Panasonic TH42PZ85 Review

Panasonic TH42PZ85 picture

Panasonic TH42PZ85 is one of the first true HD plasma televisions from their new 2008 range of HDTVs to arrive on UK shores. The TH42PZ85 boasts Panasonic’s latest motion-compensated frame interpolation (MCFI) technologies – “Intelligent Frame Creation” and “24p Real Cinema” – that separates it from the PZ80 series (available at a slightly later date) which is also blessed with a native screen resolution of 1920×1080.

Our Panasonic TH42PZ85B review will pay particular attention to the effects of Intelligent Frame Creation (IFC) to determine if it’s worth paying extra for this technology over the PZ80 series.

In case you’re wondering about the difference between Panasonic TH42PZ85 and TH42PZ85B when shopping around, there is none: the alphabet B at the end of the model name simply denotes the British version which comes with a 3-pin power plug. Europeans, on the other hand, get the Panasonic TH42PZ85E. Picture performance should be similar across the board.

63 comments

  1. Your Reviewer Wrote:

    “Unfortunately the interpolation artefacts introduced by [Intelligent Frame Creation] when watching sports proved to be more distracting. During the live broadcast of the second leg of Champion’s League quarter-final tie between Liverpool and Arsenal, I noticed the ball breaking up/ tearing and juddering whenever it went past the crowd, indicating that IFC’s interpolation algorithm had difficulty differentiating between the ball and the fans’ heads for motion rendering.”

    That happened for us mere mortals who only have Old Style TVs , that , when panning occured with the Crowd in the background ,small white Blocks appeared , so might not be that TVs problem ?

  2. Any chance you could provide the settings you used for the review as my set arrives in the next few days and would like to use your calibration settings.

  3. an honest review i must say ,
    how was it with image retention ?
    the px80 s are suffering ,
    we ve had a couple of complaints and all were burned in by our in house nerd
    he took a week on 5 plasma s and i was myself disturbed to see 1 have burn and the rest seem to keep hold of every logo ,

    id like to get my hands on one to fiddle with but most of our clients seem to use kuro now .

  4. First of all: Thank you for yet another honest review!

    I have one question though, in a video you showed what could possibly be explained by inactivation of 100 (96) Hz when de-activating ifc. But through the review you don’t mention it again. I feel that it should deserve a place with the cons? Especially if you prefer to watch without ifc (I usually prefer to turn it off for the televisions I have viewed so far).

    Did you manage to work around the problem or did you just not feel that it was an issue big enough to mention again?

    Best Regards

  5. Thx for this review, but i would love for you to review the new samsung le40a656
    Which appears to be an excllent tv!!!

  6. Excellent review but in the calibration section, I dont understand what is meant by “film mode deinterlacing was still non-existent so it’s advisable to send a progressive signal to the plasma HDTV when watching movies”

    Can you explain or elaborate please

  7. Very happy that they finally got rid of the horrible floating blacks!

  8. Would you say its better to output at 720p over component from a 360 or 1080i? Reason being I have an older non-hdmi 360 and would like to know which looks better.

  9. “Our Panasonic TH42PZ85B review will pay particular attention to the effects of Intelligent Frame Creation (IFC) to determine if it’s worth paying extra for this technology over the PZ80 series. ”

    I’m also interested in how it compares to the cheaper PX80?

  10. Thank you Vincent. A great read as ever.

    I have gone numb through sitting on the fence for so long when it comes to actually chosing between LCD and Plasma. Upto now my trusty 32” Sony Trinitron (featuring a memory stick reader slot!) has been just fine with only SD pictures. I have sat back while the HD DVD v’s Blu-ray battle has been fought and won and resisted the temptation to upgrade to Sky HD.

    All this is probably because I am an editor and therefore have some very decent (expensive) CRT HD monitors to use. The wait until there is a definate proposition must surely be close. The Top of the range Kuros were tempting but too much money. Does the answer lie, after your ‘highly recommended’ award for the Panny PZ85 with the 850? Do you know if they are coming soon and at a Kuro bashing price! ? I hope so, then I can go on a shopping spree.

