but as you say every T.V you buy today has small problems that go un noticed to the human eye 
if you look at the reviews of people on here most say nothing bad about the ST50 then one or two people write a bad review and all of a sudden the T.V is no good
yes i agree with this every problem on the net is made out to be totally bad to the T.V and can put a lot of people off buying the screen
Sorry to hear rikky. It is a bit of a panel lottery. I got lucky. Did the one bad panel put you off enough to get a refund or did you get a replacement?
It is a hassle having to get a replacement and it certainly helps depending on where you buy from. Richer Sounds (for example) might be a little cheaper than John Lewis say but John Lewis will pick up and replace where as RS you will have to transport yourself. Worth considering.
Mine wasn't bad enough to warrant me seeking a replacement and the chances are any replacement I would have got would have been worse.
Although to say this years models have "massive problems" is a bit sensationalist. If there were any real serious issues or "massive problems" the product would have been recalled by now and it hasn't been and it won't be. Most people who buy this TV are happy with it. As is always the case people use the internet to complain. So all those that got a bad one complain whilst the silent majority are happy and enjoying their new TVs. Are there a lot of complaints? Yes. Why? Because they [Panasonic] have sold so many of these things
It's worth remembering that ALL modern TV's have some kind of drawback to them. The ST50 is no exception but if you get a good one then you will be happy. (I know somebody that had several replaced before he got one he was happy with)
Because of the chances of needing to replace or seek a refund it is most definitely worth considering who and where you are buying from.
These are not high-end plasmas but they do have a high-end picture so something has to give. We are talking about budget plasmas here after all and is something easily forgotten.
At least it isn't an issue that develops over time. It's something that is or isn't there from the start so you can make your own minds up right off the bat.
If you do buy from someone like Richer Sounds you do have the benefit that you can actually view the actual TV you intend to buy there. If anybody is doing this I recommend doing the following...
Ask to see your TV working. Once the salesman has your TV up and running ask him to navigate to the "software update" screen for you to view. (in network settings) This brings up a solid grey screen. This screen is the shade of grey that shows off those nasty vertical bands the worst (best?) If it looks good there you are onto a winner. On the other hand if there is any banding it will be all there for you to see instantly and you can ask for another.
As long as you buy wisely you should be in no way out of pocket should you get a TV you are not happy with so it's not like it's a risk.
and as always... view before you buy.
To put a little final perspective on this, here is a picture I managed to take showing my vertical line when I try very, very hard to look for it. You should also know it took me over 40 pictures before I could get one to display the line for you in any way and that you will also see what seems to be horizontal lines. The horizontal lines do NOT exist and are just a photographic anomaly coming from a crap 5 year old camera phone. Obvious by the non uniformed nature of this effect. (i.e slanty horizontal angle)
All this further goes to demonstrate just how hard the banding can be to see if things that don't exist show up easier
Now to what this looks like in real world use...
Looks fine to me
in my view unless its bright pink and stopping you watching it then chances are you can go from the frying pan into the fire keep changing the model to find the perfect screen for me from a CRT T.V to a Plasma or LED is giant step up ! as the great man said one step for man is a giant step for mankind Yes this is true ..but there are things called blinds and curtains you can close out any sunlight if needed
i get sunlight in my front room but have vertical blinds that i use to watch the t.v in daytime which isn,t a lot ,i have an old CRT mirror like Sony so i,m talking massive refection ha! no coating in those days lol but i have watched it for 10 years like that .So any T.V i buy now is going to a massive step up in terms of picture quality and refective screen yeah i,m in a dilema at the moment my uncle has asked me if i want to buy his brand new SonyKDL40HX723 LED T.V for £515.00 with 3D glasses but i was due to buy the Panasonic TX-P42ST50 Plasma T.V which is a lot more money ,its got my head spinning abit as to what i should do ? still love the Plasma picture for its natural look and great blacks ,so think the extra money is worth it in the long run ,would hate to buy the Sony and find out its not what i want
Be aware the HX723 .although LED has the edge to edge glass front which is just as reflective as the Panny Plasma's (if not more, looking at our display)
it was at the co-op but it went out of stock today
just a pity I'm forking out for solicitors fees. Might have to wait till the end of the month and buy it then........but i want it now Back in stock at the Co-op for £779 with the free 2 pairs of glasses offer
