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

Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Brand: Panasonic
Category: CE

Buy New: See price in cart



Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 40 reviews
Sales Rank: 743

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
nv:Display Area: 42"
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Contrast Ratio: 30000:1
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Signal Compatibility: 1080p
Input Video Signal: ATSC
Input Video Signal: NTSC
Speakers: Yes
Inputs: S-Video
Inputs: Audio
Inputs: Component Video
Inputs: HDMI In
Inputs: SD Memory Card Slot
Inputs: Composite Video In
Inputs: PC Audio In
Inputs: Analog Audio Input
Inputs: PC Video
Outputs: Composite Video
Outputs: Analog Audio
Outputs: Digital Audio Out
Power Consumption: 573W
Power Source: 120VAC, 50/60Hz

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

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
1,920 x 1,080 Native Resolution / 1,000,000:1 Dynamic, 30,000 Native Contrast Ratio / Progressive Scan / Game Mode / SD-HC Memory Card Slot / 3x HDMI EDTV Display Capability (480p) Aspect Control - 4 - 3, Zoom, Full, Just, H-fill for TV/AV modes, 4 - 3, Full for PC mode G11 Progressive 1080p HD Plasma Display Panel Screen Coating AR (Anti-Reflective) Filter 480 Hz Sub-field Drive 24p Playback (2 - 3) Deep Color x.v.Color Motion Adaptive 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter 3D Color Management Sub Pixel Control Motion Pattern Noise Reduction Speakers Full-range - 2x (L, R) Audio Output - 20 W (10% THD) (6 ohms, 70 Hz - 17 kHz) VIERA Link Pixel Orbiter (Anti-Image Retention) Trilingual Menu (English/Spanish/French) V-Chip Program Lock Out Built-In Closed Caption Decoder Video Input Label Video Picture Memory Integrated ATSC Tuner, HDMI Input 3 (1 side), Analog Audio Input for HDMI/DVI, Composite Video Input 2 (1 side), S-Video Input 2 (1 side), Audio Input for Video) 2 (1 side), PC Input Mini D-sub 15-pin x 1 (rear), Audio Input for PC Stereo M3 (3.5mm) Jack, Component Video Input (Y, PB, PR) 2, Audio Input (for Component Video) 2, Composite Video Output 1, Analog Audio Output 1, and Digital Audio Output 1 Dimensions - Height 28.3 x Width 41.9 x Depth 12.9 / 26.3 x 41.9 x 3.6 without stand Weight - 70.5 pounds / 66.1 pounds without stand

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 35 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars Poor picture with fast moving scenes   July 31, 2008
Anamika Padavala
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

First, the picture quality is great with hd movies. The biggest problem is poor picture quality when rendering fast moving scenes like camera panning the base ball stadium, or camera following a skier, etc. The moving background is so "pixelly" it actually gives you a headache. Second, the basic colors red and green are not very realistic. In short, a great plasma panel but the basic colors could be better but the deal-breaker is the poor/very-ineffective video accelerator or Video Noise Reduction. I returned mine for a pioneer plunking another grand+. Cheers


4 out of 5 stars For PC/HTPC through HDMI do NOT use rear HDMI, use the SIDE HDMI, otherwise 10 red lights   July 30, 2008
Eddie (CA)
Very nice picture, nice size, just what I was looking for on a plasma. I had just gotten the screen several hours ago and was playing around with my PC, dvd etc. I had hooked up my computer and calibrated my remote, the tv turned off, but didn't turn on again. I was getting 10 red blinking lights, I was buggin' so I searched the net and thanks to svkowalski (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13649180#post13649180) he/she discovered this.

Low and behold, once I plugged the side HDMI, the tv turned on as if nothing happened. Boy was I relieved. Another post confirms that this is actually a manufacturer "glitch" http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14047992#post14047992 and not on random screens. I had been reading posts of others having a technician come by several times and the anomaly would not go away, I'm so glad it was something as simple as changing the HDMI.

This seems to only affect PCs/HTPC with a DVI->HDMI adapter and it's regardless of what vendor card you have (nvidia/ati), I have a Geforce 8800gt.

Otherwise I liked the Amazon price, and free shipping. I saw the screen in B&M stores going for at least 200 more plus tax. Delivery was good and the people helped me put the screen on my wall mount which was nice.



5 out of 5 stars So good I bought two !!!!!!   July 18, 2008
J. Abraham
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Just a short review as there are so many already.

