Panasonic TX-50MX650B: 50-inch 4K Ultra HD LED Smart TV Panasonic - Review 🏆

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B is a 50-inch 4K Ultra HD LED smart TV that offers premium features at a mid-range price point. This 2022 model provides a stunning cinematic viewing experience with support for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio.

Key specifications of the Panasonic TX-50MX650B include:

• 50-inch screen size
• 3840 x 2160 4K Ultra HD resolution
• LED backlight
• High Dynamic Range (HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision)
• Dolby Atmos & Dolby Audio
• Hexa Chroma Drive Plus for wide color gamut
• Smart TV platform with built-in voice assistant

With its large screen real estate, 4K clarity, HDR technology and Dolby sound, the TX-50MX650B is designed to deliver an immersive home theater experience. Its sleek minimalist design and smart platform also make it suitable for all content from movies to gaming and streaming.

Design

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B sports an attractive and minimalist design that will fit nicely into most living rooms. It has slim bezels around the display that help maximize the screen size while keeping the overall footprint compact.

The TV has a simple black plastic back and is fairly slim, measuring just 35mm thick. The stand has a brushed metal finish and sturdy feel, with open wire management to neatly route cables. There are no visible buttons on the front, just the Panasonic logo.

Overall, the build quality feels solid and durable. The plastics have a matte texture that resists fingerprints. The panel sits securely on the stand with no wobble. While not the flashiest design, the TX-50MX650B has an understated look and excellent craftsmanship.

Another excellent model from Panasonic is the Panasonic TX-24M330B: 24-inch HD LED TV. This compact TV is perfect for smaller spaces like bedrooms or kitchens. With its 24-inch screen and HD resolution, it delivers clear and vibrant visuals. The design is similarly sleek with slim bezels and a sturdy stand. The TX-24M330B also comes with multiple connectivity options, including HDMI and USB ports, ensuring you can easily connect all your devices.

Display Quality

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B has excellent display quality thanks to its large 50-inch 4K Ultra HD resolution. With over 8 million pixels, 4K UHD provides four times the resolution of Full HD for an incredibly sharp and detailed picture.

In addition, this TV supports High Dynamic Range (HDR) including HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and HLG formats. This allows it to display a wider range of brightness levels and colors for more realistic, nuanced images with enhanced contrast. Scenes appear brighter and more vibrant.

The high native contrast ratio of 4000:1 delivers deep blacks and bright whites. Colors are also accurate and natural looking thanks to the TV's Wide Color Gamut technology covering over 90% of the DCI-P3 color space. Overall the display provides an immersive viewing experience whether you're watching movies, TV shows, sports or gaming.

Smart TV Features

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B comes with Panasonic's My Home Screen operating system, which provides a simple and intuitive interface for accessing apps and features. It has built-in support for major streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and BBC iPlayer, so you can enjoy a huge library of shows, movies and more.

For voice control, the TV is compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. By pairing the TV with an Alexa or Google device, you can change channels, adjust volume, open apps and more completely hands-free. Voice commands work smoothly and add a great level of convenience.

Overall, the smart TV capabilities are robust but easy to use. The app selection covers all the major streaming services, while voice control integration with Alexa/Google gives you hands-free control. The My Home Screen OS won't be as complex as Android TV or webOS, but it provides a streamlined experience for essential streaming and voice control features.

Sound Quality

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B offers an immersive audio experience thanks to its impressive speaker setup and Dolby Atmos support. This 50-inch TV is equipped with two 10W stereo speakers that deliver clear and powerful sound.

The speakers feature Panasonic's proprietary Cinema Surround Pro technology that produces a wide soundstage similar to what you'd get from a surround sound system. Voices sound crisp and dialogue is easy to understand even in loud scenes with background noise.

Adding to the audio quality is Dolby Atmos support. Dolby Atmos is an advanced surround sound technology that creates an immersive 3D soundscape. It uses overhead speakers to make sounds feel like they're coming from all directions, even above you.

With Dolby Atmos enabled, the Panasonic TX-50MX650B can simulate a multi-speaker setup through just its built-in speakers. Explosions and action sequences have more impact and depth. The sound seems to move around you, transporting you right into the movie or show you're watching.

Overall, the speaker system and Dolby Atmos support provides an engaging, cinematic audio experience that complements the stunning 4K visuals of this TV. It's great for movies, shows and gaming without the need for any external speakers.

