W. Guyton Jr. says:

Have only had the TV for two weeks. The picture is wonderful right out of the box. You will need to lower the factory settings and go through a few hundred hour break-in period to allow the panel to settle in before showing the truly brilliant video. Still waiting to determine if ISF calibration will make the show better but it looks really excellent as is. Have over one hundred hours to date.
Rating: 5 / 5

G. Ross says:

Let’s start by asking why you want this tv? LCD tv’s are lighter, use less energy, costs have come way down, no screen burn in to worry about. But, Plasma tv’s are still cheaper, have greater viewing angles, and produce vastly better picture quality. LCD’s have come a long way, but they can not reproduce the deep, rich blacks of a plasma. I waited thru a back-order status to get this. Everything I read said that the Pioneer Elite is the best plasma you can buy(for $7000!). Not wanting to spend that, the second best was supposedly this tv. But, I still would not pay $4000. That’s why I was shocked to see that my local huge-box retailer had it for $2900!! For that it’s worth every penny. LCD tv’s produce pictures that are bright, crisp, and sharp. Well, I don’t like that. Real life is not sharp and crisp, but soft and textured. The picture produced by LCD’s seems fake to me. Most often, you’ll find LCD’s showing animated films in store demo mode. The reason is b/c animated films are supposed to be sharp and creased and bright, and are excellent matches for LCD’s. I like films, and plasma’s do a much better job showing them. So, why should you buy this model, and not a lower model? What are the main differences? Well, this model is capable of showing 1080P 24fps(frames per second) at 24hz(the refresh rate of the pic), lower models do not have this capability. What this means, is that it is a perfect match for Blu-ray. Most films are shot in 24fps 24hz. If the tv can’t show that, it must “convert” the signal to it’s native resolution to show the film. That can mean less smooth motion, and can introduce “noise” into the picture. Broadcast tv doesn’t run at 1080P 24 fps, only Blu-Ray films. So, this tv is for serious movie buffs only who will be playing plenty of Blu-Ray films. If you only want to watch tv, or dvd, you can easily get a lower model, such as the G10. This tv is not for the tech inept. It is loaded with features, and is capable of so many adjustments that non-pros can easily get lost. The remote is pathetic. It’s non-universal, and won’t control any other components, unless they are also Panasonic, and have the proprietary Viera Link. For a tv this expensive, it’s expected you’ll have a universal remote. Only the Vol and Chan buttons are backlit. There are 6 “modes” to watch. Standard, Game, Vivid, Studio-Reference, THX, and Custom. I use Studio-Ref, as I find THX too sepia toned, Standard too washed out, VIVID and Game too bright(tho Vivid is useful for brightly lit rooms). There is a C.A.T.S system, which automatically adjusts brightness depending on ambient lighting. I leave this off. You’d reckon that in bright rooms it would get brighter, but it really gets dimmer?! These days, plasma’s are less susceptible to burn-in, but jic, there’s 2 modes of anti-image retention. You can have a scrolling bar go across the tv, or have a “random pixel orbiter” to help. There’s an eco-energy saving mode, which puts a timer on the tv to turn-off if there’s no signal for a certain amount of time. You can set different levels of block noise and mosquito noise reduction. You can set different black levels from dim to bright, and there are 2 different sizes for HD. Sometimes, broadcast tv has digital info on the screen edges that show up as a “crawl” on the edge. Adjusting the size can eliminate that. There are multiple audio settings as well. There’s an automatic volume control that keeps the volume at the same level(sometimes commercials are louder-this prevents that). There’s also a simulated 3d sound field. Let’s face it tho, if you buy this, it’s expected you’ll have a surround set-up, and not rely on the tv’s speakers. There’s plenty of inputs;4 HDMI(including 1 on the side for ease in wall-mounting) PC inputs, sd card input, and plenty of analog. The worst con of this tv is reflection. This tv is supposed to have an anti-glare screen, but even when my small 25 watt lamp is on, I can see it reflected on the screen. Otherwise, the picture is outstanding. There is superb black level performance, fantastic color quality, and smooth motion. With my Oppo BDP83, the picture is stunning. With regular tv, there is still fake-contouring artifacts aplenty(best way to describe this is seeing “rings” of distortion when watching, say, a light in a fog bank). Watching HD Theater, a 1080i channel, the picture is incredible. There is very small “noise”, colors are accurately rendered, and there are deep, rich blacks. I recommend this to anyone who wants the best of what’s currently available. That means 1080P Blu-Ray movies, and HD TV, and surround sound with universal remote. If you just want regular dvd, and lots of TV, go with the G10 model, and save money. Oh, and I will certainly be having an ISF tech calibrate this, as it has so many adjustments that even a techno-phile like me is a bit overwhelmed.
Rating: 5 / 5

Morgan Higham says:

Pros: 65″ is a fantastic size for my living room, and the picture quality allows you to feel that you’re there. A seated newscaster looks the same size as if they were on the other side of a window. The custom pro pic adjustments make any source look fantastic!

Cons: As with all plasmas, the light reflection can be annoying. It is certainly watchable in the daytime with the shades open, but a bit distracting. The THX mode default is “HD Size 2″ 100% scan, which introduces some edge noise with some sources (cable)

Summary: I’ve been waiting for months for the 65 inch V10 to become available. Nearly pre-ordered it online several times, but was leary of ordering before it was in stock. Happened into Best Buy on Fri Aug 21 and saw the 58″ on show. Questioned about the 65″ and found out the store had just received one that day and intended to set it up for show the next day. After a small negotiation I had secured this first set for $3899 ($100 off MSRP) and had it delivered free on the following Tuesday. First thing I did after setting it up was to switch the picture setting from Vivid to THX and the picture was incredible. Flipped through a few channels and watched some dark scenes from shows on my DVR that I had been saving just for this purpose. The clarity in low light scenes better than I had imagined. I have played with the custom pro picture settings some, but haven’t spent enough time to get it looking better than THX yet. I have loved the Viera Cast features, especially the weather and YouTube. I was watching a movie on cable and started wondering what other movies had the same director. I paused the show, switched to YouTube and looked up the director’s name and watched a few clips of him taling about the movie I was watching and a few others he had directed, then went back and watched the rest of the movie. It was nice to be able to do this without having to pull out my laptop. I was also impressed with the picture quality from YouTube, even when I place it on full screen (I don’t reckon most YT videos are prepared to be showed at 65″, but it still looked pretty clear!) I haven’t rented a movie from the Amazon download service yet, but I’ll have to try it. I can’t believe that the picture will equal BluRay though- which reminds me… For some reason it was nearly three days of watching this set before I remembered that I hadn’t see a BluRay disk on it. I had been too caught up playing with the settings and Viera Cast and setting up my Harmony report (which is a small tough to get set up for Viera Cast because I wanted the direction pad to control the DRV when watching cable and to control the TV when using VC, but I figured it out.) Anyway, I finally got around to putting in a BluRay disc and the picture went to a whole other level – like nothing I’d seen before. Going back to Comcast compressed 1080i HD signal after BluRay was like looking through a mist. Now I can’t rent BR movies quick enough. I nearly want to stop watching my favorite shows on TV and wait for the season to come out on BluRay.

Well, if you’re still reading- I like this TV -I want to stop writing now, go close the shades and start watching.
Rating: 5 / 5