Customer Reviews

Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

5 star:		(89)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

UPDATE. A couple links dedicated to this set:
Owners forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1000479
Break-in FAQ: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14472276#post14472276

Just a short review as there are so many already.

I spent approximately 3 years researching displays. No it didn't take me that long to figure things out, I was basically waiting for the technology to meet my expectations at a given price point.

After exhaustive research I narrowed things down to Plasma and then further down to either this set or the Samsung A550. The reason I picked the Panny over the Samsung, to be succinct:

- better black levels
- reliability (reportedly a bit more stable than the Samsung's, though they have gotten better)
- anti-reflective coating (the Panasonic has the Samsung thoroughly beat)
- IR (image retention) resistance, Panasonic is supposedly on the cutting edge for this

That said, I'll comment a bit on the Panasonic image specifically; it is stunning. First, the scaler (the hardware that handles different source material like standard definition broadcast, etc.) in this thing is top notch. I am truly impressed with what it has done with standard cable (and of course HD cable looks great). I was under the impression that few if any modern displays could handle SD well, frankly because I hadn't seen evidence of it. I was wrong, there have been a few times that I had to look hard to tell I was watching Standard Def (CNN puts out an especially clean broadcast in my area). Secondly, HD content; doubly stunning! I'm running both HD Cable and a PS3 Blu-ray. I figured I'd be buying many of my movies again in Blu-ray....wrong. Certainly true HD content has the edge but the upscaler combined with this set is jaw dropping, Pixar DVDs are quite amazing.

Now a few comments about Plasma vs LCD:

No doubt LCD has it's place, some people simply want a very "punchy" and extremely bright display. This is especially useful for daytime/bright room viewing. However, the drawbacks are considerable:

- motion lag/bur: if you see it (and I do) it's VERY distracting
- black levels clearly not up to par, which greatly affects the overall picture quality

On the other hand Plasma pluses:

- no motion lag
- industry standard black levels
- extremely realistic/film like experience

A few words on Image Retention & Burn in:

These are not the same thing though the terms are often used interchangeably. Image Retention is the result of a static image (any image that doesn't change for extended periods; video game displays, station identification, etc) to remain on the screen even after you've changed images. This is a temporary problem and one that is easily erased by viewing full screen for short periods where all the pixel locations on the screen will get some activity. Frankly I've not seen even one instance on my set. Burn-in is the extreme, unfixable version of this, leaving a static image on the screen for many hours (all day) or always watching all your content letterboxed will certainly lead to burn in. It's easy to avoid. The Panasonic is especially immune to this and even has many safety features built in to prevent it (pixel shifting and auto off if a screen remains unchanged for an extended period).

Finally a few quick tips for new owners, gleaned mostly from the AVS forums and partly directly from Panasonic's own website:

- Keep the Picture (contrast) and Brightness levels under 50 for the first 100 hrs. This helps the phosphors become "tempered" and in turn not so easily susceptible to bun-in and image retention. As I said, I've yet to experience either.
- Watch everything in Just mode (full screen) for the first 100 hrs for the same reasons listed above
- After the first 100 hrs you can turn things up & start watching things in letterbox, here are some recommended levels:
Picture: +70
Brightness: +48
Color: +44
Tint: -3
Sharpness: 0
Color temp: Warm
Color mgmt: Off
x.v.Color: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off

One final note for those on the fence: Don't go by what you see in the stores, what is displayed in no way exemplifies what these sets (any brand really) are capable of. My picture is light years better than anything I ever saw at Best Buy (including this very set). Delivery from Amazon/CEVA was a breeze by the way, took one week from ordering to door.

I recently decided that it's time to upgrade to an HDTV, and I did a lot of research before settling on this model. I'm not an A/V expert, but I am an enthusiast, and I can tell you that this TV is simply amazing. I highly recommend it. I can't get very technical, but here are just a few thoughts on why I rate this TV so highly:

In the end, the quality of the picture is what it's about. I run Panasonic HDMI cables from a Comcast HD DVR through my Denon 850 receiver (1080 passthrough). The clarity, color and vibrancy of HD channels are breathtaking. These new Panasonic models increased the contrast ratio considerably, and I do think it makes a big difference. Even SD programming looks good on the set.

I also have an SD DVD player hooked up with component cables, and even though it's not an upconverting player the picture is still amazing.

