Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ80U 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

This a great TV set. I am glad I went with this over LCD. No degredation in the picture at all from a wide angle; even the best LCDs cannot match that. It's just like a regular CRT TV set but much sharper and bigger; which means it's nothing like a regular CRT TV set. It will blow you away. The picture quality is great even on non HD channels. All digital channels looked great both Standard and High def. Analog channels were not good but that may be because I have bad signal. I had a lot of "snow" in the background. The delivery was fast enough (matched the estimated date 7 business days). They came in and plugged it in. It turned on and they were gone; not great but functional.
Bottom line, this is one of the best deals for the money. Go with LCD only if your TV will double as a PC monitor on regular basis and you want to save a litle energy. Plasma screens run hotter and use more power. This one gets warm but still tolerable. There are 3 small PC style fans on the back. In any other way Plasma rules the picture quality department. It's brighter, just as good on sharpness and provides better contrast and a much wider viewing angles than the best LCDs out there and does all that for comparably less money for the same screen size, and this one is one of the best plamas out there and the best deals. Panasonic has good thing going here. I would definately recommend it.

Like so many,I reviewed information,went to stores and "eyeballed" the many sets available.Finally made the decision to purchase the 50" Panasonic based on features,picture quality and price.Have had it now for a month and could not be more pleased.I would and do recommend this set.Hope this helps the "nail biters" among us.

This a great TV! Super clear, vivid colors, great size and great service from Amazon. Prompt delivery service directly from Amazon, fine package opening and set-up.

I paired this with a Panasonic Blu-Ray player from Amazon and am doing some serious disc viewing. I am immensely pleased with both Panasonic products. Very good deals- both cost-wise and in service.

Dr. Ted

I own the 2007 version of the TH-50pz80U, which was the TH-50pz77U. I'm very pleased with my plasma, and it was great value for the money. So I'm confident you'll have the same experience with this very slightly upgraded 2008 model (mainly, three HDMI inputs instead of two). However, the pz77U had been misrepresented in customer reviews, and I really didn't understand what I was buying. It's clear from reading these reviews that the same misunderstandings persist.

Many customer reviews say that this model is the new version of the model that got top marks from Consumer Reports last year. That isn't true. That last year's model was the TH-50pz700U. I was misled by similar customer reviews last year. If you want the 2008 version of that model, you will need the TH-50pz800U at 50% higher cost than the pz80U.

The online retailers describe all of the features of the most expensive Panasonic plasmas in the listing for every model, creating the impression that the least expensive models have all of the features of the most expensive models. Again, not true. Compared to this pz80U, the pz800U adds 30,000:1 native contrast ratio compared to the 20,000:1 of the pz80U, native 24p playback, a brand new panel construction ("one pane of glass"), display of 5,120 shades of gray vs. 4,096 for the 80U, and an upgraded speaker system.

Again, I'm pleased with my pz77U and probably wouldn't have paid to upgrade to the pz700U even if I had been given better information. But know what you're getting. I had the opportunity to see the pz77U and the pz700U side by side after the return period was over, and the pz700U was noticeably superior.

This is just an incredible set, I can't rave about it enough!
We did a ton of research on LCD Vs. Plasma and decided to go with Plasma because of the sharper picture quality and the fact that Plasma's are better at handling high speed images which comes in handy since I watch a lot of sports.
Like other reviewers have mentioned, last years model was among the highest rated Plasma's out there and although the reviews are just starting to come in this set seems to have picked up where last years models left off.
3 HDMI inputs allow you to hook up just about everything you could want without sacrificing quality and one of the many great features of this set is that it allows you to independently setup your picture quality for each input so you're not constantly adjusting settings when you switch inputs. Switching also couldn't be easier and you can customize the menu so you know that you're switching to Game, DVD, etc. instead of input 1, input 2, input 3, etc. You can even disable unused inputs so you're not scrolling through "dead" inputs when you're switching devices. The set also has 1 set of inputs in front which are also very convenient for a quick hookup.
For those that are worried about image burn in, this set has 2 other nice features not in last year's model (that I'm aware of) which is built in pixel shifting and a scrolling bar. Pixel shifting subtly adjusts the pixels (your eye won't pick this up) so an image doesn't get burned into the screen since the pixels don't remain static. This isn't foolproof but it does help reduce the chances. And what if you do ever get an image burned into the screen? Well, this set has a white scrolling bar you can run. This runs a white bar across the screen for up to 15 minutes that should eliminate any image that gets burned in.
On top of all the other features that I can rave about, the most important is the picture quality and I must say the image is GORGEOUS. I have HD through DirecTV and I am simply amazed at the quality of the picture, it's absolutely stunning! This set is in our living room and we do get sunlight in the room during the middle of the day and I see no glare, reflection, etc. Amy time of the day the picture is just incredible.
Of course do your research, go to some stores and take a look but I think anyone who gets this set will be absolutely floored by everything it offers and the truly incredible picture it gives. I really couldn't be happier having decided to purchase this set.