Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV | 
| Brand: Panasonic
List Price: $1,699.99
Buy New: $1,189.88
You Save: $510.11 (30%)
New (35)
Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 862
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: Yes
Display Size: 42
Shipping Weight (lbs): 70.5
Dimensions (in): 41.9 x 3.7 x 28.3
nv:Display Area: 42"
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Contrast Ratio: 30000:1
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Signal Compatibility: 1080p
Input Video Signal: ATSC
Input Video Signal: NTSC
Speakers: Yes
Inputs: S-Video
Inputs: Audio
Inputs: Component Video
Inputs: HDMI In
Inputs: SD Memory Card Slot
Inputs: Composite Video In
Inputs: PC Audio In
Inputs: Analog Audio Input
Inputs: PC Video
Outputs: Composite Video
Outputs: Analog Audio
Outputs: Digital Audio Out
Power Consumption: 573W
Power Source: 120VAC, 50/60Hz
MPN: TH-42PZ85U
Model: TH-42PZ85U
UPC: 037988241835
EAN: 0037988241835
ASIN: B00142JKRW
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | 1920 x 1080 Resolution | | • | 1000000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio for the Brightest whites and darkest blacks | | • | 4096 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 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Product Description--March 10, 2008
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'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
| | 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. |
 | 24p native reproduction Movies 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. |
 | 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
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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.
- 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.
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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 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. |
| 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
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| 15,000:1
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096
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| - 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
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| 15,000:1 |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-42PZ80U
| 42 inches |  | 20,000:1
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-46PZ80U
| 46 inches | | 20,000:1 |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-50PZ80U
| 50 inches | | 20,000:1 |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-42PZ85U
| 42 inches | | 30,000:1 | |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-46PZ85U
| 46 inches | | 30,000:1
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-50PZ85U
| 50 inches | | 30,000:1 | |
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| 2
| 3
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| 4,096 |
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| TH-42PZ800U
| 42 inches | | 30,000:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 4,096 |
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| | TH-46PZ800U | 46 inches | | 30,000:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 4,096 |
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| | TH-50PZ800U | 50 inches | | 30,000:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 4,096 |
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| | TH-58PZ800U | 58 inches | | 30,000:1 | | | | 4
| 4
| | | 4,096 |
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| | 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 | | | | | |
Product Description
1,920 x 1,080 Native Resolution / 1,000,000:1 Dynamic, 30,000 Native Contrast Ratio / Progressive Scan / Game Mode / SD-HC Memory Card Slot / 3x HDMI EDTV Display Capability (480p) Aspect Control - 4 - 3, Zoom, Full, Just, H-fill for TV/AV modes, 4 - 3, Full for PC mode G11 Progressive 1080p HD Plasma Display Panel Screen Coating AR (Anti-Reflective) Filter 480 Hz Sub-field Drive 24p Playback (2 - 3) Deep Color x.v.Color Motion Adaptive 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter 3D Color Management Sub Pixel Control Motion Pattern Noise Reduction Speakers Full-range - 2x (L, R) Audio Output - 20 W (10% THD) (6 ohms, 70 Hz - 17 kHz) VIERA Link Pixel Orbiter (Anti-Image Retention) Trilingual Menu (English/Spanish/French) V-Chip Program Lock Out Built-In Closed Caption Decoder Video Input Label Video Picture Memory Integrated ATSC Tuner, HDMI Input 3 (1 side), Analog Audio Input for HDMI/DVI, Composite Video Input 2 (1 side), S-Video Input 2 (1 side), Audio Input for Video) 2 (1 side), PC Input Mini D-sub 15-pin x 1 (rear), Audio Input for PC Stereo M3 (3.5mm) Jack, Component Video Input (Y, PB, PR) 2, Audio Input (for Component Video) 2, Composite Video Output 1, Analog Audio Output 1, and Digital Audio Output 1 Dimensions - Height 28.3 x Width 41.9 x Depth 12.9 / 26.3 x 41.9 x 3.6 without stand Weight - 70.5 pounds / 66.1 pounds without stand
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| Customer Reviews: Read 41 more reviews...
 My first HDTV and blown away by it March 29, 2008
Pascal (San Jose, California)
50 out of 50 found this review helpful
I recently decided that it's time to upgrade to an HDTV, and I did a lot of research before settling on this model. I'm not an A/V expert, but I am an enthusiast, and I can tell you that this TV is simply amazing. I highly recommend it. I can't get very technical, but here are just a few thoughts on why I rate this TV so highly:
In the end, the quality of the picture is what it's about. I run Panasonic HDMI cables from a Comcast HD DVR through my Denon 850 receiver (1080 passthrough). The clarity, color and vibrancy of HD channels are breathtaking. These new Panasonic models increased the contrast ratio considerably, and I do think it makes a big difference. Even SD programming looks good on the set.
I also have an SD DVD player hooked up with component cables, and even though it's not an upconverting player the picture is still amazing.