Daytime viewing is good, although it does look better at night with less light. The new anti-reflective screen on this model does a great job, but this is still a problem I don't think any Plasma TV has solved completely yet. If I leave our living room light on it does reflect on the screen (but it looks better in the dark anyway...).

I'm still in the first 100 hours so I'm in the breaking in stage, but I haven't seen any signs of image retention. It sounds like the new models made big strides in this area as well.

The on-screen set-up menus are intuitive and easy to use -- didn't have to open the manual once.

My final comment is about Amazon.com's part in this. I order it directly from Amazon (make sure you check who the seller is), and the experience was flawless. They use a distribution company for delivery, and they call you with a 4-hour time window before they deliver the TV. They also unpack it so that you can inspect for damage - if anything is wrong they take it right back!

I highly recommend this TV, and there's no reason to buy it in a store - use Amazon!

We purchased the 42" 2008 Panasonic plasma 1080p model TH-42PZ85U about 5 weeks ago, after about 2 weeks of almost non-stop comparing of different sets at various stores. We've watched it during bright glary daytime conditions and dark room evening hours. We've watched HD channels and SD (standard-def) channels, and HD-DVD movies. We're familiar with the amazing picture quality of High-Def because we've had a Fujitsu plasma for the last 5 years, which was excellent. The Fujitsu developed an un-repairable problem with it's power supply circuit panel.

To summarize, the picture quality of the Panasonic TH-42PZ85U plasma is absolutely outstanding! It is stunning! It's mesmerizing. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. It was great in the store, but even much better under home conditions, without bright store spotlights, with good cable HD service, and without having to share a TV signal with 83 other sets.

In doing the visual research at various stores, I was attracted to LCD sets because of their incredible brightness and bright colors. Under the bright store lights, the poor plasmas looked like dim, lost souls next to the super-nova LCD's. However it soon became evident to me that LCD's had more of an artificial look to the images, especially the human face. Faces on LCD sets looked more plastic and flat, without real-world color gradients. They looked more like a poster. Faces on plasmas looked real, with real texture and color gradations, with a 3 dimensional quality. Other scenes on LCD's also looked more 2 dimensional. On plasmas, the same scene had depth and a 3-D quality. I had read about this, but didn't understand what it meant until I saw it with my own eyes.

The TH-42PZ85U is more than bright enough at home, even during a bright sunny day with lots of direct light coming in from our patio. The brightest picture mode, called "vivid" is too bright for even those conditions under its default settings. The default color setting is also way too strong and a bit too green. But after adjusting down the brightness and color strength, and adjusting the color tint a little away from green to red, the picture is truly outstanding. In the evening we use a picture mode called "cinema", which is soft yet sharp, beautiful and so real you think you are in a movie theater. When "cinema" mode is not bright enough for our inside lights, we change it to a mode called "standard". Each of the modes can be adjusted as you wish, and then retains that adjustment when that mode is chosen later.

Regardless of the picture mode, with an HD signal, the picture is incredibly sharp, smooth and non-grainy, and the quality of the colors is great and realistic. I see no motion artifacts, even when watching fast moving action such as in a basketball game. There has been no burn in of any type, even temporary. The blacks are super black, there are lots of gray shades in the dark areas, and the whites are very white. To make blacks even blacker, there is a "black level" setting under the "advanced picture" menu. It gives a choice of "light" or "black". I like it better set to "light" because "black" takes away a little from the gray shades. Even on "light", the blacks look almost as black as the bezel that surrounds the glass panel. This plasma TV has a 3-dimensional quality that just seems to make images pop out.

We have a small room (about 14x10). Two of the chairs are on either side of the TV, within 4-5 feet of the TV. The 1080 resolution screen resolution really pays off from this close distance. Even from 4 feet, when we are on channels with strong HD signals, the screen is totally smooth, with no graininess, screen-door effect, or ghosting or other artifacts. It is just as bright from an extreme side angle as from head-on.

As good as a general cable 720p signal looks, even more outstanding is the signal from our (now obsolete) HD-DVD player, which actually puts out a 1080p signal. I was watching Planet Earth on the new Panasonic plasma. The picture quality is incredible.

