19 responses so far ↓

• 1 VanDoren

  Excellent picture and features and great price. Although I still prefer my JVC rear projection TV for its picture and size, this TV is an excellent choice for a smaller room than our den. The only downside to this TV is the 720P limitation which would be an issue if you want to use it with Blueray or other high definition sources. On the plus side, it has an SD card reader that allows you set up a slide show with digital pictures. This TV replaced a smaller Vizio LCD TV and has a much better picture than the Vizio.

• 2 Eagles

  Yes. 720P is enough. 42 inch is also enough for me (less than 3 meter distance).
  CONS: But the channel scan is not perfect. 1st, each time you scan auto, the previous result is remove all. Because now is digital TV broadcast, so you may not scan all channel at one time due to antenna direction(if you haven’t cable service). That’s a problem for me. Sometimes I could found channel 4 and 11, but now I couldn’t while almost 44 channel are scan out.
  Shipping is not so good. Pilot customer service seem to lie to me. They didn’t call me by shipping date. I called the customer service and she said they already called me but no answer. But my wife stayed in home all day, and there is answer system with my home phone. I really doubt they always play this tricky. Also the guys take the TV into my living room and mount the TV. But they left the package box.

• 3 Orth

  I bought the Panny TC-P42X1 to replace a relatively new Toshiba LCD for our bedroom.
  This Panny is an outstanding tv in every respect. What I especially like is the strong volume this thing puts out. I could barely hear the Toshiba whereas this Panny can blast you out of the room at 60% volume setting.
  This Panny is our 2nd plasma, the 1st one is still going strong in the family room. I will never own another LCD, they just don’t compare. If you have any doubts, just go to any showroom and press/depress the screen of each with your thumb, as if to leave a thumbprint……then make your choice.

• 4 Pereyra

  I actually purchased a Panasonic plasma in June of 2007 but feel compelled to review it now that I have owned it for so long. First things first. Plasma is the best thing going. The key element in picture quality is black level retention and no LCD tv with it’s bright backlight shining towards the viewer from behind the screen can EVER produce the deep blacks necessary for color accuracy and a life like picture. I think LCD’s are very nice and have one in my bedroom but it does not compare to the plasma, especially the poor viewing angle. Back to the Panasonic. They rock the plasma industry with the best and most reliable sets at the most competitive prices. I have dual tuner DVR HD set top box and Sony blu-ray player. Let me tell you the picture still amazes me every time I watch it even after two years. I have seen blu-ray run through newer 1080p models and truthfully people if 1080p is better, my 50 year old eyes cannot tell the difference. So save yourself a fortune if you are buying your first HDTV. Purchase this 720p Plasma at around $900. I paid $1,400 for mine and it was worth every penny. And even though I have a sweet 7.1 home theater set up I still am amazed at the volume output and rich sound quality these nearly invisible speakers built into the Panasonic can produce. Be sure to use the surround feature on the menu and it is quite impressive (with the exception of too little low end). Remember, LCD tv’s are very bright (almost cartoonishly so) but bright does not equal accurate or natural. The plasma is superior and you will come to appreciate that in the long run!!

• 5 Veals

  I bought this TV a few weeks ago and am still getting accustomed to its features and quirks. It is a second large screen TV in my home, placed in the bedroom. Granted, it is large for a bedroom, but our viewing distance to the TV warrants a larger image. This TV came home with me because of the combination of reviews here and on Consumer Reports, and the price point. Despite these good things going for it, rather than elation at my purchase, my experience thus far has been somewhat on the disappointing side.

  My setup is very basic: standard def cable TV and DVD player. At first the cable TV hookup was via coax cable. The picture was nothing to write home about, less sharp than on my old 27 inch conventional TV. The first program I watched was “The Wizard of Oz” on TBS. The image was extremely dark, annoyingly so. Colors were very good, but I could not get around the degree of darkness in the dark scenes. Attempts to improve the brightness/ lower the black level were met with frustration; I couldn’t.

  Reading info online subsequently pointed out you can only access the black level when “external devices” are plugged in. That means bump the connections up to S-video or component. (I would of course go to HDMI if I could, but my current cable box does not support it). Once I connected the cable via S-video, I was able to adjust and reduce the black level. That helped, but it is important to note the limited adjustment of black levels on this set: is either dark or light. That’s it; there are no gradations, nothing in between. That level of flexibility is inadequate. Compared to the flexibility of settings on my 46″ Samsung LCD, this unit falls far short in that area.

