Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ850U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Review by Maryann for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ850U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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I bought this TV at Best Buy and paid quite a bit more for it than what you see here. I am thrilled with this TV and is quite a bargain on Amazon. I have cable and a DVD with HDMI and it was a snap to connect and start watching from the get-go.

It is a beautiful TV, and now I am addicted to the larger size widescreen HDTV’s. The 800 series of this TV is excellent, and has the best sound ever. No need for a home theatre, DVD and Blu Ray plays BEAUTIFULLY. I bought the expensive calibration service which I think was a waste of money, as the TV is easy to adjust right out of the box. I have my own perferences, and after it was calibrated, I never even used the Custom setting (that is where they put the “calibrated” settings) and went back to my own “Standard” settings after the calibration. I turned off the NR setting, put the black level to “light” and turned off the C.A.T.S. settings on the “Picture” menu. Keeping the black level to “light” and turning off C.A.T.S setting makes a big difference in the clarity of the picture, and makes the adjustment of brightness and contrast more accurate. It takes a bit of fussing, but you can get a perfect picture, all by yourself. I love this TV, and plan to buy a 800 series in the 50 inch, also. Both these series are pretty future proof, and will probably be the last TV’s I buy.

I have read that keeping the Contrast and Brightness down to 50 for about 30 days before revving it up any higher will “prime” the TV and actually make it last longer. The 800 series of the Panasonic Plasma has my highest recommendation.

P.S. Be aware that there is some reflection issues with the larger TV, just because they are able to reflect things like lamps over a broader space. This is the nature of big screen TV’s I am afraid. However, I have a Sony LCD (the best) and I still prefer the Plasma..far better picture.

Just wanted to give an (May 28, 2009)update on my opinion of this TV. It has stayed the same. I still love it. I have changed my mind about getting a calibration done, and I think it is worth the extra bucks to get a professional calibration. I was wrong about that, the TV does play better after a calibration. I bought a second Panasonic Plasma the TH 50PZ800U through Amazon, which was a great buy, and excellent white glove delivery. I wanted the 800U in the 50 inch for my living room and the reviews for the 800U (with THX) was higher than the 850U. However, I prefer the 850U model over the “certified THX” 800U, and I also prefer the 46″ over the 50″ size. The 850U has special professional adjustment features, and I think the picture is sharper on the 46″. So if you think bigger is better, that is not always so, but it always comes down to your own personal needs and preferences. I also bought a Panasonic BMP BD50 model of Blu Ray disk players. Blu Ray is excellent on both Panasonic models. The Panasonic Blu Ray player is very good, but I plan to replace it with a Oppo Blu Ray player when it is released. The Panasonic Blu Ray 1080p upscaling for standard DVD’s could be better, so I plan to replace with an Oppo brand.

Review by Horace’sWorld for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ850U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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When this model first came out over a year ago I dreamed about owning it. At the time it was selling for nearly three thousand dollars, which was significantly more than I wanted to pay for “another TV”. The feature set was amazing and the spec were literally second to none – That includes Pioneer. After a year of continuous shopping the price for this TV dropped to twelve-hundred dollars on Amazon. that was less than the average Vizio. Looking at what they did to the newer models I doubt the good times will ever be back again.

1. The 850U model includes a Studio reference mode which is infinitely configurable. Few Plasma TV’s have this capability accept for the highest end models. To get this capability on the latest Panasonic models cost thousands more.

2. The 850U comes with an SDHC video card reader. This is huge. I plan on buying one of the latest HD camcorders which all output to the latest AVCHD format. Panasonic is the only manufacturer doing this, and the new models don’t offer this feature until you pay thousands more.

3. The 850U may be an energy hog, but i think all things are relative here. For me it may amount to another 1-2 dollars per month, despite being half as efficient as the newer models. On the up side, the older models look richer and can be turned up as bright as necessary. This is very important in bright rooms that have alot of reflection. The over-heating discussion is bogus. My TV is in an enclosed cabinet (with venting slits in the back) and it barely gets warm. Absolutely no big deal at all. In fact it emits less heat than my Pioneer that’s only 42″.

4. The picture quality on this set is much better than my Samsung that is also 46″ (LN-T4665F). The off angle viewing on the Panasonic is fantastic. There is no fading or distortion at all on the Panasonic. The screen is perfectly uniform. The samsung is way too faded from the same off-angle viewing positions. I will say that the blacks are about the same, but the overall color saturation on the Panasonic is much better.

5. All the little things like quickly getting to the proper input mode, back lighting for the remote, and saving settings are all much better on the Panasonic. Also, I LOVE THE FACT THAT PANASONIC HAS A FRONT PANEL SLOT FOR INPUTS AND ATTACHMENTS AND NOT THE SIDE OR BACK OF THE SET. my cabinet is 47 inches wide. I can’t insert anything on the Pioneer or Samsung because of this problem. twisting the sets all the way around to reach the back (in darkness) is too problematic. panasonic reolved this problem (huge benefit). I now have wall mounted the Samsung and the problem still exist. By the time you swing the TV 2.5 feet away from the wall the power chord and HDMI chord diconnect, because they are not long enough.

6. The Viera Cast is cool, particularly if they beef up the content in the future. Watching UTube on full screen is different. better to have it than not have it.

7. The single pane of glass makes this one of the nicest looking TVs on the market – no joke. I actually don’t think I noticed how thin the facing bezel is until I hung it on the wall. It looks great off – like a work of art.

