HDTV Reviews and Digest
Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
- 1920 x 1080 Resolution
- 1000000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for the Brightest whites and darkest blacks
- 5120 Shades of Gradation for spectacular Color Reproduction
- Viera LinK™ HDAVI Control lets you operate all of your home theater components by pressing a single button on your TV’s remote control
- GalleryPlayer® allows you to enjoy the world’s finest high definition art and photography on your Panasonic HD plasma TV
The home-theater concept keeps getting better! The Panasonic TH-50PZ800U 50″ VIERA 1080p Plasma HDTV meets performance benchmarks for both standard and high-definition video, ensuring that all your sources will look their best. Movie fans will love THX Movie Mode, a picture preset that optimizes settings for watching movies on DVD, Blu-ray, and broadcast TV. THX enhancements close the gap between movie screen and TV screen. Progressive Scan Video Noise Reduction Digital Comb Filter – Motion Adaptive 3D-Y/C Color Purity Optimizer (3D Color Management) Sub-Pixel Controller Motion Pattern Noise Reduction Digital Cinema Reality 480 Hz Sub-field Drive 24p Playback (2 – 3) Deep Color x.v.Color Audio Speakers – Full-range x 2 (L, R) Audio Output – 20W (10% THD) (8 ohms, 70Hz-17kHz) Surround Sound VIERA Link Game Mode Pixel Shifter (Anti-Image Retention) Video Picture Memory English, Spanish, French On-Screen Display Languages V-Chip Program Lockout Built-In Closed Caption Decoder AR (Anti-Reflective) Filter Screen Coating Built-in Speaker and Pedestal Stand Inputs and Outputs – SD Card Slot, Composite Video, HDMI Rear Input, Front Input, 1 Analog Audio Rear Output, 6 Rear Input, 1 Front Input, 2 Component Video Rear Input, S-Video Rear Input, and Front Output Dimensions – Height 31.1 x Width 49.0 x Depth 3.7 / 33.2 x 49.0 x 15.2 with stand Weight – 83.8 pounds / 88.2 pounds with standWith its 2008 Panasonic Viera Plasmas, Panasonic brings an astonishing 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio 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)
- 24p native reproduction
- 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.
One Sheet of Glass Design
Beautiful, elegant, and functional — a single pane of glass covers the entire front of the television, including the bezel. This design reduces or eliminates the “halo” effect that can occur around lettering and logos with traditional 3-pane designs
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Amazing color reproductionThe 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. |
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Consistent brightness from any angleA 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. |
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Smooth, graceful motionWhen 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. |
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24p native reproductionMovies are shot at 24 frames per second. Unfortunately, TVs operating at 60Hz can only refresh 20 times per second, which means they must drop every fifth frame. With its 2008 Viera PZ85, PZ800, and PZ850 models, Panasonic introduces 24p native resolution, which means 24 frame per second movie content is reproduced frame for frame exactly, making for true-to-source smoothness of motion. |
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1,000,000:1 ContrastThe 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 |
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More ColorsViera 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.
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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.
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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. |
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| Equipped with an RGB input terminal, VIERA can connect with your PC and serve as a large-screen monitor. | 4 HDMI inputs to connect all of your devices directly to your television. |
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Long LifePanasonic 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. |
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Get Full HD with Blu-Ray Disc PlayersA Panasonic 1080p plasma television is able to render 1920×1080 pixels, but standard DVDs have a resolution of just 720×480. 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 |
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| 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 |
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2 |
3 |
4,096 | ||||||||||
| TH-50PZ85U |
50 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
2 |
3 |
4,096 | ||||||||||
| TH-42PZ800U |
42 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
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4 |
4 |
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4,096 | ||||||
| TH-46PZ800U | 46 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
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4 |
4 |
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4,096 | ||||||
| TH-50PZ800U | 50 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
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4 |
4 |
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4,096 | ||||||
| TH-58PZ800U | 58 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
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4 |
4 |
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4,096 | ||||||
| TH-46PZ850U | 46 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
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4 |
4 |
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5,120 | |
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| TH-50PZ850U | 50 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
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4 |
4 |
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5,120 | |
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| TH-58PZ850U | 58 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
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4 |
4 |
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5,120 | |
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| TH-65PZ850U | 65 inches | |
30,000:1 | |
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4 |
4 |
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5,120 | |
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List Price: $ 2,499.99
Price:
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Panasonic 800 Series HDTV Review & Configuration Help,
My hope is that this review will come across as credible after a brief introduction revealing my technical background. I have been a home theater enthusiast since 1995 and ran a small video and independent film business from 1996 – 2001. This review and check list are based on both personal research and professional experience. If you do not wish to read this entire review, feel free to scroll to the bottom where I have created a systematic checklist that will enable any Panasonic 800 series HDTV to maximize its fullest potential. More specifically, I will attempt to draw upon the televisions abilities when viewing Blu-ray movies which, to date, offer the best HD image quality and upgradeable potential.
