Panasonic TH42PZ85 Review

[elwaylite]

One of the first reviews out. Im definitely loving my 50" 85u, BD PQ is outstanding.

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/panas...0080414104.htm

[zed0118]

I definitely like my 50" 85u as well. Tremendous PQ!

[DepTii]

1080p/24 capability (PS3) === Accepts 24fps; no telecine judder

Anyone know anymore about this? I know that this series will accept a 24p signal but uses the 3:2 method anyway, but when this says no telecine judder, does that mean it's just not noticeable or...?

[elwaylite]

Originally Posted by DepTii

Anyone know anymore about this? I know that this series will accept a 24p signal but uses the 3:2 method anyway, but when this says no telecine judder, does that mean it's just not noticeable or...?

Thats a review of the European model. If you want 24p in the states, you need a 800u.

[DepTii]

Originally Posted by elwaylite

Thats a review of the European model. If you want 24p in the states, you need a 800u.

That blows, I guess then I am still waiting for the 800u.

[Teazle]

Review says it fails deinterlacing for movies (24fps). Like practically every 1080p set in existence except Pioneers.

A question about what this means.

Say a person watches a lot of HD movies from cable out of a stupid ancient Scientific Atlanta cable box which only outputs up to 1080i60. (Get with it S.A. and deliver a 1080p box already!)

Will the set do the deinterlacing part right but still show the movie pulled down? I.e. show the movie as 1080p 30fps (60Hz refresh)? I know it won't properly convert the movie back to 24fps the way the Pioneers do. But will it still at least be 1080p? Or does the reviewer mean that it can't deal with deinterlacing for pulled-down film at all for some reason?

[ecnelis]

Just bought my 50" pz85U yesterday off of amazon.com (for $1899!!!!! no shipping and no tax!) I can't wait til it gets here!!! It will be replacing my 32" sony HD TV (big and heavy!)

I'm sooo stoked!

Hooray 0% APR for 1 year on my CC!

So, my main question is... The difference between the 80U and the 85U... I noticed the main difference between the two is the native CR? Is that the only real difference? Or am I missing something

Decided against the 800U because I don't need pro calibration as it will be the TV in the bedroom, and not the main Movie room TV.

[elwaylite]

The tv calibrated with dve or tomhuffmans settings on the avs calibration thread yields excellent 1080p results.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Teazle

Review says it fails deinterlacing for movies (24fps). Like practically every 1080p set in existence except Pioneers.

The 2007 1080p models from nearly all manufacturers passed de-interlacing and a number of 1080p sets from Sony, JVC and Sharp additionally passed the 3:2 tests.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/hookmeup/1107hook2/

Seems like it's only a problem if you want to go from 1080p24 output from the player as 1080i60, converted back to 1080p24 by the TV in order to use 2:2, 3:3, 4:4 or 5:5 pulldown for judder-free playback.

If your set doesn't have a refresh rate divisible by 24 that doesn't cheat like some of the 120Hz models (3:2 then 2:2) your best just leaving it as 1080p60 and letting the TV refresh at 60Hz. For cable boxes, instead of 1080i60, just flip the output to 720p. At least that way you're getting more real resolution.

Or, get an exterior scaler for @ $200.

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

The 2007 1080p models from nearly all manufacturers passed de-interlacing and a number of 1080p sets from Sony, JVC and Sharp additionally passed the 3:2 tests.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/hookmeup/1107hook2/

Seems like it's only a problem if you want to go from 1080p24 output from the player as 1080i60, converted back to 1080p24 by the TV in order to use 2:2, 3:3, 4:4 or 5:5 pulldown for judder-free playback.

If your set doesn't have a refresh rate divisible by 24 that doesn't cheat like some of the 120Hz models (3:2 then 2:2) your best just leaving it as 1080p60 and letting the TV refresh at 60Hz. For cable boxes, instead of 1080i60, just flip the output to 720p. At least that way you're getting more real resolution.

Or, get an exterior scaler for @ $200.

Thanks very much for the info. This issue has been nagging on my mind for a while & is a reason I'm still clinging to a 1080i CRT (no-brainer compatibility with both BD and my cable box, which delivers some native 1080i content as well as upscaled 720p).

About "exterior scaler", do you mean an outboard video processor which deinterlaces 1080i / upscales 720 to 1080p (I thought those tended to be expensive, like $1000 and up)?

[dobyblue]

You can definitely get external scalers for $2,000 and more, but you can also find a good selection of scalers from $200 to $600 and on Amazon plenty of them can be had at good discounts.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_i_...%3Aelectronics

Once you find one that works with 1080i60 to 1080p60, you're golden.

From Gefen's website they have this little beauty for only $299.
http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=4722

Product features:

Features:

Digital input is format converted and pixel re-scaled through the HDMI 1080p Scaler. It outputs a large range of formats and resolutions that will easily match the native resolution/ format of your display to ensure highest picture quality.
DVI/HDCP/HDMI compliant input: Operates up to 165Mhz (Up to UXGA @60Hz)
Supports digital HD output up to 1080p.
Integrated DVI/HDCP/HDMI compliant receiver.
Dual high quality scaling engines.
Dual 3-D motion video adaptive deinterlacers with smooth low-angle edge.
Automatic 3:2 pull-down & 2:2 pull-down detection and recovery.

Supports loads of inputs including 1080i60 and outputs at 1080p60.

It has HDMI 1.2a, but as it would only be used with cable, that's all you'd need.

EDIT - I just sent them an e-mail to ask if it goes 1080i60 > 1080p24 > 1080p60. If it does, might be a good solution for lots of cable/satellite 1080i users who aren't watching the full 1080p signal that's being delivered to them because of poor 3:2 cadence. $299 is not much to pay for 100% increase in resolution, although Toshiba fans may disagree.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

$299 is not much to pay for 100% increase in resolution, although Toshiba fans may disagree.

Nice dig at the Duddites!

[chriso_86]

I order the TH-46PZ85U, it is set to be delivered tomorrow!!! Woot, can't wait!!! I'll let you all know how it is once I get it all settled in!!

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

$299 is not much to pay for 100% increase in resolution, although Toshiba fans may disagree.

Thanks again Doby for pointing me in this direction. The $300 range sounds good value, esp. considering the dedicated circuitry is likely to be better quality than whatever is jammed into the back of a display panel.

One of the new Panasonic plasmas + external scaler/deinterlacer will be much cheaper than a Pioneer, so it looks like this will be the solution for me.