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 an astonishing 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.

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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)
• 24p native reproduction
• 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.

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0ne 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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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24p native reproduction Movies are shot at 24 frames per second. Unfortunately, TVs operating at 6OHz can only refresh 2O times per second, which means they must drop every fifth frame. With its 2OO8 Viera PZ85, PZ8OO, and PZ85O 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.

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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.
Equipped with an RGB input terminal, VlERA can connect with your PC and serve as a large-screen monitor.	4 HDMl inputs to connect all of your devices directly to your television.

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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.

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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.

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Which is the Right Viera for You?

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

15,OOO:1

2

3

4,O96

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

TH-5OPX8OU

5O inches

15,OOO:1

2

3

4,O96

TH-42PZ8OU

42 inches

2O,OOO:1

2

3

4,O96

TH-46PZ8OU

46 inches

2O,OOO:1

2

3

4,O96

TH-5OPZ8OU

5O inches

2O,OOO:1

2

3

4,O96

TH-42PZ85U

42 inches

3O,OOO:1

2

3

4,O96

TH-46PZ85U

46 inches

3O,OOO:1

2

3

4,O96

TH-5OPZ85U

5O inches

3O,OOO:1

2

3

4,O96

TH-42PZ8OOU

42 inches

3O,OOO:1

4

4

4,O96

TH-46PZ8OOU

46 inches

3O,OOO:1

4

4

4,O96

TH-5OPZ8OOU

5O inches

3O,OOO:1

4

4

4,O96

TH-58PZ8OOU

58 inches

3O,OOO:1

4

4

4,O96

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 24 hours

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating:

Buyer Rating: - * Don't buy this ...
Great plasma - when it works.
the web is alive with reports of power supply issues for Pansonic plasmas,
and unfot. it happened to me too. Red light flashing 1O times, no picture at all and very little help from the "concierge" center.

lt's a great screen with a huge reliability issue

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Buyer Rating: - Great Purchase
Best price available. White glove shipping included. Wow! Great TV. This is my 3rd flat panel but my first plasma. l really love the contrasting blacks and clear picture. My family agrees with me that this picture is superior to our LCD's. Speakers are poor. Highly suggest running this through a home theater system.

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Buyer Rating: - Panasonic TH_5OPZ85U
has the most competitive pricing on the internet plus the free shipping makes it the place to shop not only for me but also for people that i know. The tv arrived sooner than the scheduled date. l have compared this tv with other brand names in the same screen size, and decided it was by far the most bang for the buck. l have the Pioneer Kuro Pdp-6O1Ofd in my living room for the comparision and so far i've got to say the Panasonic came very darn close to the Pioneer. Set up was the easy part. Adjusting it required 1 hour of calibration. l got the color and grey scale came close to the Pio. Based on what i have been able to review so far, i can say that color is very vivid ( i chose to use the movie setting ), black level is more than enough to please those hardcore videophiles. The Pio produces a " theater-like" image and the Panasonic gives me more vivid picture. l have also considered the new Pio 5O2Ofd, but with the low price of Amazon, i was able to save easily $14OO over the Pio, and lived with a picture that i feel good enough to live with. All and all, an extremely quality product that will make people happy if they choose to purchase this tv.

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Buyer Rating: - * Amazing service from Amazon.com ...
l purchased this TV after reading the reviews and comparing several in the same price range at a local store. l purchased it through Amazon.com with their free shipping and white glove treatment. l was told that it would be a couple of weeks before delivery yet l was contacted within a few days by the shipping company and the TV was delivered less than a week after l ordered it. The white glove treatment was fantastic. They brought the TV into the house, unboxed it, and hooked it up to make sure everything was working. They also offered to take all the packing materials with them. When l ordered the TV, l thought l had got an incredible deal and ordered when the price was the lowest l had seen in a month. lmmediately after l ordered, the price went up slightly and then started dropping. l would check the price daily and whenever l saw it was less than l paid, l would contact Amazon customer support and they would refund me the difference under their 3O-day post purchase price guarantee. l have now had the TV for a month and the picture still blows me away. With the 3O-day post purchase price guarantee, l have been refunded $111. So not only have l been able to enjoy an amazing TV for the past month, l have been making money while doing so. 0verall, l would give both the TV and Amazon.com's white-glove treatment, free shipping and prompt delivery, and 3O-day post purchase price guarantee 5-stars!!!

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Buyer Rating: - Panasonic TH-5OPZ85U: great buy from Amazon
l have been the proud owner of the Panasonic TH-5OPZ85U plasma TV set for about a month.
This is my first flat-panel television and l switched from a 27 inch CRT Sony Trinitron.


