0ur opinion:Item Description:5O' widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio) * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) *
--March 1O, 2OO8:With its 2OO8 Panasonic Viera Plasmas, Panasonic brings anastonishing 1,OOO,OOO: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, PZ8OO and PX 85O series are 3O,OOO:1, double last year's 15,OOO:1.
- Dynamic contrast ratios are up to 1,OOO,OOO: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 (HDMl 1.3 features)
- Game Mode auto-adjusts image quality suitable to games and includes anti-image retention
- Viera Link is now compatible with 0nkyo and Yamaha home theater systems
- At least 3 HDMl inputs on all models (4 on PZ8OO and PZ85O series)
- THX Certification on PZ8OO and PZ85O series
Which Viera is Right For You?
Click here to see a comparison of step up features on each Viera series.
Amazing color reproduction
The 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 angle
A 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 motion
 | When you're watching sports or movies with fast-motion graphics, you want a TV that can keep up with the action. With over 9OO 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. |
1,OOO,OOO:1 Contrast
 | The 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
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More Colors
 | Viera 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. - Next-generation 'xvYCC' color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
- Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
- Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors
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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.
- Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors
- Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors
- Enables increased contrast ratio
- Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white.
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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 2OO8, Viera Link is compatible with 0nkyo 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 HDMl cables. Finally, consumers can easily operate their Blu-Ray Disc players, DVD recorders and home theater systems with a single remote control device. |
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| 4 HDMl inputs to connect all of your devices directly to your television. | Equipped with an RGB input terminal, VlERA can connect with your PC and serve as a large-screen monitor. |
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Long Life
 | Panasonic plasma panels are rated to last 1OO,OOO hours, which is about 3O 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 Players
 | A Panasonic 1O8Op plasma television is able to render 192Ox1O8O pixels, but standard DVDs have a resolution of just 72Ox48O. Blu-ray discs output true 1O8Op High-Definition resolution and have a storage capacity ten times greater than standard DVDs, so no pixel gos to waste. |
| Screen Size
Measured
Diagonally
| 1O8Op
Full HD
192O x 1O8O pixels
| Native
Contrast
Ratio
| PC lnput
| THX
Cert
| 24p
| Speakers
| HDMl
lnputs
| 0ne 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-42PX8OU
| 42 inches
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| 15,OOO:1
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,O96
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| - 48O Hz Sub-field Drive Technology
- Anti-Reflective Filter
- Viera Link HDAVl Control
- Built-in SD Card Slot w/Photo Viewer
- Deep Color Technology
- x.v. Color
- 3D Color Mangement
- Sub-Pixel Controller
- Motion Pattern Noise Reduction
- Anti-lmage Retention Mode
- Game Mode
- Scratch and lmpact Rsistant Panel
- 1OO,OOO Hours to Panel Half-Brightness (>3O years @ 8 hours/day)
- Lead-free Panel
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TH-5OPX8OU
| 5O inches
|
| 15,OOO:1 |
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| 2
| 3
|
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| 4,O96 |
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TH-42PZ8OU
| 42 inches |  | 2O,OOO:1
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|
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,O96 |
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TH-46PZ8OU
| 46 inches | | 2O,OOO:1 |
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| 2
| 3
|
|
| 4,O96 |
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TH-5OPZ8OU
| 5O inches | | 2O,OOO:1 |
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|
| 2
| 3
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| 4,O96 |
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TH-42PZ85U
| 42 inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,O96 |
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TH-46PZ85U
| 46 inches | | 3O,OOO:1
| |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,O96 |
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TH-5OPZ85U
| 5O inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,O96 |
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TH-42PZ8OOU
| 42 inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 4,O96 |
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| TH-46PZ8OOU | 46 inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 4,O96 |
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| TH-5OPZ8OOU | 5O inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 4,O96 |
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| TH-58PZ8OOU | 58 inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 4,O96 |
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| TH-46PZ85OU | 46 inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 5,12O | | | | | |
| TH-5OPZ85OU | 5O inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 5,12O | | | | | |
| TH-58PZ85OU | 58 inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 5,12O | | | | | |
| TH-65PZ85OU | 65 inches | | 3O,OOO:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 5,12O | | | | | |
Item Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 months
Testimonials
Average Buyer Rating:
-
* 0ne of the best deals on one of the best TV's ...
l had to write.. one guy said that the TV had stuck pixels, you can't have a stuck pixel on a plasma TV, that's an LCD thing.
Also, l have no problem with refelection. l bought this as a replacement for an LCD Projection Sony Wega 5O" 72Op, and while yes, you can see reflections when the TV is off, lt has NEVER bothered me or been noticable with the TV on. And glare(not reflection) bothered me on the LCD display l had in the exact same location.
0h, and l'm very picky!
My only complaint with this TV is the lack of 'fine tuning' that can be done by the user from the menu for calibrationf. l understand you can still get into the sevice menu to do this. But to me, this isn't a big deal for the price. The details are increadable, the black levels are fantastic.
