Panasonic TH-50PF9UK Review

The Panasonic TH-50PF9UK is a 50-inch plasma HDTV, which is only the second full 1080p HD 50-inch plasma to hit the market after the Pioneer’s PRO-FHD1. The TH-50PF9UK is Panasonic’s professional line, so the set does not come cheap, but does offer excellent image quality. Cnet have taken a close look at the TH-50PF9UK and say the exterior is finished in a very dark gray, and other than the Panasonic name below the center of the screen and the power light all the way to the left, there is nothing else to distinguish it. The all-screen look results in relatively tiny overall dimensions for a 50-inch plasma: 47.6×28.5×3.7 inches (WHD) for the panel itself, with a weight of 81.6 pounds.

he major selling point of the TH-50PF9UK is its 1080p native resolution, which translates to 1,920×1,080 pixels. That’s more than twice as many as most 50-inch plasmas, and it allows the Panasonic to display every detail of the highest-resolution HDTV formats, 1080i and 1080p, as well as handle very high-resolution computer signals. All other input signals, as usual, are converted to match the native resolution.

Connection options are definitely limited compared to other HDTVs on the market. The panel comes with one component-video input that is also configurable to RGB (for computers or other RGB gear); a DVI input that can also accept HDMI sources when you connect an inexpensive adapter cable.

Overall, the Panasonic TH-50PF9UK delivers excellent picture quality that’s solidly in the tradition of its lower-resolution commercial-model predecessors. Its black levels remain among the best we’ve seen for any plasma, color was mostly accurate, and details, as expected from a TV of this resolution, were superb. We did detect some false contouring in some scenes, and the primary color of green appeared yellowish, but that’s about it for complaints.