Panny PE77U vs PX77U

The only difference I could find between the two models by looking at the manuals was the pedestal. There may be other slight cosmetic differences but the two appear to be virtually identical.

The Panny web site lists the 50PE77 as having only 1024 resolution but that seems to be an error. The manual says it is the same as the 50PX77. Obviously one of them is wrong but not enough info to know which.
There is a possibility the case is different but it is hard to tell from the limited info. It makes sense that it is reduced in features but in my comparison of the two manuals I could not pin down what the differences were.

However in comparison with what the PE version was last year I certainly did not like what they removed. and preferred the full version. I imagine the duck foot stand is cheaper than the new one but I plan to hang it on the wall so the stand is irrelevent to me. Hopefully that is the only difference.

Manufacturers do this kind of thing regularly. I remember Pioneer had a specific model number available only in Best Buy a few years ago. It was identical to the other models, but they changed one number in the model code so Best Buy could say they were the only ones who carried that model.

My guess is that Panasonic is doing something similar here. I bet the glass is identical, so the specs should be the same. Hopefully someone can get one home and let us know the differences.

Yes but this is different than a 5070 and 5071 code difference. The PE and PX are at the beginning of the series designation and indicate a distinct difference.
I do agree the glass is the same so it should look good but if I had to speculate I would say that the PE has the 1024 resolution. That doesn't require a different glass just a cheaper video processing system.

The cabinet on the PE is completely different as well (different design and different dimensions).EDIT - it's since been determined that the early pics of the PE77U are not representative of the actual TV, and that it uses the same cabinet as the PX77U so i've scratched out my statement :-)

The processor and plasma panel is most likely exactly the same as the PX models.

These PE models are discussed in more detail in this other thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=843204

I looked at the PE77U at Costco yesterday, snapped some pix on my cell phone and compared them to the online PX77U pix. It looks exactly the same as the PX77U, with the exception of the stand. I compared the configuration of the hdmi and other ports on the right side of the set and everything looks the same. I wasn't able to find a rear view photo of the PX77U, but if anyone's seen one, I'll compare it to my photos. If you got the PE77U dimensions from the online manual, maybe it's wrong as they were apparently wrong about the resolution.

Hopefully someone else who's actually bought a PE77U will chime in soon to give us the full skinny. If it's the same set besides the stand and remote, I'll pick one up this week.

I'm also waiting for someone to chime in on the PE77. If its the same tv, I'll probably end up buying one this week as well

Does anyone know if Costco's very liberal return policy is still in effect and if it applies to HDTV's? If so, this would save the cost of an extended warranty. I remember speaking to an employee awhile ago and she said that they were planning to change the policy due to abuse (e.g. people returning items years after purchase).

Where have you been? Costco did change their return policy several months ago. TVs can be returned for 90 days now, but Costco extends the warranty to 2 years.

Costco Return Policy PDF

Also, the Costco Connection PDF has an elargeable picture of the PE77U and it looks like Panasonic re-used the cabinet from the PX60U only now it's molded in black plastic instead of silver. But the line drawing on the PE77U owners manual's dimension diagram appears to be exactly like the PX77U and the dimensions listed are the same as on the PX77U, so i'm wondering if the picture on the Costco PDF is an actual picture of the PE77, or if the manual is indeed correct and the Costco picture is just a photoshopped older model. We were at Costco yesterday and i snuck away to the TV section but they did not have any Panasonic plasmas at all. I was very temped by that Pioneer PRO-940HD for under two grand though . . . . .

PDF with Pic of PE77U - Click the TV image to enlarge it

The PE77U photo on Costco's site is incorrect and was probably used for 'representative purposes only'. The actual unit I saw looks exactly like the PX77U on Panasonic's site and I suspect they're identical sets (aside from stand and remote).

LOL. I usually just by groceries at Costco and haven't checked their warranty policy lately. But 2 years is still much better than one. It might be the difference between having to buy an ext warranty and not having to. If a problem doesn't show up within 2 yrs, hopefully it'll be okay for awhile.

Does anyone know if Costco carries the 75u model?

They did not have it at the local Costco I was at last week, only the 77 model and only in 42. The 50" and 58" models they had were the older ones.

Thanks! Does anyone know if the 77u at Costco is the same dimensions as the one at BB? I am planning on purchasing the 75u mainly because the 77u would not fit in my cabinet. Thanks!

