This is an amazing TV! I would definitely purchase it again, and encourage you to do so. The picture is phenomenal, and the 3D is perfect without any crosstalk or blurring at all. We have watched all 3D Blu-rays using the Panasonic BDT100 the store threw in. The demo 3D games on the PS3 are more than I imagined from a visual experience perspective. It makes watching someone play a game so much more fun and interesting (I do not do much gaming anymore).

For anyone interested in 3D who can afford to jump on board with this TV or any other, please purchase your TV and as many 3D movies and video games as you can. Hollywood and other film, TV, and video game-producing entities will only provide us content if the market is there and growing. It also stimulates our economy, which is a great thing to do right now if you can afford it.

By the way, I researched this for several weeks. I read articles, reviews and commentary all over the Internet, checked consumer reporting organizations, and tried them all in the stores. The Panasonic VT25 line is the best available, and Plasma has come a long way so almost none of the historical drawbacks still exist.

Happy 3D-ing!

Now that I have more experience with the TV, I am extremely disappointed with what I consider some very key areas. I wish I could return my Panasonic TC-P65VT25.

3D Glasses Range:
Beware the range of the glasses when choosing a 3D TV. If the specification is not readily available in the store, go on-line and download the manual for the TV and find out what it is. THIS IS NOT DISPLAYED on the box or mentioned at the store when buying. Be sure to figure out the distance from the front of the TV to where the furthest chair in the room is, based on where you plan to place your TV. You also need to measure where the person closest to the TV will be. If out of the range specified by the manufacturer, ask yourself if you are willing to move that chair and any others out of range every time you watch 3D.

The Panasonic lists a range of only 3.2m (10'5") in the manual (maximum distance glasses will work). My experience is that even a foot further and the shutters stop or intermittently start and stop every few seconds. My recliner, when reclined, places my head about 17' from the screen. I have to move my chair 7' closer to the screen to watch 3D content. I opened a case with Panasonic, sent in all 7 pairs of glasses, and they returned some nice rechargeable glasses that have exactly the same range.

Kind of funny (ironic, not ha ha) that in the manual it says that for a 65" TV, you should not sit any closer than 7'10". This gives you a whopping 2'5" window where you can watch. You must be between 7'10" and 10'5" from the screen to be within their specifications. They should at least put on the box that you must build a theatre specifically for this TV. The theatre must have one row of seats with a slight curve, so those that are not dead-center remain in the window (7'10" to 10'5") as the seating goes to the right or left. Rocking chairs or recliners are prohibited!

I have not had any luck finding an amplifier for the infrared transmitter on the TV. I may have to design and build one, and who knows, maybe there is a market to sell such a thing?

At this point, I am extremely frustrated. Panasonic technical support says it is operating as designed. I would take it back and get my money back, but I am outside the 30 days, and Ultimate Electronics is in bankruptcy / liquidation now anyway.

Mode Switching:
When I switch my DirecTV receiver to a 3D channel, about 30% of the time the TV goes blank and I have to power it down and back up. Sometimes I have to power it down and back up 2 or 3 times, before it will show the 3D content. This is maddening, enough said.

You Tube 3D:
There is some really cool stuff on YouTube in 3D, mostly amateur, but often quite funny. You can find 3D content on YouTube by searching for videos with the 3dtv flag set / keyword on them. Most of the videos are in side-by-side or top-bottom format. This means that you have an image that fills the left half of the screen and a second slightly different one that fills the right half of the screen (or similarly for top-bottom). This is how it appears in 2D mode on the TV, or if you pull it up on a computer. You can actually get at the right distance and go cross eyed, and see the image in 3D without a 3D TV or glasses, though your eyes will hurt after that and you might have a headache ;-)

For background, 3D TVs are designed to "sense" the type of content they are receiving and switch to the appropriate mode. For instance: 1080i, 720p, 1020p, standard definition, 3D top-bottom, 3D side-by-side, 3D Native. This works fine for all the 2D modes (as do all 2D TVs), and it works fined with a 3D Blu-Ray, and sometimes with DirecTV. I found out; however, that there has to be certain information in the signal to tell the TV what mode to go into, the 3dtv keyword / flag on YouTube is not the way it is done.

All that said, here are the steps for watching 3D YouTube videos with the Panasonic 3D TVs:
1) Push the VieraCast button on the remote
2) Launch the YouTube application
3) Search for 3D content (3dtv)
4) Select a clip and hit play
5) Quick as you can:
a. Hit Menu on the TV remote
b. Go down to the wrench (settings)
c. Hit Select
d. Go to 3D settings (scroll there and hit select)
e. Change to top-bottom or side-by-side mode
f. Hit exit to clear the menu
6) Watch what is left of the video in 3D ? NOTE: you can play around and pause the video, then try to start it and go full screen once in 3D mode, but navigating the 2D interface when the screen is in 3D mode is a nightmare
7) In order to find another video to watch without trying to figure it out from the little you can make out, you need to switch back to auto mode, whereby the TV will go back into 2D mode. See step 5. You do all of that, except you go to auto mode from top-bottom or side-by-side
8) Repeat the process starting at step 3

You might say I am mildly dissatisfied with the YouTube experience with this Panasonic TV (sarcasm). I wish they would do one of the following:
1) write a separate 3D YouTube application that changes the mode for you and switches to the right 3D mode based on truly sensing top-bottom or side-by-side, the algorithm / coding necessary to do so cannot be that hard, the images are nearly identical.
2) enhance the current YouTube application so it recognizes videos with the 3dtv marking and then intelligently figures out the right mode, then once the video over, switches back to 2D mode for you
3) just make the Auto mode on the TV smarter so when there is any kind of 3D content it goes to the right mode automatically. This is not rocket science.

In summary, if I could return the Panasonic TC-P65VT25 and get my money back, that is what I would do. The glasses window (minimum and maximum viewing distance) is the only issue I cannot live with. Unfortunately, that issue makes it completely impossible for 7 people to watch (I have 7 pairs of glasses) at an acceptable range unless we all stand shoulder to shoulder in my family room for the duration of the show or movie.

Signed,

I could have used my money much more wisely