I spent approximately 3 years researching displays. No it didn't take me that long to figure things out, I was basically waiting for the technology to meet my expectations at a given price point.

After exhaustive research I narrowed things down to Plasma and then further down to either this set or the Samsung A550. The reason I picked the Panny over the Samsung, to be succinct:

- better black levels
- reliability (reportedly a bit more stable than the Samsung's, though they have gotten better)
- anti-reflective coating (the Panasonic has the Samsung thoroughly beat)
- IR (image retention) resistance, Panasonic is supposedly on the cutting edge for this

That said, I'll comment a bit on the Panasonic image specifically; it is stunning. First, the scaler (the hardware that handles different source material like standard definition broadcast, etc.) in this thing is top notch. I am truly impressed with what it has done with standard cable (and of course HD cable looks great). I was under the impression that few if any modern displays could handle SD well, frankly because I hadn't seen evidence of it. I was wrong, there have been a few times that I had to look hard to tell I was watching Standard Def (CNN puts out an especially clean broadcast in my area). Secondly, HD content; doubly stunning! I'm running both HD Cable and a PS3 Blu-ray. I figured I'd be buying many of my movies again in Blu-ray....wrong. Certainly true HD content has the edge but the upscaler combined with this set is jaw dropping, Pixar DVDs are quite amazing.

Now a few comments about Plasma vs LCD:

No doubt LCD has it's place, some people simply want a very "punchy" and extremely bright display. This is especially useful for daytime/bright room viewing. However, the drawbacks are considerable:

- motion lag/bur: if you see it (and I do) it's VERY distracting
- black levels clearly not up to par, which greatly affects the overall picture quality

On the other hand Plasma pluses:

- no motion lag
- industry standard black levels
- extremely realistic/film like experience

A few words on Image Retention & Burn in:

These are not the same thing though the terms are often used interchangeably. Image Retention is the result of a static image (any image that doesn't change for extended periods; video game displays, station identification, etc) to remain on the screen even after you've changed images. This is a temporary problem and one that is easily erased by viewing full screen for short periods where all the pixel locations on the screen will get some activity. Frankly I've not seen even one instance on my set. Burn-in is the extreme, unfixable version of this, leaving a static image on the screen for many hours (all day) or always watching all your content letterboxed will certainly lead to burn in. It's easy to avoid. The Panasonic is especially immune to this and even has many safety features built in to prevent it (pixel shifting and auto off if a screen remains unchanged for an extended period).

Finally a few quick tips for new owners, gleaned mostly from the AVS forums and partly directly from Panasonic's own website:

- Keep the Picture (contrast) and Brightness levels under 50 for the first 100 hrs. This helps the phosphors become "tempered" and in turn not so easily susceptible to bun-in and image retention. As I said, I've yet to experience either.
- Watch everything in Just mode (full screen) for the first 100 hrs for the same reasons listed above
- After the first 100 hrs you can turn things up & start watching things in letterbox, here are some recommended levels:
Picture: +70
Brightness: +48
Color: +44
Tint: -3
Sharpness: 0
Color temp: Warm
Color mgmt: Off
x.v.Color: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off

One final note for those on the fence: Don't go by what you see in the stores, what is displayed in no way exemplifies what these sets (any brand really) are capable of. My picture is light years better than anything I ever saw at Best Buy (including this very set). Delivery from Amazon/CEVA was a breeze by the way, took one week from ordering to door.



5 out of 5 stars Even the Support has been good   July 18, 2008
Andrew Garcia
Bought this TV a little over a month ago, and I really like it a lot. The picture is spectacular once you get past the break-in period and can ramp up the contrast and brightness a little.

Plenty of inputs to suit my needs, although I wish the PC input would accept 1080p. The highest resolution the PC input will do is 1366x768 (or whatever), which is kind of a downer since the HDMI and component can do so much more.

The sound from the integrated speakers is only so-so. I had to ramp up the input on my DVD player to be able to hear the voices at all. After a couple weeks I finally noticed that no sound was coming out the right speaker at all. Called Panasonic's concierge service, who had someone at my house two days later. The tech pulled the back off my TV and fixed the problem within 10 minutes.

Whew.



5 out of 5 stars Awesome TV   July 13, 2008
J. Cruz (San Diego, CA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

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

This TV is perfect. I did alot of research before buying. I wanted to spend a little over $1200. For the money this TV was the best bet. The picture quality is amazing and it was even delivered 4 days early! Definitely recommended.