Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
- 42-inch HD TV with integrated NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuners
- 16:9 Aspect ratio
- 1024 x 768-pixel resolution; 10,000:1 contrast ratio; motion adaptive 3D Y/C comb filter
- Connections: 3 composite A/V (1 front), 3 S-Video (1 front), 2 component (Y/Pb/Pr), 2 HDMI, 1 SD memory card slot
- Two stereo speakers, 10 watts apiece (20 watts total)
Panasonic TH-42PX60UFeaturing Panasonic’s 9th generation gas-plasma screen, the 42-inch TH-42PX60U features a width-to-height 16:9 aspect ratio similar to movie theater screens, providing a theater-like experience at home. Its maximum of 29 billion colors and over 3,000 shades of gradation provide exceptionally fine detail for outstanding HDTV reproduction. The set’s built-in ATSC (DTV) tuner pulls HD signals (480p/720p/1080i) right from the airwaves, and its QAM tuner is fully compatible with unscrambled HDTV cable reception. A standard analog NTSC tuner receives standard-definition (SD) programming. It also includes a Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot, enabling you to take an SD card directly from a digital still camera or camcorder and insert it directly into the TV for quick and colorful photo slideshows. A plasma screen renders vivid colors like you’ve never seen before (as in, up to 29 billion in this case), extremely wide viewing angles (wider, even, than those of most LCD
Rating: 
(out of 181 reviews)
List Price: $ 1,799.99
Price:
Comments
4 comments
Sneaky
September 5, 2010
Review by Sneaky for Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
Rating:
I purchased this TV a couple of weeks ago and absolutely love it, and I haven’t even connected HD yet (Comcast to add HD service next week). The analog stations look beautiful, which is very important since most channels don’t come in HD.
Out of the box it’s very bright and the contrast is kicked up to the top so it didn’t look great at first viewing. I found a legitimate website that calibrated this particular television and recorded the settings for optimal picture quality. After changing my settings to match their findings, the picture looks twice as good. Here they are:
Picture Mode: Standard
Picture: +22
Brightness: +8
Color: -1
Tint: -4
Sharpness: -14
Color Temperature: Warm
Big multifunction remote with easy-to-read keys. The on-screen menu is easy to use and you can rename the inputs to one of several options (DVD, Cable, etc.). Plenty of inputs, including 2 HDMI ports, which is unheard of in this price range.
One final note, if you’re sitting close to the TV (6′ or less), I would recommend going with a smaller model than the 42″. I find that when viewing non-HD programming at that short distance everything looks grainy. Once you step back to 8′ or more, everything just pops into place and looks crystal-clear. If your viewing distance is 10′ or more, then you might consider stepping up to a larger model such as the 50″ of the same line (also a beautiful picture).
I did lots of homework and this was by far the best buy!
Sean Butler
September 5, 2010
Review by Sean Butler for Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
Rating:
This tv is the model that replaced Panasonics 42 inch plasma that won the consumer reports ratings. This one delivers in the same way and is supposed to last longer. It just came out in April 2006 so the price will come down pretty soon.
This is my 1st plasma, but I’m impressed. It is thin, light and bright. Tons of connections in the back, works great with my Tivo, xbox and DVD player. I watched a couple of test movies and was really impressed with the clarity. You see individual waves in the ocean and blades of grass in a field. No problems having it delivered or setting it up.
Works great with regular TV signals and HD. No complaints and highly recommended.
Gary Brim
September 5, 2010
Review by Gary Brim for Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
Rating:
I researched heavily before I made this purchase, and my sentiments favored an LCD TV, but I couldn’t get past the picture superiority of this Panasonic plasma. When the product hit my price point, I ordered through Amazon and after a month I’m very happy with my purchase.
Setup was a snap, and the HDTV picture is perfect from a digital cable feed. I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with the good quality pictures from analog cable channels. Noise reduction on this model works far better than most HDTVs, and if you watch any significant amount of analog cable, you’ll appreciate this.
TV menus are very intuitive, which is good, because the manual is extremely difficult to decipher. I’ve noticed this before on other Panasonic electronics products, and their presentation has gotten worse, not better.
One last comment—you will find a lot of upper end electronics stores trumpeting the 600 series of Panasonic as being superior to the 60 series, but you won’t find the products side-by-side for comparison, in fact you probably won’t even find them in the same store. Compare the pictures and I think you will find that the 600 series has a more luxurious cabinet and a little stronger sound system, but the picture is identical—then decide if the difference is worth several hundred dollars.
Banana Pup
September 5, 2010
Review by Banana Pup for Panasonic TH-42PX60U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
Rating:
HDTV picture is as good as any I’ve seen anywhere, regardless of type or price, and at around $2K this is a great price. As the other reviewer stated, it comes preset to the “vivid” setting which is way too bright. You can select standard (perfect) or cinema (a little dark) but both are much better than the vivid setting. Sound is also great for watching regular TV, although most will have a surround system anyway for concerts/movies, etc. Remote is easy to use and set up only takes a few minutes. I’m getting my HD signal through an HD box, so I can’t comment on how the built-in tuners perform. Only assembly required is to conect the stand which takes about 10 minutes. I would buy this TV again in a second.
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