Opinions on Panasonic TH-50PZ80U

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Oakhill Horn

250+ Posts
I am finally entering the 21st centry and getting an HDTV and am wondering about opinions on this set.

I just recently ordered a Panasonic TH-50PZ80U 50" 1080P Plasma televesion. Crutchfield was running a special for $1499.99 with an additional $300 off if you bought a Panasonic DMP-BD35K Blu ray player with the TV. The blu ray was $299.99. So I ordered the TV and brp for $1499.99. As a sidenote, I noticed Amazon was selling the same brp for $236 after I ordered from Crutchfield. I called theiir CS and asked. They said that they don't price match other retailers, but he would see what he could do. They knocked another $100 off the invoice - so both for $1399.99 delivered.

Anyway, I had been leaning towards a 720p Sammy, but this deal seemed pretty good to me. I know that there will be 50" 720p's on Black Friday in the $700-900 range, and am wondering if I should consider returning the purchase or reselling and buying a cheaper 720 and an upconverting DVD player instead of the brp.

The Panny does not come with a PC input, whereas most of the Sammies do. (I don't think the cheap 50" Sammy at Wal-Mart will have the PC input. I also liked the swivel stands on the Sammies a little better. The Pannies supposedly have better glare filtration.

As for viewing habits, we have a lot of DVDs and plan on upgrading my Dish Network service to HD. We generally sit from 9-10 ft from the screen of our current 32" SD CRT, sometimes as close as 4-5 ft. I suspect the profile of the new TV will add about 15-18" to that distance. For image retention/burn-in considerations, my family and I are not really gamers. We have a Wii that we maybe play 2-4 hours a week. I obviously watch a lot of ESPN and Fox Sports Net. Youngest daughter watches too much Disny and Nick.

So go ahead HornFans - either beat me up or congratulate me on this purchase. Please advise.
 
I'll congratulate you on that purchase.

It's the same one I bought a couple of months ago, and I love it.

The HD is awesome, and from your viewing distance will be just right. The burn in issue is really non-existent on the newer tv's.

You're gonna want to put a rush on that upgrade to Dish Network HD...
 
I just bought the version Costco sells, which is the same TV with an added PC input for $1,399 and still feel pretty good about it but I like your deal with the BR player thrown in... a lot.

Make sure you follow the break in procedures for the first 100 hours and enjoy!
 
To use all that the BR has to offer, you will wantto keep the 1080p set. I just sold my 42" panny and am in the market. This set is at the top of my list.

Amazon has this set at about $1290 through a retailer (onecall). Add the blu-ray and its a little over $1210 for the Tv and BR package. If I can't get anyone to price match locally, then I'm ordering online and wait.
 
Great purchase OakHill, you'll be very happy with the set and blu-ray player. Correct, the 80U series does not have a PC input or swivel stand but the Panasonic 85U, 800U, 850U series has a PC input and the 800U and 850U series comes with a swivel stand.

If you do plan on watching a lot of blu-ray movies, you'll definately want a 1080p display. If you want a really increadible set that has 1080p, PC input, swivel stand, and other great options like THX Certification, 4 speakers and a higher contrast ratio, I would upgrade to the 50PZ800U. If you don't really care about these extras, you made a great decision!! You'll be very happy with your purchase.
 
I've had a 58/70u for about 18 months and freaking love it...as suggested above, for piece of mind follow good break-in procedure; there's actually a DVD you can burn on your own that just alternates colors to achieve this. With the newer plasmas this probably isn't an issue anyway, but...
 
Well I bought the Panasonic at Costco. They have the same panel (slight differences - pc input, matte bezel, etc.) under the model TH-C50FD18. I paid $1399 bc I couldn't wait for a new set. Costco automatically doubles the manufactuer's warranty and has a 90 day no-questions-asked return policy. I have it set up and am really impressed.
 
Thanks for the replies. Everything should be here on Tuesday and my HD satellite install is scheduled for then, as well. I can't wait.
 
I have the Panny 77U, 50" and love it. The 77U has the "no-glare" screen on it. Do the new Pannys all have the no-glare screen?
 
Panasonic makes fantastic plasmas; they were the best my store carried. Between the 720 and the 1080, I definitely think you made the right decision.

