Customer Reviews

Panasonic TH-42PD50U 42-Inch Flat-Panel EDTV Plasma TV

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have had several TVs in the past 5 years, 2 projection Sonys, a Wega, and I can tell you this is the TV for under 2200 to end them all. I didn't want to spend over 2k on a tv because it just seems like over kill. I wanted to get an HDTV, because I had one before that was a sony projection. That was until I saw this one in the store. I talked to the guy at Bestbuy and he said that they haven't put this one out because they wanted to move some of their older models first. This TV will produce as good of a picture as any at the store. I sat and looked at all of the options, and money aside, not one TV at best buy or circuit city produced as good of a picture as this one. I have brought it home and have been watching it for a week or so. DVDs look great, XBOX with the colorstream cable looks awesome as well. I am still waiting for my HD box to arrive, so that I can hook up the HDMI cable. I couldn't be happier than with this TV. This is the first non Sony TV I have ever bought, and so far I am not disappointed.

Since my first comments have been getting a lot of feedback, I figured it would be a good idea to give a follow up to those still on the fence.


1) I received the HD box, and it looks even better. I connected with an HDMI cable which eliminates component cables and uses just one small connector, which controls all three component inputs as well as the audio to the TV (which most people use their receiver, but this is a nice option to have). Do not buy this cable from BB or CC, they WAY over charge. I bought one for $20 from some website and it works great, they charge well over $100.

2) I wall mounted the TV, directly across from a large window, and there is minimal glare. This is a window that produces a lot of light, and the picture is still fine even at high noon.

3) I went back and doubly compared the picture, and once again I believe the picture on this TV to be as good as any high end Sony out there. I am not naive, I understand lines of resolution and the down conversion of the HD signal should in theory not produce as crisp of a picture as an HD set, but from my point of view it does to the naked eye.

Answer to question:

How is this TV's picture when you play your regular DVDs and especially non HD (but digital) satellite signal. I recently baught a Sony Wega LCD projection TV that is high definition but realized channels like CNN look blurry, espcially when I play some of my DVDs etc...

This TVs pixels are pretty small, so the regular picture is good, especially on DVDs because DVDs native resolution is 480 which is the resolution for EDTVs. When you play DVDs on an HDTV it actually has to down convert it. To be honest the TV looks MUCH better with colorstream component cables or HDMI versus s-video. Same goes for DVDs, the three separate components look much better than S-video did. You may want to try that on your Vega. Also it depends on the size of the TV, the bigger the TV the blurrier the picture is going to seem, versus the HD signal. I noticed that as well on my 57" Sony projection that I had. I would say the difference is much less on this plasma. I can't really speak for other plasmas, and the comparison I made in the store were all on HD signals, so you can't compare it to normal digital channels.

I did originally have this going through standard digital cable and an S-video cable, and per Panasonic the "viera" filter this tv has helps smooth it out. But I did notice a difference switching to HDMI.

ONLY BAD THING:

No front AV inputs, it is starting to get on my nervers on occassion because I have it wall mounted, so way to reach back to plug it in.

This unit will create a breathtaking display, depending on the source, and I give it 5 stars for that ability. At the moment, I'm using a non-progressive scan DVD player and movies look terrific. They are as good as or better than what I've seen in theaters. Upgrading to an HDMI enabled progressive scan player might improve the picture, but I can't imagine paying hundreds of dollars for that privilege. And I'm not sure it would do the trick anyway, because the TH-42PD50U is configured to take any signal and attempt to scale it to the optimal number of lines. Anyway, I'll wait until the HDMI capable players are at commodity prices. And, you might like to know that depending on the movie, you will not get an edge to edge picture with DVDs. You'll still get the black bands top and bottom in most cases.

That said, TV is another affair... At first I attempted to use an analog cable feed. All I got was a large picture without much clarity. I upgraded to Time Warner HD programming. That gives you maybe 15 HD channels, in my case 2 of which are HBO HD. Figure another 20 bucks a month for the HD box plus HBO. And that's not the end of it. TNT HD and Discover HD have fabulous pictures that take full advantage of the Panny's abilities. HBO HD is very good, and gives you edge to edge picture with most movies and series. Networks are another thing. If you're looking to watch Monday Night Football in HD, you may be disappointed. Maybe not in all markets, but in mine sporting events are hit and miss. Today I was watching the Ohio State game on HD. The foreground was very clear, but when showing the typical field shot, the picture turned kinda fuzzy. Conversely, watching the Browns game last Sunday, it was as clear as if I were watching the game through a window, regardless of the camera's focus. Moreover, the colors were saturated. So, it appears that some HD broadcasts are better than others, or possibly some local stations are better feeds than others. The point is, you may get a mediocre picture even though it is in HD.

Now, knowing all this, would I buy it now? You bet.

Don't settle for the cheapest plasma you can get -- what's the point of a big screen full of low resolution and fuzzy picture? I was going to "settle" for a 30 inch LCD and decided to go for more real estate. 40 inch LCDs are way out of my price range, and I realized during comparison shopping at Best Buy and other brick and mortar stores, that I acutally PREFER plasma to LCD pictures. Something about plasma to me seems more alive and real and the colors seemed brighter. Maybe this was just in my head to justify the expense of a 42 inch plasma, but I'm happy with plasma versus LCD. It's a totally subjective preference so I suggest you comparison shop and not listen or read what the 'experts' have to say.