  Sound on the unit is fine. I had no expectations that the TV’s audio would compare to that from even modest external speakers or home theatre setup. If I need oomph I need only move to my living room where a decent home theatre setup awaits. To its credit, there is the capability to ratchet the volume range a few notches beyond normal. This is valuable with my cable setup, as there are programs or times of day when the sound inexplicably drops and I have to crank it close to the max to hear it.

  I watched a standard DVD on an older DVD player hooked to the TV via component cable. The image was fine, no complaints. After rearranging DVD players to hook a newer, up-converting player to the plasma via HDMI cable, the picture it produced was as good as I could have hoped for: clear, sharp, good color rendition and good black levels. Without a 1080P set side by side, I did not feel the 720p video capability on this set was a compromise. Higher end sources (digital cable, Blu-ray) might make a difference, but without a 1080p set right next to it in my home, I can’t compare, and so I don’t feel as though I have lost anything at 720p. That said, I do feel the image is much richer and more alive on my LCD. Despite favoring the LCD image, I went for this plasma due to the combination of reviews, larger screen size and lower price when compared to a 40 inch LCD. It was a stretch to convince my wife we “needed” this set; explaining an additional $250 expenditure given how little we watch TV in the bedroom would have been my undoing.

  The specs for this set show it to have an anti-reflective screen filter. I find this helpful. However, the glossy black bezel surrounding the screen is highly reflective, so whatever reflections are not caught on the screen are bounced back from the bezel; disconcertingly so. The stand is also gloss black, and any specks of dust that land on it show very clearly.

  Overall, and so far, the set meets my minimum criteria. It is a lower-end unit in Panasonic’s line, provides very good standard picture and sound, but there are important adjustment capabilities missing. While my situation did not warrant it, if this is going to be your main TV, spring for the extra $250 or so and buy the next level 1080P plasma or LCD set. The cost difference to bump up in quality and features will long have been forgotten in a few months’ time, you will future-proof your TV-viewing for a few years, and you will have a better set.

• 6 Periyasamy

  Like many smart shoppers here at Amazon, I’ve done a fair amount of research for my first HDTV purchase, e.g. LCD vs Plasma, 720p vs 1080p, Samsung vs other reputable brands, etc. Thanks everyone for your in-depth posting of your review of Samsung PN42B450.

  I bought mine two days ago at Nebraska Furniture Mart during the Berkshire Hathaway (which owns NFM) 26th anniversary sales event for about the same price as I would have paid here at Amazon, tax included and 18 months interest free.

  So far, I’m very impressed with the picture quality, sound, and user-friendly menu design. The remote control is sleek and functional, but I wish it had lighted/glow-in-the-dark buttons (I don’t think any HDTV at this price range has one).

  FYI, I have my TV placed in a fairly dark half basement family room and sit about 6 feet away from the TV. I watch mostly sports and documentary programs – I’m glad that I didn’t buy a 50″ TV, because 42″ is plenty big, much bigger than it seemed at the store with so many other TVs to divert your attention.

  * I think I overpaid for the HDMI cable, so I ordered one for less than $5 from. Let’s see if I see any discernable picture quality loss after switching the cable – I’ll post a follow-up here!

• 7 Quintero

  Great TV!!DVDs look AMAZING. Works out of the box. It took me about 4 minutes to set it up; which is the time required to remove the box, find an outlet and turn it on. No tweaking required for me.
  Buy this TV!!!

• 8 Simola

  As most of all of you I have looked at many Flat Screens. This is the best picture for the money that I have found under $2000. The LG plasmas are very good but to me they are more forgiving on regular tv and not quite as good as the samsung on HDTV signals. FYI LCDs flat screens in the $800-$1000 range drive me nuts with action blur and off angle viewing. Also, you can adjust this picture to your liking in either dark or bright rooms….maybe too much control. I have no idea how anyone could review this tv with all the different settings. I am an audiophile and the audio is terrible…downward firing tinny sounding speakers, no bass. You will need to use the TV equillizer to get it listenable. AND yes this TV has Left and Right RCA Fixed Audio out which is not clear in literature. Very striking TV. Also, it does not get as hot as other Plasmas??? Not sure why.

• 9 Beeman

  First of all, this is a great TV despite my 2 stars. After two weeks, everything is perfect with DirecTV HD. The sound, the picture, everything.

  Everything, that is, except the lack of a headphone jack.

  Now, I knew it didn’t come with a headphone jack when I bought it. But on the Samsung web site, it stated that I could use the audio out to connect to headphones.

  I use headphones for about 50-60% of my TV viewing. They are of utmost important to me because there are kids next door, and I can’t turn up the volume after a certain hour. Plus, I have a loud fan going so it’s more comfortable to listen with headphones rather than turn up the volume at full blast.

