Best Buy Lcd HDTV Blog

no problems with shipping
Cannot say anything about the TV yet, we just got it today. Wanted to let people know that my shipping experience with CEVA, about which many people complained, was excellent. I placed an order on Monday, the TV arrived on Friday, and the shippers even took it out of the box, assembled the base, and put it on my media center.

Best TV for the money!
I'll keep it simple. Good price. Great Delivery. Outstanding TV. Beautiful picture. Impressive sound! This is the one you want.

Not terrible, but not great.
Perhaps I purchased this monitor expecting too much, but I am disappointed with my selection.

First of all, the Viera with the picture off looks very good. This bad boy has a sleek design and it's shiny frame looks very impressive. It's definitely a high end hdtv...until you turn it on. I don't know where to begin with my disappointment. I got a good deal on it, so the price is not what left me less then satisfied. The display itself is very overrated. It is difficult to get a crisp picture on this unit, and the THX mode that critics praise seems to leave a lot of pictures hazy and cloudy. I'm sure replicating "true blacks" is what a lot of video-philes loved about this set, but even the blacks seem more gray then truly black.

I also read that the sound the set produces is above average. However, when I actually do use the sound that my Panasonic delivers, it sounds painful to my ears. I am not one that buys a television for it's audio qualities, but I am sending out a warning to those that might.

Beyond the less-than-satisfactory qualities that I have mentioned above, my biggest qualm is with the reflective screen attached to the unit. My two biggest concerns while purchasing a plasma were burn-in (which to it's marketing department's credit, Panasonic has convinced me is not a big deal) and reflectivity. The reflection off the front of the tv does not seem to be a huge deal. It's a bit distracting, but overall it is not a deal breaker. HOWEVER, the reflection from INSIDE the tv is what I find incomprehensible for a modern-day television. From most angles (anything not directly in front of the tv), I notice a double image, or reflection, of the original picture. Maybe this is my fault because it's normal for plasma displays, but I find it utterly ridiculous that a modern day television that prides itself on viewing angles considers this to be par for the course. How can a tv actually deliver a "crisp" picture when everything it displays has a "ghost" behind it? Once again, I find this insulting to my intelligence.

I'm sure my review will be ripped to shreds by all of those that consider this unit to be a work of art. I don't have any credentials to back up my opinions. I'm just an ordinary guy on his third hdtv, and I find it fairly disappointing for all the hype this Panny has received. It's not the worse set in the world, but it's far from delivering on the hype that it has received.

Panasonic 50- Inch Plasma
Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

I have always enjoyed Panasonic products. Now I know that they also make a really impressive plasma TV. I thought my 46 Inch Samsung LCD was great until I recently bought this Panasonic 50 Inch plasma. The picture on this TV is crisp and the sound is great! It was well worth the money. Hats-off to Panasonic. I think Samsung really has some serious competition from Panasonic.

TV is Good, AntOnline is not.
I am very happy with this TV. Features are exactly what is advertised. However, I am not happy with AntOnline's delivery service. They attempted delivery using a 48 ft semi and were unable to even approach my house. The shipper called me and said they couldn't stop on my road b/c their truck was too big. I was forced to drive 50 miles to pick up the TV from their warehouse, as AntOnline did nothing to help resolve the issue. I've asked for shipping charge back and have received nothing. I don't recommend buying from them if you live in a residential area.

Very Satisfied Panasonic purchaser!
I researched HDTV's for over a year and after after careful consideration, I chose the 58" Panasonic Viera Plasma. I've had it for two weeks now and am very very happy with the set (and relieved). A relative has the 60" Pioneer Elite Kuro and paid 00 for it. I can honestly say that my Panasonic is really close in picture quality to the Pioneer at more than half the price.
The set up is easy, sound is good and the picture quality is super.

This TV is very crisp and beautiful
I got this TV b/c cnet seemed to rave about it. I had a TH-50PX600U and that was a nice TV and I'm a big panasonic fan, but this TV I can definitely notice an improvement in quality from my cable HD channels, even though both are from the same 720p signal. In addition, watching Blu-Ray from this is beautiful (I'm using a PS3). I'm really happy with the purchase. One recommendation for anyone owning this TV is to use custom settings and not use the settings that are default.


The rest of the review is copy/pasted from "daarrid" over at avsforum.com
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1056962

However lets remember that the THX mode can be adjusted!!!! Panasonic's default settings for THX are just wrong. The CNET reviewer, using a completely dark room, adjusted the THX settings considerably upward from their default settings. Just for the sake of example - CNET increased the picture setting from 50 to 100 for their review.

