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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72745 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: TH-42PZ800B
• Released on: 2008-05-01

Manufacturer's Description
With its 2008 Panasonic Viera Plasmas, Panasonic brings an astonishing 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 is a Plasma TV? A plasma TV is a thin, high-resolution flat panel screen that uses a matrix of tiny cells that are charged by precise electrical voltages to create a picture. Plasma displays are bright, have a wide colour range, produce deep, true blacks, have a wide viewing angle, and are light enough to be wall-mounted or placed on a stand. Plasmas come in a range of sizes.

What's New This Year?

• Super Contrast--native contrast ratios on the PZ85, PZ800 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. colour and Deep colour (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 2 HDMI inputs on all models (4 on PZ800 series)
• THX Certification on PZ800 and PZ850 series

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

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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.

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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.

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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

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More colours Viera HDTVs support the xvYCC colour profile (Extended YCC colourimetry for Video Applications), or "x.v. colour" for short. Standard RGB colour space allows the display of a portion of the colours that are viewable to the human eye. The next generation "xvYCC" colour space actually offers  an available range of colours that exceeds what human eyes can recognize. Next-generation "xvYCC" colour space supports 1.8 times as many colours as existing HDTV signals Lets HDTVs display colours more accurately Enables displays with more natural and vivid colours

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Deep colour Where x.v. colour expands the available range of colours your HDTV can display, Deep colour increases the number of colours your HDTV can display within that range, for smoother transitions from colour to colour. Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colours to billions of colours Eliminates on-screen colour banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colours Enables increased contrast ratio Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white.

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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.
	Equipped with an RGB input terminal, VIERA can connect with your PC and serve as a large-screen monitor.

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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.

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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.

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Customer Reviews

High quality sound investment
Deciding to join the high definition (HD) bandwaggon, I have bought a 42" Panasonic Viera plasma panel PZ800B television set and I am absolutely delighted with it. It has replaced my ageing, but extremely reliable, 25" Sony Triniton cathode ray tube model which has provided trouble free viewing for the past 8 years.

Given the confusing mass of information generated in respect of HD, I spent the last couple of months visiting showrooms to view TV sets and browsing the internet to help me make up my mind what best to buy. Early on it became clear that, due to the higher definition quality now available, I could start looking at TV sets with screens measuring circa 40" diagonally without damaging my eyes or spoiling my viewing pleasure. This measure, strangely enough, is, at the same time, about the higher range of the new liquid crystal display (LCD) models and at the lower range of the plasma models currently available. Although all the leading brands got my early attention, my short list eventually narrowed to a straight choice between two specific models; my new Panasonic and the 40" Sony X series 3500 LCD model. Not only did I pore over the tech specs for both sets, but I went as far as downloading and reading through the respective manuals. My final decision was reached only after further visits to various showrooms to allow personal audio visual comparisons of the two sets.

The Panasonic won hands down on both acounts!

Shortly before buying my Panasonic from Amazon, I was concerned to see that a new, middle of the road review had been submitted as regards the PZ800B. I needn't have worried, however. Clearly my eyes and ears had not been deceiving me. It quickly became obvious that the 'Reviewer' had never actually even taken the trouble to go and see the set in the 'flesh' and that the 'Review' was not really about the set at all, but about an error in editing made by Amazon. Part of their UK web page had been lifted from their American site and they had omitted to remove the phrase 'THX certification' from their final UK presentation. Much ado about ...! Those who haven't heard about THX can get a reasonable explanation on the Wikipedia site. Briefly it deals with sound quality. It is not a UK standard, let alone an internaltional one. If not having a TV with this certification really freaks you out, you will have to buy one in the USA. Then you will have to ship it home!! Panasonic were the only firm I found in the USA to have this certification on their PZ800U set. Surely there must be a few others? Of over 300 DVD's in my personal collection, only 4 are produced in THX. Panasonic UK do not suggest that the PZ800B has 'THX certification' and the lack of it on my sweet sounding Viera is no big deal.

I decided to use the stand which with came with my Viera rather than use optional wall fixtures. The set weighs over 6 stones and you will need a hand to rig it to the stand. Otherwise the set-up is straightforward.

I live in an area where satellite reception is necessary to get a TV picture. After 8 years, I decided to retire my Sky box and chose to link a Humax HD set top box which provides the new BBC/ITV Freesat images. The decision was a good one! I find that I am getting great quality pictures on standard definition (SD) reception and those on HD are quite amazing! The savings on my Sky subscription will quickly pay for my new purchases.

Additionally, I have added a Panasonic Blu-Ray player which gives really first class viewing of my collection of DVDs, by means of the up-comparison feature, while watching Blu-Ray discs is really stunning.

It is a possibility that I may, in the future, decide to add a Blu-Ray sound system to my present set-up, and I have the Panasonic SC-BT100 in mind, although, at the moment, I find the 32 watt presentation afforded by the PZ800B, through both tweeters and woofers, most acceptable. I'm not yet certain that I want to be blown away by a cinema style set-up!

My only disappointment to date was the time it took Amazon to ship my expensive and sensitive Viera. It was 'in transit' for 11 days and lay in one facility for 8 days. This is something you might wish to bear in mind before ordering.

Buying a 'large' telly is a very personal decision. Reviews might prove helpful, but do go out and look at the different models available in the 'flesh'. Buying a particular type and brand should always remain a very personal decision.

Best TV I have ever owned!!!
Well what can I say, I've had this TV for 3 months now and it's absolutely amazing.

Starting from the top, Panasonic have developed a top notch box for delivering their TV's in and I had it up and working in about 10 minutes - very impressive and definitely a box you want to keep if you think you'll need to move the TV one day in a secure fashion.

Picture wise, outstanding.

1. Normal TV (Not digital) - Okay but what do you expect!
2. Digital TV - so much better and picture looks great.
3. SKY HD - you just HAVE to get Sky HD (or Virgin equivalent of course). Sports and Movies look fantastic. I know these sources aren't Progressive but I'm not sure you could really tell anyway they're so clear.
4. PS3 DVD (Upsclaled) - outstaning and nearly as good as
5. PS3 Blu-Ray - it's like the picture is nearly 3D.
6. I also have an HD Camcorder from which you can plug the card straight into the front of the TV - picture is amazing and a very convenient feature.

Remote works well, connectivity is great - look forward to many hours of great TV.

Panasonic PZ800 Plasma 42" Television
This is a decision that took ages to make as there were several contenders both LCD and Plasma. I have always been an LCD fan until now. This Panasonic set is stunning. It has replaced a 36" CRT set the last ever made by Panasonic and is widely regarded by those in the know as the best ever CRT set It was however too bulky and very heavy at around 15 stones. I was worried that the standard definition picture of the plasma would look poor compared with the old set. The really good news is that it is excellent using both the internal digital tuner or sky box. HD is to die for.
Moreover this set comes with a much enhanced sound system and is really rich sounding compared to all other flat screen tvs. Though I use a samsung sound bar for films I can quite happily listen to the TV without this.
I bought this for £1200 inc 5 year guarantee which is in my opinion a steal. I had to travel to Crampton & Moore in Sheffield to get this guarantee but it was worth the journey.
I recommend this set without reservation.