    Regards Chris

  11. Now that the prices of the Kuros sets are coming down, the Panny is a viable alternative. Which do you think is the better set? Has the Panny knocked the Pioneer off the ‘ Best 42″ Plasma ‘ spot?

  12. So far so good. This site is growing and it is because of the sincere work of Vincent and other reviewers. Thank you for another quick, comprehensive and interesting review of the newest Panasonic plasma.

    Also, the improvement on the site is something to give thanks for. I like the new home. Thumbs up!

    As far as this new model goes, I can only say I would definitely go for the slightly cheaper PZ80. I never really liked IFC effects on how the screen moves and how watching stuff with it feels, and in this case it seems it’s not even one of the best IFC filters…

    The constant blacks (altough only in cinema mode) is also good news. I hope PZ80 keeps up with that.

    I have a silly question: do you recommend using ‘eco’ mode with the TV for SD watching? Or is it just a watching mode you would never use? I ask this because the power consumption of this model is quite large, and yes I am even considering that as a relevant issue…

    My concern now is whether to choose the bigger brother of the 50PZ80, or the smaller quality 50PX8. I think the differences are relevant in this case so I may be going for the PZ. I suppose the price is in this case, is an example of ‘you pay what you get’. What do you think Vincent?

    Thanks again.

  13. Hi! Thanks for the great reviews!

    I also have a question. Same one that paultje asked! How do you compare this PZ85 to a Kuro you have reviewed some time ago? Is this Panasonic already so near the Kuro PDP-4280XA that I should concern bying it instead?

    I’m eager to know since I’m going to buy either kuro or this Panasonic in one or two days and I’m having too hard time to decide!

  14. Me too its Kuro V Panasonic, and I’m not just watching 1080p movies but DVDs, which is better at DVD playback (the better picture) does less scalin on a 720p ps3 game mean better picture on the Kuro for GAmes too?

  15. @Dave: on the Panasonic PZ85, the football motion tearing disappeared once I disabled IFC.

    @neil: With regards to image retention, I didn’t find it worse on the Panasonic TH42PZ85 than previous Panasonic plasmas, but it’s definitely less resistant than the Pioneer Kuros. Funnily enough, on the first day of use, I accidentally left the Film Four preview logo on from 4am till the next day, but fortunately the screen did not develop any visible screenburn. YMMV of course, so don’t try this at home. :)

    @David: Despite what the video showed, I did not see the decrease/ increase in screen refresh rate in real life, so I did not really think it was a negative. With IFC off, 1080p/24 signals are still handled correctly without telecine judder so presumably 4:4 pulldown is being used with the final screen refresh rate being 96Hz.

    @Jurgen Noppe: I’m waiting for one from Samsung, but they have sent their samples to the traditional big magazines first, so it’ll be a while.

    @nigpd: the Panasonic TH42PZ85 cannot process film-based material (e.g. movies, American dramas) in 480i, 576i and 1080i correctly, although whether you can see the faults depends on your knowledge, experience and viewing distance. For such content, sending 480p, 576p, 720p or 1080p video signal to the PZ85 will result in better picture quality.

    @San: as explained, for movies 720p should introduce less deinterlacing errors.

    @hmmm: IFC notwithstanding, the PZ85 offers full HD detail resolution and no black level fluctuation over the PX80.

    @Chris: Lucky you, CRT HD monitors still give the best picture quality, though the Pioneer Kuros are not too far off. I’ve not been very proactive in seeking out press releases from manufacturers, so I’m afraid I can’t offer any info on the PZ850.

    @paultje: If we take price out of the equation, the Pioneer Kuro PDP-428XD (or 4280XD) is still the best 42-inch plasma taking into account all aspects of picture quality (resolution is not everything).

    @parras: Thanks for the kind words. [Cinema] mode gives the best gamma profile on Panasonic plasmas so I’ve always stuck with that.

    It ultimately depends on your viewing distance of course, but generally the difference between a true HD screen (PZ80) and HD ready screen (PX80) is noticeable given a 1080 source.

    @Geze & Robert: Pioneer Kuros provide marginally better blacks, and superior video processing particularly in scaling and film mode deinterlacing. The PZ85 wins in native screen resolution and peak luminance (though you don’t need such bright pictures for normal viewing).

