Panasonic Viera TX-P50VT30B

Sets the benchmark for standard-definition, HD and 3D at this screen size

Home cinema has a new reference The P55VT30 is the best domestic plasma TV John Archer has ever seen – and believe us, he's seen plenty of 'em Panasonic has tried all manner of different TV sizes over the past few years, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised to find it delivering another size ‘first’ in the form of its debut 55in model.

While Panasonic plasmas traditionally excel on the picture-quality front, they’ve lagged a bit behind other flat-panel TVs when it comes to style. Take last year’s VT25 series. The picture on those sets was hard to fault (the 50-incher we reviewed won our 2010 Video Product of the Year award), but when positioned alongside new, ultra-slim plasmas from companies like Samsung, the Panasonic’s 3-inch panel depth and thick gloss-black bezel rendered it caveman-like by comparison.

Can Panasonic top the plasma race once again with its latest successor to the Viera VT20? Bestowed with a new Infinite Black Pro 2 panel and the now familiar Viera Connect platform for internet lovers, we took the VT30 out for a good spin to see if it's able to retain its crown as king of the PDPs.

Much of the discussion about any flat panel television today is its ability to display true black, like the now historical CRT. There seems to be a race to the "bottom" between all technologies and a desire to move away from the milky-white

Panasonic’s largest, biggest, best 3D plasma -- but is it as good as you’d hope?

Can Panasonic top the plasma race once again with its latest successor to the Viera VT20? Bestowed with a new Infinite Black Pro 2 panel and the now familiar Viera Connect platform for internet lovers, we took the VT30 out for a good spin to see if it's able to retain its crown as king of the PDPs.

VT30 is the new flagship model from Panasonic and we are excited to finally have it in our own testing room. New improved Infinite Black Pro 2 panel and new Smart TV

The pace of evolution of flat panel televisions is staggering. We’ve seen plain LCD TVs evolve into ultraslim ...

The Panasonic TX-P50VT30 revels in plasma's traditional strengths of impressive blacks and good contrast

Phil Hinton gets stuck into the new Flagship 3D Plasma from Panasonic...but will he be impressed?

Everything you could want from a TV, including fantastic image quality, but the GT30 is better value

Is this the best home cinema plasma TV around?

Read our professional review of the Panasonic TX-P50VT30B 3D plasma TV to find out why we think it's the best 50-incher we've seen in 2011.

A stunning performer in both 2D and 3D that also makes SD looks as good as possible, and has a decent range of Internet-based features