Panasonic TH-50PZ85U great buy from Amazon

I have been the proud owner of the Panasonic TH-50PZ85U plasma TV set for about a month.
This is my first flat-panel television and I switched from a 27 inch CRT Sony Trinitron.


Pricing, Ordering and Delivery:

I had been monitoring the price of this set ever since it got released earlier this year.
I had many opportunities to look at the set with my own eyes at Best Buy and other retailers but the price from most of these retailers was a little high, when considering that I would need to add sales tax as well as shipping (I found out that the box with the television would never fit in my car!).
So, when I saw the attractive price - with no sales tax - on Amazon, I jumped on it. Also, the free "while glove" delivery was a big plus as I had read too many horror stories about people getting a damaged or broken television and spending way to much time and energy to finally get a replacement.
The price on Amazon was several hundred dollars less than most local retailers.

Ordering was easy. I also ordered a Sanus VMPL50B tilt bracket (also from Amazon) to mount the display over my fireplace.
I placed the ordered on a Thursday and the product was delivered the following Thursday. Not bad!

The display was delivered by a shipping company called CEVA Logistics. Two persons carried the large box to the second floor of my condo where my living room is and unpacked the television so that I could make sure that it was in good condition, which was the case.


Installation:

I didn't use the stand provided with the television. Instead, I mounted the display on the wall over my fireplace using a Sanus bracket.
Initially, I was going to use the Sanus VMPL50B but, because of the position of the studs behind the wall, I decided to exchange it for a longer, adjustable one. I picked a Sanus VMPL3B which is basically the same, with the difference that the plate is 10 inches longer, when fully extended.
This way, I was able to mount the bracket using 4 studs instead of just 2 studs if I had gone with the VMPL50B. It gives me a peace of mind and I know that I am not going to find my plasma television broken into pieces anytime soon.
The installation was fairly easy and took about one hour total. My wife helped me carrying the display and securing it on the wall bracket since it is pretty heavy (approximately 80lbs).
The display sits only 2.5 inches from the wall but it was actually hard to tilt because of the HDMI connectors in the back. The problem is that the panel in the back where all the connectors go is not recessed enough. I just wish there was an extra 1/2 inch of space.
What I did is that I purchased a couple of HDMI "right-angle" adapters (from an excellent Internet store called MonoPrice). This way, the HDMI cables run along the back of the plasma set and it is way easier to tilt the display.


Operation and Picture Quality:

I am truly impressed by the TH-50PZ85U. Not only it performs well but it looks great on the wall.
The only connectors I have are HMDI. I have one HDMI cable running from my digital cable box (Time Warner - Scientific Atlanta) to the TV and one HDMI cable coming from my SONY DVP-NS3100ES DVD player (up-converting DVD player, not Blu-Ray).
HD channels are simply outstanding, even in Standard mode. It is such a pleasure for the eyes to watch anything. I surprised myself at watching a full hour of an animal documentary on Discovery HD, even though I have never been a fan of animal TV show.
The level of details is amazing.
Standard cable looks very good too but obviously not as good as HD. My only concern is that currently I only have 22 HD channels (and 3 or 4 of those don't even have regular programming). Time Warner can't beat satellite in my area but I am not ready to switch yet. There are some reports that new HD channels will be added soon so I just need to be patient.


The remote control is easy to use and it can also operate other devices such as a cable box, a DVD player and more. With my configuration, this is pretty much the only remote I use now.

I like the fact that there are some extra video inputs (including HDMI) located on the side of the display. I use them to plug my video camera.
Several settings for the sound can be adjusted as well (balance, treble, bass and some other effects I am not really familiar with yet). Overall, the sound is excellent but when watching a DVD movie, I use my home theater system (I have a 5.1 speaker system with a SONY STR-DA3100ES receiver).
The great thing about HDMI is that it only takes one cable for both video and audio signals. I can always use the TV speakers while playing a DVD or watching a cable program. When I switch to the receiver, all I have to do is mute the sound from the TV.


Note on "break-in" period:

I know there are many forums talking about the 100-hour "break-in" period. There is no mention of it anywhere in the user's manual. So I went on the Panasonic website and I found some info. Basically, for the first 100 hours of operation, it is advised to watch television in Full Mode or Zoom Mode only (to avoid black bars on the side) and to avoid prolonged period of time of static image or channel logo.
Since I had read many threads dealing with playing a "Break-in" DVD, I called Panasonic Technical Support direclty. The person told me that it was not necessary as long as the above rules were followed for the first 100 hours of usage and that it wouldn't make any difference in the end.
SO I watched different shows in Full format mode as well as DVDs. Whenever I would watch a channel with a logo on the bottom-right corner for over 30 minutes, I would use the "Anti-Static Retention" feature for a few minutes (accessible with the remote in the Main Menu). What it does is that it displays a scrolling white bar over a black background.


Bottom Line:

The TH-50PZ85U is an incredible set for the price. I have been reading reviews and comparing with other existings sets (including LCD sets) for the past 6 months almost and I think that, for this size, this is the best option in terms of price and quality.
Panasonic is a reputable manufacturer and no one can go wrong with this display.