There are a few things about the TV that are not outstanding. Standard definition programming is very ordinary, not very exciting. I wonder if the 1080 screen resolution of the TV makes standard definition signals look even worse? The built in speakers are so-so, not great. It doesn't matter to us because I put the audio through a surround sound receiver and external speakers. The anti-glare capability of the screen is average. During sunny days we can see some glare from the sunlight outside our patio sliding doors, although the reflection is muted and dimmed.

Overall we are thrilled with this plasma TV. Even though we have had a plasma before, the picture quality is so outstanding we can't seem to pay attention to the program we are watching. We are just mesmerized by the quality of the picture we are seeing.

The picture is very beautiful on HD material - rich colors, but not too rich, it just looks very, very real. On non-HD material this set does a better job than any other I've ever seen. I can comfortably watch non-HD material on this set. Handles motion well, and has a wide viewing angle.

I purchased a new "upconverting" DVD player but even using a non-HDMI, non-upconverting older DVD player, movies just look awesome. I suspect that the "up-conversion" logic in this TV set must be quite good.

The 2008 Panasonic plasma models seem to be lot thinner and lighter than 2007 models, so if you are trying to decide whether to get a deal on an older model or not, well, frankly I don't think you can go wrong either way but the newer ones are around one third thinner, and 20% lighter. They also offer higher contrast, at least according to the specifications.

Spent four months researching & shopping before deciding this model would give me all the TV I could want with minimal compromise and a reasonable price. I shopped the big-box stores and relied on friends' and family's feedback to get a broad understanding of the HD technology (LCD, DLP RP, Plasma) out there. Then I got serious with the details of the different platforms and finally focused on a brand after deciding that a plasma was for me. Panasonic clinched it when I saw the online reviews of this new model (their last year's model pz700 was Consumer Reports' top pick) and when I read that Pioneer was going to rely on Panasonic for their panels in future models. Then Amazon got the price right (don't wait for the pz800) and though I was hesitant to make this kind of a purchase online, I finally pulled the trigger and boy am I happy.

Amazon was terrific. Ordered it Sunday night with an articulating wall-mount (Sanus - works great), a Logitech Harmony One universal remote and a Panasonic HDMI Cable. Everything started arriving Tuesday and - at last! - on Friday the TV arrived (no special shipping selected for anything!)

I first set it up with the table stand, no problem. Hooked it to my HD DVR cable box and in no time was enjoying a picture that really pleases. No compromises with this set. Color fidelity is awesome - humans look human. The PGA Masters tournament was simply breathtaking. Edge detail is incredible - none of the jaggies or noisy lines I see on my sister's cheapo Vizio LCD. I don't know what that other guy is smoking, contrast and black levels are phenomenal. Playoff Hockey reveals no blurry fast-motion images - another LCD drawback. I can stand at an 89-degree angle to a head-on view and still see a perfect picture. Fortunately, my articulating mount obviates this . As for calibration, I'll get around to it using the HD Essentials DVD and the service level controls eventually, but right now I'm very happy with the "Cinema" mode and some minor customizations of this mode (changed color temp from "warm" to "normal" and adjusted the color level down to "+24"). This TV is simply stunning, and I was afraid that 42" would be too big in my relatively small room but with 1080 its no problem (six feet viewing distance).

The set's speakers are fine, sound quality for regular TV viewing is excellent. For movies and music, I use a more robust 5.1 system.

If there's a better picture to be found, I don't want it. I'm thrilled and expect I'll be very satisfied for years to come. Three cheers for Amazon & Panasonic.

Panasonic does it again! This model 85U is awesome. I'm very happy with this Flatscreen. I'm running satellite TV and the HD is incredible. I have friends with cable, no comparison. Easy set-up, instructions very clear, Panasonic rocks! So does Amazon, I purchased this unit from Amazon, with free shipping[White Glove Service], it's the only way to go. No need to worry about heading out to the store, trying to fit it in your vehicle, the delivery is prompt, are very careful unloading, assemble and put it in place[my case, in an Armoire].
Panasonic offers a 24hr Tech support, I needed some audio advise, They were very helpful and friendly.I would, without a doubt, recommend this model to any one!

Like so many, I have taken plenty of time researching HDTV in hopes of spending my money wisely.

I wanted a TV that would handle the fast-motion of sports without annoying digital artifacts and motion-blur.

It's not easy. It's difficult to compare models when companies use different words and descriptions for their features and specs and every time you think you have found the right model, you find a negative write-up somewhere on the internet and it makes you re-think your choice.