Daytime viewing is good, although it does look better at night with less light. The new anti-reflective screen on this model does a great job, but this is still a problem I don't think any Plasma TV has solved completely yet. If I leave our living room light on it does reflect on the screen (but it looks better in the dark anyway...).
I'm still in the first 100 hours so I'm in the breaking in stage, but I haven't seen any signs of image retention. It sounds like the new models made big strides in this area as well.
The on-screen set-up menus are intuitive and easy to use -- didn't have to open the manual once.
My final comment is about Amazon.com's part in this. I order it directly from Amazon (make sure you check who the seller is), and the experience was flawless. They use a distribution company for delivery, and they call you with a 4-hour time window before they deliver the TV. They also unpack it so that you can inspect for damage - if anything is wrong they take it right back!
I highly recommend this TV, and there's no reason to buy it in a store - use Amazon!
The HD picture on this plasma TV is outstanding - mesmerizing! April 19, 2008
P. Harris (San Francisco Bay Area)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
We purchased the 42" 2008 Panasonic plasma 1080p model TH-42PZ85U about 5 weeks ago, after about 2 weeks of almost non-stop comparing of different sets at various stores. We've watched it during bright glary daytime conditions and dark room evening hours. We've watched HD channels and SD (standard-def) channels, and HD-DVD movies. We're familiar with the amazing picture quality of High-Def because we've had a Fujitsu plasma for the last 5 years, which was excellent. The Fujitsu developed an un-repairable problem with it's power supply circuit panel.
To summarize, the picture quality of the Panasonic TH-42PZ85U plasma is absolutely outstanding! It is stunning! It's mesmerizing. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. It was great in the store, but even much better under home conditions, without bright store spotlights, with good cable HD service, and without having to share a TV signal with 83 other sets.
In doing the visual research at various stores, I was attracted to LCD sets because of their incredible brightness and bright colors. Under the bright store lights, the poor plasmas looked like dim, lost souls next to the super-nova LCD's. However it soon became evident to me that LCD's had more of an artificial look to the images, especially the human face. Faces on LCD sets looked more plastic and flat, without real-world color gradients. They looked more like a poster. Faces on plasmas looked real, with real texture and color gradations, with a 3 dimensional quality. Other scenes on LCD's also looked more 2 dimensional. On plasmas, the same scene had depth and a 3-D quality. I had read about this, but didn't understand what it meant until I saw it with my own eyes.
The TH-42PZ85U is more than bright enough at home, even during a bright sunny day with lots of direct light coming in from our patio. The brightest picture mode, called "vivid" is too bright for even those conditions under its default settings. The default color setting is also way too strong and a bit too green. But after adjusting down the brightness and color strength, and adjusting the color tint a little away from green to red, the picture is truly outstanding. In the evening we use a picture mode called "cinema", which is soft yet sharp, beautiful and so real you think you are in a movie theater. When "cinema" mode is not bright enough for our inside lights, we change it to a mode called "standard". Each of the modes can be adjusted as you wish, and then retains that adjustment when that mode is chosen later.
Regardless of the picture mode, with an HD signal, the picture is incredibly sharp, smooth and non-grainy, and the quality of the colors is great and realistic. I see no motion artifacts, even when watching fast moving action such as in a basketball game. There has been no burn in of any type, even temporary. The blacks are super black, there are lots of gray shades in the dark areas, and the whites are very white. To make blacks even blacker, there is a "black level" setting under the "advanced picture" menu. It gives a choice of "light" or "black". I like it better set to "light" because "black" takes away a little from the gray shades. Even on "light", the blacks look almost as black as the bezel that surrounds the glass panel. This plasma TV has a 3-dimensional quality that just seems to make images pop out.
We have a small room (about 14x10). Two of the chairs are on either side of the TV, within 4-5 feet of the TV. The 1080 resolution screen resolution really pays off from this close distance. Even from 4 feet, when we are on channels with strong HD signals, the screen is totally smooth, with no graininess, screen-door effect, or ghosting or other artifacts. It is just as bright from an extreme side angle as from head-on.
As good as a general cable 720p signal looks, even more outstanding is the signal from our (now obsolete) HD-DVD player, which actually puts out a 1080p signal. I was watching Planet Earth on the new Panasonic plasma. The picture quality is incredible.
There are a few things about the TV that are not outstanding. Standard definition programming is very ordinary, not very exciting. I wonder if the 1080 screen resolution of the TV makes standard definition signals look even worse? The built in speakers are so-so, not great. It doesn't matter to us because I put the audio through a surround sound receiver and external speakers. The anti-glare capability of the screen is average. During sunny days we can see some glare from the sunlight outside our patio sliding doors, although the reflection is muted and dimmed.
Overall we are thrilled with this plasma TV. Even though we have had a plasma before, the picture quality is so outstanding we can't seem to pay attention to the program we are watching. We are just mesmerized by the quality of the picture we are seeing.
So good I bought two !!!!!! July 18, 2008
J. Abraham
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Just a short review as there are so many already.
