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75 out of 78 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"This Review Is Everything You Need To Know"
Pros: Crisp Picture, Wonderful Sound, Great Value
Cons: Only one caveat, 42" TV resolution is 1024x768
Summary: I have been looking at Panasonic TVs for a solid year. Waiting & hoping that the price would go down on the PHD8UK or the PX50U or PX500U. They didn't.
I thought about the pros & cons of what I needed. The 50" sets resolve 720p with a resolution of 1366x768 plus they have a PC adapter if you want to connect your PC to it. Also they have PiP, but I had TVs in the past with PiP and it is more of a novelty than something I really used.
Is that worth an extra $500 to you? If so, get the 50" set.
For me, I just wanted one of the best TVs to watch digital cable & movies at a reasonable price.
I have read CNET and other sites and everyone lauds the Panasonic models. Are they perfect? No. I don't think anything in the $2,000 range is going to be PERFECTION. But this TV far exceeded my expectations.
It resolves to 1024x768, but let me tell you - it is an absolutely gorgeous picture. My jaw dropped, hit the floor and rolled around this morning while I watched an HD channel on Digital Cable. Beautiful, crisp colors, watching in 1080i (which, as you know is a higher resolution) - it was great.
I don't have surround sound speakers. Yes, I know - some of you out there pull your hair out at the thought of buying a TV like this without a surround sound speaker system, and maybe in the future I will get one. But the speaker volume and sounds are just fine for what I need. This was another reason why I bought this TV over the industrial model - I wanted speakers and I wanted a stand. Yes, you can save money getting the industrial model, but if you throw in the stand & speakers it costs nearly the same as this TV.
I bought my TV through Circuit City. Now, there are some sites on the web that may be cheaper (and have a tendancy to operate out of Brooklyn). To me, with such a pricey purchase I went with Circuit City because the price was very good & it's a name I can trust. I did buy a 3 year warranty for the same reasons - sure, I may forgo a warranty on a digital camera, but not on a plasma. Plus, they were able to deliver Sunday which was good for someone like me who works long hours during the work week. Circuit city *was* 3 hours late, but this was due to a truck failure. The delivery crew set up the TV on my behalf and were very professional.
So, lets recap. You getting a plama? Get this TV. In life you get what you pay for. You want to get a $1400 plama? Sure, it will be cheaper but it won't be as good as this TV. You want to spend $5000 on the best 42" plasma ever - hey, more power to you. For me, i'll save the other $2500 for a trip to Vegas or something.
Stop waiting. Every prime time TV show is in HD now.
Oh, last point. I have Tivo (2nd Generation), which does crimp my HDTV watching. It works with the plama, but the picture is certainly smaller & compressed. So if you are a huge Tivo buff, you may need to wait until Tivo releases a HD version (for us digital cable users who don't have the satellite Tivo).
- 15 replies to this review
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Good review. where can i find the PC adapter for this.
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I bought the Panasonic from Crutchfield for $1399...Prices do fluctuate throughout the year so if you are willing to wait, you can get this price or better. Picture quality is superb...I am using TIVO 3rd Generation Digital HD which is pricey at $900 plus, but worth it! I am delighted with this TV. It surpassed my expectations!
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This review is really all we needed to take the leap!
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I'm about to buy this TV, but won't be getting cable for a couple of months at least. Can I use an antenna (like the Terk HDTVa model) with this TV to get over-the-air HD programming? In other words, is there an antenna input? Thanks.
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Before me and my wife purchased this last friday at circuit city,ive been reading reviews about this tv here on cnet.im not a rich person who'll spend over $5,000 on an overrated plasma tv.So i think most of you guys are right!the picture accuracy is awesome!plus i got $200 off by upgrading to hd cable.i sold our 4 year old superheavy but also awesome 37 inch sony trinitron and added some of the cash for this plasma.no regrets!my brother owns a pioneer and hes even impressed with this compared to what hes owned now.i also matched this with a very great priced dvd player in sonys dvp-NS75H and used hdmi inteface cable on progressive scan and the movie really looks smooth.bought it for $119 and got a 24 awg hdmi cable at monoprice.com for only $30 and that already includes over night shipping!again, im not rich to spend alot of money on a high end denon dvd player or monster cables but my stuff works!get this tv, youll be happy!
heres my setup:
onkyo tx-sr702 7.1 receiver with thx cert
rear and back surrounds B&W DM302's
front speaker KEFC60
center cerwin ls6,sub AR i forgot model lol,
and a monster power center hts3500
i know my setup is weird mix system but im happy with it.im on a budget and most of my audio parts were purchased really cheap. -
I live in Scottsdale, Az and have HD cable service from Cox. I have narrowed my choices down to the 42PX60U or the 42PX600U. I plan to buy it from the local Costco store. Here is my question.
