The Panasonic Plasma HDTV Series

Panasonic has a reputation for producing some of the finest Plasma HDTVs on the market today. They currently have about 20 sets in the lineup, ranging in size from 37 to 65 inches, and in price from about $1500 to over $9000. The naming scheme they use can be a little confusing, but it gives important information about the differences between the models.

Every model name in the Plasma series has the same format: the letters TH, followed by two digits, then two letters, then one, two or three digits, then the letter U. For example, TH-42PX75U or TH-50PZ700U. The first two digits tell you the diagonal measurement of the screen in inches. The next two letters are either “PX” or “PZ”, and with one exception, the PX sets all have 720p resolution, while the PZ sets have 1080p. The exception is the TH-65PX600U, which has 1080p resolution. Sets with “PD”, “PS”, or something else here are not true HDTV, but are EDTV or standard definition.

The next set of digits indicates the specific model number, and in general, sets with higher numbers here have more features and better quality. Let’s take the TH-50PX sub-series as an example. Every set in this group is a Plasma (TH), 50 inches diagonally (50), with 720p resolution (PX). The rest of the name in this series is either 6U, 60U, 600U, 75U or 77U.

The 6U, 60U and 600U sets all have the same picture technology, resolution and contrast ratio. The main difference between them is in some of the data inputs: the 600U has SD card and PC VGA inputs, the 60U has no PC input but does have an SD card input, and the 6U has neither. The 75U and 77U are new for 2007 and are the same except that the 77U has a special glare reducing shield.

A new trend for Panasonic is the addition of 1080p resolution in its Plasma sets, represented in the 700 and 750 series. As of 2007, these sets are only available in 50 and 58 inch screen sizes. The difference between the 700 and 750 is a special “Studio Reference” mode, which allows you to watch movies with the exact same color tones they were intended to be watched in.

The sets with a 7 as the first digit in the second number (75, 77, 700 and 750) are all 2007 models, while sets with a 6 (6, 60, 600) are older. The older sets still have competitive technology, but can be found for thousands less than the new sets online.