I'd suggest that anyone owning this set start with CNET's THX settings:

CNET's THX settings (completely dark room):

Picture: 100
Brightness: 55
Color: 56
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 50
Color Temp: Warm
Cats: Off
Color Man.: Off
MPEG NR: Off
HD Size: Size 2
Black Level: Light


Or try My THX Settings (for a dimly lite room):

THX MODE:

Picture: 95
Brightness: 62
Color: 50
Tint: -8
Sharpness: 50
Color Temp: Normal
Cats: Off
Color Man.: On
MPEG NR: Off
HD Size: Size 2
Black Level: Light

While I use my Custom settings occassionally - tweaking the THX settings are much more important for everyday use. I use THX 90% of the time. The Custom Mode I created, I generally use ONLY for broadcasts made for TV. Remember THX is a movie standard and does not technically apply to TV shows (although some of these TV shows may also look better in THX).

Here are my custom mode settings again (already posted). Use these settings for TV shows and/or movies shown in a bright room:

CUSTOM MODE:

Picture: 85
Brightness: 50
Color: 34
Tint: -7
Sharpness: 50
Color Temp: Normal
Cats: Off
Color Man.: On
MPEG NR: Off
HD Size: Size 2
Black Level: Light

Shock & Awe
Look at the picture & forget about the price, other reviews mentioned how much this TV cost, I will not. Why? Because, when your focus is to get the best TV out there the price should comes second. To me, this is the one. I watch this TV from about 13 feet away and have a direct TV DVR receiver connected by monster 1000 HDMI cable. Wow!
Here is a double Wow! Get the Panasonic Blue-ray Disc player DMP-BD30 will do and connect it to this TV set by HDMI connection, get the "planet earth" Blue-ray CD and you will experience audio/video Shock & Awe.
I am not bias to Panasonic, in fact the only Panasonic I ever purchased in my life was a panasonic wireless telephone, 6 years old and still going... So I figured the TV would be as durable, so far so good.
Hey, if price is the issue, an average person will keep a good TV set 5 to 7 years. Now divide the cost by the amount of years you think you will keep this TV. Got it?
Au revoir mes amis, I am going to watch TV

Panasonic Viera TH-58PZ800U is AMAZING!!!
I recently purchased the panasonic th58pz800u from amazon for 19, which I feel is very reasonable (The price has indeed fluctuated between 99 and 99 on amazon during the time I was shopping for it). Once ordered, the television was delivered in 3 business days (I'm in CA). Although the amazon website said it would be delivered "white glove", the delivery persons did not have that information. However, when we let them know that's what we were expecting, they willingly obliged by unpacking the t.v., placing it on it's stand, turned it on and left with all the packing materials. Pretty nice! Before purchasing this t.v. which I waited for a while before it was even available, I was considering the Pioneer pdp6020fd, which in my mind is the only other comparable plasma set, image quality and features wise. I opted for a plasma because I felt that it had the superior picture (contrast, colors, sharpness) over all the nicer lcd screens available (120hz sony xbr, samsung, toshiba) particularly when viewing lots of full-range motion (sports and movies), the panasonic and pioneer plasmas handled the edging the most smoothly. I found the Panasonic set to be very close in image quality with the pioneer but for 00-00 less. I didn't care for the samsung sets because they generated so much heat. The panasonic and pioneer sets both don't noticeably change the temperature of a room.

I setup my panasonic with all my sources being piped through my Denon avr2808ci, which upconverts all sources through it's hdmi out. I have a hd cable box (connected via hdmi), a dvd player (connected via component) and a sony ps3 (connected via hdmi) hooked-up through the denon. The 1080i from the hd cable box looks amazing! The 1080p from the ps3 bluray is flawless and the 480p upconverted from dvd looks surprisingly great as well. In each case, the colors are vibrant and the blacks are so black that the blacks in an image are consistent with the black of the screen when it is turned-off. All in all, I am extremely pleased with my purchase of the panasonic and find it to be the finest television I have owned (The t.v. I replaced was a hd-capable 57" sony xbr rear projection whose blacks were actually dark gray...I bought this t.v. for 00 more than the panasonic set 7 years ago).

In my particular setup, I had to make sure that all my hdmi cables were hdmi v1.3 cables otherwise the denon throughput no signal to the television. Monoprice.com had excellent hdmi v1.3 cables for about each. I was able to get a great bdi stand for it from dynamichomedecor.com which I also found to be an excellent resource.

