Panny 80u v.s 85u

[cdot2four]

Ok after months i have made up my mind im going to purchase the 42in 1080p panasonic plasma tv. Right now there are two versions out the thpz80u and the thpz85u. my question is the 85u is supposed to be the better of the two but it is getting killed in user ratings while the 80u is getting very high reviews and is $200 cheaper does anyone know why the newer better tv is getting bad reviews??? Which should i buy??

thanks

[HOME THEATRE ADDICT!]

Originally Posted by cdot2four

Ok after months i have made up my mind im going to purchase the 42in 1080p panasonic plasma tv. Right now there are two versions out the thpz80u and the thpz85u. my question is the 85u is supposed to be the better of the two but it is getting killed in user ratings while the 80u is getting very high reviews and is $200 cheaper does anyone know why the newer better tv is getting bad reviews??? Which should i buy??

thanks

I have the 80u and love it! I dont know why the 85u is getting bad reviews. The more costly 800u and 850u are probably the best! THX mode among other things.

[cdot2four]

there not exactly bad reviews just way lower than the 80u. and i wish i could afford the higher models but i cant

[HOME THEATRE ADDICT!]

Originally Posted by cdot2four

there not exactly bad reviews just way lower than the 80u. and i wish i could afford the higher models but i cant

I couldnt either! Where are you seeing these reviews?

[cdot2four]

they were mostly user reviews off bestbuy and other stores thats why i was asking here maybe i could get a technical answer.

[bakesalee]

When I bought the 85u from amazon, it was actually cheaper than the 80u.

[DBlackGT]

Originally Posted by cdot2four

Ok after months i have made up my mind im going to purchase the 42in 1080p panasonic plasma tv. Right now there are two versions out the thpz80u and the thpz85u. my question is the 85u is supposed to be the better of the two but it is getting killed in user ratings while the 80u is getting very high reviews and is $200 cheaper does anyone know why the newer better tv is getting bad reviews??? Which should i buy??

thanks

Where are these killer user ratings? I have seen none. The 80U and 85U are both excellent sets. However the 85U is constantly ranked among the highest rated tvs of 08'. CNET and Home Theater Magazine for one rate it among the top HDTV's

Check out these reviews:
CNET

Home Theater Magazine

[DBlackGT]

I also just read some reviews on the 85U on bestbuy.com and out of the 4 bad reviews, 1 is for a dead pixel, and the other 3 have to do with picture quality. But from reading their reviews it sounds like they did not break the set in properly. Don't get me wrong both sets are excellent but there will always be bad sets regardless if its a sony, pioneer, samung, etc.

[brett_day]

there is only 1 major difference really between the two sets.

the 80u has a contrast ratio of 20000:1
the 85u has a contrast ratio of 30000:1

also the 80u has one of it's additional hdmi ports on the front while on the 85u it is on the side

other than that the sets are identical. i saw both of these sets side by side and could not notice any difference, of course the store setting is not ideal for comparing sets, but there is a huge thread over on the avs forums about these two threads and next to no one can notice a difference in PQ.

I have the 80u and i love it to bits! excellent tv, brilliant color pallet and deep, deep blacks. At the end of the day it is your $ i would personally say save the $200 and add to your blu ray collection but it is just a personaly choice on your part!

[My_Two_Cents]

There is no way I would put ANY credibility into user (read uneducated sheep) ratings on BB, CC, Amazon, etc. Pay attention to the reviews by the experts as DBlackGT mentioned above.

[Sad Turtle]

The 85u is such a sweet tv. If you are going to shell out that kind of money then do it right.

[DBlackGT]

haha Brett me and you constantly find ourselves in the threads that involve the 80U and 85U. Im not gonna argue cause we've done that before haha the only thing Im gonna say to the OP is if a 33% increase in contrast ratio is important to you than the 85U is the way to go, otherwise save and get the 80U. But you already know my recomendation by looking at my sig....

[HOME THEATRE ADDICT!]

Originally Posted by brett_day

there is only 1 major difference really between the two sets.

the 80u has a contrast ratio of 20000:1
the 85u has a contrast ratio of 30000:1

also the 80u has one of it's additional hdmi ports on the front while on the 85u it is on the side

other than that the sets are identical. i saw both of these sets side by side and could not notice any difference, of course the store setting is not ideal for comparing sets, but there is a huge thread over on the avs forums about these two threads and next to no one can notice a difference in PQ.

I have the 80u and i love it to bits! excellent tv, brilliant color pallet and deep, deep blacks. At the end of the day it is your $ i would personally say save the $200 and add to your blu ray collection but it is just a personaly choice on your part!

Unless theres a difference between my PX and your PZ, I thought it was 15,000:1

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by DBlackGT

haha Brett me and you constantly find ourselves in the threads that involve the 80U and 85U. Im not gonna argue cause we've done that before haha the only thing Im gonna say to the OP is if a 33% increase in contrast ratio is important to you than the 85U is the way to go, otherwise save and get the 80U. But you already know my recomendation by looking at my sig....

hey man, debate is always healthy!

myself personally i could not justify the then $650 difference in price between the two sets when i purchased mine, especially when the difference was so small. i think the 80u has amazing blacks and colors, i have also seen and heard reviews that say the c.a.t.s system on the 85u does nothing more than introduce black crush, again though...it is all subjectional

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by HOME THEATRE ADDICT!

Unless theres a difference between my PX and your PZ, I thought it was 15,000:1

the main difference between the x and z series is that the x series is 720p and the z is 1080p. the 50pz80u has 20000:1 contrast ratio

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...tag=mncol;psum

[HOME THEATRE ADDICT!]

Originally Posted by brett_day

the main difference between the x and z series is that the x series is 720p and the z is 1080p. the 50pz80u has 20000:1 contrast ratio

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...tag=mncol;psum

Thats what I thought the only diff was. Resolution.

[Sonny]

get the 85u & go make me a sandwich....

[DBlackGT]

Originally Posted by brett_day

hey man, debate is always healthy!

myself personally i could not justify the then $650 difference in price between the two sets when i purchased mine, especially when the difference was so small. i think the 80u has amazing blacks and colors, i have also seen and heard reviews that say the c.a.t.s system on the 85u does nothing more than introduce black crush, again though...it is all subjectional

Yea everyone has there own reasons. And I can definitely understand why you didnt go with the 85U for $650 more but now the price difference is only $200 some places. And to me I think paying an extra $200 is worth the 33% increase in contrast level, but hey thats just me

[HOME THEATRE ADDICT!]

Originally Posted by brett_day

the main difference between the x and z series is that the x series is 720p and the z is 1080p. the 50pz80u has 20000:1 contrast ratio

http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...tag=mncol;psum

Just went to Panasonic site. The PZ is 20,000:1 and the PX is 15,000:1

[brett_day]

Originally Posted by HOME THEATRE ADDICT!

Just went to Panasonic site. The PZ is 20,000:1 and the PX is 15,000:1

yep, thats what i thought, i knew the pz80u was 20000:1 just was not sure about the px80u.

still both amazing tv's though