Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ800U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ800U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
The PZ800 series meets the THX Certified Display specifications, signifying the highest standards of performance and quality. The PZ800 Plasma televisions feature an improved native contrast ratio of 30,000:1; Game Mode; VIERA Link; a PC Input, four HDMI connections and an all new one sheet of glass design concept. With its 2008 Panasonic Viera Plasmas, Panasonic brings an astonishing 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.
What’s New This Year?
- Super Contrast–native contrast ratios on the PZ85, PZ800 and PX 850 series are 30,000:1, double last year’s 15,000:1.
- Dynamic contrast ratios are up to 1,000,000:1.
- new anti-reflective filter; lead-free “Tough Under Force” panel is resistant to impacts and scratches
- Built-in SD card slot with Photo Viewer/Gallery Player software
- x.v. Color and Deep Color (HDMI 1.3 features)
- 24p native reproduction
- Game Mode auto-adjusts image quality suitable to games and includes anti-image retention
- Viera Link is now compatible with Onkyo and Yamaha home theater systems
- At least 3 HDMI inputs on all models (4 on PZ800 and PZ850 series)
- THX Certification on PZ800 and PZ850 series
Which Viera is Right For You?
Click here to see a comparison of step up features on each Viera series.
One Sheet of Glass Design
Beautiful, elegant, and functional — a single pane of glass covers the entire front of the television, including the bezel. This design reduces or eliminates the “halo” effect that can occur around lettering and logos with traditional 3-pane designs
|
|
Amazing color reproductionThe incredible black reproduction of a Panasonic High-Definition Plasma TV results in impressive contrast and beautiful, natural colors. So you’ll get warm, accurate skin tones, gorgeous greens, breathtaking blues and vivid reds. For color that’s as rich and bold as life itself, look to a Panasonic Plasma TV. |
|
|
Consistent brightness from any angleA Panasonic Plasma combines anti-glare and anti-reflection technology with the natural light-emitting properties of plasma, to give you a super-wide viewing range with a crisp, beautiful image from almost any angle. |
 |
Smooth, graceful motionWhen you’re watching sports or movies with fast-motion graphics, you want a TV that can keep up with the action. With over 900 lines of moving picture, self-illuminating plasma displays eliminate afterimages in fast-action scenes. So whether you’re watching a sporting event or an action-packed movie, you’ll always get the most impressive viewing experience possible. |
 |
24p native reproductionMovies are shot at 24 frames per second. Unfortunately, TVs operating at 60Hz can only refresh 20 times per second, which means they must drop every fifth frame. With its 2008 Viera PZ85, PZ800, and PZ850 models, Panasonic introduces 24p native resolution, which means 24 frame per second movie content is reproduced frame for frame exactly, making for true-to-source smoothness of motion. |
 |
1,000,000:1 ContrastThe Panasonic’s Real Black system (a pre-discharge suppression system) and improved panel production processes combine to reproduce outstanding blacks with superb contrast. Each image is richly expressive, from bright scense, like scorching desert landscapes, to dark cave scenes. Compare the image produced by conventional HDTV on the left to the Real Black image produced on the right |
 |
More ColorsViera HDTVs support the xvYCC color profile (Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications), or “x.v. color” for short. Standard RGB color space allows the display of a portion of the colors that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation “xvYCC” color space actually offers an available range of colors that exceeds what human eyes can recognize.
|
 |
Deep Color Where x.v. color expands the available range of colors your HDTV can display, Deep Color increases the number of colors your HDTV can display within that range, for smoother transitions from color to color.
|
Connectivity
Viera flat panel HDTVs interact with an array of high-definition devices and services, making it easy for consumers to access and enjoy content as never before. As of 2008, Viera Link is compatible with Onkyo and Yamaha home theater systems.
| Videos and stills recorded on SD cards can easily be viewed via the SD slots on Panasonic Blu-Ray Disc players and Viera HDTVs. | Viera Link means easy connectivity via HDMI cables. Finally, consumers can easily operate their Blu-Ray Disc players, DVD recorders and home theater systems with a single remote control device. |
 |
 |
| Equipped with an RGB input terminal, VIERA can connect with your PC and serve as a large-screen monitor. | 4 HDMI inputs to connect all of your devices directly to your television. |
 |
 |
 |
Long LifePanasonic plasma panels are rated to last 100,000 hours, which is about 30 years of regular or 11 years of non-stop usage before the brightness of the display is halved. |
 |
Get Full HD with Blu-Ray Disc PlayersA Panasonic 1080p plasma television is able to render 1920×1080 pixels, but standard DVDs have a resolution of just 720×480. Blu-ray discs output true 1080p High-Definition resolution and have a storage capacity ten times greater than standard DVDs, so no pixel gos to waste. |
Which is the Right Viera for You?