  16. Dear Vincent,

    Your site is one of the few sites, I do trust when it comes to reviews. I hope that growth will not tempt you to positions where manufacturers have leverage over you.

    Having said that, I would like to thank you for all the reviews which helped and guided me in my quest for a new TV.

    I have bought the Panasonic 42PZ85E and have it in house for already a week. This decision was based on you reviews of the past Panasonics, and I am happy to see that the final review didn’t dissapoint.

    I am not a extremely knowledgable person with regards to TV’s but thanks to your reviews I dared to buy Plasma instead of LCD, especially for the better portrayal of motion. So far I do not regret it and I think the TV looks very good.

    What I do not like about this TV/Panasonic:
    – Panasonics marketing mumbo jumbo: 100hz/24p real cinema/IFC etc. For a layman it is very unclear what those things do exactly and to which signals they apply. What does what with which signal.
    Are they each indepently controllable so I can shut them off? I only found IFC to control in the menu.
    – I thought I saw a very slight hint of banding. Didn’t explore any further since I’m afraid it will disturb me when I fully notice it.
    – Plasma’s in general: the higher powerconsumption.

    Questions I have:
    – Are these HDMI ports fully 1.3a compatible? And can the TV fully and completely show 1.3a signals?

    Furhtermore, maybe you could do a small article explaining things like deinterlacing etc. In spite of your small explanation above I don’t fully grasp what it is and how I can overcome the TV’s shortcoming in this aspect.

    Keep up the good work!

    Best Regards,

    ShaftXL

  17. thanks vincent for speedy reply ,
    that was a close call though ,
    i did it once on a old tosh one with men and motors i fell asleep watching miami vice and to my horror it was bad next morning but it had an inbuilt white screen which worked a treat ,

    keep up good work

  18. Thanks for the review.

    Like the other comments above could you possibly provide the calibration settings as you did for the PX80. I’m using those settings which give a damn good picture but sure they will be slightly different for this set.

  19. Thank you for the most excellent review and congratulations on your beautiful, new website design.

  20. Thanks for the review. You do not mention Sky display quality. I bought the 46PZ85 and think it stunning in Sky HD and particularly Blue Ray via my PS3. However the quality of the standard channels via Sky I find disappointing. They seem almost blurred. I previously had a Hitachi 42PD7200 and I think the display was better of Sky SD. But maybe this is because of the different screen size. The watching position for both was/is 3.5 metres. Maybe this is the problem, should I have stuck to 42 inch. Would it be better to input at 720p rather than 1080i, should overscan be on or off?
    I leave the IFC off, I found the problem with the football and same on Tiger Woods 08 on PS3. It made the fly by’s quite juddery at times.
    Any advice on above would be appreciated.
    Thanks

  21. Thanks Vincent….one more question, I have an Onkyo 895 amp which has HQV processing on-board, so the video scaling and de-interlacing will be handled by that, so…….which 42″ plasma would you use with it? (given price does not come into the equation, well much!!)

  22. Another great review Vincent, much appreciated. Just on question, will you publish final settings for the PZ85 or are they very similar to the settings you have already given for the PX80?

  23. I have a few questions comparing the:

    £1300 Pioneer PDP428XD
    £ 700 Panasonic TH42PX80
    £1400 Panasonic TH46PZ85

    I am fairly particular about black levels. LCD’s, (even Sony) leave me cold.

    My current viewing is approx, (SkYHD and BlueRay viewing can only increase):
    SkySD 35%
    SKyHD 20%
    DVDSD 20%
    BlueRay 10%
    PS3Games15%

    The seats in my living room can vary from 7ft to 11ft, I generally sit about 9ft away.

    Which TV would be best for me given the above usage and distance?

    I doubt that I would be able to resolve 1080p over 720p at 9ft. But I am sensitive to judder when BlueRay outputs at 1080i or 720p to my current Panasonic PX600. Will this judder disappear to on a 1080p TV?

