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Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV | 
 enlarge | Brand: Panasonic
Category: CE
List Price: $2,999.99
Buy New: $2,273.59
You Save: $726.40 (24%)
New (9)
Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 394
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: Yes
Display Size: 50
Shipping Weight (lbs): 88.2
Dimensions (in): 49.4 x 3.7 x 32.8
MPN: TH-50PZ800U
Model: TH-50PZ800U
UPC: 037988241927
EAN: 0037988241927
ASIN: B00142JKSG
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | 1920 x 1080 Resolution | | • | 1000000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for the Brightest whites and darkest blacks | | • | 5120 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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| Similar Items:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
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.
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
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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 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. |  |  |
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| | 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.
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 | 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. |
 | Panasonic High Definition (HD) Image Gallery -- powered by GalleryPlayer GalleryPlayer allows you to enjoy the world's finest high definition (HD) art and photography on your Panasonic high definition TV. Use the free GalleryPlayer software to purchase and download the images you like, then play them on your Panasonic HDTV right from your PC. Sign-up is easy and free. Plus, you get a free collection of high definition images to enjoy right away in your home or office.
Download GalleryPlayer absolutely FREE and get a collection of ten high definition images to enjoy immediately. Buy additional images for as little as $0.99 each.
Examples of some of the many images available through the Panasonic HD Image Gallery
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 | 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. |
| Screen Size
Measured
Diagonally
| 1080p
Full HD
1920 x 1080 pixels
| Native
Contrast
Ratio
| PC Input
| THX
Certification
| 24p
Native
Reproduction
| Speakers
| HDMI
Inputs
| One Sheet
of Glass
Design
| Swivel
Base
| Shades
of
Gradation
| H.624
Codec
| Digital
Cinema Color
| Studio
Reference
Mode
| Pro
Setting
Menu
| Serial
Port
| Standard Features | TH-42PX80U
| 42 inches
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| 15,000:1
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096
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| - 480 Hz Sub-field Drive Technology
- Anti-Reflective Filter
- Viera Link HDAVI Control
- Built-in SD Card Slot w/Photo Viewer and Gallery Player
- 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
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| 15,000:1 |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-42PZ80U
| 42 inches |  | 20,000:1
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-46PZ80U
| 46 inches | | 20,000:1 |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-50PZ80U
| 50 inches | | 20,000:1 |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-42PZ85U
| 42 inches | | 30,000:1 | |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-46PZ85U
| 46 inches | | 30,000:1
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-50PZ85U
| 50 inches | | 30,000:1 | |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-42PZ800U
| 42 inches | | 30,000:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 5,120
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| | TH-46PZ800U | 46 inches | | 30,000:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 5,120 |
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| | TH-50PZ800U | 50 inches | | 30,000:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 5,120 |
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| | TH-58PZ800U | 58 inches | | 30,000:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 5,120 |
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| | 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 | | | | | |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Very satisfied July 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Very happy customer. Briefly here are my comments:
PROS:
A) Good Price on Amazon
B) Great quality set
C) THX is great quality
D) Very usable set. Controls and menus very well laid out
E) Remote control is best thought out i ever used
F) Sound is very good on this set too
G) Image viewer is good.
H) On screen sound change only lasts 1 second. Just right amount of time of a visual cue.
I) Surround bezel is very classy
J) Set doesn't get too hot (it has fans - but mine never kicks in yet)
K) Colors are very good. Blu Ray is amazing
L) Amazon shipped to me in Carolinas in 4 days. Setup was ok. Set was perfect.
Cons:
A) Light reflection of glass is very strong. Set is great in dark room, but does pick up reflections very easy. You'll find yourself moving lamps around and keeping shades down more that you used to.
B) Most expensive TV i ever bought. But it maybe 3 times bigger that i ever bought before (i love it)
TH-50PZ800U - review from an engineer's perspective June 28, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
June 28, 2008
Owned for 45 days
PICTURE QUALITY
I can not say anything negative about the picture quality... it's a ten for today's technology.
