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

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

In October, I purchased a Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U Plasma Television from Amazon. One of the caveats about owning an HDTV is that it requires quite a bit of time to tweak picture settings in order to ensure that your TV is giving you the best possible picture. In the proceeding months, I've fiddled with the various settings, like color, contrast, brightness, and even used a THX calibration disc and blue filter glasses in order to calibrate my set for optimal viewing from all of my sources (FiOS, DVD, PS3/Blu-Ray, DVR, Xbox). Overall, I've been quite happy with my Panny.

However, in recent months, I've noticed a very disturbing and annoying trend occuring in my TV: phosphor trails. These are green or blue trails that are left behind a moving object in a high contrast scenario. It occurs, as I understand it, because plasma pixels cannot shift directly from black to white, or vice versa. They have a brief green or blue phase in between. An example of this might be a hockey game that has players with dark jerseys on a white ice background. This scenario is plagued by phosphor trails on my TV. The players leave streaks as they move across the rink. I love hockey, and this is a major issue for me. Another example might be a movie or TV show where a person with light skin is moving through a dark room. This scenario is even worse for me. Light objects on dark background leave horrible green trails and are physically taxing on my eyes. Video games often have high contrast scenarios like this, and this effect is present in many that I own.

Unfortunately, I don't have a video camera capable of accurately depicting this phenomenon. On the cheap point-n-shoot I have, the effect is far worse than it appears in person. Nevertheless, I'm very close to selling my TV, cutting my losses and getting a Samsung LN46A650 LCD. I know that I may just be trading one issue for another, as LCD's have problems of their own, but I've just about had it. If a representative from Panasonic or Amazon is reading this, please contact me, as I would love to remedy this somehow.


I started researching TV's about 6 months ago. I was originally in the market for an LCD, and was completely sold on them. This was mainly because of all the negative (and mostly outdated) hype that I heard about plasma's. After doing more and more research, reading as many message boards and articles as I could, I actually decided to go with Plasma. I later decided on this one, thanks to the positive feedback I read about Panasonic. I also chose this model thanks to the great deal I received on Amazon. I got this model for the same price that the 80-Series was going for in the stores, and with the free "White Glove" shipping at the time, I couldn't pass it up.

The features on the TV are all excellent. Picture quality is great. Sound could use some work, but if you play with the settings enough (Bass, Treble, Audio Leveler, Surround Sound, etc...) I can produce a good sound. It can be a pain sometimes, but I can live with it.

The White Glove service was fine. Only one guy came to my house...not two. He had the thing set up and on my stand in 15 minutes. This seems to be an area of varying reviews. For me, the service was fine. He unpacked the TV, put it on the stand, put the whole thing on my TV stand, plugged it in and tested it. The only thing he didn't do was hook up the external devices, which I thought he'd do, but I'm fine with it. I don't mind hooking all that up myself.

Now for a quick word on Image Retention and Screen Burn...this was my biggest factor in choosing Plasma vs. LCD. I waited about a month before doing anything crazy with the TV. I read all the recommendations as far as keeping the settings low, calibrating the TV, etc. About 6 weeks after I bought the TV, I purchased a PS3. I hooked it up and was totally impressed with the games/movies. HOWEVER, it seems that 4 hours of Ninja Gaiden did leave a burn on the screen. To this day (about 5 weeks later...with periodic playing of the game) I can see an image of the heath meter. Hang in there though...don't be turned off yet...

I REALLY have to go out of my way to see the "burn." It's actually more of a moderate-severe case of Image Retention...yes, there's a difference. I have to have ONLY the TV on, in a VERY dark room to see it, and only when I'm close to the screen. It is NOT visible when watching TV or movies.

A WORD OF CAUTION...if you're going to play games, do not be pulled into a false sense of security with the "Game Mode" like I was. You'll see by default, the Brightness setting is at 100. BIG NO-NO. PLEASE turn it down to 50 or so...I currently have mine at 40 I think.

Also, if you do get some IR or Screen Burn, he's how to fix it...I did this and the image is all but gone:

I attached a coax cable to the antenna port on the back of the TV, without anything else on the other end of the cable...kind of a make-shift analog TV antenna if you will. I then switched the TV selection to "TV" and programmed analog and digital channels...it found about 9 of them. After that, I pulled out the coax cable on "Channel 4." This produced a blank channel, filled with "snow." This is what you want!!! It's this "snow" or "white noise" that cleans up your screen. Turn your picture settings up to 100, and let this run for a while...when I say "a while," I mean a few hours...you don't have to do it all at once, just here and there. What I do, is turn my sleep timer on for 60-90 minutes before I go to bed, and let it run. Do this a few times, and your screen burn will be gone. I read somewhere that this is exactly what TV techs do...and charge hundreds to do it! Please note, that depending on how bad the "burn" is, you may have to let this run for several hours. And honestly, it should probably go away on its own after about a month of normal viewing...this is extreme cases only.

