Panasonic 42inch PZ800 ... has anybody bought one & got it up & running??
- Thread starter admin_exported
- Start date
hi me too, I have ordered one from Panasonic, but all it says on the order status is "On Hold" so no idea whats going on with it but cant wait to get it. soon as I have it I will attempt to post some pictures and thoughts etc... assuming I can get some video onto it 
I dont have Sky or Free sat and I cant get freeview. lol
will hook the pc upto it I think.
I dont have Sky or Free sat and I cant get freeview. lolwill hook the pc upto it I think.
Yeah pls do post back...there is a panasonic roadshow in Milton Keynes next w/e so will pop along to that to see all the models in action! but its the pz800 that i cant wait to see!! Any other comments from peeps pls?
Hi,
I bought one a couple of weeks ago and set it up with my new DMP-BD30 and I got a decent cable (Chord Company Silver Plus). Picture quality varies on the source obviously...
I think I'll need to get my aerial readjusted, but here are my observations:
Freeview: Very poor
Sky (Not HD): Very poor
SD DVDs: Upscaling is good but does suffer from some pixellation. The TV seems to find it hard to deal with subtle variations in colour and moving pictures at the same time.
HD DVDs: Depends which ones you buy. Cars is astounding! Hostel is ok. I need to increase my Blu-ray collection!
The sound of the TV is also good - obviously though, it can't be compared to having a proper 5.1 speaker system (next on my list!).
I was torn between this and the Pioneer 4280XD because I was getting both for around the same price (friend of a freind!)
One thing that annoys me is the posterisation - you get banding of colours instead of a smooth change. Apparently, the Pioneers are much better in this aspect, but the 4280XD isn't Full HD and the PZ800 is.
Now that I've got an HD TV, I'm not sure that this technology is worth having. (I'm going to get so mch stick for that comment!) If you're going to be watching mostly SD stuff like Sky and Freeview, then you may as well just stick to a CRT... seriously. If you're mainly going to watch loads of DVDs (which will be upscaled) and are willing to buy Blu-ray DVDs, then go for it! Just don't go for LCD whatever you do! Plasma all the way!
Word of advice is that when you go for a demo, make sure they don't put on something like Cars or any other of these new Disney/Pixar type films because although they do look absolutely amazing, I'm guessing that it's not going to be the kind of thing you watch all the ime! Unfortunately, I fell for this! Take along one of your own SD DVDs to check out the upscaling and then also have a look at a Blu-ray DVD like Letters from Iwo Jima to see what a film shot in HD looks like.
Let me know if you need any more info.
John.
I bought one a couple of weeks ago and set it up with my new DMP-BD30 and I got a decent cable (Chord Company Silver Plus). Picture quality varies on the source obviously...
I think I'll need to get my aerial readjusted, but here are my observations:
Freeview: Very poor
Sky (Not HD): Very poor
SD DVDs: Upscaling is good but does suffer from some pixellation. The TV seems to find it hard to deal with subtle variations in colour and moving pictures at the same time.
HD DVDs: Depends which ones you buy. Cars is astounding! Hostel is ok. I need to increase my Blu-ray collection!
The sound of the TV is also good - obviously though, it can't be compared to having a proper 5.1 speaker system (next on my list!).
I was torn between this and the Pioneer 4280XD because I was getting both for around the same price (friend of a freind!)
One thing that annoys me is the posterisation - you get banding of colours instead of a smooth change. Apparently, the Pioneers are much better in this aspect, but the 4280XD isn't Full HD and the PZ800 is.
Now that I've got an HD TV, I'm not sure that this technology is worth having. (I'm going to get so mch stick for that comment!) If you're going to be watching mostly SD stuff like Sky and Freeview, then you may as well just stick to a CRT... seriously. If you're mainly going to watch loads of DVDs (which will be upscaled) and are willing to buy Blu-ray DVDs, then go for it! Just don't go for LCD whatever you do! Plasma all the way!
Word of advice is that when you go for a demo, make sure they don't put on something like Cars or any other of these new Disney/Pixar type films because although they do look absolutely amazing, I'm guessing that it's not going to be the kind of thing you watch all the ime! Unfortunately, I fell for this! Take along one of your own SD DVDs to check out the upscaling and then also have a look at a Blu-ray DVD like Letters from Iwo Jima to see what a film shot in HD looks like.
Let me know if you need any more info.
John.
Thanks John,
Doesnt sound like an overly glowing report I am awaiting the arrival of my PZ800 sadly I've been waiting for 2 weeks. I don't have sky or Freeview so will be mainly feeding it with HD stuff from the likes of blu-ray / computer so I was hoping that it would be worth the wait.
what is your overall impression of the build quality?
Doesnt sound like an overly glowing report
I am awaiting the arrival of my PZ800 sadly I've been waiting for 2 weeks. I don't have sky or Freeview so will be mainly feeding it with HD stuff from the likes of blu-ray / computer so I was hoping that it would be worth the wait.what is your overall impression of the build quality?
Hi,
I guess that didn't sound too good did it! It may just be that I'm overly sensitive to certain aspects of the picture quality. I've just got this thing at the back of my mind that maybe I should have gone for the Pioneer... but I'm really fussy and am never happy with anything! If you're going to be watching mainly HD, then you'll be fine, so just ignore me!
The build quality is very good - when I took it out of the box, it looked and felt like an expensive piece of equipment. I like the SD card reader at the front too - very handy and so easy to look at the pics from your camera.
I'd like to see Whathifi's/hdtvtest.co.uk's review of this TV to see how it compares to mine!
