Panasonic TH42PX80 Review

[Vincent]

Please discuss our Panasonic TH42PX80 review in this forum thread.

Warmest regards
Vincent

[thornton]

The ONE piece of information I wanted from this review was the details of how 24fps playback works. And it is not there!!!

[macTheKnife]

Yes it is ....
"I'm pleased to report that the Panasonic TH42PX80 properly handled 1080p/24 signal from the Sony Playstation 3 without telecine judder, as evidenced from the smoothness of the scrolling opening titles (00:02:18) and end credits, not to mention the numerous slow panning shots in the movie (e.g. when the camera panned left across a skyscraper around 00:10:18). I'm not sure whether this is achieved through 2:2/ 4:4 pulldown or frame interpolation, but it's pretty unlikely to be the latter considering that I didn't witness any "video effect" nor interpolation artefact even in scenes containing incredibly complex structures such as the pyramid-isque headquarters of Tyrell Corporation (00:16:31)."

[eim]

Hello Vincent,
a great review and timely for me, as I am now choosing a 40-42 " flat-panel to replace my 9-year old 28" CTR. The picture on that TV is still great, good colors, perfect motion handling etc, but now looks so small ... in letterbox especially!
I am leaning towards plasma, and the choice is now narrowing between Pioneer PDP4280XA (I live in a cable flat), Panasonic TH42PX80 and LG 42 PG6000. You have not tested the LG but I have read a couple of positive reviews (made in Sweden) and it looks good in the store.
FYI, the prices here (Finland) now are 2000 Eur, 1200 Eur and 1500 Eur respectively, so huge differences.
My main worry in the case of Panasonic and LG is the image retention which you mention "..not as resistant to image retention as the Pioneer ...", so pls give some additional comment:
- how do you rate the risk for permanent burn in the Panasonic? Are burn-in methods recommended and would help?
- how do you rate the image retention risk of the LG, do you have experience on it?
- The Pioneer seems most fool-proof?
It may be a case of " you pays your money and takes your chances"...
rgs
EIM

[Phantoma]

According to the online manual the only preventative Image Retention feature is the lowering of contrast after a few minutes of no activity.  Nothing mentioned about pixel shift.
I think I can live with that.

Here's a direct link to the 42PX80 Manual (20MB)

[rewerb]

Hi Vincent,
Great reviews, Keep the good work going.

How would you rate the SD performance against the PX70 models (37 and 42"). Is it an improvement, or similar?

Thanks.

[humps]

Hi Vincent, I've been lurking on your site for a while. Great and timely review good work as always! I almost bought the TH50PZ70 if not for the 570W power consumption (I'm not about to go as low as LCD, none of them has the PQ of my CRT when it comes to SD). So my biggest concern is the power requirement, I thought Panasonic has been working on lower energy consumption plasma, is that reflected in the 80 series?

In the end, I might end up with the Pioneer 4280 as it looks like the current Kuro will be best PQ for at least a couple of years until Pioneer takes the next gen panels from Panasonic in late 2009. What do you think? Will the PZ80/85 be better than Kuro? I'm not too fuzzy on 1080p if the picture is that good on the Kuro.

[parrastaka]

1.- As far as the user manual go (http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/TH42PZ85U.PDF), I've been informed that these are the consumptions for the PZ85 series:
42"- 573 w
46"- 628 w
50"- 690 w
Which I find extremely high. Is this true? Which are the normal consumption ratios for a similar size plasma?

2.- Also, I am concerned about screen burn chance and image retention frequency. Vincent recommends following the 200h process to avoid these problems, and I would do so, just in case. But how high is the chance for it to happen? Also, if you get a 5 year warranty does it cover this risk?

However, and personally, after being about to buy a Sony KDL 46W3000 I will now wait to see the Panasonic TH-46PZ85. Pioneer's 50'' model is too large for me, and too expensive. The feeling a plasma gives for watching movies and sports makes me think of the Panasonic 46'' model which perfectly fits my size/distance needs.

Thanks for the review.

[Phantoma]

So my biggest concern is the power requirement, I thought Panasonic has been working on lower energy consumption plasma, is that reflected in the 80 series?

That statement by Panasonic about lower power consumption and brightness levels competing with LCDs was referring to the next gen sets. .e.g. PX90/PZ90.

1.- As far as the user manual go (http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/TH42PZ85U.PDF), I've been informed that these are the consumptions for the PZ85 series:
42"- 573 w
46"- 628 w
50"- 690 w
Which I find extremely high. Is this true? Which are the normal consumption ratios for a similar size plasma?

Wow, they're getting pretty high now.  My 36" Sony WS CRT uses 175W, according to the manual.

Btw, I had a quick look at the PZ85 manual you posted and the PZ85's have Pixel Orbiter (pixel shift) and a Scrolling White Bar when showing a black screen with no signal, as well as a Screen Saver when TV is paused while using the SD card slot picture viewer.  Not bad eh?? 

[parrastaka]

Yeah! thumbs up!

