Cheap Panasonic TH-42PD50U 42" Flat Panel EDTV Plasma TV with Matching-Base Installation (Electronics) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Panasonic TH-42PD50U 42" Flat Panel EDTV Plasma TV with Matching-Base Installation

A great plasma TV value, awesome for watching DVDs
After doing a LOT of research on big-screen and HDTV television options, I settled on the Panasonic Plasma TH-42PD50U TV. I'm very happy with it - a great value!! The picture is very bright and has a depth and "real" feel that microprojection HDTVs can't match; nor can they match the viewing angles. It is a gigantic improvement from our 15-yr old JVC 20" TV. The Panasonic TH-42PD50U works well in our living room with the pedestal stand. Daylight and window reflections are much less of a problem than with our old curved screen TV. Before buying, I compared the Panasonic EDTV side-by-side with the Panasonic 42" plasma HDTV and other 42"HDTVs at a big box store near me. The differences at a normal viewing distance of 8-10 ft with a HD signal were practically not distinguishable. For my budget that was not worth the $1000 price difference. The main limiting factor in plasma screens of this size is the size of pixels - only a 50" or larger plasma HDTV can display all of the HD signal anyway. <
> <
> <
>Viewing a DishNetwork SD digital signal at home, picture and color quality are very good, better than our old CRT TV. The biggest disadvantage is that you have to stretch (justify) the picture to fill the 16:9 screen (Panasonic recommends this to avoid static bars and potential burn-in). That distorts the image a little. In a year or more I plan to go to HD programming, which will eliminate need for stretching and improve the picture quality. Right now I don't think the limited HD DishNetwork programming available is worth it. <
> <
>The picture quality of DVD movies with our non-progressive JVC DVD player is outstanding. Use at least component video cables. VHS tapes through S-video cable look lousy by comparison; you will see all the flaws of the low-resolution analog picture on the large screen. <
> <
>Before I bought the TV, I called Panasonic Customer Service and they gave me some suggestions to avoid burn-in (also in owner's manual). Have not had any problems. With a little bit of caution, especially during first 100 hours of use, you can prevent it. <
> <
>The remote is user-friendly and well-designed. I have found the performance of the built-in stereo speakers to be fine. No, it is not surround sound, but very adequate and much better sound than our old MTS stereo CRT. <
>

---

Best bet for the price range -- incredibly clear HD picture for EDTV
Don't settle for the cheapest plasma you can get -- what's the point of a big screen full of low resolution and fuzzy picture? I was going to "settle" for a 30 inch LCD and decided to go for more real estate. 40 inch LCDs are way out of my price range, and I realized during comparison shopping at Best Buy and other brick and mortar stores, that I acutally PREFER plasma to LCD pictures. Something about plasma to me seems more alive and real and the colors seemed brighter. Maybe this was just in my head to justify the expense of a 42 inch plasma, but I'm happy with plasma versus LCD. It's a totally subjective preference so I suggest you comparison shop and not listen or read what the 'experts' have to say. <
> <
> I was going to go for the cheapest plasma with a decent image quality I could find -- but then I started looking for the plasma s in this size range with the best overall ratings. The TH-42PD50U was at the top of the heap as far as meeting qualiy and price. The tie-breaker was that the TH-42PD50U comes with the stand and speakers -- stands and speakers alone will add a hundreds of dollars to your tv price if you have to purchase them separately. Definitely the best package for the quality. <
> <
> And what quality. I was expecting a so-so picture quality, having been unimpressed with so called "HD tv's" and HD signals in DLP and flat screen CRT screens. The HD channels, using generic component cables, IS AMAZING!!! <
> <
> AWESOME PICTURE!!!! I'm not easily impressed and I'm very picky, but the picture quality was sharp as cut glass, the black were black, the colors were deep and real -- truly a TV that I can be satisifed staying home and watching movies in comfort as opposed to dropping $10 for a noisy cineplex. I'm already saving money that way. <
> <
> The great reviews for this tv are not hype. I was skeptical at first but very pleasantly surprised. Good amount of connections, including HDMI. Even though this is EDTV, it displays in 1080i which is the display quality of HDTV. Personally, I have no idea what makes an HDTV if not the ability to display in 1080i, which the EDTV TH-42PD50U does. The picture quality of HD channels in the TH-42PD50U BLOWS AWAY other "real" HDTV screens in the same size range. Believe the reviews and test it out for yourself. <
> <
> I am SOOOO happy I bought this TV. It was a little over my budget range, but it's an investment. I am very happy with the quality of this TV and will have TV until for a long time as opposed to spending a few hundred dollars less on a TV I'm disappointed with and want to upgrade quickly. <
> <
> Highly recommended. <
> <
> <
>

---

Breathtaking picture...Exceeds expectations
I got this tv about a month ago, and I'm still blown away by it. This is my first "big" screen tv, and it will be hard to go back to regular tv after this. I did a great amount of research before buying this unit (4 or 5 different stores), and Circuit City had the best tv and deal. It was only $1799. <
> <
>I was originally going to go projection, but after seeing plasma, it was no question. In my opinion, projection doesn't even compare. Projection tvs has a glare in the daytime that is almost unbearable. This tv has virtually no glare, even with the sun shining directly on it, so I can enjoy a movie any time of the day. <
> <
>Right now, I only use this tv for dvds and tv. My dvds have never looked better on this unit, especially on scenes with landscapes. The greens has never been brighter. I recommend using the component connection for the best possible picture. And EDTV seems like it was made for dvd since the resolutions are the same (852 X 480). <
> <
>When watching tv, its advisable to use cable connections with the biggest conductor you can use. The ones that you buy at walmart and such have smaller conductors, so you don't receive the best signal, especially for local channels. I called my local cable company and told them my problem, and they gave me 50 ft. of their cable, and the difference was like night and day. I haven't tried hd television yet, but I hear it's really nice if you buy the receiver. <
> <
>So there you have it. Great tv, affordable price, and virtually no flaws.