Panasonic TC-P42S2 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Review by Joshua Pearl for Panasonic TC-P42S2 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Rating:
I’ve owned this for 3 days now, and wanted to wait until I fully tested it to write a review. After seeing how it performs with videogames, blu-ray movies and basic cable, I feel I know the television enough to offer my thoughts.

Picture quality: Incredible. Blacks are as deep as the bezel surrounding the TV. Colors are bold – everything you’d expect from a top of the line plasma. I own a 62″ DLP, a 26″ LCD, a 50″ panasonic 720p plasma and this plasma, and the plasmas are the only sets that really “pop.” This model is head and shoulders above even the 50″ 3-year-old model I own.

Video game play: There’s a game mode, which bumps up the brightness and sharpness. It’s great for PS3 games. I’ve played Demon’s Souls and Wolfenstein on it so far, and both look amazing. The system touts “1080 lines of moving picture resolution” to help with motion blur. Honestly, I never felt plasmas had an issue with motion blur to begin with, so I’m not sure how much of a difference this feature is making, but from what I understand in doing research it helps to have it.

Cable: HD looks good – even the reds aren’t blown out. Basic cable is standard definition – a thing on it’s way out anyway, lol.

Aesthetics/connections: The TV is very sharp looking, and the anti-glare feature on the S model (as opposed to the U model) actually makes a difference. I rolled my eyes when I read the feature, but I’m watching it in the daytime in a well-lit room and the glare is really minimal. The only minor dissapointment is no VGA connection, but I’ll figure out a way around that. Was going to use VGA to hook up my 360 (since I’m using computer speakers for audio at the moment), but will go the component route now. By the way, a TON of controls and an HDMI input are on the side of the tv, making it very easy to get to.

Burn-in/image retention/ghosting: Haven’t experienced any signs of even ghosting yet. Had my game on pause for a few minutes a couple times to test it.

Audio: Haven’t tested the TV’s speakers, just using an external set of logitech speakers with subwoofer at the moment.

Overall: For the price, I highly recommend the set. Like I said, I own 4 televisions of 3 different technologies and this one shows off the best picture. I have a collection of almost 800 blu-rays, and stay up to date on all the high-def news, etc… I do extensive research before purchasing a product, and actually went into this thinking I was going to give in and get an LED. I don’t want to get into an LED vs. Plasma thing here, but the LED’s are simply LCD with different lighting, and it brings all the inherent LCD problems with it. They make catch your eye in the store, but once you get home and get into your environment, it’s a different story. That said, this plasma in game mode gets the picture as close to LED as I’ve seen but with much better blacks.

Update 5/2/10: Just thought I’d add to this that I’ve had a videogame on pause for more than an hour a few times, and while I wouldn’t make a habit out of it, there hasn’t even been a hint of ghosting and certainly no issue with burn-in. Even so, the TV seems to have an auto shut-off function after 5 minutes or so of complete inactivity. There will be a message prompting you that it will shut off in 3 minutes and it counts down from there.

Review by P. Cook for Panasonic TC-P42S2 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Rating:
This TV really is something else.

I did research for months before finally settling on this. I was strongly considering the Panasonic G20 and G25 TV’s, the 2010 steps up from the S2 series (which is a 2010 model as well, to be clear), but ultimately picked the S2, here’s why:

First, only the G25 and S2 series have a 42″ model (rumors of a 42″ of the G20, but as of this review they were not available). Anything larger than 42″ wouldn’t fit properly in my space, so that knocked out the otherwise attractive G20 for me.

Let’s talk about what features it doesn’t have compared to the bigger brothers: First, it lacks the Panasonic ‘Looks superb. The G25 series has the Panasonic “Infinite Black Panel” – the S2 does not, but I swear after watching the G25 in store and then watching a properly calibrated S2 at home, the average consumer cannot tell a difference. The blacks on this TV are very black, and merge well. The contrast ration on this is 2mil:1 vs the G25 5mil:1 if you want to know the numbers.

