Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 33.2 x 49 x 15.2 inches ; 88.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 107 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: B00142OHAC
• Item model number: TH-50PZ80U
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,971 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description--March 10, 2008

Amazon.com Product Description--March 10, 2008 With its 2008 Panasonic Viera Plasmas, Panasonic brings anastonishing 1,000,000:1 contrast ration to the table. 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?

• Super Contrast--native contrast ratios on the PZ85, PZ800 and PX 850 series are 30,000:1, double last year's 15,000:1.
  
• 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
  
• x.v. Color and Deep Color (HDMI 1.3 features)
• 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.
4 HDMI inputs to connect all of your devices directly to your television.

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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 Cert	24p	Speakers	HDMI Inputs	One Sheet of Glass Design	Swivel Base	Shades of Gradation	H.264 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 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			4,096
TH-46PZ800U	46 inches		30,000:1				4	4			4,096
TH-50PZ800U	50 inches		30,000:1				4	4			4,096
TH-58PZ800U	58 inches		30,000:1				4	4			4,096
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

Plasma delivers a much brighter and vivid image than LCD. This Panasonic Viera now has a 1920x1080 screen resolution to deliver maximum 1080p HDTV performance from broadcasts and from Blu-Ray discs. The key advantage of plasma technology is enhanced depth of range from black to white. When color is added to the mix, there's a certain purity that LCD simply can't match. The native contrast-ratio on the TH-50PZ80U is 20,000:1 while the Dynamic Ratio is 1 million to 1. The picture quality on this 50" TV outclasses any LCD screen. In addition to a wide variety of connections for all your home-theater equipment, The TH-50PZ80U has a Built-In SD Card Slot/GalleryPlayer. It accepts the SD Card from your digital-camera or camcorder for easy play on your widescreen TV. It even has a PC input so you can use your TV as a display for your PC. For superb picture quality, sound, and style, the Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50" Class (49.9" Diagonal) is the 1080p flat-panel TV you should own for a deeply moving home theater experience. Native Resolution - 1920 x 1080 Speakers Full-range x 2(L,R) with Audio Ouput of 20 Watts total (10% THD) (8 ohms, 70Hz-17kHz) VIERA Link enables universal remote control of all equipment linked through the HDMI ports on your TV Pixel Shifter (Anti-Image Retention) assures optimal image integrity throughout the screen's surface Ports - 3 HDMI inputs, 2 analog audio inputs, 2 composite video inputs, 2 S-Video inputs, 2 audio inputs for PC, 1 composite video input, 1 audio output, 1 digital audio output, 2 component video inputs, and 2 audio inputs Sleep/On/Off Timers Dimensions - Height 33.2 x Width 49.0 x Depth 15.2 with stand / 31.1 x 49.0 x 3.7 without stand Weight - 88.2 pounds with stand / 83.8 pounds without stand

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! What a picture!, May 19, 2008

By 

Jack (NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

This is just an incredible set, I can't rave about it enough!
We did a ton of research on LCD Vs. Plasma and decided to go with Plasma because of the sharper picture quality and the fact that Plasma's are better at handling high speed images which comes in handy since I watch a lot of sports.
Like other reviewers have mentioned, last years model was among the highest rated Plasma's out there and although the reviews are just starting to come in this set seems to have picked up where last years models left off.
3 HDMI inputs allow you to hook up just about everything you could want without sacrificing quality and one of the many great features of this set is that it allows you to independently setup your picture quality for each input so you're not constantly adjusting settings when you switch inputs. Switching also couldn't be easier and you can customize the menu so you know that you're switching to Game, DVD, etc. instead of input 1, input 2, input 3, etc. You can even disable unused inputs so you're not scrolling through "dead" inputs when you're switching devices. The set also has 1 set of inputs in front which are also very convenient for a quick hookup.
For those that are worried about image burn in, this set has 2 other nice features not in last year's model (that I'm aware of) which is built in pixel shifting and a scrolling bar. Pixel shifting subtly adjusts the pixels (your eye won't pick this up) so an image doesn't get burned into the screen since the pixels don't remain static. This isn't foolproof but it does help reduce the chances. And what if you do ever get an image burned into the screen? Well, this set has a white scrolling bar you can run. This runs a white bar across the screen for up to 15 minutes that should eliminate any image that gets burned in.
On top of all the other features that I can rave about, the most important is the picture quality and I must say the image is GORGEOUS. I have HD through DirecTV and I am simply amazed at the quality of the picture, it's absolutely stunning! This set is in our living room and we do get sunlight in the room during the middle of the day and I see no glare, reflection, etc. Amy time of the day the picture is just incredible.
Of course do your research, go to some stores and take a look but I think anyone who gets this set will be absolutely floored by everything it offers and the truly incredible picture it gives. I really couldn't be happier having decided to purchase this set.