    Thanks if you get a chance to answer

  24. hey we ve just got a load of these in work ive not been in to our storage unit this week but our in house nerd tells me their 47 inch , thought id ask you vincent
    am i being wound up or are there not anymore 50 s
    /

  25. Hallo Vincent and thanks again for the excellent work.

    In my own comparison between this PZ85 and a kuro 428 using sin city on dvd as a test bench, to challenge the sets in upscaling/de-interlacing, black scenes details, and phosphor trails, I’ve concluded that the pz85 offers better details in the dark scenes, but larger phosphor trails, so I would appreciate to have the support of your measurements to confirm that the dip in the gamma between 0 and 20% that you showed in the review of the Kuro is not there (or not so evident) with the PZ85, as my observations seemed to suggest.

    Thanks

    Cheers

  26. @ShaftXL: I’m not entirely sure if the HDMI ports are fully 1.3a compatible, but as a rule of a thumb if the manufacturer doesn’t advertise it, then it’s unlikely to be HDMI 1.3a until proven otherwise.

    The article explaining deinterlacing is a good idea, I (or someone else) will tackle it if we have time.

    @Mark: there’s not too many changes, but I’ll try to put it up in due course.

    @Lars: Thanks for the kind words.

    @Martin Bailey: The Panasonic TH42PZ85B I reviewed does have soft scaling, you can try bumping [Sharpness] up a couple of notches.

    For video-based material (e.g. news, sports) send 1080i to the plasma, for film-based material (movies, American dramas like CSI, House) send 720p signal.

    @paultje: in that case, the only advantage the Pioneer Kuro offers over the TH42PZ85B is slightly better blacks, so the Panasonic should represent better value given its cheaper price and higher native resolution, and considering that its deficiency in scaling/ deinterlacing is patched up by your Onkyo amp.

    @Stephen: see my response to Mark above.

    @Roger: You can upscale your SD DVD using your PS3, so essentially you’re only watching 35% standard-definition content. I’d probably be tempted with a full HD plasma screen (PZ85 among your shortlist).

    Then again, I’m not sure if you can resolve 720p vs 1080p at 9 feet. Personally I can see a small but noticeable difference in a side-by-side comparison. Not sure if I’m able to tell in an A/B test though.

    All 3 plasma HDTVs on your shortlist can handle 1080p/24 output from the PS3 without telecine judder.

    @neil: your mate is probably referring to the 46-inch. So far no news on the 50-inch.

    @Halpha: the TH42PZ85B I tested (as with most Panasonic plasmas) had an overall gamma nearer to 2.0 than 2.2, which would result in brighter shadow detail (perhaps too bright), in line with your observations.

  27. Great site & review

    Can I conclude that the PZ80 will be the better bet then? Basically same TV but cheaper & no IFC ?

  28. Thanks again, Vincent, really great to get your feedback!

    Considering that you believe the gamma of the PZ85 to be closer to 2.0 (i.e. generally believed to reproduce a brighter image than the “real” one), would you suggest me to use another testbench movie for my surveys? I explain better: since Sin City is clearly an “edited” movie, in which a lot of scenes are obviously image-processed, their encoding gamma could have been slightly shifted, thus on screen they appear to be better on a tv that actually do not reproduce correct (i.e. real) grayscales. This consideration is giving for granted that a gamma 2.2 is generally considered to be the closest decoding transfer function’s power to real colours. Shoud I revert to a less-edited dark-scened movie? Any suggestion? Would the PZ85 reproduce less accurate (=really present in the scene when the movie was taken) shadow details in non-edited films?

    Thanks again

  29. nice one again for speedy reply ,
    46 is strange for a plasma maybe they realise the quality is not there on a 50 ,

    thanks again ill have to make some excuses now in work because i was adamant there is only a 50 , so looks like humble pie next week for lunch ,

  30. great reviews, I’m now left with the question of should I buy the Pioneer 508XD or the Panny 46″ PZ85?

    I don’t want to buy a dead duck so I’m thinking that buying a full HD 1080p TV has to be better over the Pioneer right?

    I watch sports, play the 360 and hate motion blur.

    Any help getting me of the fence is appreciated.

  31. so guys i had a look at a pz85 yesterday quite impresed but didnt buy there and then. Does anyone know when the px 800 is released in the uk? and do you think its going to be much better than the pz85?