8. Its now discontinued, but for the feature set and price, it has all the bells and whistles of the plasma’s that cost much more money. panasonics vision now is to find a way to make the energy efficient models look as rich as the energy hogs, which is going to drive the price much highr. No need to pay for their R&D when the set is not going to look any better on the screen. The other thing Panasonic wants you to pay for is the side thickness (from 4 inches to 1 inch). Admittedly it looks cool (only from the side), but you will pay more money to get the same features in a smaller case. The picture is not better, but the thickness is thinner. Again the cost is much higher.

I love this set. I now own the Panasonic, Pioneer and Samsung. My life is complete.

Review by Kyle R. Schafer for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ850U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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I was initially skeptical about buying Plasma because of the things I had read about them (e.g. high power consumption, short lifespan). I can’t speak of the lifespan of this tv (100,000 hours to 1/2 brightness according to Panasonic) since I have had it for only 2 months, but I have been monitoring the electrical consumption. There are 5 preset picture modes: Vivid, Standard, Studio Reference, Game, and Custom. Respectively, at widescreen and on factory settings, they consume approximately 400, 175, 250, 375, and 325 Watts. Thankfully, the picture modes are saved for whichever input you use; I keep the tv and game inputs set on Game, and the Blu-ray player set to Studio Reference. You can adjust each of these modes individually by picture, brightness, color, tint, and sharpness. The stock speakers were surprisingly good with coverage even to deeper bass however, it is extremely directional. After initial setup, I brought a pair of bookshelves on each side of the tv only to find that the audio sounded as if it were coming through a tunnel. This has no bearing on me since I have built a pair of external speakers for surround sound, though if you intend to use the standard speakers, just be sure to leave enough room on either side of the tv. Blu-ray playback is absolutely gorgeous! It is crisp and clear, contrasty, and quite bright. There is no ghosting, and the supposed 480 Hz technology is worlds better than the 120 Hz you see on LCDs, it looks natural and cinematic, and I am extremely pleased. On a final note, my Harmony remote has some trouble switching between the video inputs, so I keep the standard remote out just in case.

Review by Eric L. Erickson for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ850U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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After much research & pondering about “justifying the expense”, I decided on the Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ850U. I really love this TV — it was easy to setup, & I “calibrated” it myself using the THX program on one of my “Star Wars” DVD’s. The picture is unreal with any sort of HD input. I’m a bit disappointed in the “standard TV reception”, even though I was warned to expect that. If I had to do it again, I might have waited until the new Panasonic TV’s were available because they actually have a THX Mode (so do the Panasonic PZ800U’s, but they also lack some of the features that the 850’s have).

The delivery from Amazon was exceptionally prompt — only took about 5 days from the time I placed my order (about 5 days ahead of schedule). The guy that delivered it assisted me in the un-boxing & getting it positioned. He didn’t leave until we were both satisfied that the TV was in good working order.

Review by Jill Bazeley for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ850U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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I bought this Panasonic plasma based on the price and the enthusiasm of the other reviewers. My only goal was to replace an old and misbehaving CRT TV in the bedroom and it seemed like the less expensive (than LCD) plasma technology would work reasonably well in the location. We do have several LCD flat panel TVs, including the much-praised Samsung LN52A650. This Panasonic plasma, though smaller, is so much better than the Samsung. I am completely in love! The picture is amazing, almost painterly compared to an LCD, with deep, deep blacks. Of course, high definition looks the best but regular def still looks decent. The images, particularly the high def ones, are incredibly sharp without looking “oversharpened.” I admit I haven’t bothered to tweak the Samsung LN52A650, but it always looks way too sharp to me. The Samsung LCD also sounds terrible, while the Panasonic plasma’s sound reproduction is quite acceptable, considering it’s still just a TV. The viewing angle, as with any plasma, is great. This is a 2008 Panasonic model and comes with Viera Cast, which is received via an ethernet cable. I believe Panasonic’s 2010 Viera models will be wireless, which is better. It is possible, however, to use an ethernet bridge to wirelessly connect this set to a router, as I have done. Viera Cast (on this model) currently includes the ability to rent movies from Amazon, watch YouTube, look at photos on Picasa web albums, and get weather, news, and stock reports. There are also a number of empty content modules (including ones for Twitter and Pandora radio) that are labeled “coming soon.” In terms of appearance, this is a good-looking TV, very black and geometric, but the rectangular base is not as attractive as the newer oval ones. The set does swivel on the base, however, and I’ve noticed that, by and large, the more attractive the base, the less likely it is to swivel. In addition, because of their substantial weight, large plasma TVs are unlikely to perch delicately on a slender stalk. Something strong has to hold them up! This TV comes with a nice, easy-to-read remote, and if you want to watch channel 2, you press the number 2, not 02, which is a nuisance on some remotes. There is a useful, but hidden, panel of connectors on the front for those times when the DVR (or the Wii) is dragged out from under the bed. I have not experienced any problems with “rising” black levels as has been reported on some 2009 Panasonic plasmas. I’m using the “custom” setting with a few tweaks for the picture because, to me, the more specialized settings look unnatural and the “standard” setting, without adjustment, is too dark. The “game” pre-set worked well with the Wii, however. I have not had the set calibrated and, although I have a calibration DVD, have not seen any need to use it.