Customer Reviews

Panasonic TH42PA20U/P 42" EDTV Plasma Monitor

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

 

 

This TV is absolutely outstanding. The contrast of this generation of Panasonics is class leading and it provides a truly awesome picture. Panasonic make their own panels and imo they make the best panels. For those of your worrying about the EDTV vs. HDTV issue then be assured that a HDTV signal looks fabulous on this screen - my Time Warner install guy who hooked up the HDTV box was drooling over the Discovery HD Theatre picture. It is true that HDTV signals will look slightly better still on a higher resolution set (though I cannot tell the difference) but on the flip side ordinary TV (and we will all be watching a lot of that for many years to come) looks a lot better (less grainy) at this resolution. DVD's also mate perfectly to 480p and look amazing. This screen really is the best of all worlds.

I cannot recommend this set highly enough - it has every conceivable input (even coaxial for those without a digital cable box), great sound and a very contemporary look. It is especially suitable for those who cannot be bothered with a home theatre set up with all the extra speakers that entails - the simulated suround sound it provides is really very good with only a few bass hicups. Amazingly, even the wife likes it (though she struggles to admit it!)You will not be dissapointed.

I purchased this TV in August after returning a Sony 32 inch(not plasma) that had taken my small apartment over like a huge silver box. I live in a studio in Manhattan 12 feet wide and rather long. The body of the Sony stuck out like a sore thumb and the picture just didn't suit me. I saw this Panasonic Plasma and went for it. HD, I was told, was the way to go but if your cable company doesn't upgrade to it what good is it. Your TV is only as good as the cable service you have and this TV is to die for. The stand on this model is rounded so that it fits on smaller tables, I didn't opt for the wall mount as I like to turn the TV left and right depending on where I sit. Everyone said it would be too big but no way. I could have gone for the 50. This EDTV is the best purchase I have ever made. I haven't even touched the extras as yet. I still am in awe everytime I walk into my apartment and turn this baby on. Go for it. Worth every penny. How can anyone watch those "little" funny rounded TVs? Once you go Plasma there is no going back. I did have some audio problem in the beginning and had to turn the stero audio off because it was too "wavy". The sound would go in and out on the music portion of the show butI believe this was due to my cable. I have had no other problems and I can't even tell it's not on the stero the sound is so amazing. The only draw back is when you travel you can't take it with you.

I have had this screen for about 3 months now and I could not be happier. I did a lot of research before I bought and, trusting all the reviews I saw, went with this one. The reviews were spot on!!

At first I was almost disappointed when I hooked it up to my cable box. The picture looked a little blurred and not what I was expecting at all. However, with a few screen adjustments the picture started to look just fine. It was only until I put a prog scan DVD on to the screen that I realized how good this screen really is.

I'm running it on a mid range Sony DVD player and the picture looks fantastic. The color representation is excellent and picture sharpness is of LCD quality (only bigger!). The blacks on the Panasonic are truly black (especially on DVD's). Very little "digitization" was seen on dark shots and any that you can see are probably from the DVD player.

The remote is average, but if you run cable TV, Tivo etc, you won't use it anyway. Panasonic have recently updated the look of this line of screens and they are as pretty to look at as any I've seen. Connectivity is more than enough for all but the most professional user. Screen settings are good with 4 different modes (depending on the quality of input, these are handy to find best balance). I recommend running a THX test on the screen for optimum set up for DVD's.

What I love -
Picture quality is outstanding if hooked up to the right equipment (don't be disappointed with the picture from cable TV, it's not the screen, it's how it is broadcast. HDTV will cure this).
The look of the unit, even when switched off.
The price - easily same picture quality as $5000 screen!!!
Movies are just awesome on this big 42" screen.

I don't love -
Availability. Hard to get hold of but worth the wait.

Great job all-round Panasonic! Try movies like `Finding Nemo' and `The Incredibles' - they look absolutely fantastic.

We've been very happy with this TV--even more so now that we finally got HDTV from out cable company. The picture is excellent. The built-in speakers are pretty good, but you're probably going to want to go to a multi-speaker system, so you might consider saving a few bucks and getting a panel with no speakers.