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Date: 2008-06-20 volume control volume control on external speakers is fixed.. chat help with tech rep was no help. volume only controls unit's volume not external receiver and speakers. audio w/fiber optic installed correct. have to use another remote to control volume which is a pain.... Date: 2008-06-14 Stunning HDTV, great value, low power consumption We bought this as an upgrade from a Sharp Aquos 32" LCD HDTV --- an excellent television, but a bit too small for our new, larger living space. I first looked at 46" and 50" sets, but they use a lot more power, and after looking at units in the store decided the 42" was quite large enough (70% more viewing area than our old TV). For environmental reasons we wanted low power consumption --- usually plasmas lose out there, but Panasonic comes through --- only 170 watts, as measured by an independent test, which is less even than some of the similar-sized LCD TVs tested by that same outfit! The picture is stunning --- though our old Aquos looks great, this Panasonic blows it away in terms of contrast, black levels, and overall picture quality. Properly adjusted, the DirecTV HD channels look fantastic --- much better than they do on the Sharp or most other TVs I have seen. (DirecTV tends to compress its HD channels quite a bit --- yet on this Panasonic, after adjusting it, the image looks very clean and cinematic.) Blu-Ray discs are unbelievable --- Planet Earth on this set is tremendous. Another thing I really like about the set is it passes through Dolby 5.1 sound from the HDMI connector to the optical digital out --- which I then pass into my Logitech Z-5500 THX speakers (an inexpensive way to get surprisingly good home theater sound) --- the Sharp didn't pass through the signal from our PS3 Blu-Ray player. As others have noted burn-in and ghosting are mostly non-issues with the new plasma sets --- some basic precautions will prevent any problems, and this Panasonic set comes with some display "reset" patterns to cure any burn-in issues you might face. The number of connections is extremely handy --- with 3 HDMI connectors I have enough for my DirecTV box, my PS3, and a front connector for the occasional times when I hook up my MacBook Pro via a DVI-HDMI cable. There's not much to say about the built-in speakers --- serviceable but not great --- but who uses the built-in speakers on their HDTV? I certainly don't... The picture out of the box definitely needs adjustment for optimal results --- I set the black levels to dark, turned up the Picture (contrast) and brightness, lowered the color and sharpness, in Standard mode. Fiddle with it a bit and you can get a stunning picture. This set is cheaper than most LCD sets of the same size, and the picture quality is better. Definitely recommended. Date: 2008-06-11 Great tv! After a few weeks of online research, visiting big box retailers, and talking to friends, I took the plunge and bought the Panasonic 42PZ80U. I've had previous experience with Panasonic and so I went with what I knew. Since I got it last week, I've been amazed at the quality. The picture is excellent, the build feel is excellent, the menus are intuitive, and I've had no problems with burn in, etc. Even on break in settings, my xbox 360 (with HDMI cable) is astoundingly clear and beautiful. What I've learned from the experience: First, don't trust what you see on the floor at big box retailers. All the settings get screwed up, so you can't make good comparisons. Instead, go with reviews by professionals and peers; there's a really useful AV forum out there that you can find if you type in your top product models. Second, the GalleryPlayer feature, which I was really into as an added perk, has some hitches. GalleryPlayer (GP) is an independent company contracted with Panasonic and other manufactures. Distributing the images requires downloading GPs software and buying images. No problem, right? Well, you also need to buy a specialized Panasonic SD card reader that protects the copyright of the images and runs $50. You can get deals online, of course, but i just want to put it out there. In sum, I got an AWESOME plasma at 1080p for under twelve hundred - While you can get even better TVs if you drop more than $2000, I definitely recommend the 42PZ80U as a great buy. Date: 2008-06-06 A Great TV for the Price [Update 12/28/08] I have had this TV now for 8 months or so and I am very pleased with it. What I said originally below holds: - No burn-in issues whatsoever. Even with PS3 (I play Rock Band), I only had some image retention that went away after 2-3 mins of watching another channel or using the scrolling bar