An amazing 1080p flat screen plasma HDTV with a great price!
Written: Sep 19 '09 (Updated Dec 11 '09)
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Pros: Superb picture quality, a lot of inputs and outputs, sturdy, good price
Cons: ghosting, uses a lot of electricity, can't control external audio with the TV remote
The Bottom Line: Excellent picture quality, a lot of inputs & outputs, glass screen and easy to use.
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| ejeffrie's Full Review: Panasonic TH-42PZ85E 42 in. TV |
After waiting at least 3 years for the price of the 1080p flat screen HDTV to go down, we finally decided to buy one. I am going to compare the Panasonic 42" 1080p Plasma HDTV with my experience using the Vizio 120Mhz LCD HDTV and the Toshiba 120Mhz LCD HDTV when I watch Blue-Ray movie, regular DVD and Netflix Roku streaming video. I will also tell you how awesome it is when we play the Nintendo WII on the Panasonic Viera.
The first HDTV we bought was the Vizio 120Mhz 42" 1080p LCD. We bought the Vizio from Costco because it was for sale for $999 for the new 120Mhz version. When I watch a Blue-Ray movie, the quality of the picture is superb on the Vizio, but I was quite disappointed with the Vizio picture quality when I watched regular DVD and Netflix Roku streaming movies on the Vizio. The picture quality was so bad that it totally ruined the watching experience. I basically couldn't continue watching regular DVD movies and Netflix Roku streaming videos on the Vizio even though the picture had been upconverted to 1080p by the Blue-Ray player. The great thing about the Vizio was, it has 4 HDMI inputs, lots of other inputs/outputs and I can control the external audio output by using the Vizio remote control.
After 3 days using the Vizio, I took the Vizio HDTV back to Costco and I decided to try Toshiba 1080p 20MHz 42" HDTV Flat Screen LCD. It didn't take me long to decide to return the Toshiba. The Toshiba HDTV 1080p quality was horrible! Yes, it was worse than the Vizio 1080p 120Mhz LCD HDTV, the picture quality was EXTREMELY disappointing. The quality was bad when I watch a Blue-Ray movie and the quality was EXTREMELY horrible when I tried to watch regular DVD and Netflix Roku streaming movies.
I basically put the Toshiba HDTV back in the box after I tried it out and return it back to Costco the next morning. The Toshiba was so blurry, it has only 3 HDMI inputs, lack of inputs/outputs, no external audio output, and I couldn't control the external audio through the Toshiba TV remote. There were 2 other people who were returning the same Toshiba LCD HDTV to Costco when I was there.
After trying out 2 LCD HDTV; I decided to buy the Panasonic Viera 42" 1080p Plasma HDTV. I heard a lot of people say bad things about Plasma HDTV, but I gave it a try anyway. I played once again a Blue-Ray movie and the quality of the picture really took my breath away. I was so impressed when I watched "Rescue Dawn" on this TV. The scenery picture quality was extremely awesome, it made me feel like I was actually in the Jungle. I played the "300" regular DVD and I was extremely impressed with the 1080p upconversion picture quality. The picture quality for a regular DVD was amazing! I didn't stop there, I tried the Netflix Roku streaming movies on the Panasonic Viera, and again the quality is more than acceptable, it was not perfect, but it was VERY GOOD for streaming movies.
My daughter and I love to play Nintendo WII on the Panasonic Viera, the picture quality of the Nintendo WII when we use the component input is extremely good! This TV really makes the WII gaming a lot more realistic. I love to Play the WII Tiger Wood PGA Tour 2008 on this TV and my daughter loves to play the WII resort. Having the Panasonic Viera really makes us a lot more addicted now to the WII because it makes playing the WII console a lot more fun if you have a big screen TV.
After 8 months of ownership, I am still impressed today every time I watch movies on the Panasonic Viera. I am using my Panasonic Viera Plasma HDTV as my computer screen also which is really nice.
These are the reasons why I love my Panasonic Viera 42" 1080p Plasma HDTV:
1. The picture quality is superb! The Panasonic Viera provides different viewing options that will let you choose vividness and the picture quality. If you like vivid colors, you can choose "Vivid" viewing option, if you like "Cinema" quality, you can choose the "Cinema" picture quality and so on.
2. There are two EXTERNAL audio output options, composite and digital, so you can send the audio signal to a receiver. I love good quality sound when I watch movies. This external audio option is a must because I don't usually use the TV speakers because they suck compared to my external professional home audio theater sound. The bad thing about the Panasonic, you can't control the external audio sound by using the Panasonic remote, you have to use the receiver remote to control the sound.
3. There are plenty of inputs, 2 HDMI Back inputs, 1 HDMI front input, 2 component inputs, 2 composite inputs front and back, 1 VGA input, 1 digital audio output, 1 composite audio output, TV antenna or cable inputs and 2 s-video outputs front and back.
4. Built-in SD flash card reader to view your digital photos. I love it! You can do photo slide show on this TV by inserting the SD memory flash card.
5. The built-in speakers quality is acceptable. It is not that good compared to the external audio, but it is pretty good for a built-in speakers.
6. It is an AWESOME HDTV to play Nintendo WII games.
7. It has energy saving auto turn off feature! If I forget to turn the TV off, the TV will turn itself off when it is not being used.
8. The 1920x1080 resolution is awesome!
9. The TV is very easy to setup and it feels very sturdy compared to the LCD HDTV. I love the remote control, it is very easy to use.
10. The TV screen is easy to clean and wipe because it is glass! But I love it, because I used to be so scared that my daughter would ruin my LCD screen when she touched it with her fingers. The Panasonic glass plasma screen really takes that worry. My young daughter can touch the glass screen and I just wipe her finger prints off.
These are the reasons why I don't like my Plasma HDTV:
1. The Plasma HDTV shows ghosting. Especially after I leave it on Netflix Roku video streaming video player screen saver too long. I can see the ghosting Roku text still on the screen when I switch the input to other inputs.
2. I can't control the external audio by using the Panasonic remote, I have to use my receiver remote, but it is not a big deal.
3. It is using a lot of electricity compared to the LCD. I can see pretty significant electric bill cost when I use the TV too much to watch TV, movies, and to use it as a computer monitor.
Will I recommend this TV to my friends, relatives and other people? The answer is "Yes!" I will recommend this TV to everybody because the quality is so superb! I love my Panasonic Viera!
In conclusion, I bought my Panasonic 42" 1080p Viera HDTV for $849 at Costco when it was on sale, and for the price, this TV is extremely a good buy for the features and the quality of the picture. If you are looking to get a new TV, this is it! This TV is perfect if you have small kids in the house, because the screen is glass, so they won't puncture the screen with their finger or toys.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 849
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Epinions.com ID:
ejeffrie
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Location: USA
Reviews written: 51
Trusted by: 20 members
About Me:
I work as a Web Analyst, Web site designer & developer.
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