Panasonic LZ800. When do they come?

I have been patiently waiting for the 32/37 LZ800's and have been checking the web for availability amost daily.

ButterflyPhoto.com, PlasmaBay.com and LCDTVS.com seem to have the 37LZ800's in stock and the indications are this was available in March 2008. The 32-inch version still seems to be MIA, but I haven't heard or seen anything that would lead me to believe that the announced month of availability is still not April 2008.

The 37-inch is what I am primarily interested in, but it seems to be available only at MSRP of $1599.99. I am awaiting a more favorable price.

I have had the TC-32LX700 since last April or May and consider it to to be a "winner" in every respect. Looking forward to this year's iteration for the bedroom (TC-37LZ800)

drip ... drip ... drip ...

there a short review on the 37lz800 on trustedreviews.com recently posted

I received an alert from buy.com today that this panel is in stock and shipping!

I don't find any update worth the extra over the LZ85 in this TV

My LZ85 is about to come to replace my (brutally phosphor-lag affected) PZ85, I'll comment about it once it arrives.

I am patiently waiting for the LZ800 myself(32"). I was thinking about the XBR6 but have some reservations after following the thread regarding that set. I almost purchased the LX700 a few months back but it was at the end of the product life and couldn't find one anywhere and did not want to buy sight unseen.
Numba, how did the LX700 compare to the XBR4 from last year? I am expecting the LZ800 to be close to best in class based on what I have read on the LX700.
This set will go in our bedroom and I can't convince the wife of the 37". I think the 32" will do just fine. Also these sets will have Motion Picture Pro like the LX700, correct? The other big difference is that the 08 model is 1080p set.

BTW, I read in another thread that Tweeter has arrival date of 5/15/08 for the LZ800.

I just checked out Crutchfield.com and they do, indeed, have the LZ800's available. Buy.com has a nice price on these, BTW. I am under the impression that the LZ800's have Motion Picture Pro(120hz). Under crutchfield's specs for 120hz is says NO?? what gives?
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...ures_and_specs

But in the overview section, its states Motion focus anti-blur technology? Is this something different than 120hz?? Last years LX700 were 120hz panels? Clarification needed.

JoeBloggz:

I looked at both of those at Tweeter here in early 2007 before I decided on the Panny TC-32LX700.

The Sony may have looked a little sharper on the floor comparison, but they were not side by side and it was hard to tell. I had to move from one room to the next and back and forth to evaluate.

They were both torched and the Panny's sound was not hooked up. I had the sales guy (who was indifferent and passively annoyed at having to deal with actually displaying the Panny other than the way they had it set up) de-torch it, dismount it from the wall location and walk it across the floor to plug in a sound source the cable for which could barely be stretched to the set. It then had to be cocked forward to accommodate the short sound cable in such a way that when the sound could be heard the picture could not be seen!

In essence, I was not dissuaded by all of this and predicated my decision on what had been reported on this forum. Not sorry in the least for having made the decision that I did. It reaffirmed my aversion to attempt to decisively compare sets on any floor (there are just too many variables).

Yes, these sets have the Motion Picture Pro feature (which doesn't have any on/off feature since it just works and looks great.) I have confidence in Panny being able to adjust the engineering for this to adequately scale it to handle the additional million pixels or so that the 1080 sets will have to manipulate.

I am going to skip the Tweeter 'Demo' this time around and just order it at a fair price online. I will be going for the 37-inch which will sit in the living room for the time being and then will find service in the bedroom. Ultimately, the living room should get something like the Toshiba 52FX550 (or even a 57-inch set). I like the looks of the Toshiba and it won't need the onboard sound in the living room since it will be driven by my receiver and speaker system.

Both of these sets definitely have the Motion Picture Pro which is Panny's term for Motion Focus anti blur technology. Other technologies may be included in the 'anti blur' comment, such as, lower latency, but I am not sure of that.

My bad (god I hate that phrase), but I'm afraid the terminlogy gremlins bit me on this one.

Gary Merson Hd Guru has written that the flag ship units -- TC-32LZ800 and TC-37LZ800 -- are differentiated from the other three models in the line (two of which are only 720P units) by having:

PC inputs,
Four (4) HDMI inputs and
"Panasonic's Motion Flow Technology that sequentially fires the backlight to greatly improve motion resolution without resorting to 120 Hz refresh rate",
Contrast ratios have improved to: 1200:1 static and 10,000:1 dynamic

This appears to be quite a different approach to achieving the same end and, according to Mr. Merson, results in an improvement over the 2007 technique of Motion Picture Pro (120 Hz refresh rate).

I think the 120 Hz refresh rate was well implemented in 2007; can't wait to see the 'improvement':-)

Again, sorry for being too quick on the trigger with this, but it does explain the "No" for 120 Hz refresh. To tell you the truth, I was bothered by that and was checking to see if what I had remembered was, indeed, correct. Hopefully, the correct answer is: Technically, no, but the same end is acheived and improved upon by employing a somewhat different technique.

Anyone want to go first? :-)

Numba, great info, much appreciated. I may want to go first, I plan on taking a trip to my local tweeter in the next few days and hopefully see this set for myself. Thank you for clearing that up. 120hz or not, if the end result is an "improvement" kudos to Panasonic and this set will absolutely be in my bedroom

I know that the 37LZ85 is now shipping!

