Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 15.2 x 40.2 x 28.6 inches ; 61.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 77 pounds
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B00142HLV4
• Item model number: TH-42PX80U
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,789 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description--March 10, 2008

Amazon.com Product Description--March 10, 2008 Panasonic's 720p plasma sets offer incredible value in an HDTV with theunbeatable contrast ratios and fluid motion of plasma technology.  Advanced pixel resolution and image-processing technology with the plasma TV's natural ability to beautifully reproduce fast moving images, so every detail is rendered with amazing clarity, and all the action is delivered with a high degree of fluidity.

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What's New This Year?

• Dynamic contrast ratios are up to 1,000,000:1
  
• new anti-reflective filter; lead-free "Tough Under Force" panel is resistant to impacts and scratches
  
• Built-in SD card slot with Photo Viewer/Gallery Player software
• x.v. Color and Deep Color (HDMI 1.3 features)
• 24p native reproduction
• Game Mode auto-adjusts image quality suitable to games and includes anti-image retention
• Viera Link is now compatible with Onkyo and Yamaha home theater systems
  
• At least 3 HDMI inputs on all models (4 on PZ800 and PZ850 series)
• THX Certification on PZ800 and PZ850 series

Which Viera is Right For You?

Click here to see a comparison of step up features on each Viera series.

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Amazing color reproduction The incredible black reproduction of a Panasonic High-Definition Plasma TV results in impressive contrast and beautiful, natural colors. So you'll get warm, accurate skin tones, gorgeous greens, breathtaking blues and vivid reds. For color that's as rich and bold as life itself, look to a Panasonic Plasma TV.

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Consistent brightness from any angle A Panasonic Plasma combines anti-glare and anti-reflection technology with the natural light-emitting properties of plasma, to give you a super-wide viewing range with a crisp, beautiful image from almost any angle.

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Smooth, graceful motion When you're watching sports or movies with fast-motion graphics, you want a TV that can keep up with the action. With over 900 lines of moving picture, self-illuminating plasma displays eliminate afterimages in fast-action scenes. So whether you're watching a sporting event or an action-packed movie, you'll always get the most impressive viewing experience possible.

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1,000,000:1 Contrast The Panasonic's Real Black system (a pre-discharge suppression system) and improved panel production processes combine to reproduce outstanding blacks with superb contrast. Each image is richly expressive, from bright scense, like scorching desert landscapes, to dark cave scenes. Compare the image produced by conventional HDTV on the left to the Real Black image produced on the right

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More Colors Viera HDTVs support the xvYCC color profile (Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications), or "x.v. color" for short. Standard RGB color space allows the display of a portion of the colors that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation "xvYCC" color space actually offers  an available range of colors that exceeds what human eyes can recognize. Next-generation "xvYCC" color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors

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Deep Color Where x.v. color expands the available range of colors your HDTV can display, Deep Color increases the number of colors your HDTV can display within that range, for smoother transitions from color to color. Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors Enables increased contrast ratio Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white.

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Connectivity

Viera flat panel HDTVs interact with an array of high-definition devices and services, making it easy for consumers to access and enjoy content as never before. As of 2008, Viera Link is compatible with Onkyo and Yamaha home theater systems.

	Videos and stills recorded on SD cards can easily be viewed via the SD slots on Panasonic Blu-Ray Disc players and Viera HDTVs.
	Viera Link means easy connectivity via HDMI cables. Finally, consumers can easily operate their Blu-Ray Disc players, DVD recorders and home theater systems with a single remote control device.

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Long Life Panasonic plasma panels are rated to last 100,000 hours, which is about 30 years of regular or 11 years of non-stop usage before the brightness of the display is halved.

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Get Full HD with Blu-Ray Disc Players A Panasonic 1080p plasma television is able to render 1920x1080 pixels, but standard DVDs have a resolution of just 720x480. Blu-ray discs output true 1080p High-Definition resolution and have a storage capacity ten times greater than standard DVDs, so no pixel gos to waste.

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Which is the Right Viera for You?

	Screen Size Measured Diagonally	1080p Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels	Native Contrast Ratio	PC Input	THX Certification	24p Native Reproduction	Speakers	HDMI Inputs	One Sheet of Glass Design	Swivel Base	Shades of Gradation	H.624 Codec	Digital Cinema Color	Studio Reference Mode	Pro Setting Menu	Serial Port	Standard Features
TH-42PX80U	42 inches		15,000:1				2	3			4,096						480 Hz Sub-field Drive Technology Anti-Reflective Filter Viera Link HDAVI Control Built-in SD Card Slot w/Photo Viewer and Gallery Player Deep Color Technology x.v. Color 3D Color Mangement Sub-Pixel Controller Motion Pattern Noise Reduction Anti-Image Retention Mode Game Mode Scratch and Impact Rsistant Panel 100,000 Hours to Panel Half-Brightness (>30 years @ 8 hours/day) Lead-free Panel
TH-50PX80U	50 inches		15,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-42PZ80U	42 inches		20,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-46PZ80U	46 inches		20,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-50PZ80U	50 inches		20,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-42PZ85U	42 inches		30,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-46PZ85U	46 inches		30,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-50PZ85U	50 inches		30,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-42PZ800U	42 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-46PZ800U	46 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-50PZ800U	50 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-58PZ800U	58 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-46PZ850U	46 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-50PZ850U	50 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-58PZ850U	58 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-65PZ850U	65 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120