The other major features that this doesn’t have over the G25 are the Viera Cast (youtube, netflix, twitter, etc) online features (there is no internet connection of any sort on the S2), and it also lacks the THX mode that the G20 and G25 have. Let me tell you why I’m not missing these, even as a filmmaker who might otherwise seriously consider the THX mode.

First, while the Viera Cast features sound nice and are convenient, they’re essentially negating what my PlayStation 3 can already do in terms of online access. All I mean to say here is, if you’re willing to use an external device (console, computer) to access these features a different way, then you can pay less and get this model. If you don’t have a console or want the convenience of having these built in without another device, then set your gaze on the G25 (or a blu-ray player with the same features that the TV’s have). Also, the THX mode does sound nice, but if properly calibrated, this TV looks masterful on it’s own and is a true bargain for the price.

In the three days I’ve had it, I’ve tried PS3 games, Blu-Ray movies, Standard DVD movies, and streamed Netflix (one of the films they stream in HD, and let me tell you, it looked like Blu-Ray) and all three have looked truly superb. No shuttered motion (thanks to the 600Hz), great color reproduction and, folks, the brightness is fine. It really is. While this TV ***WILL*** have some glare if you have it in a room with TV’s in the background, when the TV is on, any minor glare/reflection from lamps (etc) in the room will immediately be overcome by the image.

The sound is not masterful, but in no way is it bad. It’s on the high end of “normal” from a TV, if you will. Absolutely worth listening to until you can get a sound system later, if you need or want to wait. I “want” a sound system, but it’s not a priority, for what it’s worth.

This TV does NOT have USB ports, but again, if you have a console you shouldn’t miss it. A PS3 or XBox will substitute almost any need for a USB port. The Wii looks/works fine (I have one) but overall extended use should come from one of the HD systems if you have this TV (purely because the Wii lacks HD output, is all. Not knocking it!).

Some of the Picture modes are a little weak (“standard,” for example), but with some adjustments or a true calibration you’ll be fine. Nothing to shy away from at all.

Finally, ***BURN IN WORRIERS NEED NOT WORRY***. All the 2010 Panasonic plasmas have a pixel shifting technology that helps reduce burn in. They also have a “white wash” feature that erases burn in, and although I have yet to have need for it (burn in is worse typically in the first 100 hours of a plasma) – some other reviews I’ve read seem to think this feature will operate well as intended, IF you even need it.

My last thought is this: If you don’t want to pay more for features you already have via another device, this TV is your best bet for 2010 model plasmas. For the cost of the 42″ G25, I bought this TV, a Logitech Harmony One remote, an HDMI cable, a 4 year protection plan on the TV, and the Logitech device that makes the PS3 work with the Harmony One remote. All for under $1,200. That’s outstanding, in my opinion.

Review by Carl M. Coleman Jr. for Panasonic TC-P42S2 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Rating:
I got this TV because it looked like the perfect fit for a price / performance ratio. Overall I’m pleased with my purchase, although there are a few things that Panasonic can improve on. I have seen and had lots of experience with the 2009 S1 model, as well as the 2009 G10. The 2010 S2 is better than the S1 but doesn’t quite have the picture quality to match the G10. Its close though. So if you can find a G10 at the same price you may want to go with the G10. The reason I didn’t go with the G10 is because Panasonic has had problems with some of their TV’s losing a significant amount of their black levels in previous year’s models. They said that they have addressed these issues in the 2010 model lineup. So to get a few more years out of my plasma, and sacrifice a slight loss in picture quality I decided to go for the S2.