I highly recommend the purchase from amazon.com primarily because of the included "white glove" delivery, just make sure at the time of purchase that it is stated. I know that vanns.com and other reputable places may have slightly lower prices, but for me the "white glove" delivery really made the whole process much easier and sweeter.

Don't assume anything, ask if you're not sure!!!
Two months ago I bought a 52" LCD TV (not Panasonic) for my family room, so my grand kids could watch TV and play Xbox & Playstation 3 games. The TV was bought directly from Amazon and the shipping was free. When it got to my house over three weeks later, two men deliverd the TV and put it in my family room. They took it out of the box and set it up and pluged it in to make sure everything worked. (It did) They said the white glove service was on all TV's from Amazon. On 08/29/2008 I went to Amazon's web sight and bought my TH-58PZ800U (61.99) for my living room and the shipping was free too. My 58" Panasonic TV was actually bought from a partner company through Amazon, called Buy Now Inc., which still honored the free shipping. When the TV was delivered 09/11/2008 (in very good condition), it was only delivered by one man and it was a side walk delivery only. He saw I was disabled and was nice enough to bring it in through my front door and left it in my living room. I unpacked it and set it up two days later. The TV (140 lbs) comes with a stand and it's very easy to set up but you will need at least two healthy people and three is even better. I called Amazon and asked why the difference in my type of delivery? They said, All TV items bought directly from Amazon get the white glove type delivery treatment and from partner companies in most cases it will be a side walk delivery only. Both times the trucking company called a day or two ahead, to set up the delivery I strongly recommed you ask what type of delivery you're getting. I hope this helps?

Now about the TH-58PZ800U Panasonic Plasma TV which I researched for over a month before I bought it. I read all the personal and profesional reviews I could find. I was very lucky to have a major National Electronics store in my area that had a large selection of most of the major brands that made Plasma TV's. I want to be very honest in this review. Three or four other brands of Plasma TV's have come a long way and they looked great. I tried to compare apples to apples by comparing only Plasma TV's because that's what I wanted for my living room. It was very hard to see a major difference in picture and color in alot of todays Plasma TV's on display. I narrowed it down to two or three Plasma TV's in the 58" to 60" range. What made the decision for me was: My 58" Panasonic had a very good picture, colors were excellent, the non glare screen, all the HDMI (4) and other inputs, Panasonics Reputation, Quality and Repair history. I already own a 42" Panasonic Plasma TV that is 5 years old and it still has a great picture. Last but not least, the sound from the TV speakers is great if you don't have a home sound system, which I do, so I checked it out and then I hooked it up to my ow home sound system. The remote control is easy to use and the menu, doing the TV set up, is very easy and quick to do. Right now I have no negatives because I've only had the TV for 5 days and used it for 3 days. I hope this review has helped in some ways.

no problems with shipping
Cannot say anything about the TV yet, we just got it today. Wanted to let people know that my shipping experience with CEVA, about which many people complained, was excellent. I placed an order on Monday, the TV arrived on Friday, and the shippers even took it out of the box, assembled the base, and put it on my media center.

Best TV for the money!
I'll keep it simple. Good price. Great Delivery. Outstanding TV. Beautiful picture. Impressive sound! This is the one you want.

Not terrible, but not great.
Perhaps I purchased this monitor expecting too much, but I am disappointed with my selection.

First of all, the Viera with the picture off looks very good. This bad boy has a sleek design and it's shiny frame looks very impressive. It's definitely a high end hdtv...until you turn it on. I don't know where to begin with my disappointment. I got a good deal on it, so the price is not what left me less then satisfied. The display itself is very overrated. It is difficult to get a crisp picture on this unit, and the THX mode that critics praise seems to leave a lot of pictures hazy and cloudy. I'm sure replicating "true blacks" is what a lot of video-philes loved about this set, but even the blacks seem more gray then truly black.

I also read that the sound the set produces is above average. However, when I actually do use the sound that my Panasonic delivers, it sounds painful to my ears. I am not one that buys a television for it's audio qualities, but I am sending out a warning to those that might.