Thanks for clarifying - your eyewitness account and the fact that the Owners Manuals for these two models shows both of em share the same cabinet design and same TV dimensions (except for the stand) pretty much proves the picture they used is not representative of the actual TV which is good because the PX60U styling was icky.

The PX77U is 2nd on my short list and if i can get the PE77U even cheaper at my local Costco that would make it more attractive. Now to find out exactly what the difference is aside from the stand and remote (and i use an MX500 remote anyway). The stand doesn't look bad in black - certainly better than my current TV's silver duck feet. I like the lower/wider design of the PX77 better than the PX75 and PZ700 too.


Yeah it's still a great policy compared to CC and BB etc, but it would be nice to have had that lifelong ability to return it if it failed 5 years down the road. No biggie though.

Well, I just picked up the PE77U from Costco tonight and I didn't notice this until after I got home and it appears that the E77U is missing the Anti-Reflective screen that the 77U has, even though the PDF at costcoconnection.com shows it being there.

On the box I have at home there are stickers on the box covering up the anti-reflective feature, like it was going to be there but they decided not to include it to save costs? I'm trying to confirm this now, it didn't seem to be giving off as much glare as the other plasmas next to it at the store and since everything else indicated it had it I assumed it was there when I purchased. I'm going to try and find a store with a 77U this week and go and compare to see what this plasma really has. Neither the E77U or 77U manuals mention the anti-relfective coating. If it indeed does not have it back to Costco this goes since I can get the 77U though the Panasonic EPP store for $50.00 less than Costco and free shipping. The only reason I got the Costco one was ease of return if I have a problem within 90 days.

Edit: Forgot to add that this plasma blows the doors off of my 2.5 year old Pioneer 4312.

I saw this set at Costco today and I also question if it has the anti-glare feature. I turned the TV off to look at the reflection and it didn't seem to be any less reflective than the other plasmas there. I also looked on the box and didn't see any mention of the feature. I saw a 77u with the anti-glare coating a couple of weeks ago at an Ultimate Electronics and seem to recall it was considerably less reflective but I could be wrong. On a side note, I was surprised to see Costco had a Pioneer elite 940 for sale right next to the panasonic.

I did the same thing last night, and nothing mentioned. I compared the reflectiveness of my old Pioneer and the Panny last night and the Panny does seem to diffuse the light a bit, but only a bit. It's no where near what an LCD looks like. Basically with my old Pioneer it is almost like looking in a mirror when the screen is black. With the Panny the light is slighly blurred and not as bright. This could simply be from the Panny having a blacker screen. I'm going to try and go find a P77U at lunch today and see the difference.

I doubt the coating weighs that much. I think you are seeing the difference in weight of the bases. The duck foot base has less to it.

I thought that too but the weights he quoted are for the bare TV without the stand, but i agree i don't think the Anti-Glare coating adds one or two pounds to the TV. There must be something else missing from the PE models, but i can't determine what it is in my quick scan of the owners manuals.

Ok, so I made some rounds today at lunch, stopping by a Magnolia Hi-Fi, a Best Buy, and a Circuit City to compare sets. Unfortunately none of the places had a 77U and a 75U in the same store (to check anti-glare vs. non anti-glare). Magnolia had the 77U and I can now tell you for sure that the PE77U does NOT have the anti-glare screen. In fact I don't think that I would want the anti-glare screen. My room has a fair amount of light during the day, lots of windows about 20 feet behind me when I'm watching TV, so the feature would be nice, however seeing it now it makes the picture look softer, and to me it loses the depth that I've always liked about plasmas over LCDs. To me the PX77U looks more like an LCD than a Plasma.

I also got to see a 50PX75U and a Pioneer 5071 next to each other and it was hard to pick one over the other looking at it briefly. I'm now also really intrigued by the new 8th gen Pioneers coming out but no one has them in stock yet so I can't see them. Guess I'm going to have to wait a bit longer.

I went to the Torrance Costco and took a hard long first look at the 42PE77U, then went a few miles further to the Torrance Magnolia and got a first look at the 42PX77U and i can confirm that the the PE77U does not have the Anti-Glare screen that the PX77U has. And i can confirm that the Costco PE77U's cabinet is the exact same as the PX77U as well, but the bezel on the PE77 is matte/semi-flat black compared to the shiny reflective piano back bezel of the PX77. It's odd that one TV has a reflective screen but has a non-reflective bezel, while it's counterpart has a non-reflective screen with a reflective bezel.