  When the TV arrived, I immediately tested the audio out to headphone connector I bought at Radio Shack. But I soon discovered that in order to listen to the headphones exclusively (without the speakers blasting) I had to turn off the TV volume.

  Unfortunately, turning off the TV volume disables the volume control and mute buttons on the remote.

  Thus the sound on the headphones, which is VERY, VERY LOW, can’t be turned up or down.

  In response, I bought $22 external computer speakers to try to boost the volume. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.

  Then I called Samsung, and they said there was no hope of boosting the volume. I was scared I just wasted $680 on a TV that I can’t truly enjoy most of the time.

  I assumed listening to a TV with headphones would be a very basic component on a TV set, like it is for possibly every other device.

  I had all but given up hope and was going to return the TV, when I discovered the Boostaroo headphone amplifier on Amazkon, which costs about $22. So I bought it, and it actually works great. It boosts the volume. But unfortunately it requires AAAA batteries, which are expensive and hard to come by (unless you buy them en masse).

  So because Samsung didn’t include a headphone I had to shell out the following:

  Audio out cable and headphone jack connector: $12 at Radio Shack
  External speaker: $22
  Boosteroo Headphone Amplifier $22 (it now lists at $42).
  50 AAAA batteries: $30

  I spent $86 to use this TV with headphones.

  Anyways, sorry for the drawn-out review, but nobody mentioned a headphone problem in other reviews. Hopefully this will help anybody interested in purchasing this TV.

• 10 Chin

  I bought this based on the reviews – turned out to be a good decision – great picture and plenty of inputs – you need them if you have Roku, blu ray, vcr, and a dvd player. Only negative would be the sound – satisfactory but certainly could be better. Don’t think you can beat it for what you get for the price!

• 11 Queneau

  Me and my wife shopped around a lot before we decided to buy a new tv. We seen a lot of good tv’s at decent prices, but most of them did not have the hook-up for the pc. The G10 is everything we were looking for in a new tv, and Amazon gave it to us at the best price. We are very pleased with the picture quality and the sound quality of the HD.

• 12 Graff

  wow anyone considering plasma line put the specs on this up against almost any 1600 to 2800 $ tv and you will be blown away 600 mhz 2,000,000 dynamic contrast ratio i went to the store to look at 240 mhz led backlit lcds saw pixels and motion blur with only a 50,00 hour screen life vs panny’s 100,00 hour a complete no brainer bought through amazon love u guys oh and and few things not mentioned online seems to have volume leveling no more chasing volume buttons on commercials and digital optical audio out also firmware updates available via ethernet cord worried about that but didn’t need to congratulations panasonic only reason 4 stars for ease of use is onboard buttons sort of awkward location behind right side edge of panel need to kind of lean around the edge to see what u r doing probably just take some getting used to ALSO IF YOU PLUG THIS TV INTO A UNGROUNDED OUTLET AFTER YOUR FIRMWARE UPDATE IE TO GET ONLINE IT WILL LOCKUP COMPLETELY

• 13 Heller

  I recently bought this tv and the experience has been great all around. The tv itself is completely amazing. The picture quality is jaw dropping, with beautiful colors, deep blacks and amazingly vivid detail. I have seen lots of other HDTVs (including ones I have owned) and this tv beats them all hands down. I really couldn’t be happier with the quality of the picture this tv produces. All of the reviews were spot on in this regard.

  The external aesthetic look of the tv is also very nice. It looks classy and the build quality seems a step above.

  The experience of ordering from Amazon was simply a pleasure. I ordered the tv on a Monday night and received it early Thursday morning, only a little over two days later. I couldn’t believe how fast it got to me. The price was great and the tv got to me in perfect condition. Amazon is the best.

  I couldn’t be happier with the tv or the buying experience. A+++

• 14 Jeffers

  This tv is the best I’ve ever owned.The blacks are black and the reds are right where they’re supposed to be. It’ what I expected from Pansonic because I have owned them before and they always produce a good product.I watch a lot of football and the picture keeps up with the action.
  The delivery by Amazon was terrific.They called beforehand on delivery day and asked if they could come early.When the fella got here he set it up, showed me some of the features and left.Total elapsed time:15 min.

• 15 Thome

  I waited until we owned this Panasonic TC-P42G10 Plasma TV for a few months before reviewing. Picture quality is just phenomenal! Along with the picture being extremely sharp the colors on screen are brilliant and vivid thanks to the black level on this TV which really makes the picture pop. I researched for weeks before purchasing this HDTV to find the best quality picture for the money and thus far we have not been disappointed. My only regret is not purchasing the 50 or 54″ version of this TV. If you are looking to purchase an outstanding quailty HDTV at a great price point you can’t go wrong here.