All in all, a good TV and I recommend it. You just need to pay attention to what you're doing/watching. I've had mine for 2 months now, and except for the screen burn (which is really a non-issue...I'm just particular about it) I've had no problems.



I did it all. I looked at over 20 different models of HDTVs. LCDs, DLPs, Plasma, projector and CRT. All different sizes, too. I read over 200 reviews, both expert and consumer. What ultimately turned me to Plasma was picture quality. Smoothness of motion, color richness, exactness of details. I chose the 42 inch because it has better definition than the 46 inch. The expert reviews were all about the bigger 46 inch screen but it really didn't fully compare to the 42 inch. The 42 inch is better in color accuracy. And what outstanding high definition! I've been playing both DVDs and Blu Rays and they both look great. There is a difference but if you never experience it you won't miss it. Once you do experience it you'll want more. A good example is a video with snow. All the experts talk about the true black of these great plasmas but what they overlook is in a scene of light and motion like snowmobiles driving or skiers really moving it. You can see definition of the snow as it gets blown around. On everything else the snow is a blur. On this HDTV it's snow fluff moving through the air. I mean you can almost see every snowflake. Also, while it's true at 8 feet away there is very little seeable difference between an LCD or Plasma 1080p vs. 720p if there is a detail you need to see you can get inches away from the plasma to see it and the picture looks great. Believe me there are momments that it's good to be able to pause the video to see an important detail that wouldn't show any other way. One of the sillier points reviewed is sound. This plasma has better sound than any CRT I've ever had and the only panel TV with better sound without using a surround sound system cost $3000 more but it's hard to imagine anyone spending over a thousand dollars on a TV and not hooking it up to a great sound system. I've had the TV for two month and I am still impressed. My only disappointment is the lack of PIP but I can live without it.



Good product
Pros: Good image, good sound.
Cons: Controls on the TV are on the side and difficult to use if the TV is mounted since the labels are difficult to read. If you see a movie in 4:3 format, the sides are bright grey in color and distracting (it is black in Sony TV. I have not figured out a way to change this!




I absolutely love this tv. The picture is perfect and it was so easy to set up. I only wish it could play videos from the memory card, other than that I would recommend it to all.


We have had no problems with the TV. Great picture. No problem with delivery.


I purchased this TV in early January and was pleased with the quick, professional delivery. I did not expect setup to be included in the delivery (it was!), so I was not prepared for it and declined. However, the assembly required was very minor and the setup was a breeze. The quality of the picture and sound has been outstanding. I have always been pleased with Panasonic products in the past and this is no exception. It's connected, through a good quality co-ax, to rabbit-ears in the attic and the reception is excellent.


The picture on this TV cannot be beat for the price, however a picture isn't very good if the TV cannot be powered on. See the link below for to get an idea of the different power issues people are experiencing (it is not just the PZ85U line):

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We decided to use our government money to purchase a flat screen HDTV after our 27" Sony died in March. We waited until December to purchase this TV. Initially I was leaning towards a Sony Bravia, but after talking with people who owned either Plasma or LCD TVs, reading reviews, and looking at TVs, I decided Plasma was the way to go.
What a great TV this is! First - the white glove delivery service was great. The TV was delivered in the morning, and it took probably all of 8 minutes for them to uncrate it, set it up, and make sure it was working correctly. Fast and efficient service. I ordered the TV around Christmas, and the expected delivery date was after Jan. 2nd, but the TV was actually delivered before New Year's eve, so I was able to watch all the college games on it, and my wife was able to watch the Rose Bowl parade.
We watched "The Black Night" not long after getting the TV. Excellent! Since we're probably still pretty new to watching Plasma TVs on a regular basis, it's still easy to get caught up in the picture. Watched a show on HDTV that was just a half hour of flying over islands in the Mediterranean. Love to see nature on the TV.
So we've had the TV for not quite a month. Wouldn't give it up for anything!
Buying from Amazon was great - saved $200 over the price at the local big box store. Wouldn't hesitate to do it again.


This TV has been a great product for us. None of the problems other buyers have dealt with. The picture quality is wonderful, the blacks are black, the colors are accurate, and we are overall very happy with it. I recently watched HDTV on a lesser quality set and the blacks were not nearly as good and the darker portions of the shots often pixellated badly. None of those problems with this TV! The size is perfect for our small living room (we view it from about 10 feet away). I just can't say enough about it!

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

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5522 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Black
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: TH-42PZ85U
• Dimensions: 12.90" h x 28.30" w x 41.90" l, 70.50 pounds
• Display size: 42

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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