Chris

I await the responses and reviews to the 32LZ800! It's either this TV or the 32XBR6.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/re...37in-LCD-TV/p1

FWIW, this is a brit review of the (I think) European equivalent [TX-37LZD800] of the North American version [TX-37LZ800] of the top-of-the-line new Panny's.

I was trying to google up some info on the Motion Focus Technology vs. the Motion Picture Pro 2 technology. According to this review this set has both technologies. I am now really confused, but this seems to be the norm with Panny's marketing and I am coming to expect it

The online store ads specifications seem to indicate there are only three HDMI connections (two rear and one side) rather than the four that this review mentions and which, if memory serves, is what the January 2008 press release indicated there would be (four not three). And there is, of course, the indicator from Crutchfield that "No" means there is no 120 Hz refresh (Motion Picture Pro 2).

At the risk of reading too much into this, there are significant differences (beyond the omission of the four HDMI connections) between the European version and the U.S. version of this set. However, I am reluctant to accept that and would conclude that Panasonic's marketing team either omitted the Motion Picture Pro 2 line item spec because it was 'old news' (last year's innovation) or that the technology is 'wrapped' in the newer term (for simplicity) Motion Focus Technology. Then, too, the reviewer could be completely off base, which I am incline to doubt.

Did someone say he wanted to go first?

B&H cites this spec for the TC-37LZ800 LCD:

Sync Rate Not specified by the manufacturer

Crutchfield gives this spec for the TC-37LZ800 LCD:

120 Hz Refresh Rate: No

Panasonic USA website does not have either of the flagship 800's listed yet. None of the other 2008 LCD's have any mention of Motion Picture Pro 2 in their decriptions, not even the TC-37LZ85.

I am wondering if the 120 Hz vs. the European 100 Hz makes enabling the Motion Picture Pro 2 feature at 120 Hz problematic given the upgrade to 1080P from last year's 720P (a million more pixels to manipulate too much for the VP?).

Possibly the omission of the fourth HDMI and other features is a cost cutting strategy to counter the declining value of the dollar?

Hmmm.

I saw the TC-37LZ800 on display at my local Tweeter while shopping for a 37" TV. While the picture sure looked good, the glare was unbelievable - almost mirror-like. I said to the salesguy that the reflections were as bad as my old CRT TV and he said "I think this is worse!" Since the TV will be in a brightly lit room the Panny was quickly taken off my list.

Thanks. This had crossed my mind when I saw the following description accompanying the European version of this in post just above.

The top of the range, TX-37LZD800 is equipped with all the aforementioned features, but in addition it has a luxurious clear panel, providing a sharper-looking appearance, whilst also helping to display sharp, crisp images and a higher contrast image, even in bright surroundings. "...sharp, crisp images..." of what, my lamps, windows, etc.!

But I said: "Nah, they're too smart to do something as dumb as that."

I agree with you -- that is a deal killer even in the absence of resolving the other outstanding unknowns with this set.

&^*%&*%^$#&!!

That sucks!!

Someone please jump first! Looking for a review and confirmation on specs.

Has anyone else seen these first hand, who can comment on the "glare" issue. I hope this does not become a deal breaker for me.

Motion focus technology and 120Hz are different technologies. I just read through the thread in this forum titled "Do I Understand 120 Hz technology Corrrectly?" and that cleared up a lot of confusion about the issue. From what I can understand 120Hz enables(allows) motion focus technology. I've had my eye on the TC-32LZ800 for a while now. It can be had for under $900 at Provantage.

I saw the TC-37LZ800 on display at the local Tweeter here today and, yes, the screen is imbued with the plasticized-enchance-the-black-level screen so typical of what is being sold on PC monitors these days.

Definite spectral reflections, but may be somewhat subdued. It was set up in a dimly lit 'viewing room' so it was difficult for me to judge just how bad the reflections are under those circumstances. However, it is bad enough that it ruined the party for me.

I, too, have windows as well as a slider door opposite the location of the display (the 25-inch CRT is there now and I hate trying to watch anything on it during the daytime (and at night I get to see the room lighting)). I would say this confirms what TonyS has reported regarding the screen reflection problem.

As I said, deal breaker.

Further info: The set has a total of three HDMI inputs (2-rear; 1-side) not four and the info sticker on the front said "Motion Flow Technology 120 Hz like refresh" so I would presume this set does not have Motion Picture Pro 2 technology.

I noticed that the 2008 Sony, Samsung, etc. LCD's all seem to have degrees of this cursed, spectrally reflective screen to one degree or another. Pick your poison, I guess. Evaluating these sets critically from the showroom floor is impossible as they are all so horribly 'torched'.

The external appearance of the 32-inch set looks just like the 37-inch set. Moreover, the spec listing (at Crutchfield) is identical except for the size. The confirming blurb preceding those bullet-point specs is:

Enjoy a crystal-clear picture from anywhere in your room.
Panasonic's advanced "IPS Alpha" panel technology lets you enjoy exceptional picture contrast and color when watching from the sides, above, or below the screen. Motion Focus makes fast-action scenes look smooth, smear-free and natural. The screen also employs Panasonic's Clear Panel filter, which delivers a vividness approaching that of plasma TVs.

Can anyone confirm that the LZ800 panel doesn't have 120Hz refresh rate?

The spec from panasonic's web site lists
24p Playback(2:3) Yes

Does it indicate that no 120Hz?

BTW, what is the "Motion Focus Technology"?