Panasonic TH-58PZ800U
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- 1080p Full-HD Plasma panel
- THX Certified
- 4 HDMI inputs
- PC Input for better viewing
- contrast ratio 1,000,000:1 Dynamic
 Buyer Beware -- Prices fluctuating wildly on this HD television |
| Review Date: September 6, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Opinunated, USA |
| This is just a heads up about pricing.
I placed my order for this television on 9/2/2008. THE PRICE from AMAZON with FREE SHIPPING was $2,835.21. Delivery time quoted, when I placed the order, was 1 to 2 months. UPDATE: Amazon delivered my TV on 9/30/2008 (in about a month) in perfect condition at the price I've quoted ($2,835.21). Prices are changing day by day. In fact, the day after I placed my order, Amazon raised their price by $500.00. That is quite a price increase in one day! Over the course of the next TWO weeks the price went up to match the list price of $3700. So, in just two weeks time, there was a $900 increase in price! Finally prices are drifting lower again. Early in November, the price has dropped back down to the $2800 range. THE BEST DEAL YET (11/18/2008). Not only has Amazon lowered its price to an all time low of $2689.00 BUT Amazon says that if you add the Panasonic BDK-35 Blu-ray player (CNET - top rated!) to your cart you will get an additional $300.00 off the combined purchase. Since this player costs $239.00 you will not only receive the player for free but also save an additional $61.00 off of the price of the TV. This deal is a no-brainer, while it lasts. This player is top-rated and, of course, plays standard DVDs too. UPDATE: Unfortunately Amazon withdrew this offer after only a week. There were no reviews published when I purchased this set but its 50" sister - the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U - had received top reviews. In fact, the 50" version of this set is widely considered either the best HDTV ever made or second only to the much more expensive Pioneer Kuros. UPDATE: This HDTV was Awarded "Editors Choice" by CNET on 10/3/2008 (now only the 50" Pioneer Kuro Elite is rated higher). CNET even rated this Panasonic 58" a tiny bit better than Panasonic's 50" version due to slightly deeper blacks. Don't pay too much for this set. This set is just starting to trickle into stores and only, late in September, did Amazon have this TV in stock. I can't see why any consumer would pay any more than I have ($2835.21) and I hope they will pay less. As a general guideline: I've found that a good discount for a Panasonic Plasma will be at least 25% off of the list price. What is interesting is how carefully the other merchants listed on Amazon.com follow Amazon's lead on price. On the day I purchased this HDTV there were other merchants that were VERY close to Amazon's total price even after including any shipping charges (one was actually a few dollars less including shipping). Once Amazon raised its price, within 24 hours, all these other merchants raised their prices to match Amazon's new price. That trend has continued with these other sellers closely following Amazon's lead. Amazon's white glove delivery service works extremely well. I was concerned about this and wondered how Amazon's delivery service would stack up against buying this set in person? Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The TV was delivered on time, it was unpacked, the stand was installed, and the TV was placed where I wanted it (the packaging was also removed). I knew how to connect the TV to all my other components but you certainly shouldn't expect the truckers to know how to do this for you! Still they waited 5 minutes for me to make all my connections and confirm the set was in perfect condition. Even if you don't know how to connect the set (prior to studying the manual) - just plugging it into a wall outlet (no other connections required) and turning it on displays a menu on the screen which confirms it was not damaged in transit. KUDOS to AMAZON on its White Glove Service! Well Done and hassle free!!! The picture quality exceeds my wildest expectations, assuming a few important changes are made to the set's default settings. With good high definition content the picture is absolutely stunning, better than what I recall was shown at my local movie theatre. High definition movies on HBO really do look better than when I saw them in the theatre. If there is a criticism to be found it is that the default settings are either too dim (THX mode) or too garish (custom mode). However it is easy to adjust the settings to produce a much better picture. I'd encourage everyone to use the settings listed in Greg Lavery's Amazon review (these were first published by CNET and then discussed/updated in the AVS forum). These settings are extremely important if you want the best possible picture and the improvements they yield are NOT subtle! However, having said that, this still may NOT be the best TV for a brightly lit room because it is not the brightest set available and the screen is somewhat reflective. For everyone else, you are purchasing one of the finest HDTVs ever made. The quality and naturalness of the picture is often jaw-dropping. It is hard to explain in words, exactly how good this set is --- even to those of you who have already purchased another HDTV. For example, I purchased a 26" Toshiba HDTV (2008 model) for my office. That HDTV looks pretty poor when compared to this Panasonic. It is almost impossible to overstate the quality of the picture that this set can produce. Keep in mind this is one, very large, HDTV and it can easily dwarf everything else in a room. One Final Comment: Know who you are buying from at Amazon. Just below the price if it says "ships from and sold by XXX company" you are NOT buying from Amazon but another company who pays a fee to Amazon to sell products on Amazon's website. While these other companies may be fine - I choose to purchase this HDTV directly from Amazon and NOT from one of these other merchants whose track record I could not as easily evaluate. The shipping policies of these other companies may also vary from Amazon's white glove delivery service. |
| This TV is very crisp and beautiful |
| Review Date: October 26, 2008 |
| Reviewer: G. Lavery, |
| I got this TV b/c cnet seemed to rave about it. I had a TH-50PX600U and that was a nice TV and I'm a big panasonic fan, but this TV I can definitely notice an improvement in quality from my cable HD channels, even though both are from the same 720p signal. In addition, watching Blu-Ray from this is beautiful (I'm using a PS3). I'm really happy with the purchase. One recommendation for anyone owning this TV is to use custom settings and not use the settings that are default.
