Panasonic TH-42PX80B - 42" Widescreen HD Ready Plasma TV - With Freeview and Pedestal Stand

Amazon Customer Reviews

(5 out of 5)

Great value

We had to look in to a replacement for a 2 year old Hitachi 37LD6600 which gave up the ghost and would have cost around £500 to repair. After a lot of consideration of all options (including Samsung and Sony LCD's), we plumped for the 42PX80B.

We've had it a week and all I can say is that it was really worth the money! Obviously, still in the process of 'burning' the screen in, but picture quality in both normal and high definition is outstanding, particularly when it comes to dark and contrasty scenes where most LCD's won't compete. I can't wait until the ~200 hours of burn-in are up so that I can turn up the contrast and brightness! Sound quality from the set isn't bad, and certainly better than I expected from a flat panel, but it isn't too much of an issue as we're using a home cinema set-up.

Other things worth commenting on are the solid build quality (nice to see a metal back panel and really decent connection to the pedestal), connectivity and ease of use. Even the box that the set came in made the job of removing the unit easy (release a few clips and the bulk of the packaging slides off).

Overall, I would heartily recommend this TV as long as you take the usual precautions that you would with any plasma.

(5 out of 5)

Fantastic value 42" Widescreen HD Ready TV

After spending much time and effort researching for a 42" Widescreen HD Ready TV, I eventually settled for the Panasonic TH-42PX80B. I have not been dissapointed. The quality even on Freeview is very good with little to none motion blur as suffered by the same sized LCD screens I have viewed. If like me you are not going to use the set for gaming purposes there is little to gain going for a 1080p. Save your money and spend it updating your DVD player. When viewing DVDs the images are amazing. This TV well deserves the five stars. Don't take my word. This TV has gained three Best TV awards this year. I have to recommend Amazon too for their quick and speedy delivery.

(5 out of 5)

The TV is human friendly again with clarity and rich colour depth without saturation

My last Panasonic was an LCD and the picture was nothing less than stunning, even in SD it looked like most HD LCDs so this Plasma was going to have to work hard to impress. The one thing about LCD is that no matter how good your LCD is, its just not got that soft, human, warmth that a CRT gives you. Maybe its something to do with contrast or colour depth but LCD just feels different and personally I have never been 100 percent happy with it, though some are better than others. This plasma removes that feeling totally. It is warm and human friendly, TV seems natural again. Its like welcoming back the blue smartie now its all artificial colour free, know what I mean? LOL Pictures are sharp, colour is so deep you'll cry and black is well, for all intensive purposes, black. There isnt a lot more they can do to make blacks any blacker, reds are rich and deep and blues are a delight. It weighs the same as my old 32inch LCD which is amazing and the fact that it has 3 hdmi ports is just the icing on the cake! The menus are pretty much the same as every other modern Panasonic unit and are very easy to navigate with thoughtful options such as ability to rename or skip AV ports, etc. This unit reads SD cards which is cool but not something I would use a lot. Great sound, smart case (all black surround which I always recommend as it makes it look bigger, go have a look at a silver surround and see what I mean!)

(5 out of 5)

GREAT VALUE TV

I bought this TV after studying lots of reviews on a wide variety of plasma and LCD TV'S. I was curious to compare the 2 technologys and went to comet and currys to view them. I quickly realised plasma was a more natural picture than LCD and left wanting to buy this model despite the shops model not displaying a very good picture. I trusted all the positive reviews I had read and I certainly didn't regret it. The picture quality is exceptional even on Freeview and DVD's are even better. I am looking forward to buying a PS3 to play blu-ray DVD's as playing games on it with an x-box360 is vastly superior to a non HD TV. Sound was also a pleasant surprise so I don't feel the need to go out and buy a surround system. All in all if you choose this model you will not be disappointed as the contrast and sharpness are superb and it makes you wonder how buying a more expensive TV could be justified.

(5 out of 5)

This Years Best Offer.

I knew this was a good set from the research I did all over the net and I've seen very little negative said about it. It's even more pleasing when you get one. The people above have said most of what I would say. It's a really nice set at a bargain price. If you need a set get one before they have gone,they won't hang around at the price they are now
George.