Panasonic TC-L42E50

Panasonic TC-L42E50 review

For the past couple of years, Panasonic's higher-end plasma TVs have been known for excellent picture quality, and 2012 is no exception. In contrast, its LCD range, with more models and larger sizes this year than ever before, still poses a threat to the Samsungs of the world. The TC-LE50 series is one of Panasonic's least expensive models available in larger (47- and 55-inch) sizes, and while it performs better than the DT50 at twice the price, it's still not a great deal. Picture quality is mediocre with gray blacks, a fairly mean serving of shadow detail and colors that look a little "off." I liked its styling, however, and the E50 offers a better feature set -- Smart TV and a large serving of connections -- than the otherwise superior and less expensive Toshiba L5200. But the trade-off here is in picture quality, and I believe you should always pay for the best picture your money can buy, and not the most number of widgets and doohickeys. I performed a hands-on evaluation of the 47-inch Panasonic TC-L47E50, but this review also applies to the other screen sizes in the series. All sizes have identical specs and according to the manufacturer should provide very similar picture quality.