I was going to go for the cheapest plasma with a decent image quality I could find -- but then I started looking for the plasma s in this size range with the best overall ratings. The TH-42PD50U was at the top of the heap as far as meeting qualiy and price. The tie-breaker was that the TH-42PD50U comes with the stand and speakers -- stands and speakers alone will add a hundreds of dollars to your tv price if you have to purchase them separately. Definitely the best package for the quality.

And what quality. I was expecting a so-so picture quality, having been unimpressed with so called "HD tv's" and HD signals in DLP and flat screen CRT screens. The HD channels, using generic component cables, IS AMAZING!!!

AWESOME PICTURE!!!! I'm not easily impressed and I'm very picky, but the picture quality was sharp as cut glass, the black were black, the colors were deep and real -- truly a TV that I can be satisifed staying home and watching movies in comfort as opposed to dropping $10 for a noisy cineplex. I'm already saving money that way.

The great reviews for this tv are not hype. I was skeptical at first but very pleasantly surprised. Good amount of connections, including HDMI. Even though this is EDTV, it displays in 1080i which is the display quality of HDTV. Personally, I have no idea what makes an HDTV if not the ability to display in 1080i, which the EDTV TH-42PD50U does. The picture quality of HD channels in the TH-42PD50U BLOWS AWAY other "real" HDTV screens in the same size range. Believe the reviews and test it out for yourself.

I am SOOOO happy I bought this TV. It was a little over my budget range, but it's an investment. I am very happy with the quality of this TV and will have TV until for a long time as opposed to spending a few hundred dollars less on a TV I'm disappointed with and want to upgrade quickly.

Highly recommended.

After doing a LOT of research on big-screen and HDTV television options, I settled on the Panasonic Plasma TH-42PD50U TV. I'm very happy with it - a great value!! The picture is very bright and has a depth and "real" feel that microprojection HDTVs can't match; nor can they match the viewing angles. It is a gigantic improvement from our 15-yr old JVC 20" TV. The Panasonic TH-42PD50U works well in our living room with the pedestal stand. Daylight and window reflections are much less of a problem than with our old curved screen TV. Before buying, I compared the Panasonic EDTV side-by-side with the Panasonic 42" plasma HDTV and other 42"HDTVs at a big box store near me. The differences at a normal viewing distance of 8-10 ft with a HD signal were practically not distinguishable. For my budget that was not worth the $1000 price difference. The main limiting factor in plasma screens of this size is the size of pixels - only a 50" or larger plasma HDTV can display all of the HD signal anyway.


Viewing a DishNetwork SD digital signal at home, picture and color quality are very good, better than our old CRT TV. The biggest disadvantage is that you have to stretch (justify) the picture to fill the 16:9 screen (Panasonic recommends this to avoid static bars and potential burn-in). That distorts the image a little. In a year or more I plan to go to HD programming, which will eliminate need for stretching and improve the picture quality. Right now I don't think the limited HD DishNetwork programming available is worth it.

The picture quality of DVD movies with our non-progressive JVC DVD player is outstanding. Use at least component video cables. VHS tapes through S-video cable look lousy by comparison; you will see all the flaws of the low-resolution analog picture on the large screen.

Before I bought the TV, I called Panasonic Customer Service and they gave me some suggestions to avoid burn-in (also in owner's manual). Have not had any problems. With a little bit of caution, especially during first 100 hours of use, you can prevent it.

The remote is user-friendly and well-designed. I have found the performance of the built-in stereo speakers to be fine. No, it is not surround sound, but very adequate and much better sound than our old MTS stereo CRT.

After doing extensive research on Large Screen Flat TVs I settled on this Panasonic for my Bedroom. I have had good experiences with Panasonic products in the past and felt compfortable laying out the cash. There are a few things I want to let you in on:
1. Make sure your video source is digital. I have analog cable TV (soon to be upgraded to digital) and picture quality varies from channel to channel. Some channels are very good, and some very bad. I would think once I upgraded to digital cable that problem will be gone.
2. TV does give off a lot of heat-I would think in the winter months I will be welcoming this.
3. I was able to install the TV myself, but I just have it sitting on a TV stand. I would think to hang on a wall you will need 2 people to install it, and remember all video connections are in the back-before you hang it up.
4. DVD viewing is very good with component, or composite, and better than seeing the movie in a theater.
5. I can't comment on DVD sound since my DVD/VCR Panasonic Home Theater system doesn't have an audio out cable.
Summary: I can recommend this set because of price, and although it is not a true HDTV, it does beat True HD rear projection TVs, and I know-I went to a store and viewed about 2 dozen TVs to see which had the best picture for under $2,000. In my opinion this TV is it.

