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Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

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Brand: Panasonic
Category: CE

Buy New: See price in cart



New (34) Used (1) from $1,000.00

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 53 reviews
Sales Rank: 364

Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: Yes
Display Size: 42
Shipping Weight (lbs): 70.5
Dimensions (in): 41.9 x 3.7 x 28.3

MPN: TH-42PZ85U
Model: TH-42PZ85U
UPC: 037988241835
EAN: 0037988241835
ASIN: B00142JKRW

Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Features:
  • 1920 x 1080 Resolution
  • 1000000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for the Brightest whites and darkest blacks
  • 4096 Shades of Gradation for spectacular Color Reproduction
  • Viera LinK™ HDAVI Control lets you operate all of your home theater components by pressing a single button on your TV's remote control
  • GalleryPlayer allows you to enjoy the world's finest high definition art and photography on your Panasonic HD plasma TV

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
PRODUCT FEATURES:42" class (41.6" diagonal) widescreen VIERA Plasma 1080p HDTV with increased native contrast ratioPC inputAnti-reflective filterDeep color technologyGame modeBuilt-in SD card slotGalleryPlayer ready to view3 HDMI inputsVIERA Link HDAVI control

Amazon.com Product Description--March 10, 2008
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 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 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 reproduction

Movies 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 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

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

deep color eliminates visible color banding

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.

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.
SD Cards Viera Link


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.
network with PCs Easy connectivity with HDMI ports

long life

Long Life

Panasonic 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.

Blu-Ray disc player

Get Full HD with Blu-Ray Disc Players

A Panasonic 1080p plasma television is able to render 1920x1080 pixels, but standard DVDs have a resolution of just 720x480. 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





  • 480 Hz Sub-field Drive Technology
  • Anti-Reflective Filter
  • Viera Link HDAVI 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-Image Retention Mode
  • Game Mode
  • Scratch and Impact Rsistant Panel
  • 100,000 Hours to Panel Half-Brightness (>30 years @ 8 hours/day)
  • Lead-free Panel
TH-50PX80U
50 inches

15,000:1


2
3


4,096




TH-42PZ80U
42 inches check 20,000:1



2
3


4,096




TH-46PZ80U
46 inches check 20,000:1


2
3


4,096




TH-50PZ80U
50 inches check 20,000:1


2
3


4,096




TH-42PZ85U
42 inches check 30,000:1 check

2
3


4,096




TH-46PZ85U
46 inches check 30,000:1
check

2
3


4,096




TH-50PZ85U
50 inches check 30,000:1 check

2
3


4,096




TH-42PZ800U
42 inches check 30,000:1 check check check 4
4
check check 4,096




TH-46PZ800U 46 inches check 30,000:1 check check check 4
4
check check 4,096




TH-50PZ800U 50 inches check 30,000:1 check check check 4
4
check check 4,096




TH-58PZ800U 58 inches check 30,000:1 check check check 4
4
check check 4,096




TH-46PZ850U 46 inches check 30,000:1 check check check 4
4
check check 5,120 check check check check check
TH-50PZ850U 50 inches check 30,000:1 check check check 4
4
check check 5,120 check check check check check
TH-58PZ850U 58 inches check 30,000:1 check check check 4
4
check check 5,120 check check check check check
TH-65PZ850U 65 inches check 30,000:1 check check check 4
4
check check 5,120 check check check check check



Customer Reviews:   Read 48 more reviews...

2 out of 5 stars A Blurry Mess   October 3, 2008
B. Newell
I had really high hopes for this TV given all the terrific reviews on this site. The image is fantastic, even stunning until somebody moves or the camera pans then the image becomes very blurry and annoying to watch. In these times of the handheld shakeycam craze this picture is totally unacceptable. Panasonic has taken this set away twice to correct this problem and has replaced 3 boards but it comes back looking no better. From that I must assume that this is the way it's supposed to look. Panasonic gets 4 stars for their service, I cannot fault them at all in that area and the set appears to be well made and easy to set up and operate. I made the mistake of thinking the set needed repairs because so many reviews stated "no motion blur". My 30 day return option to Amazon expired while the set was in the shop. Unlike reviewer Anamika Padavalo, who was able to "plunk down another grand" for a Pioneer I am stuck with this set. I suppose the lesson learned here is not to invest much in these reviews because lets face it we don't know who these screwballs are.


4 out of 5 stars Great tv!   October 3, 2008
Sean Holden (Knoxville, Tn)
I bought this tv over a month ago and I love it. The sound quality is good, the size is great, and the picture is amazing, especially with bluray or hdtv. the SD picture could be better but that's a common problem with hdtvs in general, especially larger ones. Overall its a great tv and i would def recommend.


4 out of 5 stars Good TV for the money   September 19, 2008
S. Bard (Boise, ID, USA)
This is a nice plasma TV for the price. I bought it to replace a 3-year-old Sharp LCD TV. The new plasma shows much better low-definition images and a lot less motion blur in sporting events. High-definition looks good, too, even though I've only watched 720p feed.

I read some reviews that said this TV shows too much red in images. This is perhaps occasionally noticable but is just a minor issue as far as I'm concerned. Overall color representation is good, though I'm not sure I would label it as great. The TV was hundreds of dollars less than some higher-rated models, so you have to expect some trade-offs.

