Panasonic TH-42PX50U 42 in. HDTV TV

Pros: Excellent picture, especially HDTV and DVD viewing. Handles blacks better than any plasma I've seen
Cons: No PIP, Slight saturation of greens, Speakers could be better.

There we were on a Sunday evening just before the local ABC Warehouse was about to close, drooling over the Panasonic TH-42PX50U HDTV Plasma Television and up saunters Adam. Yes, the same slippery tongued salesman that sold me the ...

Pros: plug and play, excellent picture
Cons: none have yet surfaced

My electronics "older brother" sent me off to get the (eighth-generation) Panasonic 50" flat-screen, high-definition, plasma-tv. I convinced another friend with a van to go pick it up with me and keep it upright, only to find none were in stock. The ...

Pros: Close to natural-looking picture, good blacks, reasonable price, integrated HD tuner, no "useless" features.
Cons: Slight electronics hum, dark level details not perfect compared to best tubes, audio barely OK.

In this review I may sound somewhat critical of the TV, because it is not perfect. But understand that it is probably the best you can do for the money, the thin profile, picture quality and a few other criteria I had. I give it a full score with the ...

Pros: Picture Quality for HD and DVD is SUPERB! No problems so far.
Cons: No PIP. Not enough HD programming currently.

I've had the Panasonic TH-50PX50U for almost a month now. It is fantastic. The HD (High Def) picture quality is nothing short of incredible, and DVDs look perfect...movies you haven't watched in ages suddenly take on new meaning. Especially ...

Pros: great picture quality for HDTV and dvds ,ota HDTV tuner,cable card slot, low price
Cons: no PIP..speakers are a bit weak,.. no front inputs

I admit that I am not a fan of plasma tv's..there are just too many cons,burn in short life, etc,..but then I came across this new tv by Panasonic and I was blown away..I tried to convince myself that there was something wrong here by testing the set at ...

Pros: Excellent picture resolution. HDMI. Cable card slot. Internal tuner. Simple remote and manual.
Cons: No PC input. No digital photo slot.

After over 6 months of researching, reviewing, and observing dozens of high definition TVs of all kinds including DLPs, LCDs, micro rear projections, and plasmas, as soon as I saw this 8th generation Panasonic plasma introduced in March 2005, I laid down ...

Pros: Excellent blacks and contrast. Rivals the best CRTs for overall picture quality.
Cons: Nothing comes to mind - perhaps I would ask for more component inputs.

This is an excellent set. I have been studying the HDTV options for well over a year and had all but decided to give up. So happened that the 42PX50U was available for a very low price so without reading one review I bit.

I am usually a cautious shopper - and have seldom bought an untested product. Until now the best sets I have seen are the Sony XBRs and the Samsung "Captain Kirk" DLPs. This set rivals those - perhaps surpasses them.

Blacks are as good as the best tube TV. This translates into a fantastic picture on all sources. This is not a TV - this is a home theatre.

Pros: * Great picture...when it worked
Cons: *If something goes wrong, be prepared for a real fun time!

During the first two months I couldn't have been happier. Then it stopped working. The Panasonic customer service provider that came to diagnose it could not pinpoint the problem, but narrowed it down to "probably" the main board. The part was on backorder for THREE weeks. FOUR weeks later I'm still waiting to have the situation resolved. The service provider came to install the main board and it turns out not to be the problem. Now they need to take it to their shop with no estimate on how long it will take to get repaired. Throughout this process the Panasonic customer service (1.888.843.9788) has been one of the WORST experiences of my life - HORRIBLE. No one willing to take accountability or responsibility, no one willing to step outside of their "defined process" to help get this resolved, very reluctant to escalate, no one calling me with an update when at least 4 separate service reps said I would receive an update call. Good luck getting a situation resolved if the part is not immediately available.

Pros: Great HDTV image, wonderful for watching movies.
Cons: Poor image processing on SDTV signal.

This TV is great for HDTV viewing, but it's weaker for SDTV. I watch a lot of movies on this TV and it is outstanding for that and for HDTV channels. But close to half of what I watch is standard definition TV (SDTV). For SD channels, especially for talking heads, as on news programs, the image processing is far from perfect. The darker portions of the image (e.g. a person's cheeks) tend to lag in their motion from the lighter portions. This effect is very distinct and is definitely not an optical illusion and it's not in the SD signal. It does not appear on my good old standard definition TV with the same programs. I've upgraded the firmware to the latest revision, with no change. I don't know if this effect is present on other HDTV's, but it's apparently common that HDTV's don't do great with an SD signal. I wish they'd do better.

Pros: Great picture when it worked.
Cons: Lasted 9 Months. A Warranty might not help.

I did my homework looking for a tv rated high on the consumer list. This tv lasted 9 Months,then the waiting game started. I took the extended warranty,3 years. I'm told I have to wait for parts. The Repair shop is not sure what parts they need. No more {Circuit City},or Panasonic for Me.

Pros: Excellent picture quality. I could not tell the difference between this TV and the Sony
Cons: Connections are on the back of the TV Still $$$

My girl friend and I treated ourselves to a new TV this Christmas ( 2005 ) Once we decided on a Plasma vs. LCD we started shopping. There is a lot of debate about Plasma vs. LCD and I wont go into that.
The prices around my home town in West Virginia are about the same no matter where you go.
I ended up at Sears of all places and got the best deal. Total cost delivery etc. came to $ 2900.00 ( no extended warranty included )
Consumer Reports rated this TV the best 42 in. Plasma on the market.
I dont like the connections on the back vs. the front or side for X-box,playstation, etc.vs. other brands.
The remote is ?? sensitive. You have to aim at the exact location on the TV for it to operate. Our old Magnavox would operate the TV from any angle.

Pros: Remote and setup. Picture superior to Hitachi
Cons: Inputs on the back

I love PIP and Hitachi and a few others offer this feature. So I bought the Hitachi for $500 more with the swivel(So over-rated). After setup, could not get PIP to work. This was the only reason I bought and to top it off IF I did get the PIP to work, I would have only had one screen that gave me digital output and the other screen analog. SOOOO please be aware , I was told this by the Hitachi Service Center, they changed the unit from 2 converters to one in this year's model.Well, I returned the unit to CC and purchased the Panasonic 42PX5OU.Love,love this Plasma. Remote and setup so easy. Picture is superior to the Hitachi. I will not miss PIP with this set. Price was under $2500.

Pros: Excellent picture, sound, hands down
Cons: Stand could be configured different,not universal

Bought Plasma 2 weeks ago Ratings was displayed by Consumer Reports Rated 2nd , 1st 42" plasma , I also checked reviews of other buyers at other retail places of sales ,and friends,and family,My brother -in-law bought a Philips 42 plasma the worst tv plasma made. SOUND EXCELLENT CRISP,HD PICTURE EXCELLENT, DOESN'T GET TO HOT
But the Philips gets so HOT you can FRY an egg. DMI connection Brings all the QUALITIES together
Know regrets FIVE STAR RATING,bought a Warranty 5 yr to protect my investment