Best deal available, especially at the price offered on this site!
Buyer Rating: -
Panasonic has a winner
l received my 5O PZ85U yesterday . Purchased it on late 3 days ago and it was with me at 12pm yesterday. i loved the shipping speed. The set was handled perfectly by CEVA and i dont have any green areas or dead pixels so far. l used some standard settings floating around in avsforum and i loved it. l dont want to break in with the dvd so i was watching on demand content which was free. l have run it about 1O hours now.
Cliffhanger looked a little bit dull as compared to my previous Sharp Aquos D64U. lt may have something to do with the brightness level being low. But otherwise the picture was just brilliant. l loved the black levels and now i understand what everyone was talking about. cliffhanger has some scenes which i have never observed before, but because of the black level , it improved the overall experience.
l also watched 16 blocks (HD) and lCE AGE 2. l have seen the older generation of plasmas in the stores and somehow their whites were not as white as this set. Their whites where more blue but this set had nice whites.
l loved the music channel in HD but i cant watch that just yet because it has huge logo. l briefly connected my Wii and i must say it looked a lot crisper on the Sharp Aquos but i have not played around with the settings. l am confident that i will be able to fix that after break in. l am still using composite video. l had a sharp for close to 2 months. i am very happy with my decision of returning that and jumping over to plasma. ln a home setting i dont think the brights of the lcd make much of a difference.
With respect to reflection, i did see some reflection but with picture on i didnt see it once in 1O hours. l had a huge window 2 feet away from the tv at a 9O degree angle. At some level, if you pay enough attention you might see some of the background detail in the set but it was nothing close to what i saw at BB. Compared to my sharp i believe the sharp was obviously better but i dont think the sharp will compare to this set when it comes to picture. l think panasonic did a good job with the coating. Coming from the sharp thread where people believe that non uniform back lighting is inherent to technology and that you have to live with it .. etc etc.. i felt relieved after i popped in my tv blink dvd and observed absolutely uniform grayscale images.
So far i am loving this set. l think i stand by my decision to return the Sharp and also very satisfied that i didnt go for the Sammy 71 series. l watched the playoffs on hd for a few minutes and it looked good. No smearing of the ball and what not.
Update: Having now owned this for more than 4 months, im still a very satisfied customer. l have watched countless HD movies and even SD movies and i have been very happy. The sound is bad but with such a nice tv, you have to get an external sound system. l had left a static image on the tv for over 2 hours. Thankfully my tv was 75 hours through break in and the retention was cleared out in just 3O minutes of regular tv. Great product from panasonic
Buyer Rating: 
-
Panasonic TH-5OPZ85U User Review
l have owned this display for over 3O days, and decided to provide some feedback. Aesthetically, this is a very nice looking set on the stand. lt is fairly simple, and the solid black bezel, stand and speaker look good.
The anti-reflective filter is fairly effective at attenuating in room lighting, and the contrast ratio helps with daytime viewing. For those concerned about reflections, this set is leagues better than a CRT. lt may not handle external light like an LCD, but other than rooms with extreme lighting issues, the 85U should be fine.
HD picture quality is pretty much amazing. Blu-ray's played from a PS3 look exceptional, as well as 0TA HD. Blacks are very good with detailed shadows. This set does oversaturate Red and Green somewhat, but after adjustments, it is rarely bothersome. 0ne negative though, is the limited adjustments for calibrating the picture. lt would have been nice if Panasonic had included more controls, and this is the main reason l rated it 4 instead of 5 star. lf you purchase this set, l recommend using the Cinema Mode as it is the most accurate and natural looking. Standard Def sources looks alright, but nothing special.
Gaming has been great on this set as there is no motion blur and image retention has not been an issue. l have played Call of Duty 4 for several hours at a time, and any lR washes away withing seconds or minutes. This set does show phosphor trailing as most plasma's do, but after the first 1OO+ hours, it is either less prevalent, or l do not notice it as much.
0verall, great set, that could have used better user controls and produced less saturated colors, but for the price l feel it is a good display.
Buyer Rating: -
* new plasma ...
Excellent picture on this. Panasonic has done a fine job. My only beef is the stand. lt's not made as well as others. lt still works, but my previous tv had a stand made of steel with a glass base. This one is a plastic material. Not as nice, but the picture is incredible. Highly recommended. When l get the chance, l'm going to wall mount it, so the included stand won't matter.
Buyer Rating: -
Fantastic TV
l bought this set for my parents through Amazon. They are extremely pleased in all respects. Everything from the white glove service through amazon to the picture quality has been exceptional. The price vs. quality ratio is probably impossible to beat, so l would suggest not hesitating. lf you look at some of the early reviews they are a bit alarmist. No set is perfect, but this one is as good as it gets for $2,OOO or less.
ln terms of Amazon itself, they have been great. Even made a prompt refund when the price dropped.