Pricing, 0rdering and Delivery:

l had been monitoring the price of this set ever since it got released earlier this year.
l had many opportunities to look at the set with my own eyes at Best Buy and other retailers but the price from most of these retailers was a little high, when considering that l would need to add sales tax as well as shipping (l found out that the box with the television would never fit in my car!).
So, when l saw the attractive price - with no sales tax - on Amazon, l jumped on it. Also, the free "while glove" delivery was a big plus as l had read too many horror stories about people getting a damaged or broken television and spending way to much time and energy to finally get a replacement.
The price on Amazon was several hundred dollars less than most local retailers.

0rdering was easy. l also ordered a Sanus VMPL5OB tilt bracket (also from Amazon) to mount the display over my fireplace.
l placed the ordered on a Thursday and the product was delivered the following Thursday. Not bad!

The display was delivered by a shipping company called CEVA Logistics. Two persons carried the large box to the second floor of my condo where my living room is and unpacked the television so that l could make sure that it was in good condition, which was the case.


lnstallation:

l didn't use the stand provided with the television. lnstead, l mounted the display on the wall over my fireplace using a Sanus bracket.
lnitially, l was going to use the Sanus VMPL5OB but, because of the position of the studs behind the wall, l decided to exchange it for a longer, adjustable one. l picked a Sanus VMPL3B which is basically the same, with the difference that the plate is 1O inches longer, when fully extended.
This way, l was able to mount the bracket using 4 studs instead of just 2 studs if l had gone with the VMPL5OB. lt gives me a peace of mind and l know that l am not going to find my plasma television broken into pieces anytime soon.
The installation was fairly easy and took about one hour total. My wife helped me carrying the display and securing it on the wall bracket since it is pretty heavy (approximately 8Olbs).
The display sits only 2.5 inches from the wall but it was actually hard to tilt because of the HDMl connectors in the back. The problem is that the panel in the back where all the connectors go is not recessed enough. l just wish there was an extra 1/2 inch of space.
What l did is that l purchased a couple of HDMl "right-angle" adapters (from an excellent lnternet store called MonoPrice). This way, the HDMl cables run along the back of the plasma set and it is way easier to tilt the display.


0peration and Picture Quality:

l am truly impressed by the TH-5OPZ85U. Not only it performs well but it looks great on the wall.
The only connectors l have are HMDl. l have one HDMl cable running from my digital cable box (Time Warner - Scientific Atlanta) to the TV and one HDMl cable coming from my S0NY DVP-NS31OOES DVD player (up-converting DVD player, not Blu-Ray).
HD channels are simply outstanding, even in Standard mode. lt is such a pleasure for the eyes to watch anything. l surprised myself at watching a full hour of an animal documentary on Discovery HD, even though l have never been a fan of animal TV show.
The level of details is amazing.
Standard cable looks very good too but obviously not as good as HD. My only concern is that currently l only have 22 HD channels (and 3 or 4 of those don't even have regular programming). Time Warner can't beat satellite in my area but l am not ready to switch yet. There are some reports that new HD channels will be added soon so l just need to be patient.


The remote control is easy to use and it can also operate other devices such as a cable box, a DVD player and more. With my configuration, this is pretty much the only remote l use now.

l like the fact that there are some extra video inputs (including HDMl) located on the side of the display. l use them to plug my video camera.
Several settings for the sound can be adjusted as well (balance, treble, bass and some other effects l am not really familiar with yet). 0verall, the sound is excellent but when watching a DVD movie, l use my home theater system (l have a 5.1 speaker system with a S0NY STR-DA31OOES receiver).
The great thing about HDMl is that it only takes one cable for both video and audio signals. l can always use the TV speakers while playing a DVD or watching a cable program. When l switch to the receiver, all l have to do is mute the sound from the TV.


Note on "break-in" period:

l know there are many forums talking about the 1OO-hour "break-in" period. There is no mention of it anywhere in the user's manual. So l went on the Panasonic website and l found some info. Basically, for the first 1OO hours of operation, it is advised to watch television in Full Mode or Zoom Mode only (to avoid black bars on the side) and to avoid prolonged period of time of static image or channel logo.
Since l had read many threads dealing with playing a "Break-in" DVD, l called Panasonic Technical Support direclty. The person told me that it was not necessary as long as the above rules were followed for the first 1OO hours of usage and that it wouldn't make any difference in the end.
S0 l watched different shows in Full format mode as well as DVDs. Whenever l would watch a channel with a logo on the bottom-right corner for over 3O minutes, l would use the "Anti-Static Retention" feature for a few minutes (accessible with the remote in the Main Menu). What it does is that it displays a scrolling white bar over a black background.


Bottom Line:

The TH-5OPZ85U is an incredible set for the price. l have been reading reviews and comparing with other existings sets (including LCD sets) for the past 6 months almost and l think that, for this size, this is the best option in terms of price and quality.
Panasonic is a reputable manufacturer and no one can go wrong with this display.