Go To Latest Video ReviewsPanasonic Viera TH-42PZ80 42in Plasma TV Comments
| Author | John Archer |
| Published | 28th Jul 2008 |
| Manufacturer | Panasonic |
| Price | £638.26 (Exc VAT) |
| as reviewed | £734.00 (Inc VAT) |
| Latest Price |
| Design |  |
| Features |  |
| Image Quality | |
| Sound Quality | |
| Value |  |
| Overall | |
Comments for Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ80 42in Plasma TV
Wackywavinginflateablearmflailingtubeman said on 29th July 2008
The_Pope said on 29th July 2008
Not *every* model is outstanding - we would always advise reading reviews of the exact model you are considering, as performance can vary even within the same family. That's true of all manufacturers really.
Truthfully, there are excellent TVs from a range of manufacturers these days but for me, Panasonic and Samsung stand out as consistent producers of highly desirable displays. And it's not just us that thinks so either :)
Ginormo said on 29th July 2008
How can you award this TV as 8 for design when the 37" LCD reviewed in June got a 7? They look exactly the same!
http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/review/2008/06/03/Panasonic-Viera-TX-37LXD85-37in-LCD-TV/p1
Wackywavinginflateablearmflailingtubeman said on 29th July 2008
Uh oh, Ginormo has a point...
"Not *every* model is outstanding"
True, but a lot of them seem to be. If you look at TR's filtering, All of their Panasonic TV's minus 3 have a score of eight or above. They don't seem to be as inconsistent as Toshiba's range of 2007. But then you did address that.
Even though I'm being told by EVERYONE that LCD is the way to go, I'm still going to buck the trend and get a plasma. TR mentioned in their 2007 awards that the plasma "haters" were all very wrong when they looked at the Pioneer Kuro. Those Kuros are certainly sexy! Wish I could I afford a Kuro...
Matt G Baish said on 29th July 2008
Well this telly has a (42/37 - 1) * 100 = 13.5% bigger screen across the diagonal & so design score must therefore be 13.5% higher; 1.135 * 7 = 7.95 or 8/10 rounded up - simple!
Or is it not supposed to work like that? ;^)
Andy said on 29th July 2008
No no, that's exactly how it works. ;)
temm said on 29th July 2008
So that makes the 50inch have a score of 11.
Not bad.
Matt G Baish said on 29th July 2008
Spinaltaptastic!
Riyad said on 29th July 2008
It's very true that all the "pub experts" are happy to tell everyone that plasma is dead, and LCD is a far better bet. Believe me when I say, they are totally wrong!
I have two TVs in my house and they're both plasmas, one's a Panasonic and the other a Pioneer. I can honestly say that right now there is no finer TV than Pioneer's Kuro range - if you can afford one, you shouldn't think twice.
However, not everyone can afford a Kuro, and the Panasonic plasma's offer superb value, as well as great image quality that will put most LCDs to shame. If you're serious about your movies, but don't have enough cash for a Kuro, Panasonic's latest plasmas are definitely worth considering.
Of course the really interesting bit is the fact that Panasonic will be manufacturing Pioneer's panels from now on, and that should result in some technology sharing too. I seriously doubt that Panasonic wants to play in the very high-end market where Pioneer lives, but some of that Kuro technology could filter down into more affordable Panasonic screens.
Wackywavinginflateablearmflailingtubeman said on 29th July 2008
Probably because LCD is the "safer" option. It seems to be the norm. Only a few plasmas in my Futureshop, but wall to wall LCD. Maybe it's the marketing? Too bad, because people are missing out on some really good high def imagery! And soon I won't be one of them!
ruthless said on 30th July 2008
It does beg the question, "Why are all these manufacturers making LCD TVs rather than Plasmas?"
Riyad said on 30th July 2008
The answer is simple. There are far more LCD panel manufacturers than there are plasma panel manufacturers. So pretty much anyone can buy panels and build TVs, which is why you find so many no-brand, cheap LCD TVs, but no similarly priced and badged plasmas.
I flew out to Japan last year to see Panasonic's plasma factories, and I can tell you that the investment that Panasonic is making in plasma is significant. This is why Pioneer decided to let Panasonic take over its panel manufacturing. Last year Panasonic had two massive plasma factories, and it had just broken ground on a third that is set to be bigger than the other two put together!
And of course, let's not forget that as already mentioned, the man on the street seems to think that LCD is superior to plasma, and will walk into a shop already convinced that he wants an LCD. That's part of the reason why Sony stopped making plasmas a couple of years back.
Ginormo said on 30th July 2008
Well I believe that they both have strengths and weaknesses. My understanding was that, generally speaking:
Plasmas = better black levels
LCD's = Faster response times
People like to connect their Xbox and PS3's up to their TV's so may rather have an LCD for this purpose.
Also, I believe some are put off by the rumour/risk of screen burn. I haven't experienced this myself, but if it is a problem then I wouldn't want to leave my TV on Sky Sports news for example.
If I was using my TV for movies only then I'd get Plasma, but as I use it for a variety of purposes, LCD suits my needs more.
Matt G Baish said on 30th July 2008
I have had both 32" Plasma (albeit an SD Philips - pah!) and LCD (HD Sony) and, apart from the obvious benefits of HD over SD in my particular case and the IME better reliability of the Sony product, my current LCD set has one *MAJOR* advantage over Plasma & that is non-lab-condition performance.
This is mainly down to the relatively high reflectivity of the glass fronted Plasma screens which, really, are a pain in the butt unless you are watching a movie at night with all the lights turned off (although we do this too; it is not ideal for standard TV viewing). Ambient lighting and daytime viewing with the curtains open were a no-no.
