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"This Review Is Everything You Need To Know" on by P2H
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). -
"I've Been Waiting For This One and WOW!!" on by jwobkk
Pros: Value, great picture, ease of use, size, sound
Cons: None so far
Summary: I almost bought the TH42PX50U but read about this baby at CES and decided to hold off. I'm so glad that I did. The value is tremendous, I was going to pay $3,000 for the previous model and got this one for $2,375 through Circuitcity.com. I purchased through the United Mileage Plus mall and will be getting frequent flier miles as an added bonus.
The picture is tremendous, Discovery HD channel in particular is spectacular. Others have complained about the sound but I have no issues with it. It sounds excellent to me, plenty clear and loud. The presentation of the set has improved from last year; it's noticeably thinner and I like the silver framing better than the black.
My buddy has the 43 inch Pioneer and this set is such a better value. Honestly, the picture of this Panasonic can go toe to toe with the more expensive Pioneer.
This is a terrific plasma TV. Well done Panasonic.Updated
I continue to enjoy this TV a ton. The Masters was spectacular in HD. I love having my friends rave about my TV when they come over. Yeah, and Sopranos every Sunday in HD isn't too shabby either. -
"Better value than the previous model" on by hawcchang
Pros: Black level, aspect ratio adjustment in HD
Cons: Sound, no PIP
Summary: i got a deal and bought the 37px50u (not 42px50U) early March. I knew the new models were coming but sure didn't expect a big price drop. So when the new model does, i went back and upgraded to 42px60u. Following are my thoughts about old model vs. new model. Note that i am not a professional reviewer so it is totally based on my feeling and impressions.
Improvements:
1. Remote - remote for new model is more responsive and feel on buttons is better. The old remote may look better, but i will pick practical over look.
2. Picture quality - seems improve on already great black level and contrast. However, maybe it was just the better specs on new model that influenced and got to my head?
3. Now you can adjust aspect ratio to fill the screen when receiving HD signal (you can't with the old model).
4. Look - i like the new design better. The buttons and input on front of TV are now also covered.
Worse:
speakers. I know you shouldn't expect much on them. But i feel the speakers were better on the old model (at least more tolerable). Also right out of the box my 1st 42px60u has a blown speaker and i had to go back and exchange for another set.
Same:
The rest, including manuals on TV, assembling, foot rest, are pretty much same for the new and old model.
Overall, i really enjoy the picture quality on Panasonic plasmas. I hook up an Oppo upscaling DVD player using HDMI on both sets and the picture is stunning. With about $500 dollar price drop, the new model is at a even better value. -
"Great deal, great tv" on by evenflow21
Pros: Lower price, great HD picture
Cons: Marginal SD picture
Summary: After a lot of online research and store hopping to compare sets, I decide to go with this Panasonic model. I’m glad I did. I’ve had it for just over a week and the picture is amazing. Best Buy had this set displayed next to the Pioneer model and I honestly couldn’t see a difference in picture quality.
Originally I was looking at both DLP and plasma. I decided to go with plasma because I preferred the overall image quality and better viewing angle. Additionally, friends of mine that own DLP’s have each had service on their set in the first year. Not sure if that is typical but with the moving parts in a DLP there is a possibility of issues like that.
I bought the set at Best Buy since they matched an offer I received at Fry’s for $300 off the regular price. Overall a good deal.
Setting up the plasma was really easy. I have it set on a cabinet so attaching the stand that comes with the set was a snap. The picture settings out of the box are over the top so be prepared to take some time to adjust the setting to get it to where you like it. The picture on the HD channels are out of this world, especially on ESPN and Discovery HD. The images off DVDs are also outstanding. Overall I was a little disappointed with the SD picture. I don’t feel the picture is as sharp as it could be on these channels but it is nothing that is overly troubling.
I have a surround set-up but for those of you who don’t you will be pleasantly surprised with the quality of audio the speakers on this plasma put out. I’ve read some reviews where users knock the appearance and construction of the set but I think it looks great and is solidly put together -
"A TV that wows on first blush, and leaves you wanting at second." on by AforAwesome
Pros: Has deep rich black tones. 2 HDMI ports.
Cons: Terrible image processing. Ugly packaging.
Summary: Frankly, this TV is just sad. Last year the Panasonic plasma was my favorite display (great price and fantastic picture). This year Panasonic falls flat on their face.
Those of you giving it such high reviews have obviously never even looked at the screen. Compare it to Samsung, Pioneer... or even LG, and you'll see what I'm talking about here. Another guy mentioned this, and he is totally right. Skin tones and other color sensitive images are just terrible. You can give me all the black level in the wold, and that won't make up for a pathetic image overall.
As near as I can tell, this is all due to an over-zealous image processor that treats any and all detail as distortion. One user mentioned that it makes people look like cartoon characters. He/She is exactly right.
Contrast ratios, color counts, and HDMI ports don't mean anything if the final result is a poor image. Please do yourselves a favor and actually shop around and LOOK at other TVs. You'll see exactly what I'm talking about.
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