Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

The TV arrived on time this all worked great. Thanks Amazon for the great job!!!

Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

After over a month of researching flat panels, I settled on the Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U. I am more interested in watching movies and sports than playing games, so I opted for a plasma. This TV seemed to be the third-best plasma on the market (behind the Pioneer Kuro and the Panasonic 800-series), and considering price, seemed to offer the greatest value. I've had this TV for about a week and am very happy with my purchase so far. Here are my observations:

- The CEVA white-glove delivery was excellent. Ordered on a Saturday night and received in 8 days (6th business day). I was hoping for slightly quicker delivery but the service was excellent. Two delivery guys arrived within the pre-scheduled 2-hour window, carried in the TV, removed it from the packaging, installed the base/stand, placed it on my TV stand, asked me to hookup my satellite cable, and turned it on to verify picture and sound. After I checked it over for any damage, I signed the sheet and they were on their way.

- Standard-definition satellite programming is a disappointment on this TV, and from what I've heard, on all large HDTVs. I opted to upgrade to HD programming for an additional $10 per month. That will be installed tomorrow.

- Local over-the-air digital/HD channels look great.

- Standard-definition DVDs, played on a standard DVD player, look MUCH better than expected. I purchased an inexpensive component video cable from Amazon, and it delivers a better picture than on my old CRT TV. These movies look so good I may delay purchase of a blu-ray player for a while.

- The sound from the TV seems good to me. I was happy to find bass and treble adjustments in the setup menu. Increasing the bass greatly improved the sound out of the box and may be the solution to a previous reviewer's complaint about "tinny" sound. The downward-firing speakers certainly provide much more indirect sound than my old CRT, but I don't find it offensive.

- The picture is excellent and needed very little adjustment out of the box. I chose the "cinema" mode, which was just a little warmer than "standard" mode.

- The remote design seems acceptable but will take a little getting used to. My only complaint so far is the "last" button, used to jump back to the last channel you watched, is too far from the channel up/down buttons.

- The stand does not swivel but I had no need for that in my room anyway.

- The printed instructions are helpful and Panasonic included batteries for the remote and 2 cable ties for your connections.

- The TV runs warm, as with all plasmas, but is not offensive. It seems professional calibration will help this.

I hope to follow-up with an update in a month or two after I experience HD programming and perhaps blu-ray movies with this TV. But until then, I'd give this experience a full 5 stars.

It's just as most of the other reviews have said. It's a fantastic tv, well worth the price in my opinion, and I'd buy another, if I could go back in time and do it over.

I am very pleased with this purchase. The picture quality is amazing! It looks good from multiple viewing angles and in multiple lighting conditions. I use the feature that changes the picture brightness based on the amount of light in the room. Also, the sound is surprisingly good from TV speakers. I selected free shipping and the TV arrived in 2 days and was hand delivered inside my house. The delivery guys even offered to unload it from the box.

TV is great. Great pic and sound, easy set up and looks good. Also received great support from Panasonic and Amazon. Would highly recommend.