  32. I would like to know the differences between the PZ85 and the PZ80 (42 inch size). The PZ85 has 24p real cinema, the PZ80 has 24p playback support, but for a layman, what does this mean? Are there any features that will be significantly different. I will be using it for Sky SD & HD, PS3, DVD and Blu-ray.

  33. Hi, first off a great review have been searching for a review of the PZ85 and you are the only site to have a very detailed review, KUDOS!!!!

    i have recently been granted vouchers for my ‘Purple Snaked’ TH-42PX60 (The worst case you would have ever seen!!!) and am looking for a future proof replacement!!!

    I’m a bit of a movie fan, with about 600 DVD’s and 50 odd Blu-ray’s so movie playback quality is a must, 24p needed!!!! I also watch a lot of sports and SD sources. I also have Sky HD and a PS3 and Wii so gaming is also important!!!
    I personnaly have never had a problem with any image retention on my PX60 even with channel logo’s and playing games for hours on end!!!

    I am thinking of either the Pioneer PDP4280XD but am worried about the lack of 1080p for future materials and Blu-ray or the previously mentioned Panasonic TH-42PZ85 (just loving all the features!!!!)

    Also I notice both sets have optical outputs, would these transfer DD/DTS from any of the sources (Sky HD, DVD, Blu-ray) into an amplifier or would I still have to wire them directly?

    Many thaks am REALLY looking forward to your response!!!!!

  34. Looking forward to the settings when you post them Vincent. Thank you.

    I don’t suppose there’s any chance of recommended tweaks in the service menu as well. Obviously it would be our choice to go into the service menu !!!

  35. Sorry forgot to ask one other thing, would you recommend buying the DVE: HD basics blu-ray by Joe Kane to help adjust my TV or is there another (Cheap) option I could use?
    Thanks again!!!!

  36. Hi! I have a possibility to buy this OR the older model, 42pz70. Would you reccomend to pay extra 200€ for the new model?
    Thx

  37. I have taken delivery of the TH-46PZ85 and first impressions are….great black levels and vibrant colours. PS3 Blue Ray DVD’s and games look fantastic. SkyHD also looks great.

    SD is a different story. The TV is very unforgiving of low bit rate SD. BBC1/2 Channel 5 etc look reasonable. ITV yuck.

    I guess I must be particularly sensitive to slow horizontal pans. But I see what you mean when you state ‘film mode deinterlacing was still non-existent. Failed 3:2/ 2:2 cadence in all resolutions.’ I think this TV handles this far worse than my old plasma (which handled it as a rapid fire judder).

    For instance watching Zulu on SkyHD I was impressive with PQ; the colours were very very vibrant! But with horizontal pans I saw judder and fringe colour issues. Enabling IFC certainly helped a lot.

    I have uploaded two files to show the problem and the difference IFC makes. The files were taken with my digital camera and reprocessed to DivX. They are fairly big at 3.5Mb but clearly show what;s going on. Freezing the video clearly shows the fringe colour issues around face/helmet/double images etc.

    Zulu
    http://rapidshare.com/files/110896501/Zulu.avi.html

    Zulu IFC
    http://rapidshare.com/files/110896849/Zulu_IFC.avi.html

    I would certainly be interested in your views as to how this TV stacks up to other modern TV’s.

  38. Absolutely amazed at the level of detail of yours reviews. I will be recommending this site to many friends.

    My question is how much of a difference does the 15,000:1 contrast ratio of the x80 compare to the 30:000:1 contrast ratio of the z85? I plan on turning IFC off, and at my viewing distance 1080p vs 720p isn’t worth the price for me. But if the contrast ratio has a big effect on the overall PQ I will certainly pay extra for it.

  39. Fantastic review, and follow up information. I am getting one of these for sure. My only problem is that I am replacing an old Tosh projection TV that is 46 inch (ish), and would rather not go down to 42 inch.

    Do you think it is a relatavely safe bet that the 46 inch will be as good?

    Ta!

  40. Another question!!!!

    After doing a lot of thinking i am now considering the TH-42PX80 over the PDP-4280XD & the TH-42PZ85 am I MAD????

    The reason why is because I can get the PX80 with 5 years warranty for only £900, whereas the 4280XD is £1500 and the PZ85 for £1400 although both of those also come with the warranty.

