New Panasonic THX Certified 42PZ800U, 46PZ800U, and 50PZ800U Thread! - Page 3

I really can't wait to see this set. I've played around and watched the 50pz85u for a few hours on blu-ray Planet Earth and I was very impressed.

page 25 of the manual seems to address how the 24p mode is activated

hope it looks good

I am in a quandary shud I get the latest 1080p Panny coming out at the end of next month for about $2600-2700 ( thats where I think the street price will end up at) or should I run out and get the 1150 Pioneer Elite kuro 720p from Tweeter at $2299 + tax.

Thanks in advance for your responses and suggestions.

TV is for the living room. Low light environment
Distance is 8-11 feet from TV
Dont have a blue ray player yet but getting the PS3 soon.

Just got back from C.C. queens NY. They had the 46PZ85U,42PZ80U,42PX80U & the 50PZ80U all on display.All the panneys looked great. The colors,PQ was beautiful, only the white snow scenes appeared to be a little grayish white which i am convinced is due to the antireflective device. The color scenes were normal to very bright. The 46PZ85U looked great but is a little to huge for my apt.I will stick with the 42PZ85.

reg THX, pg 48 of the manual has just one line on the THX mode. seems THX mode is/replaces the cinema mode.

also at 3.9" (without the bottom angled wedge) it is significantly thicker than the 85u (3.2" without the bottom speaker wedge). I had hoped it would be as thin...

"Product Description
Amazon.com Product Description--March 10, 2008
With its 2008 Panasonic Viera Plasmas, Panasonic brings an astonishing 1,000,000:1 contrast ration to the table. advanced pixel resolution and image-processing technology with the plasma TV's natural ability to beautifully reproduce fast moving images, so every detail is rendered with amazing clarity, and all the action is delivered with a high degree of fluidity.
What's New This Year?

* Super Contrast--native contrast ratios on the PZ85, PZ800 and PX 850 series are 30,000:1, double last year's 15,000:1. Dynamic contrast ratios are up to 1,000,000:1.
* new anti-reflective filter; lead-free "Tough Under Force" panel is resistant to impacts and scratches
* Built-in SD card slot with Photo Viewer/Gallery Player software
* x.v. Color and Deep Color (HDMI 1.3 features)
* 24p native reproduction
* Game Mode auto-adjusts image quality suitable to games and includes anti-image retention
* Viera Link is now compatible with Onkyo and Yamaha home theater systems
* At least 3 HDMI inputs on all models (4 on PZ800 and PZ850 series)
* THX Certification on PZ800 and PZ850 series"

For what its worth got this from Amazon and it says thx cert on the 850u.

yes but a panny pdf brochure and a hometheatermag article state otherwise....see post #25 on page 1 of this thread....there have been diff info from diff sources, nothing conclusive so far....very confusing.

I agree! Seems they would be a little better a hyping the new models.

A few quick questions for the experts:

1. Does anyone know the dimensions of the 800/850 50" model? I can't fit anything much wider than the pz85.

2. What does THX certification mean for this set? If it's only sound, then I don't care. If it's video too, is it a specific calibration of the colors/brightness/whatever? Does it match the 6500k calibration that an ISF calibrator would try for, or does it hit some other calibration standard listed in the THX spec? I assume I would still have to calibrate brightness/contrast to match my viewing environment?

BTW, has anyone actually seen/compared the 85 to the 800 to the 850 to a Kuro 5010, maybe the models were on display at CES or something? I will probably get the 85 (or the 800 if it's only a few $hundred more) just for cost reasons, unless a review comes out that says the 85 or 800 is much worse than the 5010. Are there any magazine reviews of the 85 yet?

Thanks a lot,
--Carey

No expert but the dimensions for the 800/850 are 49.9" x 31.3"x4.1". The bezel is 17.9"x 15.2"
The 850 is not THX, rather it is "Studio Reference" i.e. it has the same PQ as a reference studio monitor. THX "viera meets the high standards set by the THX Certified Display Program. Info from Panasonic catalog.

Paul

1. check the user manual posted yesterday or so...it has the exact dimensions in the end.

2. THX is supposed to have the TV's color settings in THX/cinema mode match the HDTV std rev709 as per http://www.hometheatermag.com/news/031208panasonic/

"All meet THX Certified Display specs for color, luminance, and video processing, with a special THX Movie Mode whose color settings precisely match the ATSC color standard."

