Panasonic Viera TH-C50HD18 50" Plasma TV

Like the previous reviewer, I also purchased this, 50 inch Panasonic TH-C50HD18 plasma tv, at Costco and primarily for the same reasons, sale, free extended warranty, no-hassle return policy.  At this price, a 50" plasma was kind of a no-brainer.  We looked at smaller LCD's and higher resolution (1080p)Plasmas, finally deciding that most reviewers (expert and non) generally didn't notice a difference between 1080 p and 720p Plasmas for "normal" family viewing needs (i.e., football games, movies, etc., we are not huge techies or gamers).  We upgraded our digital cable service to HD and bought the HDMI cables (from Costco, saved $30 buying it there...surprised to see them at Target for more than twice the cost).  We've had the tv about a week.  We've set up the TV in the family room, where we view from a distance of about 8 to 9 feet.  There are a few pros and cons about the picture.  Most of the time the HD channels are very clear and sharp.  Even some of the non-HD channels come in super.  With a bigger screen, it's hard to miss a bad picture.  Some of the so-called HD channels are also coming in pretty poorly...not the TVs fault, pretty sure it's the individual networks.

That being said, I'm not pleased with some of the close-up shots getting really squished and some zoom-in shots get a fishbowl sort of effect around the edge of the screen...I was watching Food Network and they like to zoom real close to some of the ingredients and I noticed the distortion the most.  You've heard the expression, "the camera adds ten pounds"  well, if that's true then this plasma TV will add twenty.  We are thinking about returning this set for a few reasons:  the image issues I just described, this is a discontinued model (hence the low price), and the lack of expert reviews on this model.