I spent approximately 3 years researching displays. No it didn't take me that long to figure things out, I was basically waiting for the technology to meet my expectations at a given price point.
After exhaustive research I narrowed things down to Plasma and then further down to either this set or the Samsung A550. The reason I picked the Panny over the Samsung, to be succinct:
- better black levels
- reliability (reportedly a bit more stable than the Samsung's, though they have gotten better)
- anti-reflective coating (the Panasonic has the Samsung thoroughly beat)
- IR (image retention) resistance, Panasonic is supposedly on the cutting edge for this
That said, I'll comment a bit on the Panasonic image specifically; it is stunning. First, the scaler (the hardware that handles different source material like standard definition broadcast, etc.) in this thing is top notch. I am truly impressed with what it has done with standard cable (and of course HD cable looks great). I was under the impression that few if any modern displays could handle SD well, frankly because I hadn't seen evidence of it. I was wrong, there have been a few times that I had to look hard to tell I was watching Standard Def (CNN puts out an especially clean broadcast in my area). Secondly, HD content; doubly stunning! I'm running both HD Cable and a PS3 Blu-ray. I figured I'd be buying many of my movies again in Blu-ray....wrong. Certainly true HD content has the edge but the upscaler combined with this set is jaw dropping, Pixar DVDs are quite amazing.
Now a few comments about Plasma vs LCD:
No doubt LCD has it's place, some people simply want a very "punchy" and extremely bright display. This is especially useful for daytime/bright room viewing. However, the drawbacks are considerable:
- motion lag/bur: if you see it (and I do) it's VERY distracting
- black levels clearly not up to par, which greatly affects the overall picture quality
On the other hand Plasma pluses:
- no motion lag
- industry standard black levels
- extremely realistic/film like experience
A few words on Image Retention & Burn in:
These are not the same thing though the terms are often used interchangeably. Image Retention is the result of a static image (any image that doesn't change for extended periods; video game displays, station identification, etc) to remain on the screen even after you've changed images. This is a temporary problem and one that is easily erased by viewing full screen for short periods where all the pixel locations on the screen will get some activity. Frankly I've not seen even one instance on my set. Burn-in is the extreme, unfixable version of this, leaving a static image on the screen for many hours (all day) or always watching all your content letterboxed will certainly lead to burn in. It's easy to avoid. The Panasonic is especially immune to this and even has many safety features built in to prevent it (pixel shifting and auto off if a screen remains unchanged for an extended period).
Finally a few quick tips for new owners, gleaned mostly from the AVS forums and partly directly from Panasonic's own website:
- Keep the Picture (contrast) and Brightness levels under 50 for the first 100 hrs. This helps the phosphors become "tempered" and in turn not so easily susceptible to bun-in and image retention. As I said, I've yet to experience either.
- Watch everything in Just mode (full screen) for the first 100 hrs for the same reasons listed above
- After the first 100 hrs you can turn things up & start watching things in letterbox, here are some recommended levels:
Picture: +70
Brightness: +48
Color: +44
Tint: -3
Sharpness: 0
Color temp: Warm
Color mgmt: Off
x.v.Color: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off
One final note for those on the fence: Don't go by what you see in the stores, what is displayed in no way exemplifies what these sets (any brand really) are capable of. My picture is light years better than anything I ever saw at Best Buy (including this very set). Delivery from Amazon/CEVA was a breeze by the way, took one week from ordering to door.
Shockingly Good April 7, 2008
A. Altman (San Carlos, California United States)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
The picture is very beautiful on HD material - rich colors, but not too rich, it just looks very, very real. On non-HD material this set does a better job than any other I've ever seen. I can comfortably watch non-HD material on this set. Handles motion well, and has a wide viewing angle.
I purchased a new "upconverting" DVD player but even using a non-HDMI, non-upconverting older DVD player, movies just look awesome. I suspect that the "up-conversion" logic in this TV set must be quite good.
The 2008 Panasonic plasma models seem to be lot thinner and lighter than 2007 models, so if you are trying to decide whether to get a deal on an older model or not, well, frankly I don't think you can go wrong either way but the newer ones are around one third thinner, and 20% lighter. They also offer higher contrast, at least according to the specifications.
AWESOME PLASMA HDTV April 3, 2008
R. Herkalo (Freehold, NJ)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Panasonic does it again! This model 85U is awesome. I'm very happy with this Flatscreen. I'm running satellite TV and the HD is incredible. I have friends with cable, no comparison. Easy set-up, instructions very clear, Panasonic rocks! So does Amazon, I purchased this unit from Amazon, with free shipping[White Glove Service], it's the only way to go. No need to worry about heading out to the store, trying to fit it in your vehicle, the delivery is prompt, are very careful unloading, assemble and put it in place[my case, in an Armoire].
Panasonic offers a 24hr Tech support, I needed some audio advise, They were very helpful and friendly.I would, without a doubt, recommend this model to any one!
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