Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV
See it at Amazon.com for $999.99Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)You Won't Find A Better TV Anywhere For The Price!!!!!!!
WOW! WOW! WOW! That's the first words that came to mind when I put a Blu-Ray dvd in my Playstation 3 and turned on this awesome plasma tv. I've never seen a better picture and I've been to all those Best Buy/Circuit City stores and seen all there high end tv's in high def and this one stands up against all of them and holds it own and beats many of them all around.
The picture is bright, punchy and very clear. The blacks and reds are deep and rich. To put it in a nutshell, the picture looks surreal! True this is a 720p plasma, but it looks better than some of those 50 inch, 1080p Pioneer plasmas. My friend has a high end Pioneer plasma 50 incher(I forget what the model number is but its the best 50 inch one you can get from Pioneer.....I think its something like Euro or Uro or maybe Kuro in the model number)and I kid you not, this Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U looks better than his and this one is about a $2000 cheaper.
Don't believe all that hype about 1080p either! With televisions, whether it be plasma or lcd, anything under 5o inches you will only be able to tell a tiny bit of difference in picture quality, if any at all with 1080p versus 720p. True, you can see a difference with the 58 to 65 inchers, but not really as much as you'd think.
As a comparison to this plasma, I bought a Panasonic 42d64u slim line lcd model back in November(sold it to my Dad so I could get this) and this plasma clearly has it beat in picture, sound, price, features, remote.......you name it.
To sum it up, this Panasonic Viera TH-42PX80U is all you could ask for in a tv and more. The sound is so good you don't need a surround sound system. Thundering bass!!! The picture is absolutely amazing in high definition(This plasma has 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast(that's right 1 million with 6 zeroes! Has to be a first!)and 15,000:1 native contrast, which is a technical way of saying this tv is AWESOME!) and still looks really good in standard definition(much better than lcd). Video games whether it be on the 360 or PS3 look stunning!!! 3 HDMI inputs with 1 in the front for easy access! I love the remote control! It's not big and gawky like many remotes and has easy to use buttons. I just wish it had a backlight button to light up the remote. Actually it may and I just haven't discovered it yet. This is a very attractive television and it's nice and slim(this is new to this model) so it doesn't take up a bunch of room.
Don't worry about screen burn in with these new plasmas. Hard to get burn in on them due to safety features such as screen saver and sleeptimer in case you fall asleep while you're watching a movie. Hands down this is the best tv you can get for the price! Do yourself a favor and go get one of these affordable plasmas at a great price and be blown away by the picture and sound.
As a side note: Amazon's free shipping, white glove delivery service was perfect and hassle free. The delivery peeps carried it in where I wanted it, unboxed it, and hooked up everything including my 360, PS3, Nintendo Wii and surround sound system(which isn't needed with this tv's great sound). Amazing Plasma, Amazing Service!!!!!!!! Don't get an lcd tv, get this Awesome tv before it sells out!
(5 out of 5)Great picture quality for the price
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.
(5 out of 5)Impressive...
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...
(5 out of 5)Excellent TV
Excellent TV!! This is my first flat screen tv. I've done all kinds of research on plasma vs lcd. Plasma wins out in all areas except for glare (glass), and burn-in. Even with the antiglare, there is still a little bit of glare. However, the picture and color are very bright and deep colors too. As for burn-in, the issue does not exist.
CR has rated the panasonic's plasma tv as either #1 or #2 on their list. If you want lcd, look at sony.
Screen resolution, people can not tell the difference between 720p or 1080p on 42" screens. So, don't waste your money for something that you can't see.
Scaler, HD resolution looks great! Keep in mind that most TV stations are still SD. The good news is that the SD channels look good too. Panasonic has an excellent scaler on this tv.
(5 out of 5)Best value for the money
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.