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Reviewed.com: New Panasonic plasma HDTV impresses

The Panasonic TC-P60S60 (MSRP $1,299) is one of the first 2013 models to arrive on the market. Panasonic is one of the last bastions of support for plasma display technology, as most other companies are focusing their efforts and resources on bright LED LCDs, the coming of OLED technology, and the expanded resolution of Ultra High Definition. While it has the performance specs and picture quality to satisfy all but the most finicky, the S60 is unique in that with its plasma strengths come only a few of the technology's usual weaknesses.

The S60 is just a great television. It's bright enough to pop out in all but the sunniest rooms, and is dark enough to provide beautifully rich shadow detail for film content, games, and even daytime soaps. Its adherence to the international standard for HDTV color is almost perfect, so everything you watch will look as the director or illustrator intended it to; as a bonus, this also increases the longevity of the panel's life.

RELATED: Read a full review of the S60 TV[1]

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The specs on the S60 are pretty standard, with 1080p resolution, Wi-Fi connectivity for its smart features, and an otherwise standard feature set. While other TVs in Panasonic's 2013 lineup include more bells and whistles, we expect that the S60 gives us a reasonable idea of the performance and hardware capabilities of its higher-end siblings—and we're encouraged by what we see.

There's one drawback to Panasonic's hardware choices for 2013: the connectivity options. Many television enthusiasts —especially home theater owners — want three or even four HDMI inputs to connect all of their high-definition devices. The S60 series, like many of Panasonic's 2013 plasma series, only has two HDMI inputs; there's also a shared component/composite cluster and no analog audio whatsoever. This is definitely on the scant side, especially for 2013.

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Otherwise, we can't find much to complain about. If a 60-inch screen seems unnecessary, there are also 50- or 42-inch screens in the series, both of which cost less than $1,000. That's not much to pay for such excellent picture quality. Unless you'll need to move your TV frequently, or are especially concerned about power consumption (as a plasma, the S60 is significantly heavier and more power-hungry than most LCD TVs), or you yearn for flashy extras like 3D or a web browser, the Panasonic Viera S60 should be one of the first TVs you consider this year.

For more product reviews and news, follow @ReviewedDotCom[5] and visit Reviewed.com[6], a division of USA TODAY.

References

  1. ^ http://www.televisioninfo.com/content/panasonic-viera-tc-p60s60-review?utm_source=spikes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=collab (www.televisioninfo.com)
  2. ^ http://www.televisioninfo.com/content/panasonic-viera-tc-p60s60-review/the-science?utm_source=spikes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=collab (www.televisioninfo.com)
  3. ^ http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/Features/Affordable-System-Cameras-for-Aspiring-Photographers.htm?utm_source=spikes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=collab (www.digitalcamerainfo.com)
  4. ^ http://www.oveninfo.com/features/miele-brilliant-white-another-sign-of-stainless-decline?utm_source=spikes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=collab (www.oveninfo.com)
  5. ^ http://www.twitter.com/revieweddotcom (www.twitter.com)
  6. ^ http://www.reviewed.com/?utm_source=spikes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=collab (www.reviewed.com)
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