Panasonic TH 42PZ700U review (42" plasma TV)

Prior to setup we adjusted the Panasonic TH-42PZ700U's picture for optimal quality in our darkened theater. The Cinema preset came quite close to our ideal 40 ftl of brightness, and the Warm preset, the default for Cinema, produced a color temperature that approached the 6,500K standard (see the Geek Box for details), although it was skewed a bit toward green. As a result we didn't have to change the picture settings too much from the Cinema default. Click here for our complete user menu settings, or check out the Tips & Tricks section above. The Panasonic didn't contain user-menu fine controls for color temperature, and we did not perform a service-menu calibration, so there are no "after" numbers listed in the Geek Box below.

Next, we sat back to compare the TH-42PZ700U against some other flat-panel HDTVs. We didn't have another 42-inch plasma on hand for direct comparison, but we did have a couple of LCDs, namely the 46-inch Samsung LN-T4665F and Sony KDL-46S3000, as well as our reference display, the Pioneer PRO-FHD1 50-inch 1080p plasma. For the main section of our evaluation, we chose to watch Ghost Rider on Blu-ray, played from the Samsung BD-P1200 at 1080i resolution.

Black level performance is one of the most important ingredients in picture quality, so we always discuss it first, and by that measure Panasonic TH-42PZ700U got off on the right foot. Its shade of black was among the deepest we've seen, better than either the Sony or the Pioneer. Although the Samsung's image was objectively a bit darker overall, its relative lack of uniformity (the Samsung's sides are slightly brighter then the middle of the screen) made the Panasonic appear slightly darker to the naked eye, especially in the film's numerous nighttime scenes. The Panasonic's deep blacks were evident in the dark letterbox bars above and below the image, in the night sky as Mephistopheles approaches the tent of young Blaze, and in Mephistopheles' dark suit and the shadows of the tent background, for example.

Details in shadows was excellent as well; we could make out the folds in the suit and the depths in Blaze's black hair, and the rise from black up to shadow seemed quite natural. Also, unlike many Panasonic plasmas we've tested, the TH-42PZ700U maintained a constant level of black--black areas did not abruptly become brighter when the rest of the picture brightened--earning it a passing grade in the relevant Geek Box test.

Color accuracy was about average with the Panasonic TH-42PX700U. Like many Panasonic plasmas, its primary color of green measured quite a bit too yellow, while red was also somewhat off. Color decoding was also bit below average--the set's decoder undersaturated green and also introduced a small amount of red push, so we had to back off the color control slightly to achieve the most accurate-looking skin tones. As a result, colors appeared less saturated than we observed on the reference Pioneer, but they were still quite lush. When Roxanne and mature Blaze have it out on the freeway, for example, her face appeared very slightly yellower and less realistic then on the Pioneer, as did the grass in Blaze's cemetery. Overall, the set's deep black levels helped its colors appear rich and well-saturated nonetheless, and we weren't overly distracted by the inaccuracies we mentioned.

We've complained about false contouring on some previous Panasonic plasmas, such as the 42-inch TH-42PX77U, but the TH-42PZ700U handled gradations in brightness quite well. We did see traces of contouring in the most difficult areas, such along the edge of the backlit silhouette of the Caretaker when the picture fades to black, but for the most part the image was smooth. We also noticed less video noise, which appears as roiling motes most visible in very dark areas, than on most plasmas we've reviewed, although the Pioneer was again a bit cleaner overall.

As expected, the Panasonic delivered superb detail, from the amazing sculptured CGI chrome and flames on skull-head Blaze's bike, to the texture of the cement on the gravestones. When we checked the set's resolution we found that it fully resolved every line of the 1080i test pattern from our Sencore HDTV signal generator, and handled 1080p/60 and signals as well (it could not display 1080p/24 from the Sencore, and the Samsung BD-P1200 would not allow us to select its 1080p/24 mode, so we assume the Panasonic cannot handle 1080p/24--not a big loss in our book anyway). It's worth noting, as always, that on a smaller screen the benefits of 1080p native resolution are less obvious than on a larger screen. For example, to be able to discern between the vanishingly thin one-pixel-wide lines of the Sencore's pattern, we had to sit about four feet from the screen. Any further back and they blended together, losing the benefits of 1080p.

In our 1080i de-interlacing test, courtesy of the HQV disc on HD DVD and Blu-ray, the Panasonic TH-42PZ700U performed about the same as most other displays we've tested. It passed the test for video resolution, preserving every line of detail, and failed the test for film resolution. As usual, we looked for evidence of the failure in real program material, and in this case we actually found some. As the camera rises over the freeway after Blaze and Roxanne's post-helicopter-jump kiss, the RV in the foreground evinced moiré artifacts that looked like artificial diagonal lines across the horizontal grille, on all of the displays except the Pioneer (which aces the film resolution test). When we switched to 1080p resolution, letting the Blu-ray player handle the processing, there was no moiré (except on the Sony, which has its own issues with 1080-resolution sources). Long story short, we recommend using a 1080p source, if possible, with the Panasonic, but its lack of proper 1080i de-interlacing isn't a major issue.

We were also anxious to check out the Panasonic's glare-reducing screen, and in general it performed about as well as that of the Samsung HP-T5064. In other words, while it attenuated some of the light that hit the screen, the glare-reducing coating wasn't nearly as effective as that found on the screen of Panasonic's TH-PX77U plasmas or standard matte-screen LCDs, like the Sony.

Next we observed standard-def sources delivered at 480i over component-video from the HQV test disc, and the Panasonic TH-42PZ700U turned in an above-average performance. The color bars pattern revealed that the plasma resolved every detail of the DVD format on the vertical axis but not the horizontal, which might contribute to the slightly softer details we saw in the stone bridge and grass from HQV's detail test. The Panasonic did a fine job removing jagged edges from diagonal lines, however, and it smoothed out the stripes in a waving American flag quite well. The set's various noise reduction settings cleaned up the snowy-looking skies and sunsets nicely without causing undue softness. The Panasonic also passed the 2:3 pulldown detection test, although it was slower to engage film mode than many HDTV we've tested.

As a PC monitor connected via the VGA-style input, we found the TH-42PZ700U's performance a bit disappointing compared to most flat-panel LCDs. It cannot handle 1,920x1,080 resolution signals via VGA; when we fed it that signal, the desktop was overscanned significantly (it didn't fit on the screen, so we had to scroll to see the edges of the desktop). The highest signal it scaled properly was just 1,280x1,024, and due to the scaling the edges of text appeared soft and the entire desktop was stretched quite a bit (the manual indicated that the set will also handle 1,366x768, a wide-screen resolution that should look better, but the TV would not allow us to select that option with the video cards we used). We had much better luck connecting our PC's DVI output to the TH-42PX700U's HDMI input. In this configuration the plasma displayed every detail of a 1,920x1,080 resolution source, text looked quite sharp, and overscan was nonexistent. In other words, if you plan on connecting a PC to this display, you'll have better luck going digital and monopolizing an HDMI input.

Juice box

Panasonic TH-42PZ700U	Picture settings
	Default	Calibrated	Power Save
Picture on (watts)	464.07	318	N/A
Picture on (watts/sq. inch)	0.62	0.42	N/A
Standby (watts)	0.58	0.58	N/A
Cost per year	$141.28	$96.92	N/A
Score (considering size)	Poor
Score (overall)	Poor