Panasonic TH-42PWD5UY 42" Plasma TV

(16:9, 852x480, 3000:1, EDTV - MPN: TH42PWD5UY)

Description: The TH-42PWD5UY incorporates advanced digital processing technology including a newly developed Real Black Drive System, Adaptive Brightness Intensifier, False-Edge Predictor circuit, and UXGA/HDTV compatibility. It features an industry-le.... Read More

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(6 Reviews)

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Date Reviewed: 03/29/2003
scohen from PA Member Since: Mar 2003 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 2 Months	I did quite a bit of on-line research before buyin ... Strengths: Easy to set up, fantastic picture. Weaknesses: none Summary: I did quite a bit of on-line research before buying. This monitor turned out to be exactly as described... With DVDs the picture is spectacular. I don't have HDTV (where in theory the picture is not quite as good as an HDTV ready monitor/this is EDTV)..but the picture from standard TV signals is great--as good as my old SONY XBR. A great buy for $. The HDTV version costs nearly $2,000 more... its hard to believe it would be worth the difference. 100% of People (22/22) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 01/23/2003
jc23 Member Since: Jan 2003 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 30 Days	This TV is awesome. I searched around the net for ... Strengths: Picture Picture Picture....Did I mention the picture Weaknesses: Digital Cable picture quality. (not bad enought to stop me from buying another) Summary: This TV is awesome. I searched around the net for awhile to see what was rated and why. I found this set on several sites with strong reviews. I figured I would go for it. I am not disappointed at all. The picture quality was better than I could have hoped. You will hear from videophiles that the TV is not true HDTV because of its resolution. They are correct the res is not HDTV standard. This is only important on paper. I went to a store that had this TV next to a 6999.00 Sony and The higher res version of this TV side by side. The picture of this set blew the Sony away. There was not a noticeable diffrence from the higher res. version. I have looked at 9 sets and decided on this one. I will warn you that if you are buying a plasma ANY plasma and you have standard or "digital" cable the picture quality is not as good as you may like. You may have to get a satelite system to take advantage of the HDTV capabilities of this TV or any plasma for that matter. I will say I was shocked that this plasma set handle CATV as well as it did. I have seen plasma's that look terrible with a CATV connection. The DVD and any other component connection you put on this set will look amazing. It is like jumping from a Pentium 1 to a Pentium 4. If you are on the fence just go for it it is a great display. 100% of People (16/16) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 01/12/2003
jeffives Member Since: Jan 2002 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 2 Months	I love resolution. My girlfriend loves color. This ... Strengths: Sharp, bright picture with rich color. Weaknesses: No screensaver for 4X3 content that doesn’t distort the picture. No audio output jack. Summary: I love resolution. My girlfriend loves color. This monitor has both. I expected a gorgeous picture from my progressive scan DVD player connected to the component video input. What I didn't expect is how well it cleans up NTSC material from my cable converter, which is connected to the composite video input. Our cable company (AT&T) doesn't have S-video output on their converters. The screensaver situation is unfortunate. This is our everyday TV, and we watch full-screen (4X3) cable channels most of the time. Of course “full-screen” isn't wide-screen (16X9), so there are unused bars on the left and right. You can make these bars black or one of several shades of gray, but gray is distracting. You can spread the picture to fill the whole screen, but doing so distorts the picture. Why can't they slowly move the 4X3 picture left and right, to avoid burning in the 4X3 rectangle in the middle of the screen? 86% of People (6/7) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 02/03/2003
kirkman Member Since: Dec 2002 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 2 Weeks	Panasonic bought a plasma company in 2000. After a ... Strengths: Picture, Picture, Picture... Weaknesses: Warranty, 1 yr must send to Factory. Summary: Panasonic bought a plasma company in 2000. After a few years of research, plasma is now better and brighter than tube! And Panasonic plasmas are at the top of the list. This unit is the Panasonic TH42PWD5UY. It is exactly the same unit as the Panasonic PT42DP3P. Both are Panasonics latest models...difference? The PT42DP3P comes with the table/desk top stand. That's why you will find this model a few dollars cheaper. Great unit! Forget the HDTV vs EDTV and go to a store and eyeball it for yourself. I compared it to the Hitachi 4121 1024x1024 pixels and the Panasonic blew it away. So how does 852x480 plasma win? Its all in the converter, color, blacks, and brightness. Play a progressive DVD into it and you will be in heaven. The picture will be 5% better than all those HDTV plasmas. Regular TV , satellite or cable looks better on this unit than any plasma I've seen. Is it a great picture with cable...no but its acceptable and makes this the best priced plasma and the best plasma available. Now hook it up to HDTV 1080i or 720i, its amazing. Although, some of those expensive HDTV plasmas will now beat the panasonic picture with HDTV signals, the difference is only 10%. Use the eyeball test, its the only test that counts. This set is top rated. 75% of People (3/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 05/08/2003
froger805 from CA Member Since: Apr 2003 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 30 Days	This plasma Tv has a beautiful picture, however th ... Strengths: Television picture is beautiful Weaknesses: Very convaluted to use, manual is horrific, not very simple to hookup Summary: This plasma Tv has a beautiful picture, however the hookup for the unit is terrible. The bnc inputs are extremely inconvienent and I would recommend everyone pays the little extra for the consumer version of this TV. Very few local people I spoke to could help me at all with regards to the hookup since the Plasma business is so new. 50% of People (2/4) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.

Date Reviewed: 01/05/2003
rnalepa1 from CO Member Since: Jan 2003 View Member's: Reviews Product Experience: 5 Days	well I spoke too soon. The unit stopped working af ... Strengths: the Panasonic warranty lady was nice. Weaknesses: doesn't work Summary: well I spoke too soon. The unit stopped working after one day (24 hour day). There's a lot of clicking in the unit when you turn it on and then nothing. I called Panasonic and they are suppose to have a repair person call me. I'll let you know how good the warranty service is. It did have a nice picture for one day. I now have my $89 9" color TV next to it and the 9" tv works fine. I had that unit for years. I knew I shouldn't have spent so much for a TV. Maybe I'll change my mind if and when it works again. 30% of People (3/10) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you? Report this as inappropriate. There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.