SOUND
I dealt with a Panasonic rep when I made a deal on the 800U and he indicated that the sound was superior to the PH-50PX60U I already had... yeah, it's a tad better but not by much. My 14 year old Sony KV-27HFR tuber still blows them away in sound. But I guess most people don't use their flat panel TV for sound like I do... this ones in the bedroom and I don't have an audio system hooked up to it.
BEAUTY
The cabinet is nice... much nicer than I expected. It's got that sheet of glass front rather than several inches of bezel protruding around the glass that most flat panel TVs have nowadays. There is maybe a 1/4 inch low-profile black bezel around the glass front... very new looking. There is still a 3-inch bezel surrounding the picture tube (if that's what they still call them) - but it's underneath the sheet of glass front so when the TV is off it looks much nicer than that standard bezel look.
ANTI-GLARE SCREEN
The anti-glare screen is better than my PH-50PX60U... but not much. Don't expect it to be much of an improvement. One thing I did notice is that from the side, you don't as much depth in the double images... not much to comment on but it is another improvement. Cleaning the screen can and is hard to do. I used regular Windex after testing a small area. Using a soft micro-fiber cloth, it took a lot of reapplying Windex to get the finger smudges off the screen. Our hands left a lot of finger prints from hanging the TV. If you don't get the fingerprints completely cleaned off - then they leave an iridescent sheen on the screen that quite visible. This kinda reminds me of the anti-glare coatings on camera lenses.
MPG VIEWER
The TH-50PZ800U has a decent MPG viewer... it's not great but it's a step better because it "can" fill the screen now. Pictures don't get shrunk - they just display as-is. I've started cropping mine with ACDSEE or Photoshop at 1920x1080 so they fit perfectly. This year is a big improvement over the older viewer SW they had before. Controls via the remote are minimal... seems like you can start, stop and move forward & backward... and set the slide show delay in seconds.
The picture viewer on my old PH-50PX60U sucked. Even though I would feed it a 2272x1704 picture - it would shrink it down to about 1/2 the size of the screen... grrr. Guess back then they didn't have any good SW engineers working at Panasonic.
TV ERGONOMICS
About as nice as you can get for a plasma today. Black rounded back that doesn't look bad when seen from the side. The front panel that folds down so you can access the SD memory slot is ok... but again, I give Panasonic a ding in the design - why did you not recess the SD slot a bit more so I could close the door when the SD memory card is inserted but not pushed in? Why oh why Panasonic guy??? This means that I can not store my SD card with my reformatted pics "in" the TV's SD slot... unless of course I leave the door cover open. Oh well. And why don't they give us a little slot under the door that holds a dozen or so of the SD cards... I've got 10 or so now and would like to use the smaller ones to organize my pics... and keep them in the TV. Oh well.
WHAT'S BEHIND DOOR NUMBER 1
The front panel swings up to expose some external connectors and the important TV controls - just in case the dog carries the remote away.
Menu TV OK/Video v-Vol-^ v-Channel-^
1-S-video connector
1-Video L-Sound-R (RCA PLUGS)
1-HDMI connector
1-SD memory card slot
SERVICE & MY DOG EARS
Don't know if it's just me or what - but after the TVs been on a while, I begin hearing a high pitched noise coming from the TV. Kind of like a low pitch noise you hear from a transformer outside - but at the high frequency end. Mute the sound and it's less but still there. Turn up the sound and it louder. In fact, this is why I have the 800U... the noise from the old 60U was driving me crazy. But I must say that the local Panasonic customer service rep was great and he replaced the TV for me near the end of the 1 year warranty. I just paid a couple of hundred dollars and upgraded to 1080p. Again - Panasonic service was top notch! But if you haven't seen inside a 50 plasma yet, let me tell you - there's a whole lot of 2-inch high voltage capacitors in there... enough to make some serious high pitched electronic hum for sure. Don't let this sway you from a decision on this - no one else hears it but me... hence the dog ears.