John.
I guess that didn't sound too good did it! It may just be that I'm overly sensitive to certain aspects of the picture quality. I've just got this thing at the back of my mind that maybe I should have gone for the Pioneer... but I'm really fussy and am never happy with anything! If you're going to be watching mainly HD, then you'll be fine, so just ignore me!
The build quality is very good - when I took it out of the box, it looked and felt like an expensive piece of equipment. I like the SD card reader at the front too - very handy and so easy to look at the pics from your camera.
I'd like to see Whathifi's/hdtvtest.co.uk's review of this TV to see how it compares to mine!
John.
I have the PZ85 - same panel - and could state the same poor comments about freeview but make allowances for the source. Freeview itself is a relatively poor system! The 42" screen obviously magnifies the faults from freeview as would the PIO.
These full def sets can be expected to be at their best with HD material but are no worse than standard def sets for freeview (obviously just my opinion).
SD DVD can display the banding depending on the quality of the DVD disc. Gladiators looks great on the BD30, some films can look quite poor.
Like your good self I am fussy and can pick faults out of anything! I think we may only start to fully appreciate watching 2D displays in our homes with the advent of 4K2K!
These full def sets can be expected to be at their best with HD material but are no worse than standard def sets for freeview (obviously just my opinion).
SD DVD can display the banding depending on the quality of the DVD disc. Gladiators looks great on the BD30, some films can look quite poor.
Like your good self I am fussy and can pick faults out of anything! I think we may only start to fully appreciate watching 2D displays in our homes with the advent of 4K2K!
You're not alone in being "overly sensitive to certain aspects of the picture quality". I've been wanting a new TV for ages now. I have 2 old CRT's. One is as old as me (born/made in the '70's), but it's still much easier to watch SD telly on than any LCD I have seen.
I find it amazing that it's possible to spend £1,000 on a TV today, than can't compete with an old CRT from yest-a-year when it comes to SD ...and lets face it, most TV is SD.
Fortunately, things are getting better. The latest Sony, Samsung and Tosh LCD offerings appear to have made a leap forward for LDC TV's. I've always prefered plasma and they do indeed look pretty good when watching HD content. However, I think there is still some way to go to get SD content looking as good as CRTs. I also think the image processing of the latest Panasonic plasma TV's is a little behind some of the recent LCD TVs. This isnt' to say the Panasonic plasmas are bad, just that the the image procesing from the latest Toshiba 40ZF355DB would make the SD of a Plasma really shine.
I think the GPU processing is improving at a fast rate and that in the future we can look forward to much improved image processing. Ironically, it may be that as HD content becomes more common place, we finally get flat screen TVs that can handle SD as well as an old CRT.
Presently, I have about £1,000 to spend on a new TV. It's looking like I'll go with a Panasonic plasma, as I want 1080p (I use my TV's with media pc's). It's a big financial commitment and I can't help thinking that although the latest breed of Panasonic 8 series plasma is good, it's just not quite as good at SD than I would like. I plan to buy a TV for 10 years of use, not upgrade when something better comes along.
PZ80, PZ81, PZ85 or PZ800 decisions decisions...
I find it amazing that it's possible to spend £1,000 on a TV today, than can't compete with an old CRT from yest-a-year when it comes to SD ...and lets face it, most TV is SD.
Fortunately, things are getting better. The latest Sony, Samsung and Tosh LCD offerings appear to have made a leap forward for LDC TV's. I've always prefered plasma and they do indeed look pretty good when watching HD content. However, I think there is still some way to go to get SD content looking as good as CRTs. I also think the image processing of the latest Panasonic plasma TV's is a little behind some of the recent LCD TVs. This isnt' to say the Panasonic plasmas are bad, just that the the image procesing from the latest Toshiba 40ZF355DB would make the SD of a Plasma really shine.
I think the GPU processing is improving at a fast rate and that in the future we can look forward to much improved image processing. Ironically, it may be that as HD content becomes more common place, we finally get flat screen TVs that can handle SD as well as an old CRT.
Presently, I have about £1,000 to spend on a new TV. It's looking like I'll go with a Panasonic plasma, as I want 1080p (I use my TV's with media pc's). It's a big financial commitment and I can't help thinking that although the latest breed of Panasonic 8 series plasma is good, it's just not quite as good at SD than I would like. I plan to buy a TV for 10 years of use, not upgrade when something better comes along.
PZ80, PZ81, PZ85 or PZ800 decisions decisions...
Hi,
All Interesting stuff. I am also very fussy. I know that SD stuff will look rubbish, it looks rubbish on most lcd/plasma screens which is why I wasnt going to bother with any tv subscriptions just use it from the htpc / blu-ray/hd-dvd / etc... so with abit of luck it should be pretty good.
As soon as I get mine I will post a few pics and my thoughts on it as well.
doesnt look like its going to arrive today which is damn annoying!
All Interesting stuff. I am also very fussy. I know that SD stuff will look rubbish, it looks rubbish on most lcd/plasma screens which is why I wasnt going to bother with any tv subscriptions just use it from the htpc / blu-ray/hd-dvd / etc... so with abit of luck it should be pretty good.
As soon as I get mine I will post a few pics and my thoughts on it as well.
doesnt look like its going to arrive today which is damn annoying!
Hi all well as I am the original one asking I just wanted to say thanks very much for your time! its been a good read im really gutted like a lot of people that the SD content is still rubbish?? looks like the CRT will live anoher year then!!
Similar threads
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram