AzuSapphire

[Scrapped Writeup] Plasma's Last Hurrah: Panasonic VT60

This article was written on 2026-09-24; it got scrapped because the subject matter I was going to use for this writeup ended up being non-functional.

The Panasonic VT60 series (model number: TC-PxxVT60, xx denoting screen size) is widely considered to be one of the ultimate series of plasma TV's, challenging the Pioneer Kuro in terms of black levels and motion clarity. Releasing alongside the ZT60 series in early 2013, both of which were the swan song to the soon-to-be out-of-favor plasma display technology. Actually, they were already out of favor as LCD's got both cheap and good several years prior - but plasma still carried advantages that were lost with the CRT to LCD transition.

Plasma TV's gained a reputation for being extremely power-hungry, prone to burn-in, and heavy during their time on the market. And while there is truth to that reputation, late model plasma TV's from 2011 to 2014 made some pretty good strides in mitigating those drawbacks.

The VT60 series came in three size classes: 55, 60, and 65 inches. All of my experiences are conducted from a 60-inch model (TC-P60VT60), manufactured in May 2013. Aside from screen size, weight, and power consumption, all three VT60 models are identical - so I will continue referring to them as a singular object, "the VT60". It has a resolution of 1920x1080, commonly referred to as 1080p, which was just recently succeeded by the new Ultra HD "4K" standard in October 2012. 1080p was still the gold standard for TV resolutions back in 2013 - with 4K being a premium, luxury option until at least 2014.

I may have just said that 4K was a luxury at the time, but mind you, the VT60 was anything but a budget TV. The 60-inch model retailed for $3,000 when it was new - with the 55-inch model costing $2,600 and 65-inch model costing $3,600. The 60-inch VT60 was selling for the same money as a "budget" 65-inch 4K LED-LCD model from Seiki. If you heard just that alone, you would instantly write off the VT60 as overpriced junk that should have been left in 2004 - but those budget Seiki 4K TV's were severely compromised.

As for inputs, you get 3x HDMI (one of which does ARC), 3x USB 2.0, SDXC memory card slot, shared composite/component video input, optical digital audio out, and an Ethernet port. Average for the era, though the Ethernet port unfortunately does mean that this is a Smart TV... hopefully that doesn't ruin the overall experience, given the internet's completely valid collective hatred for Smart TV's.

So, why did I even bring one of these Big Ass TV's home in the first place? That's a good question that you probably didn't ask: over the past couple years, plasma TV's have seen a resurgence in popularity, albeit a niche resurgence, due to them potentially being an overlooked and cheap-ish challenger to modern OLED TV's. I say cheap, but now the revisionists are starting to mark these up for a lot of money and slap the RARE RETRO GAMING all over their Marketplace listings. As someone whose best TV experience is a 2009 1080p CCFL-backlit LCD TV, even just once, I want to see what the pinnacle of the plasma experience is like. My dad was given a 50-inch Fujitsu plasma TV from 2004 way back in the day, but he didn't keep it due to being too demanding on the power bill at the time. Frankly, we probably weren't missing out anyway - as it was an early model plasma that does just about everything to contribute to the less-than-stellar reputation plasma TV's got back in their day.

Not having the justification to drive out a far distance or pay up for a plasma TV that I can't even fit in our over-capacity apartment, getting a late model 1080p plasma TV would be as likely as me living in K-On! World and being the younger brother of Yui and Ui Hirasawa - which is to say, never. But never say never, they say - as we enter my favorite toxic relationship, that being The Dump™. A lot of the time they just get worthless (and usually broken) flatscreen TV's in that I don't bother taking, although sometimes there will be goldmines worth taking. Whenever I do take TV's there, it's usually 20" class or less CRT's for profit - but on the night of September 18th, 2026 - I saw one of the greats of the plasmas... a Panasonic TC-P60VT60, manufactured in May 2013. I couldn't help it, I was not going to let The King be left at The Dump™ without confirmation of being defective or heavily worn. So what did I do?

...I irresponsibly and hastily loaded it into my car. Let me tell you, that bastard is a heavy one - at a whole 80 pounds, or 36 kilograms! And that's without the stand; if this had the stand then it would be 97 pounds or 44 kilograms!