Panasonic TH42PZ80U

The heart of any good home theater setup is the TV. I wanted something big enough to view letterboxed movies without reducing the viewable area to a thin ribbon on the screen. When I was given a chance to review and subsequently keep a plasma high definition television my viewing habits changed forever. having grown up with standard definition I was amazed at the resolution of this set. It not only allowed me to get the most out of my growing collection of Blu-ray titles and move up to HD cable it made all of my regular DVDs and programs look fantastically better. When moving up to any high definition format you do have to make some changes in how you put together your system. For the best video try to use HDMI connectors. If that doesn't work for you go to component video connectors. This set replaced an older standard definition rear projection TV. That was a huge piece of furniture that commanded the whole living room. This set is thin, three inches, and can easily be mounted on the wall.

Just a word about setting up this or any high definition television. If you are opting for a wall mounting get a professional to do it. You can not only damage the wall and your new TV but your spouse is going to be very angry with plaster and broken glass all over the room. This set was easy to set up with the included pedestal. There are two well constructed metal poles included that attach the pedestal to the set. One great idea from Panasonic is they cannot be placed incorrectly. The bases are slightly different shape so the right and left poles are properly aligned. it takes four screws in the base and four in the television for each side.

The set is pretty much ready to go right out of the box. I just connected the HDMI connector to my HD cable and Blu-ray player and I was good to go. It is strongly recommended to get a good high definition calibration Blu-ray DVD such as Video Essentials to fine tune the set for your room. Also, for the first hundred hours or so of use set the contrast lower than normal to help prevent burn in of the pixels. the difference in clarity, color balance and brightness over a conventional television is incredible.

Specifications:

42" Class (41.6" Diagonal) Widescreen VIERA Plasma 1080p HDTV with New Anti-Reflective Filter, Deep Color Technology, Game Mode, Built-In SD Card Slot/GalleryPlayer Ready to View, 3 HDMI Inputs and VIERA Link HDAVI Control
VIDEO:
Screen Size 42" Class (41.6" diagonal)
Display Resolution 1080p
Contrast Ratio Native: 20,000:1
Dynamic: 1,000,000:1
Compatible Signal Formats 1080p/1080i/720p/480p/480i
Aspect Ratio 16:9 (Widescreen)
Shades of Gradation 4,096
Pixel Pitch (H x V) 0.480 x 0.480 mm
Panel Type G11 Progressive 1080p HD Plasma Display Panel
Aspect Control for TV/AV Modes 4:3, Zoom, Full, Just, H-Fill
Native Resolution (Number of Pixels) 1920 x 1080
Moving Picture Resolution 900 lines or more
Progressive Scan Yes
Video Noise Reduction Yes
Digital Comb Filter Motion Adaptive 3D-Y/C
Color Purity Optimizer (3D Color Management) Yes
Sub-Pixel Controller Yes
Motion Pattern Noise Reduction Yes
Studio Ref. Mode No
Pro Setting No
Digital Cinema Reality Yes
480 Hz Sub-field Drive Yes
24p Playback(2:3) Yes
Deep Color Yes
x.v.Color Yes

AUDIO:
Speakers Full-range x 2 (L,R)
Number of Speakers 2
Audio Ouput 20W (10% THD) (8 ohms, 70Hz-17kHz)
Surround Sound Yes
BBE® ViVA HD3D Sound No

INPUT/OUTPUT:
Tuners Integrated ATSC
Photo Viewer Yes
SD Card Slot Yes
HDMI Input 3 (1 front)
Analog Audio Input (for HDMI) 2
Composite Video Input 2 (1 front)
S-Video Input 2 (1 front)
Audio Input (for Video) 2 (1 front)
PC Input (RGB-VGA) No
Audio Input (for PC) No
Component Video Input [Y, PB(CB), PR(CR)] 2
Audio Input (for Component Video) 2
Composite Video Output 1
Audio Output 1
Digital Audio Out 1

CONVENIENCE:
VIERA Link Yes
Game Mode Yes
Pixel Shifter (Anti-Image Retention) Yes
Video Picture Memory Yes
On-Screen Display Languages English/Spanish/French
V-Chip Program Lockout Yes
Built-In Closed Caption Decoder Yes
Timers - Sleep/On/Off Yes
Video Input Labeling Yes

GENERAL:
Power Supply AC 120 V, 60 Hz
Power Consumption 573 W
Safety Standard UL6500/C-UL
Receiving System ATSC/QAM/NTSC
Operating Temperature 32°F - 104°F
Pedestal Stand Included (TBLX0036)
Remote Control Included
Screen Coating (Filter) New AR (Anti-Reflective) Filter
Dimensions (H x W x D) w/Stand 28.6" x 41.3" x 12.9"
Weight (lbs.) w/Stand 70.6 lbs
Dimensions (H x W x D) 26.7'' x 41.3'' x 3.7''
Weight 66.1 lbs