As far as picture settings go, I used the standard setting. At first, it looked a little darker and grayer than my LCD. But after I got used to it, I liked this setting a lot -- more so than the "cinema" and other pre-programmed picture settings. In general, plasmas don't appear as bright as LCD TVs, so the standard setting is not surprising in that regard.



5 out of 5 stars 42" Viera   September 19, 2008
Michael J. Colvin
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

Very happy with the 42" Viera I purchased thru you. In fact its my 2nd one and both are great!


5 out of 5 stars Pleased with Panasonic   September 9, 2008
Edward L. Hardister (Brownsville, TN USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

After viewing college bowl games last New Year's Day on my sister's big screen TV, I told my wife that we should get a high definition TV before the 2008 football season started. So, as August approached and preseason predictions proliferated, we began to look for a new high definition large screen TV.

To my dismay, I learned that there is not just one type of product that generally fits that description. Different brands and models vary in their degree of resolution (number of pixels, number of lines of resolution, etc.) which affects the quality of the picture and the capability of the TV to utilize high definition "input", whether it be cable or satellite TV channels, electronic input from a "Blu-ray" or "up-converting" DVD player, input from a gaming device, or possibly even other sources. I also learned that there were two basic types of these TV's regarding the basic manner in which the visible image is produced in/on the screen--plasma and LCD. In my case, the biggest issues to be decided were these two--the number of lines of resolution and whether to buy plasma vs. LCD. Once these "technical" options were decided, choosing between the available brands and models that satisfied these options was relatively easy.

I found that many of the TV's on display in stores with attractive prices were TV's that had only 720 lines of resolution, though they presented a picture of very good quality from current TV programs via cable or satellite. It seems that the "geeks", and perhaps the industry, do not consider anything less than 1080 lines of resolution to be "high definition. Presumably, 1080 lines of resolution is the minimum number needed to take full advantage of a true "high definition" TV signal or other high definition input. Thus, I decided that I wanted a TV with at least 1080 lines of resolution.

With regard to the plasma vs. LCD issue, it appeared that in the past, plasma has been considered necessary for the TV's with larger screens (50" in. or larger), while LCD was generally associated with smaller screens. Plasma was generally considered to give a "brighter" picture, but LCD did not have the risk of certain technical problems associated with plasma (i.e. "screen burn-in" from the same static image displayed too long on the screen and eventual failure of the bulb or light source for the TV requiring a presumably expensive replacement). However, continuing technical development has decidedly narrowed the differences between the two with regard to performance. LCD TV's with 50" or larger screens are now common on display floors and the projected "half-life" of replaceable plasma "bulbs" is well in excess of any resonably expected useful life of the TV. The risk of screen "burn-in" seems to be almost nil under ordinary usage and conditions. I visited several "Best Buys" and other stores with TV displays and concluded that the plasma TV's did appear to more consistently present a brighter and sharper image--though some of the LCD's were very close. After much deliberation, including reading reviews on line as well as watching in-store displays, I chose plasma.

Response time (sort of the equivalent of the number of frames per second in movies on film) was never really an issue for me. Most of the sets that I viewed seemed to fall into a range of about 2 to 6 milliseconds response time. I am not a "gamer", and virtually all TV's I viewed were capable of showing the programs that I watch without a noticeable problem of "blurring" in action scenes. If you are a really serious gamer, or really concerned about quality of high-speed action scenes, then response time might be a factor for you to consider.

After deciding upon a plasma TV with 1080 lines of resolution, it was relatively easy to settle upon Panasonic Viera. The 42" size was virtually dictated by the space which we had available. Cost and physical appearance were virtually the final deciding factors.

Once we got the TV hooked up and in operation, we have been very pleased with it. As far as I know, the quality of the picture, especially with regard to brightness and sharpness, is unsurpassed. I really do not know how it could be better. We only have it hooked up and in use for satellite TV signal from Direct TV, and not all channels are in HD. The image is very good even on non-HD channels and the HD channels are terrific. I assume the picture quality would be comparable from any HD input such as a Blu-ray or up-converting DVD player.

Pro's: Great picture, very bright, very sharp; very competitive cost; relatively easy to hook up; occupies less space than older TV's with comparable screen sizes. Fast and careful delivery by Amazon and its delivery system.

Con's: Unexpected costs--had to upgrade Direct TV satellite and monthly subscription to receive HD TV signal; to view DVD's in HD one must purchase a "Blu-ray" or "upconverting" DVD player as well as rent or buy DVD's recorded in Blu-ray or HD format; to obtain "home theater" quality, one must purchase an additional sound system and other components. This particular set has an SD memory card slot for direct viewing of digital photos on SD cards; I wish they would have also included a CompactFlash (CF) slot that would work with pictures from my Canon digital SLR camera. Instructions for set-up and use are not particularly clear and useful, but are no worse than instructions for other electronic items in general. Information available from manufacturer prior to sale regarding use, capabilities, and functions of the item seemed to be unavailable; or, if available, was so technically oriented as to be of no use to potential purchasers lacking technical familiarity with electronics.


1080p  panasonic  panasonic plasma  plasma  plasma tv  




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