The rest of the review is copy/pasted from "daarrid" over at avsforum.com http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1056962 However lets remember that the THX mode can be adjusted!!!! Panasonic's default settings for THX are just wrong. The CNET reviewer, using a completely dark room, adjusted the THX settings considerably upward from their default settings. Just for the sake of example - CNET increased the picture setting from 50 to 100 for their review. I'd suggest that anyone owning this set start with CNET's THX settings: CNET's THX settings (completely dark room): Picture: 100 Brightness: 55 Color: 56 Tint: 0 Sharpness: 50 Color Temp: Warm Cats: Off Color Man.: Off MPEG NR: Off HD Size: Size 2 Black Level: Light Or try My THX Settings (for a dimly lite room): THX MODE: Picture: 95 Brightness: 62 Color: 50 Tint: -8 Sharpness: 50 Color Temp: Normal Cats: Off Color Man.: On MPEG NR: Off HD Size: Size 2 Black Level: Light While I use my Custom settings occassionally - tweaking the THX settings are much more important for everyday use. I use THX 90% of the time. The Custom Mode I created, I generally use ONLY for broadcasts made for TV. Remember THX is a movie standard and does not technically apply to TV shows (although some of these TV shows may also look better in THX). Here are my custom mode settings again (already posted). Use these settings for TV shows and/or movies shown in a bright room: CUSTOM MODE: Picture: 85 Brightness: 50 Color: 34 Tint: -7 Sharpness: 50 Color Temp: Normal Cats: Off Color Man.: On MPEG NR: Off HD Size: Size 2 Black Level: Light |
| Don't assume anything, ask if you're not sure!!! |
| Review Date: September 16, 2008 |
| Reviewer: James Ulchinsky, |
| Two months ago I bought a 52" LCD TV (not Panasonic) for my family room, so my grand kids could watch TV and play Xbox & Playstation 3 games. The TV was bought directly from Amazon and the shipping was free. When it got to my house over three weeks later, two men deliverd the TV and put it in my family room. They took it out of the box and set it up and pluged it in to make sure everything worked. (It did) They said the white glove service was on all TV's from Amazon. On 08/29/2008 I went to Amazon's web sight and bought my TH-58PZ800U ($2961.99) for my living room and the shipping was free too. My 58" Panasonic TV was actually bought from a partner company through Amazon, called Buy Now Inc., which still honored the free shipping. When the TV was delivered 09/11/2008 (in very good condition), it was only delivered by one man and it was a side walk delivery only. He saw I was disabled and was nice enough to bring it in through my front door and left it in my living room. I unpacked it and set it up two days later. The TV (140 lbs) comes with a stand and it's very easy to set up but you will need at least two healthy people and three is even better. I called Amazon and asked why the difference in my type of delivery? They said, All TV items bought directly from Amazon get the white glove type delivery treatment and from partner companies in most cases it will be a side walk delivery only. Both times the trucking company called a day or two ahead, to set up the delivery I strongly recommed you ask what type of delivery you're getting. I hope this helps?
Now about the TH-58PZ800U Panasonic Plasma TV which I researched for over a month before I bought it. I read all the personal and profesional reviews I could find. I was very lucky to have a major National Electronics store in my area that had a large selection of most of the major brands that made Plasma TV's. I want to be very honest in this review. Three or four other brands of Plasma TV's have come a long way and they looked great. I tried to compare apples to apples by comparing only Plasma TV's because that's what I wanted for my living room. It was very hard to see a major difference in picture and color in alot of todays Plasma TV's on display. I narrowed it down to two or three Plasma TV's in the 58" to 60" range. What made the decision for me was: My 58" Panasonic had a very good picture, colors were excellent, the non glare screen, all the HDMI (4) and other inputs, Panasonics Reputation, Quality and Repair history. I already own a 42" Panasonic Plasma TV that is 5 years old and it still has a great picture. Last but not least, the sound from the TV speakers is great if you don't have a home sound system, which I do, so I checked it out and then I hooked it up to my ow home sound system. The remote control is easy to use and the menu, doing the TV set up, is very easy and quick to do. Right now I have no negatives because I've only had the TV for 5 days and used it for 3 days. I hope this review has helped in some ways. |
Panasonic TH58PZ800U Now on Sale at Amazon.com
Features
- VIERA Link® HDAV Control
- G11 1080p HD Plasma Display
- HD Photo Viewer
- 480 Hz Sub-field Drive Technology
- New Anti-Reflective Filter
- 24p Cinema Playback (2:3 Pulldown)
- THX Certified
- BBE® VIVA HD3D Sound
Specifications
- Screen Size: 58 inches
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Resolution : 1920 x 1080
- Display Type: HD Plasma Display
- Native Contrast Ratio : 30,000 : 1
- Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 1,000,000:1
- HDTV Built-in Tuner: ATSC/QAM
- HDMI Inputs: 4
- Component Video Input (Y, PB, PR): 2
- PC Input : Mini D-sub 15-pin
- SD Memory Card Slot : Yes
- Speakers: 4
- Surround Sound : Yes
- Dimensions : 56.9″W x 37.4″H x 4.3″D
- Weight : 128.1 lbs
