your taste, so it is really a non-issue. What I have always liked the most about Panny's is that you can get actually accurate skin colors, so that is very important to me.
For sound, I am an audiophile, so have over 40k worth of sound equipment and did not expect to much, but it is not all that bad for a TV and improves as the TV burns-in, so it can be lived with and is not all that awe full as some others claim. Remember it is a TV and not a sound system, so be realistic in your expectations. Once you hook it up to your sound system if that is your intent, or your blue ray player, the audio signal passed is good, and especially if you are using HDMI or digital output. I used the digital out routed to a Tag McLaren AV32R processor.
It takes sometime for the picture to settle in, but I have always been impressed by Panasonic TVs (I own another flat screen by them and the picture is beautiful and not over saturated, but it took a few days to get the colors adjusted just right, but I have not changed one setting since).
As far as a buzz, I have heard none and more then likely, if you are hearing a loud buzz then the TV is defective and should be replaced, but I have no sound on at the moment and hear no buzz whatsoever. As long as your ear is not directly next to the TV, you should here none either.
I don't believe you can go wrong purchasing this TV because of all the technologies and the advantages of Plasma over LCD/LED although they will eventually make strides while the Plasmas continue to improve in the areas of black depth, and that you can watch the set from any angle, and no blur in fast scenes. It is just part of the capabilities inherent with Plasmas, and the other TVs have to add technology to force a capability not native to the product.
Just remember these TVs are so adjustable that you can change the picture to your taste, but the real winner here are the native capabilities of Plasma, and that Panasonic is the only vendor that focuses on Plasmas while the others focus on LCD/LEDs because the mark-up is better, so stick with those strengths when purchasing a TV. LED/LCD are bright right out of the box, but Plasma' can be adjusted where they are just as bright, but there overall picture has deeper colors because of the excellent blacks, so are more accurate.
After looking at all technologies with the same detail, I look at and review audio equipment, Plasma is the way to go, and you simply cannot go wrong.
Wonderful TV and for those smart enough to see the value in Plasmas and Panasonic, you won't be disappointed, but have realistic expectations right out of the box, and don't expect perfect for your taste that is up to you with the adjustments you make.
Enjoy!
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