    I was pretty happy with my old PX60 (apart from the pesky purple snakes and blu-ray judder!!!) and am thinking of using this set as a go between until the PZ800 THX models are out.

    As it will be a product replacement set do you think I should pay the extra for the quality or will the PX80 be a good choice for say the next year until I get the THX set?

    Am desperate for you opinion as you seem to be one of the only reviewers that actually know what they are talking about!!!!!

    Thanks!!!!!!

  41. Great review, I saw the simular TH42PZ80 model in comet at the weekend, was blown away by how natural the colours look. Its a shame it does not support 1020p over component, my xbox has no HDMI connection. What is concerning me are reports of below par SD handling. We watch alot of SD sources and so its important that it stands up.

  42. I got the TH42PZ80 yesterday and had it set up last night. To be honest, I thought the SD picture quality was excellent. I watched the Chelsea Vs Liverpool game on Sky sports, and I did not notice any blurring or bad quality at all. I assume any football on ITV will be another story (from the reveiws I’ve read of their broadcasts). I am getting Sky HD on Monday so will be able to really enjoy it then, but hooked up the PS3 last night and both Blu-ray and PS£ games are amazing.

    The only thing I now need to find out is what length M8 Bolts do I need to fix it to a Screen mount? Any one got any idea?

  43. Couldn’t help myself. Just ordered the 46 inch version for next day delivery, £1,597 with 3 years warranty.

  44. use a lolly pop stick down tv , mark how deep the bolt fixings go then take 2mm off and bingo

  45. I tried connecting my TH42PZ80 onto cantilever stand and as soon as I put the screen mounts onto it, I get a very annoying buzzing sound. It is fine when it is just using the pedestal stand, but when the mounts are fixed to the back of the screen, the buzzing is apparent. It gets even worse when the screen is actually hung on the bracket. Has anyone had this problem? Can anyone give me any advice on how to resolve this?

    Cheers,

    Ian.

  46. wow not experienced that i use unicol brackets as they as good as you get for pro install ,

  47. Ulrik Rasmussen

    The TV Pana 42pz85 sucks. I have had it for 2 days now. In football matches the ball is lagging very much. No matter if it is feeded by normal digital signal or even HD signal. And the analog tuner doesn’t work. But its beautifull when its turned off. Crappy.

  48. Hello, i am verry happy with my 42pz85…
    hdtvtest please can you post your perfect settings?
    for ps3(dvd/bluray) and for sd digital sat tv….

    greets peter

  49. Thank you, Vincent.

  50. Hi Vincent !

    Thanks for many great and insightful reviews.

    I was set on buying th PZ70, but now that the PZ80/85 is here, I’m not so sure. How do you rate the PZ70 to the newer PZ85 …?

    JanHR

  51. Firstly thank you Vincent for such interesting and technically in depth reviews
    which put all the other so called review sites to shame.
    Regarding saving money by buying the PZ80 instead of the PZ85, my local
    John Lewis store now have these two sets on display, and obvious economies
    have been made with the cabinet of the PZ80 which is less elegant than the PZ85, and looking at the rear would indicate that it has one less cooling fan than
    the dearer model.
    All the retailers that I have spoken with say buy the Pioneer 42 in, and it does appear to give the best picture if resolution with high-def. source is ignored.
    However I do feel that for a screen of this size 786k pixels is inadequate, and
    would wish to buy a more “future proof” set ( I have 20:12 vision with glasses
    and my wife has even better eyesight than me without needing glasses).
    Pioneer will not divulge when their new 46in set is likely to be available, and
    their 50in set is really too large for my 15ft living room ( in truth the 46 in is also
    too large, but I might just be able to get wifely approval).
    Just hoping that my 15 year old Bang & Olufsen CRT will soldier on for a little
    longer until the options become a little clearer.

  52. Thanks Vincent for a truly amazing review.
    Being a novice in understanding all the HD jargon, I am finding it extremely difficult to come to a conclusion re – buying a PDP for my wife.
    At the moment, I have a Sky SD box, a PS3 with HDMI output, a Hitachi 25 inch CRT, a 20 ft living room and £1200 to spend.
    After reading many of your reviews, I have decided on the plasma against LCD, but am still on the fence when it comes to choosing between 4280XD and the PZ85B
    The PZ85B is bothering me as we watch as lot of SD stuff thru our SkySD and the general impression I get is that the SD stuff is not great to watch on this one
    The 4280XD seems a good choice but its resolution is an issue!!!