After lots of research, it's my belief that right now, plasma in most cases, handles fast-motion better than LCD.

I sit about 7-8 ft from the TV and don't have any window issues that could impact glare or reflection. The 42" set is excellent from this distance. Don't make the mistake of buying too small a screen for your room. Viewing distances for wide-screen TVs are different from the viewing distances for the 27" and 32" CRTs that many of us have been used to. I have read many reviews from people who wish they had bought a larger screen. If you are sitting 11-to-12 feet away, you won't get the full value of an HDTV without going to a larger screen than 42".

I decided to go with the Panasonic TH-42PZ85U. At 7-8 ft, I have found the picture to be sharp and detailed and I have observed no motion-blur while watching baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer games. I have had it for 2-weeks and have no complaints.

It's just one person's opinion but don't be scared off by plasma. "image retention" or "burn-in" is no longer the issue with plasma that it once was.

As with all mid-priced HDTVs, you will find watching standard television to be a letdown from what you are used to on tube televisions, but if you watch HD channels and enjoy sports, you should check out this TV.

I will have to agree with the previous comments by Pascal. Have owned a 37" Sony Wega Plasma from 2005 and and a 46" LCD Sharp LC46D62U. This Panasonic is the best picture I have seen yet. Turned it on with basic cable, let the QAM tuner search for all digital channels, and this TV was rocking. The march madness games looked amazing in HD.

I changed the preset settings to Game (PS3) and Vivid (TV) and the quality was excellent. No motion blur what-so-ever which was very annoying on the Sharp (one of my main reasons for choosing plasma). Bluray movies are very crisp. Been wanting to get a Panasonic for years after seeing all of the good reviews and glad I did. The price was finally right for a brand new full hd plasma. Oh ya, ordered from 6th avenue through amazon, tv arrived in no time, no issues.

I've been following this 42 inch Panasonic model through its growth and changes for six years waiting to finish college so I could give tv undivided attention. This is the most exciting piece of electronics I have ever purchased, or ever owned. I put up full-length black, black-out curtains which cut out any glaring from direct sunlight during the day, and provide a theatre atmosphere. The high def channels (Time-Warner) are so life-like and 3-D in appearance, I sometimes forget I am not actually in the scene, wherever it is.

The sound is certainly adequate on its own, if one is not an audiophile, but I wanted the Sony home theatre over the Panasonic and was worried they wouldn't be compatible. Much to my delight, the cable DVR and Sony Home Theatre are all controlled by the Panasonic Viera by just simply selecting the HDMI input source (there are three here) and naming the components I wanted to use. There is no hunting for numbers or holding and aiming remotes for a half-hour to find each component setting, as Panasonic Viera does that for you INSTANTLY, even if it is another brand. Push the Panasonic remote power button and the home theatre and DVR are started, vice versa when turning off.

I have also connected, by HDMI, a new Playstation 3 (thanks again Amazon) through the game port, and it is UNBELIEVABLE PICTURE QUALITY. Panasonic recognized them immediately and the menus on this tv are one push button drop down and simple to navigate. Likewise, the new Wii Console (from Amazon) is into another input using their video cables and the picture is crisp, clear and stunning. I chose the pre-selected game mode picture quality for the Wii, and custom picture settings for the cable and PS3. As I switch between them, the Panasonic remembers my screen settings for each so I don't have to adjust the brightness, etc. for each program as I switch back and forth.

I'm sure I don't know half the things the TV does yet (purchased May 27th), but you cannot go wrong with this tv. I am sitting about twelve feet away in an apartment and it is just the perfect size screen. Next, is connecting my laptop to the PC input and "flying" Microsoft X flight simulator.

The delivery took a while about two weeks, but the white glove service was excellent (actually two men who used to work for years delivering Sears tv's) and they were extremely knowledgable, helpful, and professional. If you want state of the art technology, with picture quality that passes for art every time, you want this particular plasma!!!!!!! By the way, I am a 58 year old single, female, and yes, while I am pretty technically literate and experienced, you don't have to be with this TV. Just plug and play!!!!

After viewing college bowl games last New Year's Day on my sister's big screen TV, I told my wife that we should get a high definition TV before the 2008 football season started. So, as August approached and preseason predictions proliferated, we began to look for a new high definition large screen TV.