I would like to get rid of my DVR that I'm renting from Cox to eliminate the expense. I hate paying cable companies. But I love the TV guide and simplicity of recording shows. I have bveen told that cable cards are problematic and don't work over half the time. Does someone have a recommended solution? -
I live in Scottsdale, Az and have HD cable service from Cox. I have narrowed my choices down to the 42PX60U or the 42PX600U. I plan to buy it from the local Costco store. Here is my question.
I would like to get rid of my DVR that I'm renting from Cox to eliminate the expense. I hate paying cable companies. But I love the TV guide and simplicity of recording shows. I have bveen told that cable cards are problematic and don't work over half the time. Does someone have a recommended solution? -
Hi there, it seems that you bought your Panasonic back in april? well, you should teake it back and buy exactly the same model at COSTCO for only $1899.99 and NO need for extended waranty, since COSTCO has the BEST return policy there is, NO questions asked, you could esaly save at least $800.00
Good luck!!! -
Great review, right to the point!
1) I also purchased my Panasonic (42PX50U) from Circuit City because they have a 30-day return policy.
2) As an alternative to Tivo, Verizon FiosTV has an HD-DVR. I know it is only available in limited locations (such as in Wantagh, NY), but just thought I would let folks know that HD-DVRs are on the way. -
I just bought mine through Amazon.com for $2900 out the door...no shipping, no tax! That's a $500+ savings over Best Buy's sale, when you shell out for tax. Plus, Amazon.com is a good name.
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You say you were impressed with watching this panel on one of your HD channels via digital cable in 1080i (which yes, is true HD), however, correct me if I'm wrong but none of the broadcasts via digital cable or satellite is available in 1080i yet. Even if it was, your panel is only 720p, which means it wouldn't be true HD anyway. Right?
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Ok if you are getting hot over 720p 1080p and other mambo-jumbo then go and spend your money. Just remember that 720p 1080I and 1080p signals are not coming to your TV from anywhere.
1. 99% of broadcasts are not HDTV therefore your HDTV will show worse picture then analog sets.
2. Progressive-Scan DVD signal is 480p, therefore HDTV with 1080p resolution will have exactly the same quality picture as EDTV.
3. HDMI or Up-converting DVD players do not make 480p signal into HDTV (1080p or 720p) they simulate higher resolution by line doubling. The result is better picture in professional tests. Almost undetectable difference for your eyes.
4. But, but what about those 6-7 channels that supposedly broadcast HDTV? If you are getting them through cable or dish they come to you compressed 40 to 65 times, so much for HDTV. Networks cannot afford so much bandwidth on their cables to stream uncompressed signal.
So there you have it folks. Good luck with you high resolution sets they will be obsolete in 3 years when TV finally converts to 100% digital and may be 50% HDTV. But even then only fiber-optic cables could potentially provide actual HDTV signals and that is of course if cable company decides not to compress the heck out of them to fit more channels. Meanwhile continue to spend thousands of dollars on TVs resolution of which is useless due to lack of actual signal. -
Great Plasma is nice. The new Sony KDS-R50XBR1 is better than all but the very high-end plama's. I will put up my NEW (1 month) sony 50" (1910 X 1210, or something close), not the a10 or a20 model, but the 50" with "Batwing" speakers--(Lycos Model,XBR1), so if your not hanging it on the wall, for $2500 plus tax I bought at a local store, and this TV blows away the Panasonic line-up for 2006, especially if you are looking at 50", and definetly 42". Don't take my word, go take a LOOK! PS..Check out the 5.1 sound. you are really missing the "big" picture.
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I too have been looking at this TV (and at Circuit City). I agree with everything you said but wish to add one more selling point (for me anyway). I had a entertainment cabnet made several years ago and because of space limitations the widest TV I can go is 40 and 5/8" wide; because this is practially all screen at 40.2" it fits my cabnet perfectly.
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Just got back from Fry's Electronics and wanted to check out the reviews. I love the looks of the tv and the picture but hubby wants to use our new tv to show his PowerPoint presentation of our recent vacation. I notice that there is no DVI connection on this model. Is there another way to hook up our PC without having to go to the 50" model? The 42" is a perfect size for our space.
Thanks!