If you factor tax and delivery, I bought the TH-50pz800U Plasma for about $700 less than retail and it performs great. The best-upgraded features on 2008/09′s Panasonic 800 series include the 24p playback for Blu-ray movies and 100,000-hour lifespan of the display itself.
Why the 100,000-hour lifespan is important
This feature was a major selling point for me because I wanted a Plasma due to LCD’s poor dark color reproduction but was worried about the shorter lifespan of most Plasma’s which is typically only 30,000 to 70,000 hours. However, this baby specs out at 100,000, which is equal to 8 hours per day for over 34 years. Unheard of for Plasma displays until the 800 series arrived in April.
Why 24p is important
Although this HDTV supports a variety of features that will be better utilized in the next stage of HD technology 24p is here now. Currently only Blu-ray and a variety of high-end camcorders are capable of outputting 24p content. What is 24p? In a nutshell 24p is the frame rate in which images are displayed on your TV or Computer screens. A 24p capable system can display video at 24 frames per second rather than succumbing to display a converted video signal at 30 frames per second. This is important because all Hollywood films are shot and later projected in theaters at 24 frames per second. After theatrical release, studios then convert their films to 30 frames per second and ship them to the home video markets as well as television broadcast networks. This conversion process is known as 3:2 pull down and it means that you ultimately lose several frames as they are blended together to display at 30 frames per second. This is why you sometimes will not see smooth motion when you fast forward or rewind DVD’s. Once a Blu-ray begins, be sure to use your TV remote to enter the advanced custom picture options and select 48Hz (a factor of 24) rather than 60Hz under the “24p Direct In” field. The instructions to set this up are included in the checklist at the end of this article. At first, you may notice a slight flicker but after your eyes adjust, you will feel as though a State of the Art film projector is rolling your favorite movies right in your living room. When you are done with 24p content, the TV will switch back to 30 frames per second (60Hz) automatically.
Future Proof
The other features available with the 800 series Panasonic’s are intriguing but will not be able to dazzle you until media technology catches up. For example, this TV supports Deep Color, which is technically the next step up from True Color. True Color is the color depth standard that has been output to computer displays for years. Deep Color enables many more variations of color. Unfortunately, nothing on the market except for a few high-end camcorders output images utilizing this advanced color pallet. It is safe to assume that Blu-ray movies will do so in the future because of there massive storage capabilities. For PS3 owners you will need to turn on the “Super-White” feature under “Display Settings” to enable this functionality. It took a bit of research but essentially “Super-White” is Sony’s name for Deep Color. Again, detailed instructions for setting up this feature can be found at the end of this review.
Many websites and message boards claim that Deep Color will not be a big deal when it finally arrives because its full potential is impossible to detect. What this means is that although Deep Color will offer several thousand additional color variations the human eye will only be able to differentiate about 360 of them. Still, further research will reveal that those 360 additional shades essentially push the entire color pallet of the human eye to its limits. In other words, all the real time color data that went into establishing the next shot of a film appears in front of you exactly as it did for the director. No visible shade of color gets lost or fades when put through the eventual electronic transfer process.
Do you remember when HDTV first came out? The early reviews claimed that the picture was so clear it was like looking through a window. Well, theoretically Deep Color will…
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|Very satisfied,
Very happy customer. Briefly here are my comments:
PROS:
A) Good Price on Amazon
B) Great quality set
C) THX is great quality
D) Very usable set. Controls and menus very well laid out
E) Remote control is best thought out i ever used
F) Sound is very good on this set too
G) Image viewer is good.
H) On screen sound change only lasts 1 second. Just right amount of time of a visual cue.
I) Surround bezel is very classy
J) Set doesn’t get too hot (it has fans – but mine never kicks in yet)
K) Colors are very good. Blu Ray is amazing
L) Amazon shipped to me in Carolinas in 4 days. Setup was ok. Set was perfect.
Cons:
A) Light reflection of glass is very strong. Set is great in dark room, but does pick up reflections very easy. You’ll find yourself moving lamps around and keeping shades down more that you used to.
