Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

With its 2008 Panasonic Viera Plasmas, Panasonic brings anastonishing 1,000,000:1 contrast ration to the table. advanced pixel resolution and image-processing technology with the plasma TV's natural ability to beautifully reproduce fast moving images, so every detail is rendered with amazing clarity, and all the action is delivered with a high degree of fluidity.

What's New This Year?

Super Contrast--native contrast ratios on the PZ85, PZ800 and PX 850 series are 30,000:1, double last year's 15,000:1.
Dynamic contrast ratios are up to 1,000,000:1.
new anti-reflective filter; lead-free "Tough Under Force" panel is resistant to impacts and scratches
Built-in SD card slot with Photo Viewer/Gallery Player software
x.v. Color and Deep Color (HDMI 1.3 features)
Game Mode auto-adjusts image quality suitable to games and includes anti-image retention
Viera Link is now compatible with Onkyo and Yamaha home theater systems
At least 3 HDMI inputs on all models (4 on PZ800 and PZ850 series)
THX Certification on PZ800 and PZ850 series

Which Viera is Right For You?

Click here to see a comparison of step up features on each Viera series.

Amazing color reproduction

The incredible black reproduction of a Panasonic High-Definition Plasma TV results in impressive contrast and beautiful, natural colors. So you'll get warm, accurate skin tones, gorgeous greens, breathtaking blues and vivid reds. For color that's as rich and bold as life itself, look to a Panasonic Plasma TV.

Consistent brightness from any angle

A Panasonic Plasma combines anti-glare and anti-reflection technology with the natural light-emitting properties of plasma, to give you a super-wide viewing range with a crisp, beautiful image from almost any angle.

Smooth, graceful motion

When you're watching sports or movies with fast-motion graphics, you want a TV that can keep up with the action. With over 900 lines of moving picture, self-illuminating plasma displays eliminate afterimages in fast-action scenes. So whether you're watching a sporting event or an action-packed movie, you'll always get the most impressive viewing experience possible.

1,000,000:1 Contrast

The Panasonic's Real Black system (a pre-discharge suppression system) and improved panel production processes combine to reproduce outstanding blacks with superb contrast. Each image is richly expressive, from bright scense, like scorching desert landscapes, to dark cave scenes. Compare the image produced by conventional HDTV on the left to the Real Black image produced on the right

More Colors

Viera HDTVs support the xvYCC color profile (Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications), or "x.v. color" for short. Standard RGB color space allows the display of a portion of the colors that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation "xvYCC" color space actually offers an available range of colors that exceeds what human eyes can recognize.

Next-generation "xvYCC" color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors

Deep Color

Where x.v. color expands the available range of colors your HDTV can display, Deep Color increases the number of colors your HDTV can display within that range, for smoother transitions from color to color.

Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors
Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors
Enables increased contrast ratio
Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white.

Connectivity

Viera flat panel HDTVs interact with an array of high-definition devices and services, making it easy for consumers to access and enjoy content as never before. As of 2008, Viera Link is compatible with Onkyo and Yamaha home theater systems.

Videos and stills recorded on SD cards can easily be viewed via the SD slots on Panasonic Blu-Ray Disc players and Viera HDTVs.	Viera Link means easy connectivity via HDMI cables. Finally, consumers can easily operate their Blu-Ray Disc players, DVD recorders and home theater systems with a single remote control device.


4 HDMI inputs to connect all of your devices directly to your television.	Equipped with an RGB input terminal, VIERA can connect with your PC and serve as a large-screen monitor.

Long Life

Panasonic plasma panels are rated to last 100,000 hours, which is about 30 years of regular or 11 years of non-stop usage before the brightness of the display is halved.

Get Full HD with Blu-Ray Disc Players

A Panasonic 1080p plasma television is able to render 1920x1080 pixels, but standard DVDs have a resolution of just 720x480. Blu-ray discs output true 1080p High-Definition resolution and have a storage capacity ten times greater than standard DVDs, so no pixel gos to waste.

Which is the Right Viera for You?

