The Panasonic TC-P60U50 is a beautiful Plasma TV and in my home outperformed the Samsung LED UN60EH6000. I was fortunate to have both the Samsung LED TV and the Panasonic Plasma TV in my home at the same time for the comparison.
Comparing LED TVs first, Samsung UN60EH6000 is a great TV. The nice black non reflective screen reveals some of the highest quality scenes that I have seen with an LED and has wonderful color and resolution. If you want a high definition LED and don't need the gimmicky 3D or wireless, the Samsung UN60EH6000 TV is one of the best LEDs, at any price. By the way, the Samsung is a back lit LED, which appears more attractive than side lite unless you plan on watching from the side. (FYI, if you didn't already know, LEDs are LCD TVs with LED back lighting).
HOWEVER, what you may see in the showroom comparing LED TVs to Plasma, may not at all be what you see at home. I definitely preferred the Samsung LED in the showroom over Plasma TVs where the default settings of the bright LED Samsung handled the bright showroom environment better than the Plasma TVs - which hadn't been set up right for that environment and all appeared relatively dark and dull. However, when at home away from the bright showroom lights and with the TV settings adjusted properly, I easily preferred the Panasonic Plasma TV over the Samsung LED.
I have a base Panasonic model TC-P60U50 60" plasma TV (well reviewed), and in my opinion its picture bested the Samsung LED. The Panasonic Plasma seemed to have more beautiful rich natural skin tones and color balance, superior dark black contrast and backgrounds, and in general appeared warmer and more natural and was every bit as resolving and high definition. Not at all like LED TVs which can in comparisan appear slightly artificial, digital & pixelized, and a little stark and fatiguing after continuous viewing unlike Plasma TVs. It appears to me that for my preferences, Plasma TVs have an inherent advantage in general over LED TVs.
Be aware that the glass picture screen of the Plasma TVs is highly reflective compared to LEDs. However, their viewing angle is superior and although they use more electricity, the cost difference is probably less than $15 per year. I was able to get a nicely bright picture at 50% brightness in the daytime from my Panasonic plasma at home, so I can't imagine visibility in a daytime environment being an issue if the TV settings are adjusted properly. Heat with modern plasmas is not an issue as the front picture screen is only slightly warm to the touch (no more fans) and no perceptible heat is given off into the room, plus they are almost as thin as an LED, and are only a little heavier. When standing right behind my Plasma TV, I could hear no buzzing. The sound from the Panasonic plasma is OK, but is a little lacking and sounds a bit weak and lacks richness as is the case of most thin screen TVs. However, I got a huge leap in the quality of sound with a clear and rich sounding Yamaha YAS 101 sound bar (which came close to a sound system and bettered a ZVOX 220 sound bar). Costco sells the very same sound bar as the Yamaha YAS 101 for less than Amazon at $180 (Costco calls it a Yamaha ATS 1010). If you like quality sound, the improvement in sound with a sound bar over newer thin screen TVs is well worth the price in my opinion.
I have heard some rumbling about reliability and speculation from some people that the modern plasma TVs in order to be more competitive, have had some of their internal power generating electronics compromised with cheaper and undervalued capacitors, etc. than what was put in earlier plasma TVs. A friend of mine with 35 years in electronics agrees with this and pointed out how Panasonic as of late has resorted to using printed circuit boards in their plasma TV power supplies and often uses undervalued caps where higher valued ones were needed. If you suspect that there may be some credibility to that as I do, I think it might be wise to offset the lower price of plasmas over LED TVs, by buying the extended warranty to be on the safe side. My Panasonic purchased in November, was made in October of the same year and has a -2 by the model number. Perhaps some of these problems have been addressed in the newer model.
My personal preference for settings is Contrast 47%, Brightness 74%, and Sharpness 24%. Be advised (if you don't already know) that Contrast actually adjusts the White Level, and Brightness adjusts the Black Level. The picture of Plasma TVs tend to be a little darker and richer than average in the blacks, hence the reason for a higher than average setting for brightness (black level). You can turn the Black Level up even higher, but my observation is that even though the black levels become more distinct, that some richness is lost from the picture in general elsewhere.
No doubt, others may prefer the Samsung LED TV which is also very nice and has much to offer. Again, the thing that really made me prefer the Panasonic Plasma TV over it and stood out the most, was the better representation of color and and an almost 3D real-life texture, how it presented a picture which seemed warmer and more natural, and how the picture of the Panasonic Plasma TV was less inclined to appear a little stark and fatiguing, artificial, and digital as LED TVs in general can. The Panasonic Plasma was simply more comfortable to watch and much more pleasing to the eye overall.
As a side note, you can get a Panasonic plasma smart TV with a picture quality which, although close to the Panasonic P60U50 plasma, has a slightly better picture with an anti-reflective coating and the capacity for a brighter daytime picture with the ST and higher series. Be prepared to spend at least 50% more though.
| Brand Name | Panasonic |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 53 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 52.5 x 10 x 33 inches |
| Item model number | TC-P50U50 |
| Batteries | 2 AA batteries required. (included) |
| Color Name | One Color |
| Specification Met | Energy Star |
| Item Weight | 53 Pounds |
| Standing screen display size | 50 Inches |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Voltage | 120 Volts |
| Wattage | 106 watts |