    Any quick answers to this??

    Anil

  53. richard noonan

    i have recently bought the panasonic pz85b and having previously had the panasonic th42pv500b have been not overly impressed with the new set. when watching football the ball seems to judder when kicked throught the air and the players all have a sort of halo around them when the camera pulls away from them or they are running with some drag despite having tried to adjust all the settings i cant get it to improve.also have just noticed that on the bottom edge and right side of the tv there is a 4-5mm black edge as if the screen is not centred properly and on the bottom edge there seems to be a step in the outline of the black edge plus slight flickering.i will be making a visit to my local panasonic dealer to discuss my concerns as my thpv500 had no such problems and the only reason i upgraded was because of wanting a full hd panel with more up to date features and supposedly better picture quality.

  54. Totally disappointed with my pz80 for SD freeview. Compared to my old th-37PE, the image appears mostly out of focus but that’s not the worst bit. Sat now 15ft away I can easily hear a 50Hz buzz/click. Tech at Dixons say are you at least 12 feet away and have the volume at a reasonable level.
    As with Richard, I was expecting much better than this. It makes me wonder that with the price drop seen with large tvs, quality has taken a dive in some areas.

  55. @Davey and Ulrik: if you have any problems with this T, return it to the shop.
    Analog tuner is supposed to work (use the TV button to switch to analog mode). 50Hz hum or noise is not supposed to happen. The fans make a soft noise but cannot be heared more than 3 feet away.
    I have the TH-42PZ85E and don’t have these problems

  56. Recently bought a 46 PZ85 and it is fantastic for HD picture quality, even the SD quality enhances when you use a HDMI connection.

    But if you are a cricket lover, I would not suggest you buying this one. Motion blurriness is a serious problem especially whenever a batsman hits the ball. It will probably do okay for Football though.

  57. Motion blurr on a plasma… I thought these TVs were immune from such things?

  58. I bought a Panasonic TH42PZ85B about a month ago after finally replacing my trusty Sony 32″CRT.
    I usually watch TV from my Sky+ with only occasional DVD use.
    The problem is, that after hours of fiddling, I can’t get the colour balance right at all. I can be watching something on Sky One one minute and the picture seems fine, then I switch it to BBC for instance, and the faces of the presenters are suddenly very red.
    I have tried with colour management on and off, IFC on and off, contrast up, contrast down and the same with the brightness and the sharpness to no avail.
    I even thought that perhaps the set was faulty and had it replaced, but still the same issue.
    I use a gold plated Scart lead that cost me £60 five years ago.
    Any suggestions as to how I can get the balance right?

  59. Had my 42PZ85 for some 4-weeks now and very please with the results. Fan noise is barely audible at 6ft away and absolutely no mains hum. It’s wall mounted on a professional quality bracket. I feed it SD from a Humax Foxsat HDR upscaled to 1080i and this is way better than the original signal or Freeview. BBC HD is superb, just not enough of it. Dark Knight on Blue-Ray is awesome, black levels really do give very little away to a KURO and at least Pana will still be making plasmas in a years time!

  60. Just bought the TH42PZ85, unpacked it, plugged it in, sat back and fell in love with the way it looked and the controls from the main menu. Next day, i went and rented my first blu-ray movie and couldn’t wait to try it out… I inserted the movie in my ps3 and had all my setup done properly with an HDMI cable connected to it…. sat back on the couch with great anticipation and pressed power on my tv’s remote… nothing happened! TV decided not to turn on!! I checked the wires, unplugged everything and set it all up again, I tried doing a power reset, i plugged my HDMI cable into the 3rd port instead….. nothing ! All i got was a red blinking light in an 8-blink sequence. After looking at some forums, turns out i’m not the only one and when you call Panasonic, they suggest you need servicing right away ……. no thanks! I’m getting a refund and i’ll get something else instead. I wonder how many had this experience. Very frustrating especially after 2 days only.

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