Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ85U 50" 1080p Plasma HDTV
See it at Amazon.com for $2,199.99Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(4 out of 5)Almost identical to last years
I have owned a few different HDTV's in and I have to say the Panasonic plasma is one of my favorites. I own a 52" XBR4 LCD and this plasma blows that out of the water when watching fast moving sports and movies. I also have a Pioneer 5010 and under normal everyday viewing, there is very little if any difference in picture quality.
I just bought the TH-50PZ85u and calibrated it yesterday. First of all let me say that I also own last years TH-50PZ77u and bought this to put in our bedroom. I was really excited about the improved contrast ratio because on paper it was such a huge jump over last years model but after getting it set up and watching it side by side with my TH-50PZ77u, I have to say it looks almost exactly the same. I played several Blu ray movies (Cars, Casino Royale...etc), test patterns and solid color screenshots and they were no differences to my eyes. In some instances, the blacks were more detailed on my TH-50PZ77u. I also prefer the bezel on last year's model. the TH-50PZ77u also has a great anti-reflective screen that helps out immensely with sunlight and ambient lighting
All this said, I do think that this TV displays and excellent picture both in HD and SD but it's not an improvement over last years model at all, just an updated look. I really wish that there was some sort of standardization when it comes to TV specs because this TV does not live up to its advertised specs.
(5 out of 5)The Best Plasma for the Money
I'm not sure what the huffing and puffing is all about... Some people are leaving negative reviews supposedly because of the reflections on this Panasonic Plasma TV. One reviewer's comments and to paraphrase that "So bad that it almost makes the tv unwatchable in anything but pitch black room" What???? and as John McEnroe would say: You Cannot Be Serious!!
The TV is in our family room with several windows. Either we are all blind in my household or we are watching 2 different televisions.
I purchased the Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ85U 50" 1080p Plasma HDTV towards the end of March. This TV has been nothing short of amazing. The picture quality is unbelievable. It has 3 HDMI ports. I connected our PS3 and Wii to it and I can tell you that playing games on this puppy is awesome.
The screen life is rated at 100,000 hours compared to last year's model of 60,000. So basically if you keep the TV on for 8 hours a day, the screen will lose half its brightness in 30 years.
Consumer Reports rated last year's model as the best 50 inch Plasma TV, and I have no doubt when they review this newer model the rating will stay the same.
The bottom line, for the price and Panasonic's excellent reputation for Plasma TVs you can't go wrong with this one.
(4 out of 5)take reflection reviews with grain of salt please
I've only had this tv for 5 days and I'm new to big screen tv's but the reviews here stressing the glare are greatly exaggerated. Can you see reflections on the screen when it's off? Yes. Can you see lights reflected on the screen when watching the tv? Not really. If you're looking for it and focusing on nothing else maybe. Now would be a great time for you to go to a chain store and see these things including previous years models hanging on the wall as well as LCD's. You'll see they all will have reflections (you may have to lower yourself to see them - the stores deliberately tilt them and otherwise engineer it so these are hard to see) There are many reasons to choose LCD or plasma but if you're otherwise considering this tv don't let these complaints about reflection deter you. I'd have given it 5 stars but my home theater is still under construction and I haven't had it long enough to make a complete and fair assessment.
Update (4/18) - I've had the TV for three weeks now and if the "edit review" option permitted it, I'd up my score to a 5. The TV has great picture quality. The only notable "drawback" I would mention is that it does not excel at processing standard definition input so if you don't intend to get HD inputs (from an antenna, satellite/cable receiver, upconverting or Blueray dvd player, etc.) or if you need to continue to support SD inputs you may be disappointed in its performance on those content sources.
(4 out of 5)Excellent Plasma
I debated long and hard between buying the Pioneer Kuro 5080 and this Panasonic 50PX85U. The Pioneer as everyone knows has amazing black levels that set it apart from the competition. The Pioneer truely is the the best plasma tv on the market, but the cost to me outweighs the picture benefits. I decided that I could go with the Panasonic that came with 1080p versus the Pioneers 720p. I am very happy with the Panasonic's picture quality. I haven't had it calibrated yet...still waiting for the 150 hour break-in period. But the picture quality is first rate. From an eye perspective watching it in my home the blacks are great- but just slightly less black than the Pioneers. Still better than the other plasmas out there.
The anti-reflective screen works quite well. I have it in a room with three windows on the side and don't have a problem with glare being any worse than I had on my LCD tv that I replaced.
I highly recommend this new Panasonic.
(5 out of 5)Great TV and awesome PQ!
Panasonic delivers again! This TV is incredible in terms of picture quality. I don't find the reflection to be that bad although my family room has blinds and can be much darker. I do not watch a lot of day time TV so if you watch a lot of night time TV, this plasma is for you.
In terms of the black level, although it's 30,000:1 native contrast ratio, I agree with another reviewer that it probably was not much blacker than last year's model (PZ700U), but even so, it's still much better than the best LCD TVs and minus the motion blur and other negative effects of LCD TVs.
If you are not ready to spend $2000 on this TV, wait for a couple of weeks and see how CNET reviews will be. I am confident that this Panasonic model is top of the line plasma out there for the price (Pioneers are simply too expensive).
Update: I have had this TV wall mounted along with Onkyo 7.1 Channel SR800 speakers, I could not be happier with the TV and the entire home theatre system. Please make sure you break-in the Plasma TV for the first 100 hours or so. Use either a break-in DVD (see www.avsforum.com) and you should always try to watch full-screen TV and movies and avoid those with top/bottom or side bars. Once the 100 hour break-in is completed, you can then set the TV to Cinema mode and enjoy.