On the other hand, I discussed in other forums the power consumption issue and it seems that the ratios I posted are maximum consumption ratios i.e. the average ratio for 42PZ85 would be 350w, much more reasonable a ratio than the other one I posted before. Still, more than a LCD, but it's more or less the same ratio as those in 42PZ70.

I have other question for Vincent: in the review you stated that there are no possibilities to make your own input configs and save them, only you have 4 possible input configurations. But do you have freedom to modify those? I mean can you do:

Dynamic - make a preset for gaming
Normal - make a preset for TV
Cinema - make a preset for DVD/BD
Eco - make another preset for TV or whatever

That should be enough, if you can edit as much as you want...

[rewerb]

Are the HDMI on version 1.3 or 1.2??

[Vincent]

- how do you rate the risk for permanent burn in the Panasonic? Are burn-in methods recommended and would help?
- how do you rate the image retention risk of the LG, do you have experience on it?
- The Pioneer seems most fool-proof?

As long as you take the correct precautions, you can avoid permanent screenburn on the Panasonic. I haven't tested any LG plasma, but all the Pioneer Kuros I've reviewed were the plasma televisions that were most resistant to image retention/ screenburn.

How would you rate the SD performance against the PX70 models (37 and 42"). Is it an improvement, or similar?

Scaling is similar, but video mode deinterlacing (jaggies reduction) is better on the PX80 than the PX70.

In the end, I might end up with the Pioneer 4280 as it looks like the current Kuro will be best PQ for at least a couple of years until Pioneer takes the next gen panels from Panasonic in late 2009. What do you think? Will the PZ80/85 be better than Kuro? I'm not too fuzzy on 1080p if the picture is that good on the Kuro.

It is going to be extremely difficult for any other plasma panel to match the overall picture quality of the Kuro, let alone beat it. However,
a PZ80/ PZ85 will almost certainly offer a sharper picture (due to 1920x1080 native resolution) at perhaps a cheaper price than the Pioneer PDP-4280XD.

Also, I am concerned about screen burn chance and image retention frequency. Vincent recommends following the 200h process to avoid these problems, and I would do so, just in case. But how high is the chance for it to happen? Also, if you get a 5 year warranty does it cover this risk?

As far as I'm aware, no warranty covers permanent screenburn. But with all the correct precautions, you can minimise the risk to zero.

In the review you stated that there are no possibilities to make your own input configs and save them, only you have 4 possible input configurations. But do you have freedom to modify those? I mean can you do:

Dynamic - make a preset for gaming
Normal - make a preset for TV
Cinema - make a preset for DVD/BD
Eco - make another preset for TV or whatever

That should be enough, if you can edit as much as you want...

Yes you can do that, i.e. assigning a picture preset, each with different settings, to different inputs. However, be aware that there are some hardcoded elements inside each picture preset that you cannot change. For example, [Cinema] mode will give the best overall gamma configuration; [Eco] mode will generally be darker due to lower power consumption, etc.

Are the HDMI on version 1.3 or 1.2??

To be honest, I'm not sure because I don't have a Deep Colour source (which is still not widely available anyway) to test it. However, I normally assume that if HDMI 1.3 is not advertised specifically in the specification sheet, then it's HDMI 1.2 until proven otherwise.

Warmest regards
Vincent

[pavi]

1.- As far as the user manual go (http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/TH42PZ85U.PDF), I've been informed that these are the consumptions for the PZ85 series:
42"- 573 w
46"- 628 w
50"- 690 w
Which I find extremely high. Is this true? Which are the normal consumption ratios for a similar size plasma?

I dont know why US consumption is always showing more. From other source i found that 42PZ85 consumes 385W. Real life average consumption should be however lower than 385W

2.- Also, I am concerned about screen burn chance and image retention frequency. Vincent recommends following the 200h process to avoid these problems, and I would do so, just in case. But how high is the chance for it to happen? Also, if you get a 5 year warranty does it cover this risk?

However, and personally, after being about to buy a Sony KDL 46W3000 I will now wait to see the Panasonic TH-46PZ85. Pioneer's 50'' model is too large for me, and too expensive. The feeling a plasma gives for watching movies and sports makes me think of the Panasonic 46'' model which perfectly fits my size/distance needs.

Thanks for the review.

There is never a guarantee, first 200 hours are crucial to avoid the probability of rentension. And, no, warranties dont cover screenburns. I have also migrated from W3000 to Plasma, especially PZ85 and yes it should be a good choice

[parrastaka]

thanx for the replies... no screenburn warranty, no warranty if you break it... but what does the guarantee cover then? and is it then interesting to get the 5 year warranty offered by Panasonic anymore?

Thanks again.

[pavi]

thanx for the replies... no screenburn warranty, no warranty if you break it... but what does the guarantee cover then? and is it then interesting to get the 5 year warranty offered by Panasonic anymore?

Thanks again.

Think again! If you have a brand new car with 2 year warranty and you have your front windshield broken, is that covered by the warranty?

Its the same with TVs aswell. If there is any problems with the functionality that the television has, its covered fully under warranty