Panasonic TH-42PWD7UY 42-Inch EDTV-Ready Flat Panel Plasma TV Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Things I wish I knew about this before I purchased it through the Amazon site:

1)The cheapest secondary vendor Amazon contracts this item through is Tiger Direct (I purchased it at $1,699 for the new nonfurbished model in the summer of '05).When I originally ordered this, shipping calculated out to be $200!OK, I thought... expensive, but maybe that's just how Tiger Direct gets you, and the overall price is still killer for any 42" plasma.WRONG.It is Amazon that is taking the cut as the middleman (or at the least miscalculating).I ended up going through Tiger Direct directly, and for the same exact product, they charged me the same great price, and $135 on shipping.Long story short, I had to go through a lot of hassle to turn around the Amazon order mid-shipment, get a refund on that, but the TV I got from TD is here and looks amazing.

2)Know that this is an INDUSTRIAL grade TV, and that is why they are able to price it the way they are.That means:

a)No coaxial connection in the back.That meant I had to run down to RadioShack and buy expensive component connections for inputs through the cable box and DVD player, ended up costing me $110.

b)No internal speakers.Had to run down to Circuit City to buy a $250 soundsystem (which IMHO was still worth it and something I would have wanted anyway).Had trouble with the sound, so had to pay the tech guy $50 extra to rewire it (turned out to be a simple mistake on my part).

c)Comes with no stand or mount!!!What you are buying is pretty much a standalone screen which would ideally be wall-mounted.Right now it is leaning against the corner wall a little more precariously than I would like to see it.I will be purchasing a used pedastal off eBay, which is nice because it is only $20 (same model retails for over $200 new by my research).I did have to call the Panasonic 800 line to confirm that it would fit this model (and then had to be transfered to a special line that handles industrial TV's).Stands and mounts that support a model of this size are more expensive than I would have guessed (stands avg $150-300 retail, wall mounts that support 42" $200-400+).

Just wanted to make people aware of these issues before they bought.Even given all the extra costs and hassle to me, I would still say it was a financially worthwhile purchase, considering that other 42" plasmas of comparable quality retail for at least a thousand more (and I got a greater soundsystem for my dollar).That's why I still gave it 4 stars.But just know that if you are trying for a simple plug-and-go TV, this is not it... but if you are willing to go the extra mile to get an incredible plasma screen TV at a rock bottom price, it's not a bad purchase (through TD, not Amz).

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Product Description:
Designed specifically for high-performance corporate and multimedia installations, Panasonic's TH-42PWD7UY--a member of the company's seventh-generation Professional Series plasma displays--delivers high quality alongside flexible and expandable input options. The 42-inch widescreen monitor also offers horizontal/vertical image orientation and multi-screen options. It also features super-high contrast (up to an amazing 4,000:1) and a native pixel count of 852 x 480 and can accept image inputs with resolutions of 1080p (24p/24sf), 1080i (50/60), 720p (50/60), 480p/i, and 576 p/i. It supports a range of PC input signals, including resolutions of VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA, and UXGA.
The TH-42PWD7UY is a display only, not a television per se, which means you'll need a DTV or cable set-top box fro any television programming you wish to view. It's also as basic as possible, beyond its many core display technologies, so you can tailor it to your application(s) without paying for features (like speakers) which you may well have no use for. The detailed user's manual provides an exhaustive list of optional accessories and their model numbers, from additional terminal (input) boards to assorted wall mounts.
The panel's multi-function slots let you swap out either or both of the existing terminal boards to accommodate variety of optional IT networking or audio/video input boards. Further, the display boasts significant improvements over previous Professional Series models in the areas of peak brightness (more then 10 percent higher than earlier generations), displayable colors, and service life.
Onboard picture-improving technologies include Panasonic's Real Black Drive System, a Deep Black filter, a Super Real Gamma System, Adaptive Automatic Gain Control (AGC), Motion Picture Disturbance (MPD) noise reduction, 3D color management, and active I/P (interlace/progressive) conversion.
The newly improved Super Real Gamma System reproduces gradations in brightness steps equivalent to 2,048 shades, with up to 8.58 billion colors to produce astonishing image depth and ultra-subtle nuances in dark scenes. A new Multi-facet Asymmetrical Configuration Hyper-pixel (MACH) panel features a bounded cell structure and new phosphor material that dramatically improves the panel's service life to 60,000 hours while boosting peak brightness and increasing the display's resistance to static-image burn-in to the level of CRT displays. (Panasonic defines service life as the period during which the display's light output is 50 percent or more of its original light output.)
Adaptive Automatic Gain Control (AGC) increases contrast while maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio; Motion Picture Disturbance detects motion patterns that generate noise and adjusts the image to maximum quality without diminishing the quality of stationary background objects; a 3D Color Management system provides finer independent control and corrects hue, saturation, and brightness; and Active I/P (interlace/progressive) Conversion reduces interlace-to-progressive conversion noise.
The Dual Picture feature combines any 2 audio/video signals and displays them in 3 different modes (2 picture-in-picture and 1 picture-out-picture modes); digital zoom enlarges a portion of an image up to 4 times normal size for full-screen display.
This ultra-thin (3.5-inch) display offers a wide viewing angle of more than 160 degrees, so it's easy to read even if viewers are sitting or standing well off-axis from a front-on view.
The panel is equipped with a host of energy-saving functions, and its Contrast Automatic Tracking System (C.A.T.S.) senses ambient light and adjusts brightness and gradation accordingly. The addition of "menu" and "enter" buttons to the front panel gives you control of onscreen display functions without recourse to using the supplied remote control.
What's in the Box
TV, remote control, remote batteries (2 AA), 2 ferrite cores (small, large), 2 fixing bands, a warranty card, a user's manual, and an AC power cord.

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