Beyond the less-than-satisfactory qualities that I have mentioned above, my biggest qualm is with the reflective screen attached to the unit. My two biggest concerns while purchasing a plasma were burn-in (which to it's marketing department's credit, Panasonic has convinced me is not a big deal) and reflectivity. The reflection off the front of the tv does not seem to be a huge deal. It's a bit distracting, but overall it is not a deal breaker. HOWEVER, the reflection from INSIDE the tv is what I find incomprehensible for a modern-day television. From most angles (anything not directly in front of the tv), I notice a double image, or reflection, of the original picture. Maybe this is my fault because it's normal for plasma displays, but I find it utterly ridiculous that a modern day television that prides itself on viewing angles considers this to be par for the course. How can a tv actually deliver a "crisp" picture when everything it displays has a "ghost" behind it? Once again, I find this insulting to my intelligence.

I'm sure my review will be ripped to shreds by all of those that consider this unit to be a work of art. I don't have any credentials to back up my opinions. I'm just an ordinary guy on his third hdtv, and I find it fairly disappointing for all the hype this Panny has received. It's not the worse set in the world, but it's far from delivering on the hype that it has received.

Panasonic 50- Inch Plasma
Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

I have always enjoyed Panasonic products. Now I know that they also make a really impressive plasma TV. I thought my 46 Inch Samsung LCD was great until I recently bought this Panasonic 50 Inch plasma. The picture on this TV is crisp and the sound is great! It was well worth the money. Hats-off to Panasonic. I think Samsung really has some serious competition from Panasonic.

TV is Good, AntOnline is not.
I am very happy with this TV. Features are exactly what is advertised. However, I am not happy with AntOnline's delivery service. They attempted delivery using a 48 ft semi and were unable to even approach my house. The shipper called me and said they couldn't stop on my road b/c their truck was too big. I was forced to drive 50 miles to pick up the TV from their warehouse, as AntOnline did nothing to help resolve the issue. I've asked for shipping charge back and have received nothing. I don't recommend buying from them if you live in a residential area.

Top of the line
I bought this set about 6 months ago. Before buying I did extensive research at avsforum. Great source of information audio and video equipment. I cannot be any happier about my choice.
When it was delivered, the shipper unpacked and did the initial setup to be sure it worked. At first the pic was below expectations until I realized my cable company was not broadcasting in HD. Once I started supplying a HD signal to the set I couldn't believe my eyes. The picture was awesome. Picture setup is a breeze with the optional Avia calibration disc. It was pretty close to perfect right from the factory. All functions are easily attended to thru the OSD menus. Peripheral hookups are adequate and easy. Factory sound is good enough for me. I imagine a home theatre sound system could be a big plus as well.
Size matters........It's a 50 inch set !!! My wife thought I was crazy going this big. It sounds huge I know, but the biggest mistake people can make here is buying too small. She loves it. Buy as big as your budget and/or space will allow. It is worth it.
Absolutely no complaints.......excellent unit.

Beware Panasonic
I bought a Panasonic plasma 2 years ago and it died for no reason. It will now cost 00 for the board just to fix it. The TV repairman said he has never seen such a high cost for a replacement board. Multiple different board tried without luck. Still waiting.

Panasonic TH-50PZ700U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
Excellent. TV came quickly with no damage, which was a concern because of its size and delicacy!!

top of the line, beware burn in gamers!
straight up, i did my research for about a year while i saved money. this is the best set you will find for your money, everything you've read about it is true, except one thing. Burn-in. Gamers beware. Even if you watch HD-TV with a symbol in the corner like 'TLC' you'll get burn in if the icon doesn't move. I have this set and a good friend does too. what really upsets me is playing my ps3 through this. Sharp as a razor yes. adding a static wallpaper for a custom theme though is a BAD idea. Try it, you'll see. then play some music and turn the visualizer on. if you cant see the burn in, then get your eyes checked. play rock band or guitar hero FOR AN HOUR (which is'nt hard to do), turn any white background on, look for the game icon burn ins (rock meter, etc). Generally they go away after a couple hours, but its frustrating. BOTH my set and my good friend's set do the same thing. even a half hour of a static image will create burn in. Granted its better now a days than it used to be, at least it goes away after some time.... if you're a gamer, pick up the sharp aquos. no burn-in on an lcd set; and the runner up as far as a great picture goes (reds are a little funny at times though). Reviews are slightly lower, but hell, you could at least leave a game system on pause without havening to worry about switching the inputs to avoid burn in. Im serious folks. take heed. great set, bad for gamers and burn-in. sharp as a razor though....

Incredible picture, Incredible HDTV
This Panasonic Plasma HDTV is simply an incredible product. The picture quality stands out as nothing short of impressive. I found this HDTV to strike the perfect balance between excellent quality and price. After months of searching for a quality product to invest my money in, this HDTV does not disappoint.