Thanks for the quick replies,
--Carey

AFAIK, the THX cert only applies to video, not the audio.

Hi everybody,

Is there a chance that the 800 series have a better/deeper black then the 85 series? I know they spec the same contrast ratio but I am still hoping.

Thanks,

Eric

^ If it did, I think Panasonic would have touted its better blacks instead of just its contrast ratio. But this is just a guess.

It may not have better blacks but it should have more accurate colors and better processing. The ability to display an even multiple of 24hz is important if you've got a Blu-ray player that can send 1080p/24. Plus, I think the design of the 800 series with it's one sheet of glass bezel is just awesome! Bottom line= IT'S WORTH WAITING FOR!

The street pricing has dropped at big river, reaffirming my desire to wait for them. I just hope I don't see the green phospher trails on the 800 many are seeing on the 85s.

Yep, nice discount but still saying shipping in 1-2 months. Any undates on availability?

possible I think. it has 1024 shades of gradation more than the 85u's 4096 plus since it handles 24p at 48Hz. given those 2 improvements it may turn out to be a slightly diff beast from the 80/85 and if so then all bets are off as to it's black levels, etc.

Wow... just went there, that is quite a substantial discount... I can't wait for a review on this mammajamma.

That is a nice price drop....and happens to be the same exact price I was quoted from a forum sponsor and also from a small, local Panny dealer about 5 minutes from my house. That dealer has offered me the same price as "Big River" currently shows, and has also offered an additional 2 year warranty as well as delivery and setup.

Sounds like a great deal....and the pricing is more where I had hoped it would be.

I was really, really close to buying the 50PZ700 a couple months ago but decided to wait...and glad I did.

Sick of waiting though. I think I'll finally be taking the plunge once the 50PZ800 becomes available

this was discussed a bit on page 1 (see here) but no conclusion came of it afaik....

the 850 has DCC (120% rec 709 color) and "may" have no THX and supposedly a diff glass, how much all this affects the PQ is what i'm curious to find out. if it's significantly diff then it would warrant it's own thread.

it's also possible that it may have exactly the same "THX(Cinema)" mode as the 800u but since (let's assume) the set is not THX cert they may just call it "cinema" mode, so a diff name but same thing in reality so then that would be one less diff between the two....

I'd say best to wait to find those things before including it here. also since they are not releasing for a while anyway there is no rush i guess....

will the 850U be up to $500 more expensive than the 800U?

If I do purchase one.... I just want the one that has the best color accuracy.
even if it does cost up to $500 more.

Well I was never a BIG FAN of THX colors & etc so I'm guessing it's probably just a "Gimmick" setting on the 800 that is "THX" approved & the "Stuido Reference" mode is what most movies & tv programs are calibrated at? so I'd probably rather have the "Studio" mode plus if you have the set ISFed don't they really calibrate the set to the "Studio Reference" mode & not Lucas's "THX" mode?

So if you can afford the 850 that's the set I'd go with for color accuracy & etc especially after a ISF tune up.

WHAT I"M GUESSING?
800 THX Mode = A THX Approved Picture Setting
850 Studio Refference Mode = ISF Approved Picture Setting

So the "THX" mode is probably not much different then the PZ700 "Cinema" mode except for slight color & light variations that Lucas's THX tech's approved but that "THX" logo does help to move product to the masses but for upscale Video stores who will be handling the 850's they don't want gimmicks for their customers just quality pictures.

I hope in the coming months that someone compares the 700s "CINEMA" Mode with the 800s "THX" Mode & the 850s "Studio Reference" mode just to see how different they all really are.

But maybe if you have the set ISFed & you have them do it using the "Custom" mode maybe you can end up with the "Custom" mode being the "Studio" mode & then you could use "THX" mode for THX pictures? but will have to see because if they adjust things in the service menu when calibrating the set maybe it will mess up the "THX" picture mode setting?

pardon the naivete

what is big river?

i checked bigriver.com but nothing there

is this an online sponsor for avs?

Forum slang for Amazon

Holy Crap! You guys were not kidding about the Big River price drop. Gotta love it when the price is dropping like a rock before it even hit the streets.

thanks

wasn't hip to the slang

i checked and they have the 42 and the 50 listed but not the 46

weird