Customer Reviews
Very pleased with purchase 
2008-05-09
We had a little trouble getting our T.V. at first.
When it arrived the screed was broken. No problem though.
Amazon quickly reordered and shipped the new one to us.
We are very pleased with the T.V. It has good sound and
a great picture. Looks great hanging on our family room
wall. I would definatley reccomend this T.V.
Definitely Recommend! 2008-05-09
We looked at and compared many HDTV's before going with the Panasonic plasma. We compared LCD vs. Plasma and decided the plasma was the best way to go for us. The lives of these new plasmas have increased greatly from where they use to be. We have a den that has a couch 10' - 15' away from the corner TV area. We originally bought the 46" version of this plasma from Best Buy and the price for the 50" on Amazon was the same price plus we didn't have to pay shipping or tax. We ordered this on a Sunday and received it via the White Glove service 10 days later. We returned the 46" to Best Buy with no problems since we only had it for 2 weeks. The 46" had an excellent picture as well and we were very pleased with it. We just decided for the same price to go with the larger. Best Buy does not match prices with Amazon.
The glare some people refer to does not show up on either of these plasmas. This is not a problem at all. We do not have it in a bright bright room but there are still windows on the side of the room that the TV is placed on. There isn't any glare from our room lights either.
Another great feature are the different modes you can set each of your components to view. There is a Standard, Cinema, Game, Vivid and Custom. We prefer Game, Vivid and Custom which you set up your own brightness, tints, sharpness, etc. There are 3 total HDMI connections. Two connections are located in the back in which we hooked up our XBox 360 and the digital cable box. The other connection is located in the front and we hooked up a Sony Up Convert DVD player. All of these provide an excellent picture. We purchased the cables from Monoprice and they worked as well as the high dollar Monster cables we originally purchased and have now returned as well. We also purchased Wii cables for a HDTV from Monoprice that improves the picture on the Wii.
All in all, we are extremely happy with the Panasonic plasma HDTV's. Whether you choose the 46" or 50", either one is an excellent choice. Make your decision on what size will fit the area you have. We are glad we purchased the 50", especially for the price. The 50" price is fluctuating between $[...] which is a pretty big difference. Be sure you look at return policies if you happen to order somewhere and it ends up being defective and you need to return. Some places don't accept returns on TV's over so many inches, etc. Others may have a restocking fee, etc.
We are definitely happy with our Amazon purchase!
Excellent Product 
2008-05-06
The rave reviews are correct. Last year's version of this TV was rated #1 by "Consumer Reports" for picture quality. This is the 1080p 50-inch to beat. I've had mine for about a week and have been very impressed. Excellent adjustment capabilities and lots of ports--including 3 HDMIs. Pay no attention to reviewer complaints about glare; the screen is nearly as good as an LCD model's. I purchased it through Amazon (so-called "white glove"). It arrived by local carrier in less than a week, for no charge. The deliverers unboxed it and tested it before leaving. I got the best results (mainly superior sound) by hooking it up to my cable box via an HDMI cable. One caveat: the price of this model seems to change almost daily--from $1500 to $1900. I gave this 4 stars simply because I have not owned it long enough.
Great TV and by far best bang for the buck! 2008-04-28
Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50-inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
I've researched HDTVs for the past 3 weeks very intensely and shocked myself when I ended up with this Panasonic 50PZ80U. I told myself I would stay away from Plasma due to the stories of burn-in (image "burned" into the screen and faintly visible always, no matter what you are watching) and image retention (image is temporary "stuck" on the screen - slightly visible with anything you are watching, but fades after a short period of time)... It turns out that these things are really a thing of the past. Plasmas have really come a long way!
Trying not to ramble, I will get down to the good stuff for those considering this TV.
Pros:
-Unbeatable price for quality. I was looking at the new Samsung 52" 650A LCD for almost 1000$ more, but the picture quality on this Panasonic was better, especially standard definition TV (which is important since most stations are still SD!).
-The most amazing blacks ever! Watching shows like Cold Case are just amazing. Those black suits never looked sooo good. Any LCD was just crushed by this Panasonic's blacks.
-Very easy to get a good picture. This is a pro and a con, as it's easy to get a great picture, but there really aren't that many options to mess with. So, for those that like to get down to the nitty gritty with adjustments, this really doesn't have that. Those that like simple options that produce great picture will love this though.
-Anti-reflection is awesome on this TV. My partner and I just stared at it and she said over and over that she couldn't see any reflection from our windows in the living room, no matter how hard she tried to look for them. I agree with her :)
Cons:
-With the brightness high, you can start to see some very minor "noise" on the picture (little speckles), but you can only see these up close. Our couch is 10 ft from the TV and you cannot see this at all. Even up close, it is very very minor and may partially be due to the HD feed from our cable provider. I also think this may be due to the built in pixel mover to help remove any problems of burn-in and image retention that I mentioned earlier.