Picture Quality

As far as black levels go, I have no quarrels with this TV. It has excellent black levels, and honestly I think this feature is a little over hyped in the industry. I do appreciate black levels but when TV’s are this black, I much prefer color accuracy, which is where this TV has a few problems. Most colors look great and the red’s specifically pop very well. Skin tones are also very accurate for the most part. But the greens don’t look as good as other high end models and you can tell in a side by side comparison. Some of the HD sources I used to distinguish the picture quality of the TV are: Planet Earth, The Dark Knight (which is the best HD source that I’ve ever seen).Food Network (to accurately judge color), about a dozen video games, and a few other Blu-Ray movies. The fluid motion of action scenes is very good, and I couldn’t really see any flaws as far as motion quality goes. The detail of the content that I viewed is pretty good, but you may notice a few flaws if you sit really close. Another complaint that I have about the picture quality is that sometimes the video processor doesn’t handle older HD sources and doesn’t do SD sources very well at all. SD sources, at times, look downright terrible, and the TV doesn’t seem to clean up HD sources that were made four or five years ago as well as higher end models. This TV also seems to handle video games very well. There were only a few occurrences where I saw a difference in picture quality and they were minute. Overall, very good picture quality.

Sound

No one is going to mistake this for a good home theater setup, but to sound is pretty good for a TV. If you’re serious about your audio, then you’ll definitely want to get a home theater system to compliment this TV.

Features / Menus

It would have been nice to have an Ethernet port to get firmware updates, and have a few internet applications, but these apps are usually slow and I much prefer to use a set top box or gaming console. The Ethernet port is the feature that is any concern for me. As far as the menu goes, Panasonic has almost gotten it right. You’ll have to go into the settings, and change a few things because the default settings are a little strange. They’re also missing a few things like gamma, and an option to just turn up the brightness of the panel (not the picture). Mostly everyone will turn it on Vivid which may be a little to bright for some, but the alternative, Standard, is much to dim. It would have been nice to fine tune everything the way you like. The menus do a descent job of explaining what each setting does, which is a welcomed addition. They have also disabled some of the settings which is also a little strange. The remote is nothing special. They could have moved around a few buttons to make it easier to navigate but, I`ve seen much worse. The Viera Link feature (for me) is completely useless, and I can’t imagine anyone using it very much. There is also a slot where you can put an SD card and show off photos. This is useful, but it is very slow going from image to image. It’s also worth mentioning that this TV does have the ability to heat up a room.

Overall

This TV does what I want it to do. It has solid picture quality, and enough features to keep me satisfied. The fact is that technology changes so fast that it doesn’t make sense to spend top dollar on hardware when that hardware will be trailing edge in a year or two. So, while I would love a higher end model, I am very satisfied with my purchase. With proper calibration it’s hard to see the difference between this TV and higher end models unless you sit really close, so I do recommend this TV.

Review by Movie Source for Panasonic TC-P42S2 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Rating:
It is nothing short of a headache shopping for a new TV. I find one I like and then a list of drawbacks sways me to another which has its own set of problems. I was beginning to think a I would be dissatisfied with any TV I got (especially in the price range I wanted). So after months of research I decided to go with the Sony EX 400 series 40″ LCD. It was nice. Not fantastic, just nice. It had some slight motion blur that I convinced myself I would just have to deal with, but then I saw a my friend’s plasma. Now I had considered plasma, but decided to stick with LCD because of reported burn-in problems, buzzing, and energy consumption. I live in Colorado Springs (over a mile high), and so I did not want to chance buying a plasma. However, after a brief demo at my friend’s house, I was sold. After having the TV for a while I am happy to report no burn-in, buzzing, or other altitude related problems. It does slurp some energy, but that is a side-effect of plasma. Plasmas have a definite bonus for me though: no blur. Since the refresh rate is so fast it is almost like watching a CRT. The black levels are superb (almost dark enough to suck the light out of my bedroom), and the colors are accurate. The definition is astounding. I cannot comment on the sound, since I use a receiver and speakers. This TV does put out some heat, but is by no means going to heat the room. I used some configuration settings I found on the internet which meant putting most everything on 50 percent (except, of course, for sharpness). All in all, I am very happy with this TV and would easily recommend it to anyone.