"We bought panasonic Viera TH-42PZ80U as an upgrade from a Sharp Aquos 32" LCD HDTV --- an excellent television, but a bit too small for our new, larger living space. I first looked at 46" and 50" sets, but they use a lot more power, and after looking at units in the store decided the 42" was quite large enough (70% more viewing area than our old TV). For environmental reasons we wanted low power consumption --- usually plasmas lose out there, but Panasonic comes through --- only 170 watts, as measured by an independent test, which is less even than some of the similar-sized LCD TVs tested by that same outfit!

The picture is stunning --- though our old Aquos looks great, this Panasonic blows it away in terms of contrast, black levels, and overall picture quality. Properly adjusted, the DirecTV HD channels look fantastic --- much better than they do on the Sharp or most other TVs I have seen. (DirecTV tends to compress its HD channels quite a bit --- yet on this Panasonic, after adjusting it, the image looks very clean and cinematic.)

Blu-Ray discs are unbelievable --- Planet Earth on this set is tremendous. Another thing I really like about the set is it passes through Dolby 5.1 sound from the HDMI connector to the optical digital out --- which I then pass into my Logitech Z-5500 THX speakers (an inexpensive way to get surprisingly good home theater sound) --- the Sharp didn't pass through the signal from our PS3 Blu-Ray player.

As others have noted burn-in and ghosting are mostly non-issues with the new plasma sets --- some basic precautions will prevent any problems, and this Panasonic set comes with some display "reset" patterns to cure any burn-in issues you might face.

The number of connections is extremely handy --- with 3 HDMI connectors I have enough for my DirecTV box, my PS3, and a front connector for the occasional times when I hook up my MacBook Pro via a DVI-HDMI cable.

There's not much to say about the built-in speakers --- serviceable but not great --- but who uses the built-in speakers on their HDTV? I certainly don't...

The picture out of the box definitely needs adjustment for optimal results --- I set the black levels to dark, turned up the Picture (contrast) and brightness, lowered the color and sharpness, in Standard mode. Fiddle with it a bit and you can get a stunning picture.

This set is cheaper than most LCD sets of the same size, and the picture quality is better. Definitely recommended"

    "panasonic Viera TH-42PZ80U is an AMAZING TV! All i can say is wow, wow, wow! If you are hesitant about purchasing, hesitate no more! excellent picture, features, ease of use, and PLENTY of inputs! My Xbox 360, PS3, and Hi Def Cable have NEVER looked better! Only small complaint is the sound quality is good, but not great, but thats a small thing, as i usually have my 5.1 Surround CRANKED! Look no more, and buy this TV! You will NOT be disappointed! :)
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    "panasonic Viera TH-42PZ80U is, in a word, awesome!! It has the clearest, most defined picture I have ever seen. I could not be any happier!! I have it connected to 4 Polk audio 40 studio monitors for surrounds and a PA center channel with Polk Audio 60 floor stands up front and a Yamaha sub... all driven by a Harmon Karmon 7.1 amp and I am in audio/visual heaven!The price and service at 6th Avenue are both the best as well!!!!Buy it... you wont find it cheaper and you wont be sorry!
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    "I have bought several LCD's in the last two years. The picture on the panasonic Viera TH-42PZ80U in a dark room compares quite well against the latest 120 mhz LCD units. "

    ""I bought panasonic Viera TH-42PZ80U back in late December of 2008 after reading rave reviews about it and had it delivered on January 3rd of 2009. When I first set-up my TV I was amazed by the picture quality (without even adjusting any of the color settings). I then connected my Blu-Ray player to it and began to watch Planet Earth, and was even more impressed by the picture quality. It was like looking through a window and seeing a jungle, dessert, mountains, etc. right in front of you. Well needless to say after 4 weeks of owning my tv, it died on me. The screen went black and the LED began to flash 10 times. I've done some research on this and it looks like one or more of several boards have malfunctioned in the unit. This is really worrying me and am in the process of looking into returning my this TV in for a different model."

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