Panasonic's TH-50PX60U is a stylish 50-inch plasma HDTV that delivers great performance. This silver flat-panel set comes with a pedestal stand that can be removed for mounting the monitor on the wall, although a separately available bracket is required. The 16:9 screen is perfect for wide-format DVD movies and HDTV.

The native resolution is 1,366X768, and all images are displayed at 768p. A motion-adaptive 3-D Y/C digital comb filter eliminates dot crawl and rainbow effects, and the picture is further refined with several noise reduction and color management functions. The TH-50PX60U can display nearly 29 billion colors, so images appear very lifelike.

Stereo speakers are built into the area below the screen, and they deliver 20 total watts of audio output and can simulate surround sound. An SD memory card slot lets you view digital photos on the big screen. Convenience features on the TH-50PX60U are relatively standard for a large plasma HDTV, including an adjustable sleep timer, video input labeling, memory for the video settings for each input and closed captions.

Unlike some competing models, the TH-50PX60U does not offer any PIP functions such as split-screen or inset-window viewing, and it lacks a PC input. Another notable omission is a CableCARD slot. The TH-50PX60U does have an integrated QAM tuner, but you should check with your cable provider to ensure digital cable compatibility.

The front of the TH-50PX60U has quick-connect composite video and S-video inputs, while the rear panel has numerous additional inputs and outputs for use with associated components. The options include two more composite video inputs, two more S-video inputs, two component video inputs, two HDMI inputs, a composite video output and an optical digital audio output.

The TH-50PX60U comes with a universal remote control that includes DVD controls. As plasma HDTVs go, Panasonic's TH-50PX60U certainly delivers in the performance department, but it lacks some key features that are common in other models.

Pros: Sharp picture with good detail, attractive cabinet
Cons: No picture-in-picture, no PC connectivity, lacks CableCARD slot