Panasonic Th42/50px80a Owners Thread

[diesel]

I'm not sure if enough people have complained to Panasonic for them to think the HDMI issue is a fault. In the past they have released FW updates to combat tuner issues (eg PX7xx series had issues with white screens and CH10). make a noise people and get Panasonic Australia to adnit it is a fault and get a fix for it!

Stepping up from analogue to DVB, it blew me away, so any imperfections in the tuner (which I am sure there is) really only affect the picky picturephiles IMO. There are a few that have posted about the soft picture etc from the inbuilt tuner, but not enough for me to think that this affects everybody's viewing. Mybe we aren't as picky?

[pneu]

Hope someone can answer this , I puchased a 50px80a and I want to connect a pana dvd recorder dmr-eh65 which has a hdmi output, tv has hdmi 1.3 and the dvd recorder not sure hdmi version 1 ??

would I be able to connect them using a normal hdmi cable or do I need a special cable. I looked on easyhd website so many to choose from, confusing .

The HDMI version doesn't matter, any regular size HDMI cable will work. I think ezyhd sells a HDMI mini cable, that one has a different (smaller) connector on it and won't fit with regular size HDMI devices like TV's DVD players etc.

[diesel]

The mini HDMI cable is designed more for HD Camcorders etc. For a DVD player, just get any suitable length HDMI cable from EZYHD and you'll be fine

[south1]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

south1

[dlpnut1503560389]

What if your watch FTA TV and want to run the sound of this program through your home theater which is all connected via HDMI ?

Most receivers that have HDMI also have Toslink for sound, use this instead.

Just checked the manual for the plasma, what you are trying to do (use hdmi as output from plasma) is not on, all the HDMI connecters on the plasma are INPUTS. so no HDMI output from plasma to your surround sound, only what I suggested above, and that is how it should be.

Edited December 6, 2008 by dlpnut

[muzzman]

As dlpnut said, use the Optical out if you are worried about the HDMI and want to connect to a Home Theatre.

In regard to the HDMI cable to use the EH65 DVD recorder, a standard HDMI cable will be fine ie EzyHD cables.

You will obviously not be able to use Version 1.3 features your TV has in conjunction with your DVD recorder (ie Viera Link)

[Bravo]

I bought a 46" 800 today and i have to say, i am absolutely blown away by it. I honestly didn't expect it to be this good.

[Mitcon1503562253]

Most receivers that have HDMI also have Toslink for sound, use this instead.

Just checked the manual for the plasma, what you are trying to do (use hdmi as output from plasma) is not on, all the HDMI connecters on the plasma are INPUTS. so no HDMI output from plasma to your surround sound, only what I suggested above, and that is how it should be.

Yes my receiver has toslink, and this is exactly how I would connect the TV for audio out as I knew that the HDMI was out only from the TV. I was not expecting the TV to out-put from the HDMI lol, I have/use the AVR to process and switch all my gear and then the TV just as a monitor connected to the AVR by HDMI. I know sound out-put from the TV is optical toslink and this would be connected but the AVR would still be connected to a HDMI input and be powered on to which I got the feeling would still hamper the DVB-T. From what I had read is that whenever you use the internal tuner and have something connected to HDMI at the same time you often lose DVB-T broadcast.

But anyway, this isn;t that much of an issue for us as98% of TV use is Foxtel and movies so it's all good.

[smokenz]

i saw the PX80 and PZ80 set up this morning, side by side, both running the same HD feed, both set to the same settings.

Have to say, when I have seen a PX80 and a PZ800 side by side, there was big difference I thought in image sharpness, going hands down to the PZ80, but that time I never checked the settings and would believe the PZ800 was set up differently.

But I can say honestly that with these 2 set up side by side the only difference i could see was extra pixels in certain areas, tree leaves, background detail etc. But in saying that, I would believe that if you had that same PX80 set up at home, and then swapped it to the PZ80 without having them side by side, it would be hard for your brain to remember seeing this extra detail, as all the colour, contrast, handling of motion etc all seemed to appear identical with this. Both didnt appear to have any judder on panning shots, both weren't overscanning any different than each other. Definitely made it convincing to me that the PZ80 is most likely not worth the extra cash, just for Full HD pixels. Just how the LX508 and 508XD were very similar in performance and many questioned $2k more price tag for 1080p.

I jsut wish I could see the PZ800 and PX80 set up side by side again, configured to the same settings to see what difference.

[Mitcon1503562253]

Well I doubt in our situation there would be any difference as we're 5-6m away from the TV, I would think normally you would need to be quite close to see the difference in resolution. However I can see the cash difference in my wallet at any given distance lol, so it's pretty simple.

I think people in general should always compare different sets and brands but I also think we have to think about real world difference. If a TV (or any type of product for that matter) suits the purpose and looks the goods on it's own/in your environment then that is all that matters. Unless you sit at home with 2 Tv's side by side normally lol.