  I read many are articles about Plasmas and one thing I believe everyone should NOT do is adjust their contrast above a level of 50 until they have at least 100 hours of use. I adjusted my contrast to 48 and it is still set at that level today. At some point in the future I may adjust our contrast level higher but for now picture is sharp and images pop with the level at 48.

  I purchase alot from Amazon but I had reservations about purchasing a large piece of Electronics from them because of the individual shipping involved. I have vistited a couple of FedEx sorting facilities and have seen flat screen TV’s laying on their side with other packages stacked on them. Those images, burned into my mind, made it really hard for me to order the TV online knowing that shipping would be involved and how well the carries handle our packages. I read that Amazon uses CEVA Logistics for shipping and I researched them and I did not find very many good reviews from either Dell or Amazon users. I ordered anyway because we get 30 days to return items. I placed my order and believe it or not 2 days later I had my TC-P42G10 set up in my home. I did however go to the CEVA shipping office to pick up my set. I wanted to check out the facitity like I did for FedEx to see how they handle their freight. To my suprise the facility was well organized and each and every package, which they were all large, was placed on shelves and storage racks. I saw no boxes stacked on each other and everything was well organized. I picked up my TV and there was not even so much as a scratch on the box!!!… I was very impressed with the CEVA shipping company and I would not hesitate to buy large Electronics from Amazon knowing that they use CEVA. CEVA gets and A+ in my book, FedEx gets a B- at best and UPS gets a C at best.

  Bottom Line: IMHO you definately can’t go wrong when purchasing a Panasonic TC-PxxG10 TV. You will love the exceptional Picture quality, I can’t speak to the sound of the TV because I have a home theater system and we don’t buy these TV’s for their sound. For me shipping is not a concern after visiting the CEVA shipping office and my experience with this purchase.

• 16 Penwarden

  Colors are outstanding, audio very good and set up was super easy. For the price this TV is an excellent value. You won’t be disapointed.

• 17 Gillespie

  I originally purchased this TV as a gift for my parents’ however they thought it was too much (not in price wise though). So I ended up giving them my new 32″ LCD that was in my bedroom … however the gift was just for a spare room in their home that didn’t have a TV (which I wanted 1 to be in there).

  Anyhow, I purchased this TV in DEC08 — nearly 5 months & it’s already discontinued, although I don’t know how long it actually survived on the market. Overall, it works pretty well up to my standards even though I don’t spend too much time watching it. Nonetheless, I’ve occasionally noticed that it seems to be subject of a slight burn-in. I really don’t know … But I’m starting to feel as if this TV won’t last me too long because sometimes I see an image very faintly when I turn it off or switch onto vid-mode. Like the previous channel’s logo will still be there for a moment.

  The design/look is nonetheless, stylish! Which is a plus but I’m not too sure about the actual quality of it just yet. So far I will give it 4 out of 5 (although I would say a 3.5 is more suitable).

• 18 Urquhart

  This review is for the Samsung HPT4264 which is this models predecessor. I can only imagine this TV is as good or better, and I could not be happier with mine! I use it to watch TV (HD & regular), play video games (PS2) and watch DVD’s on an upconvert DVD player. The picture is stunning. Better than my Sharp LCD, way better than my Olevia LCD, better than the Sony plasma’s I have seen, and also slightly better than the Panasonic that my friend has. For the money, I don’t think you can do better. I was a Panasonic fan until I saw a friend’s Samsung and was blown away by the colors, so sharp and vivid (and more so than the Panny). My next TV purchase will be a Samsung LCD which a friend has recently aquired and in 1080P and no plasma burn to worry about, it seems like the way to go, especially for video games. Incidently, I broke in my TV in as recommended, and I do play PS2 on it, and it has not displayed any permanent burn-in. But that topic is for an entirely different debate of plasma vs. LCD. I think the only way you can do better than this TV price/performance is to consider a Samsung LCD 1080p, which have come down a lot in price, but will still set you back a few hundo more than this one. If you buy this I don’t think you will be disappointed!

• 19 Castaneda

  I searched and searched looking for the right flat screen. I was very new to this technology as well. I visited several websites and stores. There are true benefits of both LCD and Plasma; however, the plasma has an awesome view with brighter pictures and excellent for movie nights. Some people say the plasma tv will cause an increase in the electric bill because it does use more energy. I have not noticed much of an increase and I’ve had this tv for two months now. We watch it everyday. The 720p is great as well because most tv networks broadcast in 720p (The higher, the more expensive for the networks). I am very pleased with this Samsung. It has great sound and picture quality, and you can even connect your laptop computer to the tv. It definitely is a great purchase for the first flat screen tv buyer.

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