| Screen Size Measured Diagonally |
1080p Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels |
Native Contrast Ratio |
PC Input |
THX Cert |
24p |
Speakers |
HDMI Inputs |
One Sheet of Glass Design |
Swivel Base |
Shades of Gradation |
H.264 Codec |
Digital Cinema Color |
Studio Reference Mode |
Pro Setting Menu |
Serial Port |
Standard Features | |
| TH-42PX80U |
42 inches |
15,000:1 |
2 |
3 |
4,096 |
|
|||||||||||
| TH-50PX80U |
50 inches |
15,000:1 | 2 |
3 |
4,096 | ||||||||||||
| TH-42PZ80U |
42 inches |  |
20,000:1 |
2 |
3 |
4,096 | |||||||||||
| TH-46PZ80U |
46 inches | |
20,000:1 | 2 |
3 |
4,096 | |||||||||||
| TH-50PZ80U | 50 inches | |
20,000:1 | 2 | 3 | 4,096 | |||||||||||
| TH-42PZ85U |
42 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
2 |
3 |
4,096 | ||||||||||
| TH-46PZ85U |
46 inches | |
30,000:1 |
|
2 |
3 |
4,096 | ||||||||||
| TH-50PZ85U |
50 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
2 |
3 |
4,096 | ||||||||||
| TH-42PZ800U |
42 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
4,096 | ||||||
| TH-46PZ800U | 46 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
4,096 | ||||||
| TH-50PZ800U | 50 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
4,096 | ||||||
| TH-58PZ800U | 58 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
4,096 | ||||||
| TH-46PZ850U | 46 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
5,120 | |
|
|
|
|
|
| TH-50PZ850U | 50 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
5,120 | |
|
|
|
|
|
| TH-58PZ850U | 58 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
5,120 | |
|
|
|
|
|
| TH-65PZ850U | 65 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
|
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
5,120 | |
|
|
|
|
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Worth the extra cost
Sure, you can get another plasma or LCD for much cheaper, but after much, much research, the 42PZ800u is the TV to buy. I could have gone for the 850u but according to the “experts” (Cnet), it’s not any better.
If you want good dark levels, plasma usually performs better than LCD (at least for now) and the 800u performs better than most plasmas. Burn in/image retention is no longer an issue. I recommend using “break in” images for 150 hours just to be safe. Occasionally I see some faint image retention on a black screen but it fades quickly.
I use an Oppo for DVDs through HDMI, PS3 for games/blue ray through HDMI, and PC through VGA for movies. All look fantastic. DVDs look grainy sometimes, but this depends more on the source material than the TV. In general, newer DVDs that are mastered properly with good source material look fantastic. In fact, the difference in quality from a blue ray with poor source material and a high quality DVD is minimal.
I would have liked a DVI input for PC with higher resolutions supported, but VGA works fine, and I could probably use one of the HDMI inputs if I upgrade my graphics card.
The 48hz mode is useless and just makes a bunch of flicker, so I don’t bother to use. If you read message boards you will find different opinions on the 48 hz mode, but I really think that Panasonic should have left it out instead of trying to make it a selling point.
Another issue with the TV is the glare. Because it is a plasma and the front is covered with glass, it will reflect light fairly well. At first this bothered me and I was beginning to think I should have purchased an LCD screen, but now I rarely think about it. As long as you don’t have direct light on the screen it is fine, and does a much better job reducing glare than an old CRT or projection.
One more problem that I rarely notice but bothers me nonetheless is that certain colors tend to flicker occasionally. For instance, if someone’s face fills the screen and the lighting has a greenish hue, the skin tone will flicker or shift in value slightly. This doesn’t happen too often but it does occur with different sources, so I know it is a problem with the TV.
Even with these very minor problems the picture quality on this TV is better than any other TVs I’ve seen, and is worth the extra cost.
5 Stars Very nice 42 inch plasma TV
We have been very pleased with this TV so far. It appears to be well built and has a great picture and was easy to set up.
5 Stars My First HD and I am VERY HAPPY
This is the first flat panel TV I purchased and completed the 1 year process last month. AMAZON had a great price on this TV and I pulled the trigger. I have not had ONE second thought. First, I can tell you without reservation that Panasonic has always been a good cxompany with good products and this plasma continues that reputation. Second, AMAZON’s people took this product out of the box and hooked it up. Great service. I also got it 4 days after ordering it. Lastly, it is an awesome TV. The HD is absolutely perfect, the colors are brilliant, the sound is great and it is easy to use. The plasma was less expensive comapred to similar sized LCD’s with similar reps and attributes. If there is only one left, and you’re ready to buy, go for it….You will not be disappointed.
5 Stars panasonic th-pz800u the way to go!!!
I’ve had the panasonic 800u for 2 weeks now. excellent image, colors, and clarity. i am very happy that i went with the plasma - i also have a sony bravia LCD and this panasonic plasma is better - especially for sports and movies. also, this plasma 800u upconverts standard def shows very, very well! even disney channel and others (not in hd yet - which my 3 kids want all the time - is now very nice to watch on this tv.
thx setting may be a little too dark for some people, but choosing my preferred image settings is very easy and versatile. I love the front panel over the side panel - fits snug between panels over fireplace - and the tv looks beautiful!!
anti-glare glass works farly well. anti-burn in mechanisms are very reassuring so far.
haven’t heard the speakers and woofer included because i have a custom system hooked up.
natalia and scott
5 Stars So far, so brilliant
We’ve had this TV for just about two weeks now and haven’t looked back. The HD content delivered by our cable company ranges from amazing to transcendent, depending on the channel. The TV has the quality and features you’d expect from a much more expensive set. We went with Panasonic over Sony, LG and Samsung based on word of mouth (two friends own Panasonic sets), reviews (Consumer reports rates this TV at the top of its 42″ list) and on the salesman’s recommendation (he was working on commission and still recommended the Panasonic over the more expensive Sony). So far, we’re very happy.
Filed under: 1080p HDTV Plasma Reviews