Finally after over six months of research it's my turn to write a review of this TV. Like many of you I started by trying to decide between LCD, Plasma, or DLP. For me LCD was the first to go because of price mainly but also the black levels just weren't up to snuff enough for me. DLP though more affordable and had a great picture lamp life was an issue. I know someone with a 50" Samsung DLP less than two years old and the chip the lamp shines through has already been replaced once. That left plasma, but which one.

It didn't take long on the internet checking reviews and articles to find some names kept coming up when talking about quality plasmas; Panasonic, Pioneer, Hitachi, and Samsung. Long story short I decided on the Panasonic EDTV based on side by side comparisons, price, viewing intentions (mostly DVD's) and reputation.

Now on to the TV. Though this only an EDTV you could hardly tell by the picture. DVD's look awesome but give this set an HD signal and you'll shake your head in amazement. I just watched the AFC Championship game in HD with an over the air antenna and I could not believe the picture quality. I was not sure if I would like the look of the TV itself since it's completely silver and all my components are black but it actually looks pretty good. The built in speakers are more than adequate for watching normal TV but of course the Home Theater system comes on when it's movie or game time. This TV has more than enough inputs for me and I would assume for most people as well. I've read that since this is Panasonics 8th generation plasma panel the burn in issue has been greatly reduced. Still I'm mindful of leaving paused or static images on the screen for any length of time. Not having the brightness and other settings way high also helps. Some of the preset picture settings could blind your neighbors next door. The remote control is simple and easy to use. I haven't programmed any other components in yet. The built in tuners are great. I live in suburban Atlanta 30 miles from downtown and I can get at least 8 HD channels with an over the air antenna including ABC, CBS, TBS, WB, UPN, plus others.

Basically for the price to size to quality ratio you can't beat this TV. I could not justify spending another $1,000 for the HD model just to get a 20% improvement on HD channels. Remember DVD's are a 480p signal which is right at this sets native resolution, so if DVD's and the occasional HD TV show or ball game is your viewing choice you cannot go wrong with this set. I purchased mine from a local retailer for right at 2K including tax, delivery and a 3 year warranty.

The only negatives I can think of is not being able to adjust the aspect ratio on HD signals and the button on the remote to switch inputs should be called "Input/s" not "TV/Video". Overall I'm very pleased with this TV. Good job Panasonic on making am entry level plasma the average Joe can afford and be proud of.

I got this tv about a month ago, and I'm still blown away by it. This is my first "big" screen tv, and it will be hard to go back to regular tv after this. I did a great amount of research before buying this unit (4 or 5 different stores), and Circuit City had the best tv and deal. It was only $1799.

I was originally going to go projection, but after seeing plasma, it was no question. In my opinion, projection doesn't even compare. Projection tvs has a glare in the daytime that is almost unbearable. This tv has virtually no glare, even with the sun shining directly on it, so I can enjoy a movie any time of the day.

Right now, I only use this tv for dvds and tv. My dvds have never looked better on this unit, especially on scenes with landscapes. The greens has never been brighter. I recommend using the component connection for the best possible picture. And EDTV seems like it was made for dvd since the resolutions are the same (852 X 480).

When watching tv, its advisable to use cable connections with the biggest conductor you can use. The ones that you buy at walmart and such have smaller conductors, so you don't receive the best signal, especially for local channels. I called my local cable company and told them my problem, and they gave me 50 ft. of their cable, and the difference was like night and day. I haven't tried hd television yet, but I hear it's really nice if you buy the receiver.

So there you have it. Great tv, affordable price, and virtually no flaws.

Many of the things I have to say have been said before, so I'll keep it short.
This TV plays DVS's and XBOX in hi-def the same as HDTV's---fabulous!! I wanted the Panasonic HD Plasma, but decided not to because I was not going to pay the extra 30 bucks/month for HD programming from Dishnetwork. The picture from regular Dishnetwork is pretty good (be sure to set your receiver to 16:9 ratio). If you're not going to get HD programming (which is hardly any channels anyway...I think Dishnetwork has only 13), then don't waste the extra money on HD...this EDTV is just as good with DVD's and gaming without blowing an extra 2 grand.

I searched here and on Pricegrabber.com for the absolute lowest price, then went to my local Circuit City and they matched it without question. Ended up paying around $1700. Very happy with the quality. The included remote is a bit oversized and akward to hold though.

Technologically an EDTV is a great improvement over conventional CRT television and has a better picture resolution.
The Hype about HDTV is a media creation, an EDTV had a 480 P,I and 1080i picture quality. where as a HDTV has on a 1080i picture resolution and need special signals for good picture quality. There is no doubt PANASONIC is the Best EDTV and HDTV maker inthe world, Far better than samsung NEC, Philips and korean TV makers.

This Plasma is a winner ! I received mine just in time to see the 2006 Winter Games in Italy. What an awesome view of the Italian Alps with the HD broadcast ! I'm using a Radio Shack over the air antenna to pick up local digital stations ( about 25 miles away). I am receiving stations I don't receive over standard cable. For standard cable without using a cable box run your cable to your VCR ( where you can use the VCR's analog tuner). Use the digital tuner(RF outlet) on the TV to get the over the air HD broadcast. Buy this TV if you can find one.. They are very hard to get a hold of..Panasonic is rated at the top and with good reason.