While there has been some history of people expressing concern about the picture brightness of plasma flat-panels (i.e. being too dim), I have found this Panasonic to provide ample brightness of picture. As a matter of fact, a description in my house of the picture is how the colors "glow." Of course this is referring the the brighter colors. This leads me to another aspect of the picture, the darker colors. This is where this plasma really stands out. The darker colors are well defined with deep blacks. The grays and blacks are well delineated. For someone who likes to view a lot of movies, the strength of it's display of darker colors is something that I have found impressive. Additionally, the plasma is excellent in it's display of motion. For a sports fan, such as myself, this plasma does an excellent job of displaying the motion of sports.

Also of note with this plasma is that the performance of the speakers turned out to be a pleasant surprise. One of my wife's first comments about this Panasonic was the good quality of sound from it's speakers.

After having this Panasonic for about 4 months, I've had no problems with this product and have found it to be free of defects.

While I've spent much time providing a "glowing" review of this set, I'll turn to any perceived weaknesses. They are few, and I almost have to search for them.

One of the main weaknesses that I found is the need for tender, love & care that the plasma requires. Specifically, plasmas can be at danger for screen "burn-in" by leaving a static image on the screen for too long. While I have not had any burn-in problems, I do remain vigilant about not leaving the tv on while unattended. At least this helps me to save on my electricity bill as these HDTVs are known to be energy hogs. As a precaution, I do not leave letterbox shows on the screen for hours uninterrupted. My complaint regarding this weakness is that the manual mentions image retention/screen burn-in, but the manual does not clearly define the length of time before there is danger of burn-in.

One last weakness that I found is that there are only 2 HDMI connection ports. While that is just enough for me, it would be nice to have an extra just in case.

In conclusion, I am extremely impressed with this Panasonic plasma. I am really glad that I choose this set, and my family and I get much enjoyment out of it. I view this set as being worth every penny that I paid for it. Panasonic has won me over.

Expectations Met. Period.
I researched this tv for 3 months before pulling the trigger. I was only disapointed in paying a buck fifty more then what I could have gotten it for but the price has since risen since.
I purchased the Plasma on 10/3 and right out of the box it was great. The picture was great and that was just in Standard. I got the HD receiver three days after and thats when I really fell in love with it. It is also good to note that you can not find this tv in retail stores. I actually had a saleman at Circuit City tell me that the 42pz800u didn't exsist.
The only draw back on this Plasma that i could actually complain about would be the sound. Not the best but not the worst. Nothing a cheap home sound system couldn't fix. This Panasonic gets a 10. If there's a Plasma better, well...I won't worry about that for some years to come.

Tom
South Jersey

A great buy!
This is the second Panasonic plasma HDTV that I have bought. I bought my first one back in 2006. That one is great and the picture and quality are fantasitc. But my new Panasonic Viera TH42PZ800U 42" plasma 1080p blows my old one out of the water. Granted my new plasma is 2 years newer than my first, but the picture and colors are great. I also bought a Blue-Ray player (Panasonic of course) and the DVD's play great on the plasma. For the money, you can not go wrong with this Panasonic model.

So in short, if you are in the market for a new plasma HDTV, you should definitely consider buying this plasma (or another Panasonic plasma).

Quality blows me away
I decided to spend a little more on this model. In addition to the improved picture quality, card reader and extra HDMI input I chose this because it was crafted from a single sheet of glass and had a swivel stand (the tv sits in a corner and allow us to swivel to face the kitchen if we need).

I did a lot of research on TVs and knew I wanted a Panasonic plasma from the outset. The picture quality is excellent (colors and blacks are extremely well defined), menu's easy to navigate and the THX certification was noticeable when you switched - particularly on DVDs. All in all a great price for this TV and a solid, good looking performer.

Nice TV - Good Picture
This TV is sharp. So far I only have HD through Comcast. Make sure you use an HDMI calbe; it does not have to be an expensive one - try Belkin.

The THX makes me feel like watching TV through polarized sunglasess; in otherwords, too dark - I have yet to watch a Blu Ray movie on the THX mode. So far, I have been watching this TV on the Custom Mode.

The TV is stylish and stands out from the pack. I have not had a burning image and not sure if that's a problem anymore.

If you do not have HD service from your Cable or Dish and do not plan on getting a Blu Ray don't bother getting this TV - stick to your old tube.

The size, 42-Inch is big enough for my 12 feet away viewing experience. Another plus is that this tv has an excellent sound and more than likely you will not need a surround system; other HD TVs have very poor sound systems.