I was frankly amazed at how much less reflective the PX77U is than all the other Panasonic and Pioneer and Samsung Plasmas on the same wall, reflecting the same windows and overhead lights. I expected the PX77U to maybe be a little less reflective than a regular PZ700 or PX75 but i was shocked to see that it's way less reflective. Huge difference. It was located directly next to a 46" Sharp LCD and i'm not exaggerating when i say the PX77U was maybe within 10% of the non-reflectivity of the Sharp LCD. The reflections of the framework on the windows and doors were only a little more defined than the LCD, but nowhere near as mirror-like as the regular plasmas on the wall. I'm still amazed. This is a pretty revolutionary advancement in the plasma world and practically eliminates the LCDs biggest advantage over plasma. If someone had taken the Panasonic name off this TV and hung it among the LCD TVs i would never know it was a plasma, and would consider it some sort of new super LCD TV with Plasma-like picture quality. For anyone who had to go with LCD because their room is too bright for a Plasma, this thing will trounce said LCD. Better PQ with just a teensy bit more reflectivity.


I also got the impression of reduced depth, but still the PQ was better than any LCD on that wall or in the whole store for that matter. I had the remotes for all these TVs today and spent some time adjusting the settings to my liking. I also spent a lot of time with a PZ700U and really liked it, but that's a story for another thread.

But in the end i wouldn't choose a PX77U over any of the other models unless my primary concern was to get LCD-like glare resistance in an overly-bright room during the daytime. Or even at night if i were to watch TV with all the lights on, or if the TV were facing a brightly lit kitchen for instance. But alas i don't. I think the PX75U with the regular Anti-Reflective screen has slightly better PQ than the PX77U, but then again i have not seen them side by side.

I've been seriously considering getting a new 42" Plasma to replace my old one and the PX77's Anti-Glare would be great when i watch my afternoon Speedchannel recordings with the sun shining into the room, but since i can infinitely control how much sunlight does or does not come into the room the glare is my 2nd concern - the first is PQ so that still leaves me with the 42PZ700U 1080p model.

I just wish i could get a Panny with the sleek matte black low-profile cabinet of the PE77U with the 1080p screen and pedestal type stand from the PZ700

I just checked out the PE77U at Costco and out of all the TV's they had on display in that category, it was the best in my opinion. I might be getting one of these.

The Costco item number for the 42" is 200047. Does anyone know what the item# is for the 50"??? Can't find any info and my local Costco does not stock either of these yet. Thanks for any help...

I saw the TH-50PE77U at Costco in North Seattle today. Price was about the same as the TH-50PX77U at a nearby electronics megastore. PE has the matte black edging, stand with two feet, and does not have the antiglare screen. Both have the universal remote that the PX75U does not. Too many choices.

Interesting. I would have thought it would have been a bit less than the PX77U. Then again, the prices have been bouncing around. I called my local Costco in southern NH and she knew nothing about it, and only told me about last years models that they had (60s).

I bought the 42PE77U the other night, but I want the 50. I even think that if the 50PE and 50PX were around the same price, I'd go for the PE even though it only has anti reflective coating vs anti glare, just because I don't want the glossy black bezel. It reflects may too much. And, I like the 2 yr costco concierge warranty program.

I got the Panasonic 42PE77U a couple days ago, it was the last one that my Costco had and it was an open box so it was a couple hundred off - given their 90 day return policy and 2 year concierge warranty, I had to do it. I have been lurking this forum for weeks and looking at these TVs for over a year now trying to decide which one to get.

For a long time now I have gone back and forth ... lcd/plasma/lcd/plasma...and finally went with this Panny because I have heard such good things about it. I will be the 1st to say the ATT Golf Tournament I was watching today in HD blows away anything I saw in the store when looking at these TVs. It was spectacular! Absolutely perfect and man it's a beauty. I will do a full review in the next few days after I have gone through it all - I will say this, I had it setup and running in less than 5 minutes. Since it was a display model and had only been up for 2 weeks, I think they did the break in for me

more to come...