Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Review by R. Reuben for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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If you are anything like me when trying to decide on which flat screen TV to buy, let me just say that you will not go wrong by choosing this 46″ Panasonic plasma TV. I spent several days and multiple trips to electronic stores before getting this one. I have had the TV for nearly a month now and here’s what I think:

Pros:

1. Fantastic contrast ratio – sometimes can even get too dark for my liking! (level of contrast can be adjusted via menu options)

2. Very handy 15 pin PC connection (I use this very often to view online movies and documentaries)

3. Very good color rendering. False contouring is minimal and typically only with weaker/lower res. signals

4. Sound is awesome! There appears to be 3 channels/speakers at the bottom of the piece. You have the ability to have surround capability (I do not have a home theater sound system connected).

5. Pixelation during fast motion very minimal (typical for the plasma)

6. Very good inbuilt tuner. I use it to get the off-the-air HD channels, great quality

7. Very good form factor – looks that will please most

8. Wide sturdy base

There are a lot of other features that I have not used as yet but overall, I am really very pleased with what I have seen so far. Note that I have not tried a blu-ray disc with the TV but seeing the quality with the 1080-i quality NCAA games this month has been phenomenal.

Cons:

1. It is my belief that the anti-reflective screen not quite as good as compared to the anti-glare coating the 2007 models had. My experience is based on comparison of bright warehouse lighting reflecting from the 2007 screens and the bright living room I currently have place the 2008 model in. With the anti-reflective screen on the 2008 model, I can see a reflection of myself when the picture is dark or dull and background lighting is moderate. For e.g. even in the nights, when I have a small average intensity lamp burning, I can see a reflection of myself in the screen.

Hard to think of other cons.

I definitely do not regret the PC input option for the $90 extra it cost me! Will add more as the weeks go by but overall a fantastic choice.

Review by G. Laymon for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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I have been researching tv’s for the past 6 months, and finally decided on the 46PZ85U. Prior to purchasing this tv, I bought a Samsung 5084 on clearance. I returned it as it did not perform as I expected, and decided to go with my original choice.

First, the 46 inch screen is perfect. When I began shopping for a tv I was planning to go with a 46 inch lcd because of the size and where I planned to put it, but further research led me to the plasma technology. The 50 inch was a little larger than I wanted and the 42 was too small.

I am extremely satisfied with my purchase as this tv has a picture second to none. I too was concerned about the reflections, but I have this tv in my family room with a lot of windows and it is not an issue.

I have only had it for two days now, so I will list the things I’ve noticed and will post an update after a while.

1. As stated before, the picture quality is amazing. It even looks good on sd channels…but HD channels blow me away. I can’t wait to watch the Masters this weekend.

2. The sound quality is excellent. One of the reasons I returned the Samsung is because its sound quality was horrible. While I have a stereo with surround sound set up, I do not want to turn on the stereo for day to day viewing…only when watching movies.

3. The additional inputs are hidden on the sides…but easily accessable. One reason I opted for the 85U instead of the 80U is the location of these inputs. They are behind a hidden door on the 80U in the front of the tv…I have two small children and imagined this door being broken off within a week.

4. The layout and the clean looking bezel make this a very attractive tv. My wife liked that since it is in our family room.

I will post an update to this review once I enjoy the tv a little longer. For now, I am completely satisfied with my purchase.

Update (6/1/08)…after owning this tv for a few months, I am completely happy with this purchase. The picture is amazing, sounds great, and it is everything I expected.

Review by WWII Buff for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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I ordered this TV after doing a lot of online research and a little in-store research (to look at the picture quality in person). I basically followed the advice of many different reviews and decided to buy a Samsung LCD or a Panasonic Plasma. I finally picked a plasma because of the black colouration advantage of Panasonic as well as the fast action. My room is about normal in terms of lighting.

After doing price research, Amazon had the best price as it included white glove delivery. I found you need to be careful with the delivery issue as you can find lower price TV’s online, but then the delivery services are very different in terms of service level and price.

The delivery was great. However, the TV comes with a stand (it slides into the back of the TV) but the delivery guys won’t put the TV on the stand for you. Attaching the stand to the TV was easy and then subsequent set up to my DVD and cable boxes was very easy.

The picture quality is awesome. With digital HD cable service, it blows me away. (Even the service guy from the cable company was impressed the TV – so that must be a good sign!) I have had it for about a month, and everything is working fine.

The one thing that is disappointing is the remote. My whole set up is JVC, and the Panasonic remote will not control any of my components. The Owner’s Manual lists a ton of codes to try, but none of them work, and unfortunately my JVC remotes won’t work the Panasonic TV. However, my Tivo remote does control the TV so the multiple-remote issue only comes into play with my DVD player.

Make sure you buy the right cables. The HDMI is by far the best picture (for my Tivo). I use the component cables (Y, Pb, Pr) for my DVD – and they perform better than the other audio/video/S video option. You can get cables cheap here at Amazon, so buy them with the TV, then you won’t need to run around and pay through the nose at your local store when the TV shows up!