Movie experience at home
As an older widow I prefer to watch movies etc. in my own home. My new 42 inch Pnasonic HD TV is perfect for that and also my favorite programs on TV. The delivery service in my area was also very well managed.

No Regrets
I wouldn't usually purchase an item like this on-line, but i'm very pleased I did. Great product.

Craft TV
This is the perfect bedroom TV. Consumer Reports rated this 26-inch TV #1 at this size and it lives up to that rating in every way. Great color and sound. Everything with the vendor was also 5-star. Arrived in perfect condition within 4 days of the order with standard shipping. You cannot go wrong buying this TV from this vendor.

Excellent TV - Excellent service from Amazon
What can I say besides that everything went perfect. Amazon is great - I ordered and a few days later I received the product. They had the best price. The product itself is great for our sitting room. It replaced a Sharp LCD HDTV and there was a major difference.

Panosonic TV
Product came on time, properly packaged and I was kept informed of its delivery status

does a title really tell you any thing?
I got this TV, mostly because it was a name brand and cheaper than most. I really like all the ports and I was willing to go with a 720 rather than a 1080 out of pricing. for a simple high def TV, this is really nice, I play alot of games and watch even more movies, so my old CRT wasnt going to cut it anymore. A few things I found to grip about(isnt that why we all read these things anyways?, lol)
1. the speakers broadcast most of the sound BEHIND the TV, now my games sound OK, but movies lose a bit. I would recomend using a stereo or alternate device to broadcast your sound.

2. I would have liked more than one S-Video port, I use alot of devices, and don't want to go out and get a componant cable just to have the DVD player and games at the same time with out loss of signal.

and 3. It was kinda wierd to find the buttons are not on the front of the TV, so that can make changing channels ackward if you lose your remote, and your TV is against something, not something that effects everyone, but hey, just a simple problem.

all in all, this is a great TV for someone who wants reasonable HD at a low cost. If you are looking for a 720p, just buy this one, toshiba is a crappy brand, and sony costs too much. and everytime I buy panasonic, I am always satisfied.
hope my review helps
deaf_omega

I would give it 4 1/2 if I could.....
For the price, this TV is all most perfect! After MONTHS of researching I bought this puppy last weekend and the picture is just amazing. I have friends that have spent ,500+ on HDTV's last year and this one blows them away.

Don't let people tell you this is a great "entry level" or "mid-level" T.V., because I have seen Pioneer's elite brand and I can tell you that most people will not be able to tell the difference.

Sure if you are a videophile (or work for cnet) you will be able to tell the SLIGHT difference in picture quality and response (oh! Look for that millisecond in the corner of Star Wars, you can actually see the rendering of the ship, wow! That is worth the extra k!).

To me, spending double (or sometimes even triple) for a picture quality that I *might* be able to tell the difference on *some* movies seems to be a waste to me...I rather spend it on my audio system where I can tell a REAL difference.

So why only 4 1/2 stars out of 5? Read on:

Pros: Price is awesome (bought mine at ABT for 99 and got a free Bluray player). Picture is just awesome, it blows away "mid-range" Sony, Samsung, Sharp HDTV's. Unless you are planning on paying 3k+ for an HDTV, you will be wasting your money to buy something more expensive.

Cons: Here is where I take half a star off, sound. The sound is not terrible and it doesn't ruin the T.V. however, it just isn't up to par with other sets I have listened to. I am not sure how to describe it but it sounds "thin" if that makes any sense. Some people might not like the fact that it only has 3 HDMI ports but that seems plenty for my setup.

So you should buy this TV if:

-You do not mind that it only has 3 HDMI ports
-You will be hooking it up to an AV receiver or external speakers of some sort
-If you do not plan to hook it up to an external sound source, you do not mind that the speakers are lacking (they don't have that "full sound" to them).
-Looking for the "best bang for your buck"

Again, I do not see the reason to spend any more money UNLESS you need a bigger screen or need the 800 Panasonic series because you need 4 HDMI ports or need to connect your TV to the internet to get the latest weather and stock reports.

Just my 2c

Excellent TV
I did a lot of research for both LCD and plasma. At the end I had two strong candidates, the Sony Bravia and the Panasonic Viera. After a side by side comparison at a local store I decided to go with the Viera. I purchased the unit a month ago and I'm very happy with my choice of the TV and purchasing from Amazon. Delivery company delivered on the date and time promised. Performance so far has been flawless. Colors are rich, warm and the image quality is awesome. Watching NBA games in high definition takes TV watching to a new level with this plasma TV. Just turn your lights off at nightime and watch your favorite sport and you'll see what I mean. Highly recommended.