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for the money, but know what you're buying, May 29, 2008

By 

The Irish Patient (Western Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

I own the 2007 version of the TH-50pz80U, which was the TH-50pz77U. I'm very pleased with my plasma, and it was great value for the money. So I'm confident you'll have the same experience with this very slightly upgraded 2008 model (mainly, three HDMI inputs instead of two). However, the pz77U had been misrepresented in customer reviews, and I really didn't understand what I was buying. It's clear from reading these reviews that the same misunderstandings persist.

Many customer reviews say that this model is the new version of the model that got top marks from Consumer Reports last year. That isn't true. That last year's model was the TH-50pz700U. I was misled by similar customer reviews last year. If you want the 2008 version of that model, you will need the TH-50pz800U at 50% higher cost than the pz80U.

The online retailers describe all of the features of the most expensive Panasonic plasmas in the listing for every model, creating the impression that the least expensive models have all of the features of the most expensive models. Again, not true. Compared to this pz80U, the pz800U adds 30,000:1 native contrast ratio compared to the 20,000:1 of the pz80U, native 24p playback, a brand new panel construction ("one pane of glass"), display of 5,120 shades of gray vs. 4,096 for the 80U, and an upgraded speaker system.

Again, I'm pleased with my pz77U and probably wouldn't have paid to upgrade to the pz700U even if I had been given better information. But know what you're getting. I had the opportunity to see the pz77U and the pz700U side by side after the return period was over, and the pz700U was noticeably superior.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great TV and by far best bang for the buck!, April 28, 2008

By 

DuskTilDawn (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV (Electronics)

Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50-inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

I've researched HDTVs for the past 3 weeks very intensely and shocked myself when I ended up with this Panasonic 50PZ80U. I told myself I would stay away from Plasma due to the stories of burn-in (image "burned" into the screen and faintly visible always, no matter what you are watching) and image retention (image is temporary "stuck" on the screen - slightly visible with anything you are watching, but fades after a short period of time)... It turns out that these things are really a thing of the past. Plasmas have really come a long way!

Trying not to ramble, I will get down to the good stuff for those considering this TV.

Pros:
-Unbeatable price for quality. I was looking at the new Samsung 52" 650A LCD for almost 1000$ more, but the picture quality on this Panasonic was better, especially standard definition TV (which is important since most stations are still SD!).
-The most amazing blacks ever! Watching shows like Cold Case are just amazing. Those black suits never looked sooo good. Any LCD was just crushed by this Panasonic's blacks.
-Very easy to get a good picture. This is a pro and a con, as it's easy to get a great picture, but there really aren't that many options to mess with. So, for those that like to get down to the nitty gritty with adjustments, this really doesn't have that. Those that like simple options that produce great picture will love this though.
-Anti-reflection is awesome on this TV. My partner and I just stared at it and she said over and over that she couldn't see any reflection from our windows in the living room, no matter how hard she tried to look for them. I agree with her :)

Cons:
-With the brightness high, you can start to see some very minor "noise" on the picture (little speckles), but you can only see these up close. Our couch is 10 ft from the TV and you cannot see this at all. Even up close, it is very very minor and may partially be due to the HD feed from our cable provider. I also think this may be due to the built in pixel mover to help remove any problems of burn-in and image retention that I mentioned earlier.
-No nitty gritty adjustments for the picture. This was the pro that I listed as well. Although picture quality (PQ) is great, some advance users like to reaaallly adjust things to make their TV best for them, but this TV really only has options like Picture, Brightness, Tint, Sharpness, and Color (with some other options like noise reduction and stuff).
-Stand is kind of cheap plastic. Although the stand works great for it's job, it does feel a little cheapy... it works fine though and it's not like people move their TV all over the place anyway. It almost seemed like an afterthought with Panasonic (like, "Whoops! Boss, we need a stand for this thing!" -- "Oh here, just slap this on there...").


All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase. (I bought mine from 6 Ave as they match prices from price grabber!). I was a little nervous has I hadn't looked them up before I jumped the gun, but after looking around and then actually getting my TV about 5 days after I ordered it in perfect shape, I could not be happier.

Consider this plasma for your next HDTV purchase. This is considered a mid-range priced HDTV and for the money will beat out any LCD at equal size. I was really an LCD only guy before this and I couldn't be happier with my purchase.


Oh and I hate giving things 5 stars as nothing is perfect, but this TV is definitely more than 4 stars... maybe 4.5 :)