I hope this helps someone. This is a great TV. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Review by Ronald Epstein for Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert in being able to pick and choose television displays. I run a Home Theater website, have gone to numerous consumer electronic shows, and have been very critical in the type of display I choose for myself, family and friends.

For the past few years I have owned a 1080p DLP display.

This year my brothers and I wanted to buy our Mother her very first flat panel display. It was a very difficult choice as to what we should pick. Her living room is surrounded by windows and for that reason, I felt that an LCD display would be the better choice. LCD screens do not reflect light in the manner that plasma does.

So, we went out and bought the Sony KDL-40V4100 40″ LCD television (see my review on Amazon). Unfortunately, the display was defective out of the box and it had to be returned. I did have the opportunity to do a bit of viewing with the LCD and I was not particularly happy with what I saw. The LCD picture exhibited jagged motion and decreased quality when viewing from an angle. These are all problems inherent with LCD technology.

We knew we had to exchange the defective set, and made the choice to go plasma instead, despite knowing there were a few drawbacks with that technology.

It was my decision to go with Panasonic. Having attended consumer electronic shows year after year, I have had the opportunity to measure Panasonic plasma quality against other manufacturers. The best plasma displays come from Pioneer, Panasonic and Samsung. If you factor in price, Panasonic gives you best bang for the buck. Their plasma displays offer superior quality at a price that will not break your pocketbook.

We went with a 46″ this time around, and picked up the TH46PZ85U.

Setup of the the display took the efforts of two people. Weighing in at about 82 pounds, it’s nearly impossible for one person to assemble the stand, slide it into the bottom of the display and then place it on a stand or wall.

The display is very attractive with its black piano finish. Within a day we noticed that this baby is a dust magnet. It will be necessary to continually clean it in order for it to keep its sheen. A small cleaning cloth is included in the box.

The TH46PZ85U offers 3 HDMI inputs which is more than enough to hook up a cable box, DVD/Blu-ray player and whatever else you wish to add.

By far, plasma displays are the best choice for overall picture quality. They offer better color reproduction and saturation as well as deep blacks, which give the picture texture. LCD displays don’t come quite as close. If this purchase was for me, I would have immediately picked a plasma. The big reason we decided not to pick plasma as our choice of display for our Mother, was the fact that plasma displays have to babied. You need to take careful steps in order to prevent any long-term damage.

For the first 100 hours of use you need to bring down the picture and brightness levels considerably. Put the display in CINEMA MODE with PICTURE and BRIGHTNESS at 50 or less. You also need to mix up your television watching not letting the display sit for hours on material with black bars on the top and bottom or sides. Doing this will prevent any possibility of “burn-in.” After the initial 100 hour break-in you can bring up your picture levels again.

Television manufacturers claim that “burn-in” is no longer a problem with plasmas, but it does pay to stay on the side of caution. You can do a GOOGLE search to learn more about plasma “burn-in.”

So, let me get to the meat of this review and talk about the picture quality of the TH46PZ85U.

In a word, the picture is REMARKABLE. We are breaking in the television at the moment so its settings are turned down below normal. Though I was not viewing the Panasonic in optimal calibrated settings, I was still impressed with the improved picture quality over LCD. The image was morefilm-like, with natural and relaxed colors. Though I was surprised by the quality of the black levels on the LCD display, they were noticeably better on this plasma. Looking at a picture on a plasma is very much looking at a deeply

detailed painting. I never got that feeling watching LCD.

Since we were not hooking the TH46PZ85U to a surround system, we relied on the built-in speakers which offered remarkably full audio. The advanced sound settings allows you to tweak the treble and bass levels, with an optional bass booster setting. Sound was quite good, though as I applied more bass the audio became distorted at louder levels.

Reflection on a plasma display can be a problem. I did find when watching the Panasonic at night that all lights in the living room needed to be off if we didn’t want to catch a distracting reflection. During the day, sitting in a room surrounded by windows, we did get get lines on the television from sunlight creeping in through open blinds.

These are factors you should consider when picking plasma over LCD. The Panasonic display does have an anti-reflective screen which works fairly well for daytime viewing. Honestly, I suppose the reflections we saw could have been far worse. We were easily able to watch television during the day without being distracted.

Having the ability to view LCD and PLASMA in my home was a huge learning experience. I learned that LCD is perfect for those that don’t want the hassle of having to baby their display, and having a hugely bright picture in their sunny room without the fear of reflection. The only downsides to LCD is its ability to handle fast moving motion and decreased quality at certain viewing angles.

If you want the very best quality that these type of flat panel displays offer, you want to go PLASMA. Hands down, they offer rich, natural colors with deep black levels. The only downsides are reflection and the fact that caution must be taken in the way you watch television.

The Panasonic TH46PZ85U exhibits picture quality that is nothing short of nirvana. You will be amazed by its ability to deliver uncompromising picture quality to your home.