-No nitty gritty adjustments for the picture. This was the pro that I listed as well. Although picture quality (PQ) is great, some advance users like to reaaallly adjust things to make their TV best for them, but this TV really only has options like Picture, Brightness, Tint, Sharpness, and Color (with some other options like noise reduction and stuff).
-Stand is kind of cheap plastic. Although the stand works great for it's job, it does feel a little cheapy... it works fine though and it's not like people move their TV all over the place anyway. It almost seemed like an afterthought with Panasonic (like, "Whoops! Boss, we need a stand for this thing!" -- "Oh here, just slap this on there...").
All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase. (I bought mine from 6 Ave as they match prices from price grabber!). I was a little nervous has I hadn't looked them up before I jumped the gun, but after looking around and then actually getting my TV about 5 days after I ordered it in perfect shape, I could not be happier.
Consider this plasma for your next HDTV purchase. This is considered a mid-range priced HDTV and for the money will beat out any LCD at equal size. I was really an LCD only guy before this and I couldn't be happier with my purchase.
Oh and I hate giving things 5 stars as nothing is perfect, but this TV is definitely more than 4 stars... maybe 4.5 :)
Panasonic TH-50PZ80U 2008-04-26
I researched different brands and types of flat screens for several weeks before settling on the Panasonic plasma tv; I was pleased to see Consumer Reports recommended this particular set as well. We purchased our Panasonic plasma set from 6th Ave Electronics because of the online excellent rating they have as well as their fantastic price. The set arrived in pristine shape, and in one hour we had the base mounted and the set interfaced with a Panasonic SC-PT1050 Home Theater in a Box (HTIB). The sets interfaced with minimum problems (always read the instructions!) The picture is absolutely vivid and razor sharp and the DVD & TV surround sound is amazing!
We didn't know this when we ordered the tv, but Panasonic offers a lifetime "Concierge" service where you can call and get product support and have installation questions answered (they're very knowledgeable, too!) (Um... did I mention, "Always read the instructions"?) They also guarantee they will have someone at your home to repair problems within 48 hours if needed.
The antireflective surface is pretty good, and within a few minutes of daytime watching, you will find that outside reflections are soon ignored. We had looked at other sets without the reflective coating at an electronics store next to a Panasonic, and were impressed at how well the Panasonic coating cuts down on picture interference!
Bottom line.. We are extremely pleased at the quality of our investment as well as the comfort knowing that Panasonic will provide worry-free support over the life of our set. The worry-free shipping offered by 6th Ave Electronics (through Amazon) was an unanticipated benefit!
Absolutely awesome TV 2008-04-07
Plasma delivers a much brighter and vivid image than LCD. This Panasonic Viera now has a 1920x1080 screen resolution to deliver maximum 1080p HDTV performance from broadcasts and from Blu-Ray discs. The key advantage of plasma technology is enhanced depth of range from black to white. When color is added to the mix, there's a certain purity that LCD simply can't match. The native contrast-ratio on the TH-50PZ80U is 20,000:1 while the Dynamic Ratio is 1 million to 1. The picture quality on this 50" TV outclasses any LCD screen. In addition to a wide variety of connections for all your home-theater equipment, The TH-50PZ80U has a Built-In SD Card Slot/GalleryPlayer. It accepts the SD Card from your digital-camera or camcorder for easy play on your widescreen TV. It even has a PC input so you can use your TV as a display for your PC. For superb picture quality, sound, and style, the Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50" Class (49.9" Diagonal) is the 1080p flat-panel TV you should own for a deeply moving home theater experience. Native Resolution - 1920 x 1080 Speakers Full-range x 2(L,R) with Audio Ouput of 20 Watts total (10% THD) (8 ohms, 70Hz-17kHz) VIERA Link enables universal remote control of all equipment linked through the HDMI ports on your TV Pixel Shifter (Anti-Image Retention) assures optimal image integrity throughout the screen's surface Ports - 3 HDMI inputs, 2 analog audio inputs, 2 composite video inputs, 2 S-Video inputs, 2 audio inputs for PC, 1 composite video input, 1 audio output, 1 digital audio output, 2 component video inputs, and 2 audio inputs Sleep/On/Off Timers Dimensions - Height 33.2 x Width 49.0 x Depth 15.2 with stand / 31.1 x 49.0 x 3.7 without stand Weight - 88.2 pounds with stand / 83.8 pounds without stand
