Home > Reviews > Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

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

List price: $1,499.99
Prices subject to change.

Used price: $700.00

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Product Details

Binding: Electronics
Brand: Panasonic
Color: Black
EAN: 0037988241835
Label: Panasonic
Dimension: 0.23 x 41.9 x 0.3 inches
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Model: TH-42PZ85U
Publisher: Panasonic
Studio: Panasonic
Warranty: 1 year parts and labor

Features and Descriptions

1920 x 1080 Resolution
1000000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for the Brightest whites and darkest blacks
4096 Shades of Gradation for spectacular Color Reproduction
Viera LinKâ„¢ HDAVI Control lets you operate all of your home theater components by pressing a single button on your TV's remote control
GalleryPlayerÂ® allows you to enjoy the world's finest high definition art and photography on your Panasonic HD plasma TV

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.

Ratings & Comments(Average: 4.5

)

- So good I bought two !!!!!!
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.

- My first HDTV and blown away by it
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!

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