Panasonic TH-46PZ850U

The Viera 850U series is at the highest end of Panasonic’s consumer Plasmas for 2008. It is their 11th generation of plasma models and features a native 1080p resolution. The Panasonic TH46PZ850U caters to those who do not need TVs that are exceedingly large and a 46 inch display and still yield a good home theater experience.

Design

Panasonic keeps the TH-46PZ850U simple and elegant. In fact the sleek display makes it look larger than it seems especially when the TV is turned off. Getting this particular 46 inch model won’t leave you begging for a bigger size no matter what the room environment is like. The stand adds to the appeal of the overall design as well.

Performance and Features

Like many flagship products, the TH-46PZ850U carries new features not found on less expensive models.  Top on the features list is Viera Cast that lets you enjoy online entertainment like YouTube videos and digital photos on Picasa Web Albums, all with a click of a button. You can also get instant weather reports as well as the up-to-date financial information from Bloomberg® Television. Panasonic says it will add more content in the future.

Unlike the less expensive TH-46PZ800U, the TH-46PZ850U is not THX certified. Not being THX certified doesn’t mean a television won’t pass the tests. Its just that the company didn’t choose to pay THX to test them.

The Panasonic TH-46PZ850U produce a superb picture, supported by some of the deepest blacks in the industry. Its color accuracy compared with the HD standard is better than many high-end HDTVs on the market. As expected from any 1080p flat-panel, the 850U resolved every detail of 1080 resolution sources.

Actual user review:
“The TH46PZ850U is excellent, and has the best sound ever. No need for a home theatre. DVD and Blu-ray plays BEAUTIFULLY. It takes a bit of fussing, but you can get a perfect picture, all by yourself.” – Maryann (USA)

 

Another nice feature to add to that is the added support for video formats including h.264. To translate, the Panasonic TH-46PZ850U is capable of playing Blu-ray format movies just by placing the file in an SD card and inserting it in the SD card slot that it comes with. The same goes with how audio files are played making the SD slot a welcoming feature. This also means that a wide range of audio formats are natively supported in the Panasonic TH-46PZ850U.

Like the older models, the TH-46PZ850U has a “Game mode” which effectively reduces the time delay when displaying game visuals. That combined with the nice big screen and four HDMI 1.3 inputs make this TV an excellent choice for some hardcore gaming.

Regarding the image quality, Panasonic manages to fix the problems of older models by incorporating Panasonic’s Digital Cinema Color re-mastering technology which results to visuals looking a lot more vivid and displaying accurate colors. Enhanced contrast ratios of 30000:1 are also featured and the same superior handling of deeper blacks makes its way to this model. Even motion blur is considerably reduced making this a nice TV for enjoying sports or high speed action scenes.

Conclusion

All of these great additions breathe in new life to Panasonic’s successful line of plasma TV displays. The price is noticeably higher than most other 46 inch displays, but the TH46PZ850U model comes with these amazing features not found in other displays.

“I was initially skeptical about buying Plasma because of the things I had read about them, e.g. high power consumption. I have been monitoring the electrical consumption. There are 5 preset picture modes: VIvid, Standard, Studio Reference, Game, and Custom. Respectively, at widescreen and on factory settings, they consume approximately 400, 175, 250, 375, and 325 watts. Thankfully, the picture modes are saved for whatever input you use. You can adjust each of these modes individually by picture, brightness, color, tint, and sharpness. The stock speakers were surprisingly good with coverage even to deeper bass. Blu-ray playback is absolutely gorgeous! It is crisp and clear, contrasty, and quite bright. There is no ghosting, and the supposed 480 Hz technology is worlds better than the 120 Hz you see on LCDs, it looks natural and cinematic.” – K.Schafer (FL,USA)

Average User Rating:

 

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