CONNECTIONS
It's got everything I want... just check the published specs. The only thing I would recommend they change next time is to angle the connectors on the back down a bit so things like the HDMI plug don't stick out so far. This would allow the tilting wall mount to tilt down a bit more - right now it's resting the connectors against the wall. Not a big deal just a suggestion for Panasonic next year.
REMOTE
The remote mostly sucks in the normal remote ways, ie, the ergonomics, functions and button positions are poorly laid out. And where the frig did the sleep timer button go - it existed on my PH-50PX60U remote. So guess what - I'm using my old remote for the new TV... just for the sleep timer function... that's the only reason I pick it up. For everything else I use my FIOS TV Motorola QIP6416-1 DVR remote... but like most all remotes - it does not have a sleep button either - grrr.
FINAL CONCLUSION
Overall TV satisfaction... a 10.
Suggestion for next years model - get some decent ergonomics engineers on staff and build the worlds first award winning remote :)
Excellent TV. Excellent buying experience June 17, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I could not be happier with my TV and the total buying experience from Amazon. It is rare when I get a chance to say, "Everything worked perfectly"! The TV arrived 3 days earlier than the original delivery date. I received a call from CEVA to schedule the delivery for the next day and they showed up right on time. The picture and colors on the TV are fantastic and the sound is great when run through a surround system
Amazon and Panasonic Deliver! June 17, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I was one of the folks who jumped on the "pre-order" sale back in early spring, before Panny was actually shipping product. I had narrowly missed the amazing Panasonic Plasma/Blu-Ray deal a few weeks earlier, so I was determined not to miss out. As soon as I saw the price I jumped.
First things first: as many others have reported it was not until late May before Amazon received units from Panasonic. Nonethless, I am happy to report that after "confirming" my order and agreeing to the slight delay, I was surprised in early June with a shipping notice. My unit arrived within a week - well ahead of estimated schedule.
The delivery itself was fantastic. A very pleasant young lady called me one evening to schedule delivery. I picked the day I wanted and she told me it would arrive between 10 and 2. They called me about 30 minutes out and arrived right in the middle of their delivery window at about noon. After a quick check for damage I was assembling the pedestal stand. I can't recommend the delivery and service enough.
Oh yeah - the TV! What can I say, the Panny delivers the goods and far exceeds expectations. You know the specs, so I won't bother repeating them here. I do want to mention how nice it is to look on the back and see 3 HDMI ports (the 4th is up front). It also has a digital out for sound, which is both convenient and necessary IMO. My one disappointment is with the built in speakers. Not enough oomph for me, but I may just be spoiled by my own surround setup.
I have seen this very unit in the store and I was blown away when I hooked it up to DirecTV and began sampling. I have at this point seen all the HD channels that D*TV provides and the only way I can describe it is breathtaking. Literally. I found myself watching some of the programming with my mouth wide open. The colors are amazing. I was slightly concerned that even a latest generation plasma would lack the punch that I had seen from some of the nicer LCDs in stores. No need to worry - the improvements in this year's model will blow you away. I was lucky enough to watch the Stanley Cup (game 7), the NBA Finals, and The U.S. Open all in HD, and I can attest to the superb quality for live sports. Movies and other programming will never be the same after watching them on this TV. I caught a repeat of SNL the other night and it was almost creepy how crisp and realistic the picture was.
The unit itself is gorgeous. I might have to get a new house to match my TV. :-) I started with a pedestal and have since moved on to wall mounting. Both were a breeze, although the unit is heavy enough to require two people to lift.
SD programming is good, although I have developed a very strong bias for HD content, so I find myself watching a lot less of that. I also hooked up my 480p DVD player and I am pleasantly surprised with the performance. I can't wait to get my hands on a Blu-Ray to see what 1080P and 24p playback will look like.
I have to get back to my TV now...
Excellent TV June 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I purchased this TV 2 weeks ago. Shipping was great (arrived early) and everything works and looks great. The TV has a great picture and you definitely get a great price from Amazon. Setup was easy and the THX picture setting looks great. I couldn't be happier with the TV.
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