Now I am sure there must have been some advances in this area (e.g. anti-reflective coating) if anyone can enlighten me so that I may reconsider Plasma when my next purchase is due? (about 2015 if this credit crunch goes on much longer, by which time we'll have OLED to consider too :)) Judging by the plasma panels at my local Sony Centre though I don't hold out much hope.
Riyad said on 30th July 2008
I have an Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii hooked up to my Kuro and they all look superb, without any hint of response time issues. But then the market becoming obsessed with response times has resulted in LCD moving backwards rather than forwards. Instead of us all using 10-bit panels by now, we've actually moved backwards to 6-bit panels just so the crystals can be overdriven to lower response time!
As for the off plane ghosting issues with plasmas, due to the glass front. That was a long time ago, and not anything I've seen for many years. I certainly don't see it with either of my plasmas.
Matt - I'm curious as to what plasma panels you're looking at in your local Sony Centre, since as I mentioned already, Sony hasn't made a plasma TV for about two years.
Riyad said on 30th July 2008
Matt - you're right, watching a plasma in bright sunlight can be more challenging than watching a bright LCD. But that overly bright LCD will then never produce the kind of black levels you'd want when you're watching with the the curtains closed or the lights down.
Wackywavinginflateablearmflailingtubeman said on 30th July 2008
"...the man on the street seems to think that LCD is superior to plasma, and will walk into a shop already convinced that he wants an LCD. That's part of the reason why Sony stopped making plasmas a couple of years back."
Riyad. Surely you're not suggesting Sony would subject consumers to an inferior technology just to make a buck now, would you? ;)
skinner said on 1st August 2008
So do I buy this (£799 at John Lewis with 5 yr guarantee) or save up a few more ££ for a PDP-4280XD Kuro (£ 1199 at comet with one yr guarantee)...
£ 400 is a big difference.
Casual viewer , mainly Sky+ SD and DVD's.
Might consider $ky HD. Not sure I am going down BluRay path just yet.
Or should I just stick with my trusty Philips 32 " pixel plus CRT 32PW9527 (state of the art 6 only years ago).
Frank said on 2nd August 2008
Can't offer Skinner any advice at the moment, other than don't spend, , , yet. : - )
Some Philips are plenty good enough and will stay working for a good few years.
My understanding was that plasma was better for motion and still better than LCD at bigger screen sizes, if so, then they still have appeal for 'UP' -grades, not just films but football, I wouldn't want to see the ball blurred when Man U lose everything next season.
We should have had 3D by now skinner, but since we don't, I would strongly suggest a Sky HD subscription as a good use for any spare money, rather than a "better" telly. Channel 4 has been a relevation and will resume it's quality once Big Brother is out of the way, also the BBC docs (Wainright/Wild China) in HD drip with awsome beauty, regardless of the pixel count.
skinner said on 15th August 2008
Have bitten the bullet and bought one of these a from JL, arrives 19th Aug.
Will let you know what I think...
impy said on 16th August 2008
Just added Sky Thomson HD box to the Panasonic 42PZ80 and the lip sync problems are serious, particularly on the HD channels. Panasonic and Sky have so far come up with no solution. Has anyone else got this problem or managed to resolve it?
strifesdrummer said on 14th September 2008
Please help. Currys and Comet give a 1yr guarantee with this panel but according to a small local Panasonic dealer, Panasonic give a 5yr manufacturers guarantee. Is this true and are Currys and Comet conning the public into buying their own over priced extended warrantee????
Geoff Richards said on 14th September 2008
@strifesdrummer - I can't think of any reason why you would not be covered by Panasonic's warranty anyway! It's quite common that the first 12 months is covered by the retailer, and any balance is direct with a manufacturer. Not just Currys / Panasonic but anyone and for any electronics really.
Retailer extended warranties are rarely worth the extra cash. Check that years 2 through 5 are covered by Panasonic and buy with confidence. Use your credit card if ordering online for extra protection (and potentially cashback!)
Alan Pritchard said on 2nd October 2008
Re Impy on 16th August. I have just linked up a Thomson HD box and have found the same lip sync problem. Is this the sky box or the TV? It only appears to happen on the HD channels.
Ryker Abel said on 21st October 2008
lip sync test:
put the TV in game mode, this turns off all video processing.
If you still have lip sync issues in game mode, then it is not the TV.
Sven Okonomi said on 22nd October 2008
Im looking for the ultimate 42" HD gaming screen (Xbox 360 mainly),
and this kinda seems to be the one. Am I right?
The review does seem to mention some judder in fast motions, but apparently the TV also offers game mode, so I assume they put atleast some thought into this particulair use?
Paul Tierney said on 11th November 2008
With Reference to lip sync i have sky plus and the boffins at sky say there is a sync problem with bbc/itv programs that are recorded was told reduce the record start time and advance to start of recording i`ve not had an issue since but all recordings from movies etc have been ok so definately not a tv issue...........best tv i`ve had. Previous one was a bravia lcd and the pannie wipes the floor with it blug in a high end blu-ray player and sit back and be amazed
Sarah said on 16th December 2008
I've narrowed my TV search down to the panasonic PZ80 or the lg 6100 42" - cant make up my mind and it's driving me mad! i dont have sky just watch the normal freeview programmes and DVD's i love the sound on the panasonic home cinema so whichever tv i get i'd like to get that.
help me decide?
Add Your Comment
Add your comment
You must be logged in to comment. Login or register here.
How does Panasonic keep doing it? All of their televisions are getting Recommendations! All I know is, when I'm able to afford a new television, I'm definitely looking in Panasonic's direction!