Very good HDTV
Pro:
I settled on this HDTV after much research.

If you want an HDTV that can be used as a monitor, this is a good one because there is a setting for overscan. Overscan is the amount of picture your digital TV will cut off. Then it resizes the image, then displays it. If you have a true 1080p source, you want to eliminate overscan so you are displaying every pixel of input (for actual 1080p Blu-Ray or computer input). The problem is that this setting is buried in the menus, and is not easily accessed. An improvement would be to put this as a button on the remote.

You DON'T want this setting activated when watching normal TV because there is garbage at the top and bottom of most TV signals. Having this setting on displays the garbage!

Another reason I picked this HDTV was for sports viewing. I'm a sports junkie, and watching 720p input from ESPN or ABC looks great. The TV scales this input very well. I can even zoom in and the 720p signal zoomed looks good.

A word on blur: There is no blur on a plasma. LCD screens can make a tiny amount of blur. Great. But when I watch the sports shows I normally watch, the broadcast has a slight amount of blur from camera motion and perhaps poor image processing.

The only thing you might want to consider if you're considering this TV is getting the next models up, which are the Panasonic TH-46PZ800 or TH-46PZ800 models. Both will display 24Hz, which is what Blu-Ray movies come in. This is only needed with Blu-Ray - HDTV is in 60Hz. The 24Hz display mode will result in smoother Blu-Ray viewing. If you don't get this, the Blu-Ray player must be set to 60Hz output, and the change from 24Hz to 60Hz can be a bit choppy, and result in "judder" during some panning scenes. Ask a Circuit City or Best Buy employee to show you, and you'll see. Or don't, and you'll probably never ever notice.

Also, the sides of the TV are a little larger than I think they need to be. There is a good 2.5" border of "frame" around the picture; I'd prefer 1" or less. Go check it out at a big box store, and see for yourself - this is simply a question of taste.

Other models I considered: Sony's 120 Hz LCD 46 inch, Samsung's LCD TVs, Toshiba's 120 Hz 46 inch LCD. All had slight blurs, so I went with plasma.

If you're worried about plasma screen burn in, do some research. This TV will shift the picture up and down to avoid that effect, and will also turn OFF if the picture is from the same channel for too long. From what I've read, that almost totally eliminates burn-in issues.

Excellent tv
I had spent many months searching for a tv for my great room. After doing a significant amount of research I decided to go with the 46" Viera TH-46PZ85U. I'm impressed by the overall quality of this product as I have been a fan of Panasonic tv's for a while but the picture on this is amazing. I have mounted it on the wall paired with a polk audio 5.1 home theater setup and I feel as though I'm at the theater. Very deep blacks and watching the NFL on Fios TV is like being at the game. i would recommend this tv to anyone.

Plasma vs LCD
I've owned the Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46" 1080P PLASMA HDTV for a little over a month now and it is awesome.The picture is even better than I expected and is worlds away from the old 32" Sony WEGA CRT television I had been watching for years. You really don't appreciate what you had been missing before the plasma flat screen.Broadcasts in 480i almost make you shy away from watching once you get spoiled by high def. We have only been to see one movie since buying the TV. I'd rather just rent movies at home since I added the Bose 321 system (which is not a must).The TV speaker quality is very good-much better than most, but now it's like a miny theatre at home.
Everything on the TV is very user friendly and I have no problems whatsoever with glare, burn-in, or heat that some people claim is associated with a plasma. You can't go wrong with this HDTV. I researched a lot and spend several trips comparing TV picture quality and features.I was leaning toward it or the Samsung LCD. I've seen the picture quality of my freinds Samsung 550 LCD and it's good too, but for the money ....I'll take my plasma.Panasonic claims 100,000 hours before the plasma screen begins to loose half brightness where all the others are rated at 60,000hrs.Amazons white glove service and Panasonic's Viera plasma get an A rating from me. I am very happy with my purchase and will gladly do it again in the future.Overall...very pleased.

Unbeatable Value
First things first. Open the box and make sure the screen isn't cracked before you let the shipper leave and before you sign anything (shine a flashlight on it and any cracks will show up immediately). I learned that the hard way the first time I purchased this set (from another vendor). Also, I believe Amazon requires the shipper to unpack the TV, plug it in and verify that it is working before they leave although in my case the guy wanted to leave without doing this and I went ahead and let him.