B) Most expensive TV i ever bought. But it maybe 3 times bigger that i ever bought before (i love it)
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|TH-50PZ800U – review from an engineer’s perspective,
Update 4/1/2011 — Still loving this TV! It’s been flawless and still looks as good as the day I hung it up.
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Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Reviewed June 28, 2008 – Owned for 45 days
Updated November 2008 – still lovin this TV and haven’t seen anything in the price range that beats it. About to buy one for my dad.
PICTURE QUALITY
I can not say anything negative about the picture quality… it’s a ten for today’s technology.
SOUND
I dealt with a Panasonic rep when I made a deal on the 800U and he indicated that the sound was superior to the PH-50PX60U I already had… yeah, it’s a tad better but not by much. My 14 year old Sony KV-27HFR tuber still blows them away in sound. But I guess most people don’t use their flat panel TV for sound like I do… this ones in the bedroom and I don’t have an audio system hooked up to it.
BEAUTY
The cabinet is nice… much nicer than I expected. It’s got that sheet of glass front rather than several inches of bezel protruding around the glass that most flat panel TVs have nowadays. There is maybe a 1/4 inch low-profile black bezel around the glass front… very new looking. There is still a 3-inch bezel surrounding the picture tube (if that’s what they still call them) – but it’s underneath the sheet of glass front so when the TV is off it looks much nicer than that standard bezel look.
ANTI-GLARE SCREEN
The anti-glare screen is better than my PH-50PX60U… but not much. Don’t expect it to be much of an improvement. One thing I did notice is that from the side, you don’t as much depth in the double images… not much to comment on but it is another improvement. Cleaning the screen can and is hard to do. I used regular Windex after testing a small area. Using a soft micro-fiber cloth, it took a lot of reapplying Windex to get the finger smudges off the screen. Our hands left a lot of finger prints from hanging the TV. If you don’t get the fingerprints completely cleaned off – then they leave an iridescent sheen on the screen that quite visible. This kinda reminds me of the anti-glare coatings on camera lenses.
MPG VIEWER
The TH-50PZ800U has a decent MPG viewer… it’s not great but it’s a step better because it “can” fill the screen now. Pictures don’t get shrunk – they just display as-is. I’ve started cropping mine with ACDSee or Photoshop at 1920×1080 so they fit perfectly. This year is a big improvement over the older viewer SW they had before. Controls via the remote are minimal… seems like you can start, stop and move forward & backward… and set the slide show delay in seconds.
The picture viewer on my old PH-50PX60U was lame. Even though I would feed it a 2272×1704 picture – it would shrink it down to about 1/2 the size of the screen… grrr. Guess back then they didn’t have any good SW engineers working at Panasonic.
TV ERGONOMICS
About as nice as you can get for a plasma today. Black rounded back that doesn’t look bad when seen from the side. The front panel that folds down so you can access the SD memory slot is ok… but again, I give Panasonic a ding in the design – why did you not recess the SD slot a bit more so I could close the door when the SD memory card is inserted but not pushed in? Why oh why Panasonic guy??? This means that I can not store my SD card with my reformatted pics “in” the TV’s SD slot… unless of course I leave the door cover open. Oh well. And why don’t they give us a little slot under the door that holds a dozen or so of the SD cards… I’ve got 10 or so now and would like to use the smaller ones to organize my pics… and keep them in the TV. Oh well.
WHAT’S BEHIND DOOR NUMBER 1
The front panel swings up to expose some external connectors and the important TV controls – just in case the dog carries the remote away.
Menu TV OK/Video v-Vol-^ v-Channel-^
1-S-video connector
1-Video L-Sound-R (RCA PLUGS)
1-HDMI connector
1-SD memory card slot
SERVICE & MY DOG EARS
Don’t know if it’s just me or what – but after the TVs been on a while, I begin hearing a high pitched noise coming from the TV. Kind of like a low pitch noise you hear from a transformer outside – but at the high frequency end. Mute the sound and it’s less but still there. Turn up the sound and it louder. In fact, this is why I have the 800U… the noise from the old 60U was driving me crazy. But I must say that the local Panasonic customer service rep was great and he replaced the TV for me near the end of the 1 year warranty. I just paid a couple of hundred dollars and upgraded to 1080p. Again – Panasonic service was top notch! But if you haven’t seen inside a 50 plasma yet, let me tell you – there’s a whole lot of 2-inch high voltage capacitors in…
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