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TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

post #1 of 13
3/7/08 at 1:29pm
Thread Starter 
I'm interested in getting one of the new Panasonic plasmas for my home theater. The PX80U is 720p but has the bigger screen. The Z85U is 1080p and has higher contrast ratio (15,000 vs 30,000). The price is about the same. I'll be sitting about eight feet from the display. Which is the better choice? Will the CR and 1080p really make for a tremendously better viewing experience, at my distance? Thanks, guys.


I'll be feeding it HD cable, PS3, and HD-A2
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post #2 of 13
3/12/08 at 9:37pm
Thread Starter 

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

Anyone? I'm slightly leaning towards the 42" 1080p Z85U, but would really love some feedback.
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post #3 of 13
3/13/08 at 8:28am

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

The difference between 720p and 1080p is not really that critical, especially when you're sitting at least at the proper viewing distance. The 50" 720p Pioneer Kuro beat a bunch or 1080p LCDs and a 1080p Panny plasma in a shoot-out, mainly because it has better black levels and color.

OTOH, contrast ratio doesn't get as much consideration as it should. Normally I recommend getting the bigger display, but in this case the better contrast ratio of the 42" set might be a difference maker. Can you view them side by side under controlled conditions?
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post #4 of 13
3/13/08 at 8:33am

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

James:

Personally I would go for the larger screen size as opposed to the higher res count. I have a 50 inch 75U and love it. HD looks great and SD looked better to me on the 720p sets vs. the 1080p set.

Parker
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post #5 of 13
3/13/08 at 11:02am
Thread Starter 

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

Thank you, guys. I've seen the PX80 and was impressed, even at about three or four feet away. I went to Best Buy and they didn't have any of the Z85U's. I'm not concerned about SD capability as I really only watch Blu, HDTV, and standard DVD's on the machine. Once I can compare, I'll make the choice, though a third option, which has become cheaper lately, is also possible: Samsung 5084. Thanks again.
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post #6 of 13
3/13/08 at 2:14pm

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jrf2
Thank you, guys. I've seen the PX80 and was impressed, even at about three or four feet away. I went to Best Buy and they didn't have any of the Z85U's. I'm not concerned about SD capability as I really only watch Blu, HDTV, and standard DVD's on the machine.

Standard DVDs are SD.
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post #7 of 13
3/13/08 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

NO, no you're wrong! My super cool PS3 takes my DVD's and makes them super cool 1080p, which is actually the same as real 1080p, so in your face!!! Yeah!!!

...yeah my wording in my previous post was not the best. I meant to say I'm not concerned with Standard Def TV programming from cable/satellite. I may just run my Standard DVDs from HDMI in 480i/480p and let the TV do the processing. I've always been wary of upconverting players, even though the PS3 has a pretty good upscaler from what I understand.
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post #8 of 13
3/14/08 at 6:51pm

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jrf2
Anyone? I'm slightly leaning towards the 42" 1080p Z85U, but would really love some feedback.

I just purchased the 85u at Bestbuy. Delivering it on Sunday and will have them mount it on the Wall on Wednsday.

The Contrast ratio and the fact that it is 1080P did it for me. I have a Sony Bluray Player, so I can take advantage of the 1080P.


Both TV's are the same price but; 1080P offers more flexibility when it comes to handling different sources from 480-1080p. Even Over the Air HD has channels at 1080I. I don't want to limit myself to only receiving 720p.
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post #9 of 13
3/14/08 at 10:25pm

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockaby
Even Over the Air HD has channels at 1080I. I don't want to limit myself to only receiving 720p.

Bear in mind:

ABC, FOX are 720p OTA. ESPN and ESPN2 are also 720p (but they get massaged into 1080i if you have your converter box set to output 1080i.)

CBS, CW, NBC are 1080i OTA.

After living with a 50" 720p Panny plasma set for a year, I'll take it over losing almost 30% of the display size with a 42" 1080p model for the same price between the 2 options.
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post #10 of 13
3/15/08 at 2:59pm

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

Patrick I agree with size being a thing. I have a 56 inch RPTV that is 1080i to fall back on and enjoy. It is to big for the living room, so that was why I wanted to go smaller. I Will move the 56 into another room that is bigger. I feel that for the cost of what the 42 inch panasonic is, it was a better value for the price compared the bigger models that had the same features. I have a bluray player so, I wasn't going to go with anything less then 1080P.
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post #11 of 13
3/30/08 at 10:57pm
Thread Starter 

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

How far back do you sit from yours, Patrick?
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post #12 of 13
3/31/08 at 8:40am

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jrf2
I'm interested in getting one of the new Panasonic plasmas for my home theater. The PX80U is 720p but has the bigger screen. The Z85U is 1080p and has higher contrast ratio (15,000 vs 30,000). The price is about the same. I'll be sitting about eight feet from the display. Which is the better choice? Will the CR and 1080p really make for a tremendously better viewing experience, at my distance? Thanks, guys.


I'll be feeding it HD cable, PS3, and HD-A2

I looked at the XBR4 52" and the 47", also and I just kept going higher in budget thinking about a 58". I didn't want to go over the top.


I wondered the similar thing after reading this thread. Even initially, I started looking at 47 or 46" TVs. So I just opted to go bigger at 50" and get the 1080P, too.

Delivery is on Saturday.

I love emoticons. They are too hillarious.
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post #13 of 13
3/31/08 at 9:41am

Re: TH50PX80U or TH-42PZ85U?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jrf2
How far back do you sit from yours, Patrick?

9 feet if I'm really interested in what's on the screen (and sitting up and leaning forward), or 10 feet if I'm just laying back on the couch.

The 50" was the right size for my circumstances, but I kept trying to rationalize the 58" model last year. Heh.
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