In addition Panasonic probably has the best customer support I've dealt with. I was having technical issues with one of our Panasonic floor models, so I called the support line. Was talking to a human being within 30 seconds and my problem was resolved in less than two minutes.

Congrats on the purchase, I think you're really going to enjoy it. Just remember to treat it right. Panasonic plasmas rarely have burn-in issues, but make sure you check the manual for proper care of the TV.
 
I got the TV and BR setup last night. Dish offered me a much better deal to stay with them when I called to cancel, however I delayed on accepting their offer. I will not have HD satellite equipment and programming until Sunday. However, I am quite impressed with the picture I am getting with SD and upconverted DVDs through the BR.

I am extremely disappaonted with one aspect of the TV, however. I have the BR hooked to the TV using HDMI and use the digital optical output from the TV to my stereo receiver. THe receiver is capable of 7.1, but It is a couple of yeras old and does not have an HDMI connection - for audio only digital optical, & digital coax, and component for video. I figured that the digital optical out would transmit at least 5.1 to the receiver. No dice. The TV downconverts any signal it gets through the HDMI to output 2.1 throught the digital optical output. I think this is a terrible oversight by Panasonic. I never saw that limitation listed. Crutchfields website stated:

"Digital Audio Out: The rear-panel optical digital output allows you to send a Dolby Digital bit stream to a Dolby Digital receiver or decoder. If the program doesn't include a Dolby Digital soundtrack, a 2-channel PCM bit stream is output."

I thought this would only be an issue if I din't get teh DD bitstream. I can hook up the BR digital optical out directly to my reveiver, but I will only get 5.1 even from a BR disc. I knew that this particular BR player only output a 7.1 stream through the HDMI, but assumed that the TV would pass that through the digital optical output.

i guess I need to contact Crutchfield about their misleading info on the hand-son review tab. Turns out that the TV manual states so much. I din't realize I was going to have to read the manual in detail before buying.

I wonder do other low-midrange plasma and LCD TVs have this sort of limitation, as well? Making me wonder if the Sammy might not have been a better choice.
frown.gif
 
Milkman is right, you want the optical cable connected from the Blu-ray player to the receiver. That's how I have mine connected.
 
I am sorry, I thought I addressed that. I knew I could hook the output out directly and that is going is going to be my short-term fix. The problem with hooking the BR directly to the receiver with the digital optical is that the BR will only output up to 5.1 through that output. 7.1 is only output through the HDMI port. I was thinking that both being Panasonic products that the TV might then send the 7.1 bitstream out its digital optical output, but alas it is only 2.1.

I was also hoping to minimize the number of cables I had to buy and route. I am either going to have to live with 5.1 until I get another receiver or try to exchange the BR for another model. The step up from the one I bought has 7.1 analog outputs that I could use through my receiver, but that means even more cables. It is also $100 more. For that money, I would rather have the PS3. Of course, if I exchange for something other than a Panny BR, i think I will get charged back the additional $300 credit I got towards the TV.
 
No problem MilkmanDan.

I just can't figure out why they would cripple the outputs like that. Is there that much cost davings in the manufacturing process? And from what I am seeing, many manufactureres are doing things like this. I t makes no sense that they would be crippled like this.
 
I am looking into that, ScoPro. Unfortunately, I have not found one that I can confirm actually does this at this point. If I still lived in Austin, I would have visited hlaustin. Living in rural Alabama, the closest electronics stores are CircuitCity and BestBuy and I don't like either one of those stores.

I really do like the picture on this set. And it seems that I am making more of this problem than I should. My cheapest and easiest solution is probably going to be to buy a new receiver. Shoot, is 7.1 sound really going to rock my world that much over 5.1? Probably not. Perhaps I should just start another gripe thread about why HDMI is not fully implemented on all AV equipment.

I guess I am just bummed out about a whole set of circumstances from things not going well at work, the shafting of the Horns regarding the championship game, to having digital outputs onn my new TV and BRP that don't send the whole signal. I just have a case of the grumpies. I guess.
wink.gif


Life is still good, and there are a host of other folks who have problems much greater than the crippled sound output on their BR player or 1080p bigscreen.

Again, thanks for the advice everyone.
 
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