Connectivity

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B has ample connectivity options to suit most home entertainment setups. For HDMI, it has 3 ports to connect Blu-ray players, games consoles, set-top boxes and more in up to 4K resolution with HDR. There's also 1 USB 2.0 port and 2 USB 3.0 ports to plug in hard drives and other USB devices.

The TV has built-in WiFi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and Bluetooth 4.2, enabling wireless streaming from mobile devices and pairing with wireless headphones or speakers. Setting up on a wireless network is straightforward during initial setup. The WiFi connection is reliable for streaming 4K video content without buffering or drops in quality.

Overall, the connectivity options cover everything needed in most living room setups. With 3 HDMI ports, you can connect all your primary devices without needing a switcher. And the USB, WiFi and Bluetooth provide convenient ways to view or listen to your own media files wirelessly.

Ease of Use

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B has an intuitive and user-friendly interface that makes it easy to navigate and control. The sleek remote control is comfortable to hold and has large, clearly labeled buttons that provide quick access to key functions like volume, channel selection, and home menu.

The home menu uses bold icons and text that are legible from a distance. It allows seamless switching between inputs like TV channels, streaming apps, external devices, and system settings. The settings menu is also well organized into logical categories like picture, sound, network, system, etc. This enables users to locate specific options without hassle.

The initial setup process is straightforward with on-screen prompts to connect to WiFi, install updates, scan for channels, and complete the channel guide. The auto channel scan is reasonably quick and allows you to customize your channel list afterward if needed. Overall, the simplicity of the remote, menu system, and setup facilitate a smooth first-time experience for users.

Value for Money

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B offers excellent value for money given its features and performance. At around £500, it sits in the mid-range price bracket for 50-inch 4K TVs. This is very competitive compared to other brands like Samsung, LG and Sony that have models in the same price range.

For the price, you get a host of premium features like HDR support, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos audio, and smart TV capabilities. Picture quality is superb with deep blacks, vibrant colors, and great motion handling. The TV also has low input lag, making it suitable for gaming.

Considering the rich feature set and stellar picture performance, the Panasonic TX-50MX650B easily matches up to more expensive models from other brands. You get advanced display technology like local dimming which is rare at this price point.

The design is stylish and minimalistic with thin bezels, giving it a premium look. The smart TV platform is smooth and responsive. Connectivity options like four HDMI ports check all the right boxes.

Overall, the Panasonic TX-50MX650B delivers performance and features comparable to TVs costing £100-200 more. It's an excellent mid-range 4K TV that gives you the most bang for your buck.

Pros and Cons

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B has several pros and cons worth considering:

Pros:

• Excellent 4K HDR picture quality with deep blacks and bright, vivid colors.
• Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support provides enhanced HDR performance.
• Dolby Atmos delivers immersive audio from the built-in speakers.
• Easy to use smart TV interface with broad app selection.
• Voice control support via Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
• Solid connectivity options including 4 HDMI ports.
• Attractive slim design with thin bezels.

Cons:

• Mediocre off-angle viewing due to VA panel type.
• Only 20W total speaker output limits maximum volume somewhat.
• Lacks some advanced gaming features like VRR and ALLM.
• No Bluetooth headphone support.
• Only 2 USB ports which may limit connectivity.

Overall, the TX-50MX650B delivers excellent 4K picture quality and a robust smart TV experience. The HDR format support and Dolby Atmos audio provide an immersive viewing experience. While the audio and connectivity could be better, it's a great option for the price.

Conclusion

The Panasonic TX-50MX650B is an excellent 4K LED TV that offers a lot for its price point. It has a sleek and stylish design with thin bezels, making it look great in any living room. The picture quality is fantastic, with 4K resolution, HDR support, and Panasonic's proprietary processing engine delivering vibrant, realistic images.

For smart features, it runs the My Home Screen platform which provides quick access to popular streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube. The TV also works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for hands-free voice control. Audio is handled well by the TV's integrated speakers and Dolby Atmos decoding.

Connectivity options like HDMI, USB, Bluetooth, and WiFi ensure you can hook up external devices and stream content easily. The TV is very easy to set up and use thanks to its intuitive menus and smart remote.

Overall, the Panasonic TX-50MX650B provides excellent value at its price point. It delivers great 4K picture quality, robust smart TV features, and solid connectivity in an attractive, compact form factor. If you're looking for a mid-range 50-inch 4K LED TV with premium features, the TX-50MX650B is easy to recommend.