There's not much to say about the set itself except that it looks fantastic. I'm watching movies and playing games in a completely dark room and the black level is excellent. You should do at least a basic calibration of the brightness and picture (contrast) settings using a calibration disk for optimal quality (there is a free one you can find on the AVSforum, or you can buy one).

As with all Plasmas, you have to watch out for image retention, but I haven't found that to be an issue at all. The instructions offer extremely conservative advice on breaking in the screen to avoid image retention (100 hours of full-screen viewing content with no black bars, sports or stock tickers or video games with fixed elements of any kinds, then another 900 hours of limited viewing of such content). Personally, I ran a break in program for 75 hours, started using the set for video games and movies (with black bars) and I just run the break-in program all night after any bad content. I'm now up to 200+ hours now and haven't seen a speck of image retention or burn in.

Highly recommended.

It rocks brother - but not as a computer monitor (my bad)
Well, I have been a CRT guy for a long time. I always thought that I would not really care to have HD over normal TV. I mean, yeah, the picture would be better but once engrossed in a show, well, would I really care if it is HD? And the answer is - as I expected - not really. However, that is just me.

As far as this TV goes, its fantastic! Great picture, great features - comes with a VGA type plug so you can run your computer into it easily if you don't want to go HDMI for some reason. Sound is okay - not anything noteworthy. But really, it is an excellent TV.

Also - there is no noticeable glare that people are always concerned about. I have windows behind me so when the TV is off, I can clearly see them. When on - I don't notice them at all so don't worry about the glare.

The bad: Note that the bad is about all Plasma - not this TV. First - I bought this to be a computer monitor more than a TV (I am using it right now as a matter of fact - from my couch - very nice). I did not do my research though - very bad. Plasmas are known to have pixel memory. Although better than it was in past years, when you are on the internet for hours at a time - some parts of your screen never change - X in top right corner, window frame all around. For that reason, I wish I had gotten an LCD and would recommend the same to people looking to use this thing as a humungo sized monitor. I am guessing that I will screw it up being a software guy. Also - it is a power hog of course - also par for Plasmas. I don't have to run the furnace in my house anymore ;-) jk

That said, as a TV, this thing is great - but I always expect that from Panasonic.

PANNY PLASMA BEST BANG FOR THE BUCK
Went to BB to originally buy a 1080P 50 in Samsung Plasma or a 1080P 120Hz LG. Talked to the BB rep and they told me, "I would rather get a Panasonic 720P than a Samsung 1080Por LG 120HZ!" WHAT I THOUGHT!! Then she explained to me that the Panasonic has a 480Hz subfield drive, whereas the LCD's I was looking at were only 120Hz. She explained to me Plasmas have come along way and there's no issues with BURN INS and GHOSTS like the first gen Plasmas. Panny has an automatic orbiter and anti-image rention options set up to combat these issues!!!She showed me a calibrated Panasonic 720P and it BLEW the Samsung and LG AWAY!! But I was not set on buying 720P. I wanted the 1080P.

Left BB and came straight to Amazon.com (Amazon was almost 500 cheaper than BB, plus you pay no tax!!), however when I bought my TV they we didn't offer free shipping. I ended up buying [...] in August (best price I found on the internet)(EASY TRANSACTION, plus free shipping, no tax). NOw I see the Tv's alittle under 1500, but Football season was coming up and I wanted to see the new season in HD!!!

I still haven't gotten my plasma calibrated, waiting for a buddy from BB to do it for free (its been 2 months and I'm still waiting!! haha what a friend). TWO drawback ARE 1) I'm realizing I wish it had 4 HDMI inputs and 2 the sound is LACKING (I guess cause its only 20W's), i've decided to buy myself the Panasominc 960 HTIB for Christmas!!!

I have no issue with HEAT!!! I have no issue with GLARE!!! I have no issue with Ghosting or burning!!!

BUY IT especially since it has the 480Hz subfield drive and you can't beat the price at under [...]!!! It came out 8 months ago retailing for nearly a grand more!!!

Very pleased.
We are very happy with our new TV. The image is awesome and size appropriate for us. It arrived promptly and we can't be happier!

Awesome TV!!!
First of all, Holy Crap!! The picture on this tv is phenominal. I did a crazy amount of shopping and studying before I finally made my decision on this tv, and I'm glad I did. Plasma is way better than lcd and they happen to be less expensive. I am also impressed that this tv happens to be Energy Star qualified. Couldn't be happier.