After having a few problems with my old set (Panny TH-42PX6U?...whichever model was popular back in 2006), I had to return it about 6 weeks ago. So, I've been searching for a new HDTV for the past few weeks. Not sure whether I'll go with an LCD or a Plasma. Most on here are Plasma backers. I loved mine before the problems started. Great picture! They're tougher to find now, especially at Scum's Club (I saw 2 or 3, the rest were LCD's).

I went to Costco today, looking for something to get me through until I find one I really want (then this "transition" set is being sold to a family member so I can recoup some of the $$). Costco had a much better selection than Scum's. Unfortunately, it's about 115 miles away (Scum's is 25) and I only have a car. Hauling a huge set is a pain (take it out of the box, break the box down, etc...), so I was looking for something at 46" or less (which would fit into my back seat, still in the box).

I settled on the Panny TH-C42HD18 because of the price. I don't want to spend a fortune on something I won't be keeping. I also was drawn to Panasonic because I liked my old set so much. The floor model was manufactured summer '08, so I figured one out of the box would be as new or newer (which I like). I noticed this set has fewer HDMI inputs than my old one did (two instead of four). I figured this was a way of keeping the cost low to make a more budget-friendly tv. Othewise, I assumed this would be about the same as my old tv.

It was manufactured 1/09, which is outstanding. However, the picture leaves much to be desired. I've been without an HDTV for about 6 weeks now, but my memory isn't that bad. My old tv looked much better than this one. So I'm thinking either there's some setting I don't have right, there's something I've not done -OR- this is just a cheapo set that doesn't have high PQ. Does this make sense to anyone? It didn't look that great in the store either, but I figured it was the bright lights.

I connected the tv to my Dish Network HD receiver....turned it on.....selected "English" for language, set the clock, etc.. I then started flipping through the channels to see what I could see. I'm not impressed. The picture isn't very sharp. Could I be doing something wrong?

I simply hooked it up to my Dish Network HD receiver via HDMI cable (whereas I had my old Panny hooked up via composite cables, or, more specifically, through the composite ports but used the cheesy red/white/yellow cables). I changed the picture setting to the most attractive setting. There does seem to be a difference between the HD channels and their SD counterparts, but it seems to be a slight difference. I'm just not seeing the same "pop" on the HD channels as I did with my old set (which came off the line 2/06, if memory serves). It reads that I'm receiving the signal in 1080i. Not sure why it doesn't look that great.

There haven't been many posts re: this model, so I'm assuming not a lot of people have it. I'm just wondering from those that do own it and/or know more than I do about this stuff (everyone)....what the H is up with this set? Has anyone else been less than impressed with it?

The CF18HD is the same as the PX80U, and it should look very good. I recently set up a 42PX80U for my brother in law and it looks as good as my old 42PX50U so yours should look as good as your old PX6U.

Are you sure the TV is getting a 1080i signal from the Dish Receiver? Press the TV's INFO button and confirm that the pop-up menu indicates 1080i.

The settings menus on the new model are quite different than your old TV so maybe you just need to dial them in properly. Since you say the new TV connected via HDMI looks worse than your old TV that was connected via regular Composite, then something isn't right.


Post all your settings, including the settings in the Other Settings sub menus and we'll have a look at em. Also, check the PX80U threads and find other peoples' settings posts for reference. You'll want to set your Picture setting on the high side, and the Brightness setting much lower for starters.

I also have this model, and it is equivalent to the PX80. Looks very good if broken in and given the proper settings. I have to watch it farther than 5 feet though so I don't notice the 720p resolution. Other than that, for the price you get great blacks and good colors. I've watched a lot of reference quality blu-rays on this set and the PQ is outstanding.

I've also noticed that the more hours you put on this set, the better the picture looks. I think that's the same with all plasmas. With more viewing time and some extra tweaking along the way, the colors on my set have improved since day one.