[diesel]

If a TV (or any type of product for that matter) suits the purpose and looks the goods on it's own/in your environment then that is all that matters. Unless you sit at home with 2 Tv's side by side normally lol.

This is a great point. Just like a new 50" will look massive when you have upgraded from a 68cm CRT, withi two weeks you are used to the size. The same with PQ. You may be able to tell the difference between sets in a display situation, when yoiu get it home, there's no other set(s) side by side, so you get used to what you have.

[smokenz]

the dilemma for me is,

1) I sit under 3m away from where a TV will be located, so I think perhaps a 1080p vs 720p may become noticable to me.

2) I use to own a pioneer kuro before moving to australia, 50" and it soon became too small to watch i felt.

i wanted to buy a 58"+ here, but with all the new advancements coming in tvs in the next year, I feel at the moment is like the times people bought single core cpus, then a few months later, dual cores came out and sort of changed everything. that's what i see happening with flat panels in 2009-2010. So i would rather spend low money now and heaps then, than heaps now and heaps then.

but seeing the panasonics in store, i feel the price of them is very good for what you get and shoudl perform much better than any other tv in the same price bracket, which would give me piece of mind for the next 6 months or so.

[Mitcon1503562253]

the dilemma for me is,

1) I sit under 3m away from where a TV will be located, so I think perhaps a 1080p vs 720p may become noticable to me.

2) I use to own a pioneer kuro before moving to australia, 50" and it soon became too small to watch i felt.

i wanted to buy a 58"+ here, but with all the new advancements coming in tvs in the next year, I feel at the moment is like the times people bought single core cpus, then a few months later, dual cores came out and sort of changed everything. that's what i see happening with flat panels in 2009-2010. So i would rather spend low money now and heaps then, than heaps now and heaps then.

but seeing the panasonics in store, i feel the price of them is very good for what you get and shoudl perform much better than any other tv in the same price bracket, which would give me piece of mind for the next 6 months or so.

If you sit at less than 3m you might prefer something that reaches full rated 1080p, but only you can make this choice as if you are only after short term you may not think the extra paid is worth it. Then on the other hand if you spend alot of time enjoying your viewing you owe it to yourself to get what you will enjoy most. Is there any point in buying something lessor if your not going to enjoy it, wondering about the grass on the other side ?

It's always a difficult thing to ponder, as the only constant is change. I know many people who have thought like this and while there is nothing wrong with it at all if your going to sit on the fence waiting for the new tech you might be there forever. You have to find a point and draw a line in the sand and say this will do me or is what I want as sure the next gen of TV is upon us, but hey just as soon as they were the latest and greatest they will quickly become old and outdated. Technology moves at rapid rates these days which makes this difficult for us all and the correct choice to make of whats best when is different for everyone.

Side note, I see/hear lots of people refer to 42"-50" as being only just enough or a little small. I spent most my life with either a 38cm or 51cm TV and was gobsmacked at 68cm lol. Is bigger really better or is it just bigger ?

Choices, lol we all have to make them.

Edited December 7, 2008 by Mitcon

[smokenz]

i just went to jb to have a look at the range of tvs there. quite impressive really. 609 kuro, 609 kuro, series 9 55" and 46", 46 was side by side to 8 series. panasonic PX80 was next to some samsung and lg tvs, looked much better in contrast. when i really went up close to it and checked out the planet earth bluray, i realised that it should be fine for me where im sitting now, only if i sit too close will i get an SDE. i do remmeber my kuro having SDE, but only when sitting up close to it. for some reason i dont notice it on these tvs.

then standing back i could see the 800, 850 and px80 all playing the same feed. also had it comparing to samsung leds etc. you really get a good idea of the strong points of each technology, or maybe not strong points, but the differences. led looked much sharper than the 8 series lcd, but yet they both still look blue to me when they display blacks. the kuros really stand out when surrounded by other tvs. they still arent the brightest of sets, but they are at a much better brightness level now that daytime viewing should be greatly improved.

i won't be disappointed if i pay $1800 for a 50", that supports 24p, prevents overscan, and seems to produce a decent image in stores next to other tvs. i just think if im going to spend $8k or so on a tv, id rather spend it when they have the new ultra slim plasmas that come from pioneer and panasonic next year. i would only have regret buying a tv, when i buy a top model now, only to find out after CES that it really is weak in comparison to new ones. that is the only time i really feel the pinch when purchasing a product.