To my dismay, I learned that there is not just one type of product that generally fits that description. Different brands and models vary in their degree of resolution (number of pixels, number of lines of resolution, etc.) which affects the quality of the picture and the capability of the TV to utilize high definition "input", whether it be cable or satellite TV channels, electronic input from a "Blu-ray" or "up-converting" DVD player, input from a gaming device, or possibly even other sources. I also learned that there were two basic types of these TV's regarding the basic manner in which the visible image is produced in/on the screen--plasma and LCD. In my case, the biggest issues to be decided were these two--the number of lines of resolution and whether to buy plasma vs. LCD. Once these "technical" options were decided, choosing between the available brands and models that satisfied these options was relatively easy.

I found that many of the TV's on display in stores with attractive prices were TV's that had only 720 lines of resolution, though they presented a picture of very good quality from current TV programs via cable or satellite. It seems that the "geeks", and perhaps the industry, do not consider anything less than 1080 lines of resolution to be "high definition. Presumably, 1080 lines of resolution is the minimum number needed to take full advantage of a true "high definition" TV signal or other high definition input. Thus, I decided that I wanted a TV with at least 1080 lines of resolution.

With regard to the plasma vs. LCD issue, it appeared that in the past, plasma has been considered necessary for the TV's with larger screens (50" in. or larger), while LCD was generally associated with smaller screens. Plasma was generally considered to give a "brighter" picture, but LCD did not have the risk of certain technical problems associated with plasma (i.e. "screen burn-in" from the same static image displayed too long on the screen and eventual failure of the bulb or light source for the TV requiring a presumably expensive replacement). However, continuing technical development has decidedly narrowed the differences between the two with regard to performance. LCD TV's with 50" or larger screens are now common on display floors and the projected "half-life" of replaceable plasma "bulbs" is well in excess of any resonably expected useful life of the TV. The risk of screen "burn-in" seems to be almost nil under ordinary usage and conditions. I visited several "Best Buys" and other stores with TV displays and concluded that the plasma TV's did appear to more consistently present a brighter and sharper image--though some of the LCD's were very close. After much deliberation, including reading reviews on line as well as watching in-store displays, I chose plasma.

Response time (sort of the equivalent of the number of frames per second in movies on film) was never really an issue for me. Most of the sets that I viewed seemed to fall into a range of about 2 to 6 milliseconds response time. I am not a "gamer", and virtually all TV's I viewed were capable of showing the programs that I watch without a noticeable problem of "blurring" in action scenes. If you are a really serious gamer, or really concerned about quality of high-speed action scenes, then response time might be a factor for you to consider.

After deciding upon a plasma TV with 1080 lines of resolution, it was relatively easy to settle upon Panasonic Viera. The 42" size was virtually dictated by the space which we had available. Cost and physical appearance were virtually the final deciding factors.

Once we got the TV hooked up and in operation, we have been very pleased with it. As far as I know, the quality of the picture, especially with regard to brightness and sharpness, is unsurpassed. I really do not know how it could be better. We only have it hooked up and in use for satellite TV signal from Direct TV, and not all channels are in HD. The image is very good even on non-HD channels and the HD channels are terrific. I assume the picture quality would be comparable from any HD input such as a Blu-ray or up-converting DVD player.

Pro's: Great picture, very bright, very sharp; very competitive cost; relatively easy to hook up; occupies less space than older TV's with comparable screen sizes. Fast and careful delivery by Amazon and its delivery system.

Con's: Unexpected costs--had to upgrade Direct TV satellite and monthly subscription to receive HD TV signal; to view DVD's in HD one must purchase a "Blu-ray" or "upconverting" DVD player as well as rent or buy DVD's recorded in Blu-ray or HD format; to obtain "home theater" quality, one must purchase an additional sound system and other components. This particular set has an SD memory card slot for direct viewing of digital photos on SD cards; I wish they would have also included a CompactFlash (CF) slot that would work with pictures from my Canon digital SLR camera. Instructions for set-up and use are not particularly clear and useful, but are no worse than instructions for other electronic items in general. Information available from manufacturer prior to sale regarding use, capabilities, and functions of the item seemed to be unavailable; or, if available, was so technically oriented as to be of no use to potential purchasers lacking technical familiarity with electronics.