	Screen Size Measured Diagonally	1080p Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels	Native Contrast Ratio	PC Input	THX Cert	24p	Speakers	HDMI Inputs	One Sheet of Glass Design	Swivel Base	Shades of Gradation	H.264 Codec	Digital Cinema Color	Studio Reference Mode	Pro Setting Menu	Serial Port	Standard Features
TH-42PX80U	42 inches		15,000:1				2	3			4,096						480 Hz Sub-field Drive Technology Anti-Reflective Filter Viera Link HDAVI Control Built-in SD Card Slot w/Photo Viewer Deep Color Technology x.v. Color 3D Color Mangement Sub-Pixel Controller Motion Pattern Noise Reduction Anti-Image Retention Mode Game Mode Scratch and Impact Rsistant Panel 100,000 Hours to Panel Half-Brightness (>30 years @ 8 hours/day) Lead-free Panel
TH-50PX80U	50 inches		15,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-42PZ80U	42 inches		20,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-46PZ80U	46 inches		20,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-50PZ80U	50 inches		20,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-42PZ85U	42 inches		30,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-46PZ85U	46 inches		30,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-50PZ85U	50 inches		30,000:1				2	3			4,096
TH-42PZ800U	42 inches		30,000:1				4	4			4,096
TH-46PZ800U	46 inches		30,000:1				4	4			4,096
TH-50PZ800U	50 inches		30,000:1				4	4			4,096
TH-58PZ800U	58 inches		30,000:1				4	4			4,096
TH-46PZ850U	46 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-50PZ850U	50 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-58PZ850U	58 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120
TH-65PZ850U	65 inches		30,000:1				4	4			5,120

42" widescreen HDTV (16:9 aspect ratio) * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) *

Review by Srikanth Gaddam from johnson city, TN:

I bought this TV on amazon for 800$ shipping for 80 $ sold by tigerdirect. I love this TV. Connected it to my gateway desktop through HDMI...Using this TV now as monitor while typing this review....I am not an avid movie watcher/gamer but movies are really amazing on this TV...I watch a lot of online stream videos which are also very good on this TV....I basically bought this as I was getting it for less and I always wanted a 1080p plasma...everything turned out to be very impressive and I am very happy that I bought this TV!!! To be frank I do not have cable TV yet, I am more than happy using this TV just as a monitor...

Review by Harvest from NJ United States:

Just purchased this TV this week, and so far I'm very pleased. The picture is beautiful and I don't even have HD yet, watching in 420 standard. So far I have had no glare problems and the TV sits in front of a big picture window. I ordered from 6th Ave and had the TV in my house in 1 day! I am impressed with the sound quality without any external speakers hooked up yet either. Just turn up the bass and it very close to surround sound. Looking forward to seeing how HD will look on this. I read a lot about this TV before purchasing and only found good reviews. I'll update after HD satellite receiver is installed.

Review by Star Freight Service from :

This is my first HDTV and I could not be happier- it is
everything I wanted and more, could never revert to
watching anything else.

Review by AlexVegas from NV, USA:

We are very pleased with this new Panasonic HD plasma.
After we ordered it at Amazon, it was delivered at our house only five days later! at the hours scheduled!! Bravo, what a service!
The TV is simple and clean look and provide beautiful HD image BUT it is not so great with the standard 480 definition.
So, only for HD viewing or HD movies. Perfect with DirecTV HD channels!
I heard it might be worth it to do a color calibration on this plasma after at least 200h...

Review by J. Herrmann from NV United States:

I spent months pouring over which TV to get. I never really considered an LCD, so the choice was between plasma, and DLP. I finally settled on plasma. I have always had great luck with Panasonic. My last 3 Tv's are Panasonic, my DVD player is Panasonic, etc,etc...
After reading the reviews on this set, and looking at it at Costco. I took the plunge and bought it here at Amazon. The free shipping and no sales tax made it an even better deal.
I have had it set up for a day so far, but I am really happy with it.
Picture is very nice. Sound is good. I don't have surround or home theater just the stock speakers. They work great! I don't have HD programing yet. That comes in 2 days, so I can't comment on the HD broadcasting picture. But I do have an up converting DVD player on it, and the picture is really good. I know it is not true HD. '
Set up was supper easy. I am an IT administrator so I am used setting up tech gadgets. But really anyone would find this easy. There was (3) cables for me to plug in. Sat feed cable, power plug, and the HDMI to the DVD player. Really can't get much simpler.
On screen setup was cake. The Viera link worked as advertised with the up converting DVD player(Panasonic model S54).
I don't get teh glare issues on the screen some report due to where it is setup in my living room.
One point of caution use (2) people to life it into its spot. Its not heavy, but the shape makes it difficult for one person to do. Don't need to go dropping your new $1000 tv.
I know some reviewers had "issues" with Ceva logistics on the delivery.
The local branch in Reno did a good job by me. I had no issues what so ever.
It is hard to know when you read a review if the writer of the review knows what they are talking about. OR are bias one way or the other before actually dealing with the item reviewed. So take what I say as my
opinion. Do your own research to find if it works for you.

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