[bogandaddy]

i just went to jb to have a look at the range of tvs there. quite impressive really. 609 kuro, 609 kuro, series 9 55" and 46", 46 was side by side to 8 series. panasonic PX80 was next to some samsung and lg tvs, looked much better in contrast. when i really went up close to it and checked out the planet earth bluray, i realised that it should be fine for me where im sitting now, only if i sit too close will i get an SDE. i do remmeber my kuro having SDE, but only when sitting up close to it. for some reason i dont notice it on these tvs.

then standing back i could see the 800, 850 and px80 all playing the same feed. also had it comparing to samsung leds etc. you really get a good idea of the strong points of each technology, or maybe not strong points, but the differences. led looked much sharper than the 8 series lcd, but yet they both still look blue to me when they display blacks. the kuros really stand out when surrounded by other tvs. they still arent the brightest of sets, but they are at a much better brightness level now that daytime viewing should be greatly improved.

i won't be disappointed if i pay $1800 for a 50", that supports 24p, prevents overscan, and seems to produce a decent image in stores next to other tvs. i just think if im going to spend $8k or so on a tv, id rather spend it when they have the new ultra slim plasmas that come from pioneer and panasonic next year. i would only have regret buying a tv, when i buy a top model now, only to find out after CES that it really is weak in comparison to new ones. that is the only time i really feel the pinch when purchasing a product.

You're dead right. I finally bought the 50PX 80A on Friday after much indecision and it's a top piece of gear. Not as plain looking jn the home as in the store. And only $1800 ! Brilliant.

I posted yesterday in more detail under "Just converted from Plasma to LCD"

[smokenz]

You're dead right. I finally bought the 50PX 80A on Friday after much indecision and it's a top piece of gear. Not as plain looking jn the home as in the store. And only $1800 ! Brilliant.

I posted yesterday in more detail under "Just converted from Plasma to LCD"

yeah i am thinking about getting one now. i have been umming and ahhing over tvs since i moved over here. im in the dilemma whether i pay heaps now, or not much now and heaps later. ive decided with the amount of changes about to happen in the next year im better to buy the panasonic now and wait and see what happens. seeing it at JB hifi today next to soo many other tvs, ive come to realise that for the price i shouldnt be expecting a kuro beater, but i will get a tv that i will be happy with and have no regret when series 11 panasonics and 10 kuros start to release more info about.

let me know how you find the tv after watching a few hd movies, low light experience, image handling etc. i read your post in the other thread and commented. you seem to have had a similar selecting option to myself.. cheers

[clickit]

I purchased a 50PX80a today from Harvey Norman for $1775 (5 yrs total warranty and delivery)

Good price? All I did was get them to price match the $1531 and then added the rest to my liking.

Edited December 8, 2008 by clickit

[smokenz]

I purchased a 50PX80a today from Harvey Norman for $1775 (5 yrs total warranty and delivery)

Good price? All I did was get them to price match the $1531 and then added the rest to my liking.

dude i'm going to have to try that, because if someone on here could get me that price delivered to my place, i would buy it.

we have a harveys near us, so i will try to get them to match that price. jb has it for 1888, and they may match it although they seem a bit dubious about matching prices sometimes

[Mitcon1503562253]

Are these extended warranties with Panasonic ?

[relliksalta]

Are these extended warranties with Panasonic ?

No way.. the Pana factory warranty extension is $1000

[xpine]

I purchased a 50PX80a today from Harvey Norman for $1775 (5 yrs total warranty and delivery)

Good price? All I did was get them to price match the $1531 and then added the rest to my liking.

That s a good price. However, really think the extended warranty unnecessary for a Panny, especially if you pay with an AME credit card which gives you 2 year warranty anyway, for free. The chance for a panny to go wrong is very limited.

[fns007]

I had a 50PX70A which died 2 weeks out of the standard 12 month warranty. Panasonic would not honour my request for replacement. If you think the chance for a Panny to go wrong is very limited then you are just kidding yourself.

Panasonic never again! You are a disgrace and I have been purchasing your products for years. This is how you treat repeat customers... $2,700 down the drain.

That s a good price. However, really think the extended warranty unnecessary for a Panny, especially if you pay with an AME credit card which gives you 2 year warranty anyway, for free. The chance for a panny to go wrong is very limited.

[Owen]

How much was the cost of repair?

I recon you could have come to an agreement there if you had a go. I would have suggested they come up with the parts and you offer to pay the labour.

You could have also have had a go via consumer affairs, just because the warranty has expired does not mean you have no rights.

[pneu]

I had a 50PX70A which died 2 weeks out of the standard 12 month warranty. Panasonic would not honour my request for replacement. If you think the chance for a Panny to go wrong is very limited then you are just kidding yourself.

Panasonic never again! You are a disgrace and I have been purchasing your products for years. This is how you treat repeat customers... $2,700 down the drain.

Try quoting your "statutory rights" as well. It is expected that a TV worth $2700 should last longer than 12 months. Panasonic are giving you the knock back because that's just how they operate , but you may find if you challenge them on it (with merit) they might offer you something.

[Maton]

2 weeks? did you go back to the place of purchase and ask what they could do?

that seems harsh