Product Description

Panasonic VIERA TH42PX80U 42" 720p Plasma HDTV

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great picture quality for the price, May 20, 2008

By 

S. Dator (Charlotte NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

Price was a significant contributor to my decision to buy this TV. Conversations with tv-guys made me think that I needed to pony up for a 1080, but I just could not justify the premium over the 720p. Now that I have it, I am glad I saved my money. The picture quality is great, both in high def and for normal (low def?) viewing. Whenever I have guests and the TV is on, they are blown away by the quality and ask my questions about it.

I also like the anti-glare screen. At first I was a little concerned that the anti-glare picture would look "dull" compared to your average plasma, but that is no longer a concern - it looks great.

Another big plus for me was the appearance of the TV. Like other Panasonic models, this TV is sleek. Vizio and other manufacturers seem to incorporate larger speakers that look clunky in comparison. The size of the tv relative to the picture size is great - looks nice on the wall, and doesn't take up any more room than it needs to.

In fact, the reason why I am writing this review is because I am going to buy another one for a different room in the house. Panasonic has definitely won my repeat business with this one - I think that says it all.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best value for the money, June 21, 2008

By 

Steve R (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

You really can't go wrong purchasing this TV. Don't base your decision directly on the Cnet review and instead head over to AVSForum. You'll find a 80+ page thread with numerous reviews done by experts in the field. All of which are very positive and explain why CNet's review isn't too reliable.

Unlike Panasonic's earlier model, the 77U, this TV has an excellent picture right out of the box. There's no need for an expensive calibration or messing with service menu's. I've found my favorite settings, thanks to someone on AVSForum, is:

Picture Mode: Cinema
Picture: 84
Brightness: 40
Tint: -2
Sharpness: 50
Color Temp: Warm
Color mgmt: off
x.v.Color: off
Video NR: off
MPEG NR: off
Black Level: light

You'll find a ton of other settings there too so just do a google search.

This TV also seems very reliable. Out of over 3000+ posts I only saw maybe three that were returned due to a serious failure. (All of which were promptly replaced/repaired) Panasonic also has a really cool warranty service called "Panasonic Concierge". You can schedule service calls online and you'll be contacted within 24 hours. You can also call or chat online with a rep if you've got any questions. Another great thing about them is that if your TV fails and they have to take it away for repair they give you a loaner TV! I sure wish I had that option with my old Philips.

I was first considering purchasing a Samsung LCD but decided to see both first hand in the store. After adjusting the settings on both TV's the Samsung had a very unnatural and bright image while the Panasonic looked as if you were looking out the window. While this sort of thing boils down to what type of picture you prefer I personally was sold on the Panasonic.

Off topic, Amazon rocks too. After buying the TV their price dropped by a lot. I requested a refund for the difference and they did it no questions asked. I got the money back within 3 days! I couldn't be happier with not only the TV, but also Amazon.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive..., April 15, 2008

By 

M. Cobb (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

I spent a few months reviewing plasmas and lcd's both in the big box stores and online. I watch a lot of sports, and the lcd's still have the motion blurring problem (except the expensive new ones). For me, that narrowed it down to the plasmas. Like others have said, the Panasonic's stood out from the rest of the plasma's (except for Pioneers, but they are almost double the cost). In terms of 1080 and 720 plasmas, I could not tell a difference between the two in 42". Maybe a little in the larger sets, but not in this size. Not worth the extra cost IMHO. So, I finally took the plunge on Panasonic's 720 42" when the price dropped below $1000, no tax, free shipping. A great deal for a TV that has been on the market for less than 2 months.

Delivery on the TV was fast (about 5 days early). They called a day ahead and delivered it within 1/2 hour of their estimated arrival. They made sure that the TV worked, and offered to take away all the packaging material. A+.

The TV was a snap to set up--10 minutes. The first thing that I noticed was that the color contrast is excellent, even on SD- much better then our 6-year-old Toshiba 27" tube TV. The clarity varies by station- a function of the channels, not the TV. SD = A-

The picture quality really excels while playing DVDs through component video. Deep rich blacks, vivid colors. The "Planet Earth" series looks incredible. We have not hooked it up to HD yet, but I'm sure it will be even better. A+.

A nice feature is that the TV remembers your settings for each video input. I.e.--we programmed a different color contrast for broadcast TV and DVDs and it stores each separately. There are more than enough ways to adjust picture quality to really fine tune it.

The audio is better than other sets, but not great. We don't use it though, since the TV is hooked up through a 5.1 receiver.

Overall, I am very happy with my purchase, both the TV and Amazon's delivery service. Definitely would buy it again.


FOLLOW UP: I just got HD, and it is even better than I could have imagined. I don't even like NBA basketball, but I found myself glued to the playoff game just to see the clarity. UFC was almost TOO clear for comfort. The only problem-- I can't go back to SD now...