tool. I also keep the pixel orbiter at 4 and don't notice any issues with it, but it's supposed to be safer; - As some people mentioned, the plasma screen does look better after a few months of use. If you really know what you are doing I've heard you can go in the factory settings and calibrate it, though I just use cinema mode (apparently this is sharper than the other settings) and adjust it for normal TV; - Colors are still great and vivid, and nicer than LCDs. I have a friend with the equivalent Samsung LCD and the plasma looks a lot crisper for standard television, and the blacks are deeper for HDTV; and - I think it's safe to say that unless you are using the TV as a monitor (in which case LCD is better), you get much better value with the plasma because people don't forget the early burn-in problems. I have had this TV for a month and I'm very happy with it. As another reviewer mentioned, I don't think burn-in is an issue and haven't seen any on my set. I saw on one of the AV sites that image retention, which is one of the concerns with plasmas, is as likely on the new plasmas as it was on the old school CRTs. I did use one of those break-in DVDs for the first 100 hours or so, using it to watch some TV (with those logos) and my PS3 for no more than an hour at a time, but again I did not have any issues, which was a relief since I was playing mainly sports games, which have those tickers. Some people say the burn-in DVD is a waste and it seems like that might be true, though I'd rather not roll the dice. I would also suggest forcing the pixel orbiter on 4, which prevents burn-in and image retention. As for picture quality, it's great on this TV, which is the main advantage of plasmas over LCDs. The blacks are great and it's much closer to a CRT for SD television, and HD TV looks great, even upscaled DVDs. If you like to tinker a lot with the settings, this TV probably isn't for you, as there isn't much you can play with, but it does the job. The one thing this TV does not have is 24p (the specs say it has it, but it's 2:3, not full 24p), which you have to pay $500 bucks or so more for; I have never seen any of the ghosting or jagged edges though on anything, so it hasn't been any issue. Still if you want that feature it's something to consider. The 85z model does come with a 30k contrast ratio, however, I don't think I could see the difference. The price is closer now then when I got the TV, however, so for $50 bucks it might get you piece of mind. It will also get you a PC input, though I just use one of those $2 HDMI-to-DVI converters to get around this, but I don't really connect the PC to my TV much anyway; if I do, I use the PS3, which can do it wirelessly. I actually got this TV for $1,155 thanks to the price guarantee from Amazon, though I'd still get it at the $1,250 it's selling at now. Finally, Amazon's delivery service was great; they were scheduled to delivery the TV two weeks from the order date but were actually ready to come by the 3rd day. They also were on the earlier part of the delivery window (~10am), took out the TV, assembled the stand, and make sure it was setup before they left. I'm pretty lazy so it was nice to not deal with unpacking it and lugging it from the store. Overall, I'd say you can't get a better TV for this price and I am very happy that I went plasma and got it on Amazon. Even if there are burn-in issues 5 years down the line this TV probably won't be worth anything, so I'm not too worried, especially now that I am past the 200-hour mark and haven't noticed anything. Date: 2008-06-05 I love this TV!!! I did a fair amount of research on plasmas (wasn't interested in LCD since most have pixelation during fast moving scenes) and I decided that this model was the one for me! Boy am I glad that I did! The Amazon shipping was awesome and fast and the TV was cheap compared to other ones in it's class (I was on the fence between this one and the Samsung LN46A550 which is $300-500 more). The picture is terrific with an insane black level that you don't see in most TV's (really adds to sci-fi films). Also since I live in San Francisco I constantly have to factor in earthquakes and the stand that it comes with makes me feel super confident that it won't be tipping over without a fight. In fact it's so solid that my TV might be the only thing standing in town after the big one! This is a great deal for the price. At the time I purchased it the model above it (the 85U) was $100+ more, but it's now crept down to being only $30 off. I would buy that and consider yourself lucky. This TV rocks! The thought of it makes me sprint home after work.
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