Customer Rating: 
Summary: A Great TV for the Price
Comment: I have had this TV for a month and I'm very happy with it. As another reviewer mentioned, I don't think burn-in is an issue and haven't seen any on my set. I saw on one of the AV sites that image retention, which is one of the concerns with plasmas, is as likely on the new plasmas as it was on the old school CRTs.
I did use one of those break-in DVDs for the first 100 hours or so, using it to watch some TV (with those logos) and my PS3 for no more than an hour at a time, but again I did not have any issues, which was a relief since I was playing mainly sports games, which have those tickers. Some people say the burn-in DVD is a waste and it seems like that might be true, though I'd rather not roll the dice. I would also suggest forcing the pixel orbiter on 4, which prevents burn-in and image retention.
As for picture quality, it's great on this TV, which is the main advantage of plasmas over LCDs. The blacks are great and it's much closer to a CRT for SD television, and HD TV looks great, even upscaled DVDs. If you like to tinker a lot with the settings, this TV probably isn't for you, as there isn't much you can play with, but it does the job.
The one thing this TV does not have is 24p (the specs say it has it, but it's 2:3, not full 24p), which you have to pay $500 bucks or so more for; I have never seen any of the ghosting or jagged edges though on anything, so it hasn't been any issue. Still if you want that feature it's something to consider.
The 85z model does come with a 30k contrast ratio, however, I don't think I could see the difference. The price is closer now then when I got the TV, however, so for $50 bucks it might get you piece of mind. It will also get you a PC input, though I just use one of those $2 HDMI-to-DVI converters to get around this, but I don't really connect the PC to my TV much anyway; if I do, I use the PS3, which can do it wirelessly.
I actually got this TV for $1,155 thanks to the price guarantee from Amazon, though I'd still get it at the $1,250 it's selling at now.
Finally, Amazon's delivery service was great; they were scheduled to delivery the TV two weeks from the order date but were actually ready to come by the 3rd day. They also were on the earlier part of the delivery window (~10am), took out the TV, assembled the stand, and make sure it was setup before they left. I'm pretty lazy so it was nice to not deal with unpacking it and lugging it from the store.
Overall, I'd say you can't get a better TV for this price and I am very happy that I went plasma and got it on Amazon. Even if there are burn-in issues 5 years down the line this TV probably won't be worth anything, so I'm not too worried, especially now that I am past the 200-hour mark and haven't noticed anything.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I love this TV!!!
Comment: I did a fair amount of research on plasmas (wasn't interested in LCD since most have pixelation during fast moving scenes) and I decided that this model was the one for me! Boy am I glad that I did! The Amazon shipping was awesome and fast and the TV was cheap compared to other ones in it's class (I was on the fence between this one and the Samsung LN46A550 which is $300-500 more). The picture is terrific with an insane black level that you don't see in most TV's (really adds to sci-fi films). Also since I live in San Francisco I constantly have to factor in earthquakes and the stand that it comes with makes me feel super confident that it won't be tipping over without a fight. In fact it's so solid that my TV might be the only thing standing in town after the big one!
This is a great deal for the price. At the time I purchased it the model above it (the 85U) was $100+ more, but it's now crept down to being only $30 off. I would buy that and consider yourself lucky. This TV rocks! The thought of it makes me sprint home after work.
Customer Rating:
Summary: PANASONIC DOES IT AGAIN
Comment: I am extremely pleased with the quality of picture on my new Panasonic 42" plasma TV. I looked around and this TV was highly recommended by Consumer reports and Forbes Magazine. You cannot beat this deal from Amazon!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Overall solid TV
Comment: This is a good TV for the bedroom. The picture looks great in a dark room but relatively ordinary with lighting on. It is a good buy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice step up.
Comment: I wouldn't exactly consider my review to hold much weight simply because I've been using an old 19 inch Mitsubishi for the past 18 years, so as far as I'm concerned, most likely anything I were to buy would probably end up looking like a @#$% drive in screen to me!!! However, I am very happy with what I got, and most happy for the price that I got it at. Everything I read told me that the Pioneer "Kuro" series was the holy grail of the plasma tvs in this size range. My father bought the "Kuro" and paid $800 more for his than I paid for mine, and I can't see any difference in the quality of picture. It may make a difference when you go larger than 42", but at this size, for the money................I think I'm pretty satisfied that I got the best TV out there.
Summary: A Great TV for the Price
Comment: I have had this TV for a month and I'm very happy with it. As another reviewer mentioned, I don't think burn-in is an issue and haven't seen any on my set. I saw on one of the AV sites that image retention, which is one of the concerns with plasmas, is as likely on the new plasmas as it was on the old school CRTs.
I did use one of those break-in DVDs for the first 100 hours or so, using it to watch some TV (with those logos) and my PS3 for no more than an hour at a time, but again I did not have any issues, which was a relief since I was playing mainly sports games, which have those tickers. Some people say the burn-in DVD is a waste and it seems like that might be true, though I'd rather not roll the dice. I would also suggest forcing the pixel orbiter on 4, which prevents burn-in and image retention.
As for picture quality, it's great on this TV, which is the main advantage of plasmas over LCDs. The blacks are great and it's much closer to a CRT for SD television, and HD TV looks great, even upscaled DVDs. If you like to tinker a lot with the settings, this TV probably isn't for you, as there isn't much you can play with, but it does the job.
The one thing this TV does not have is 24p (the specs say it has it, but it's 2:3, not full 24p), which you have to pay $500 bucks or so more for; I have never seen any of the ghosting or jagged edges though on anything, so it hasn't been any issue. Still if you want that feature it's something to consider.
The 85z model does come with a 30k contrast ratio, however, I don't think I could see the difference. The price is closer now then when I got the TV, however, so for $50 bucks it might get you piece of mind. It will also get you a PC input, though I just use one of those $2 HDMI-to-DVI converters to get around this, but I don't really connect the PC to my TV much anyway; if I do, I use the PS3, which can do it wirelessly.
I actually got this TV for $1,155 thanks to the price guarantee from Amazon, though I'd still get it at the $1,250 it's selling at now.
Finally, Amazon's delivery service was great; they were scheduled to delivery the TV two weeks from the order date but were actually ready to come by the 3rd day. They also were on the earlier part of the delivery window (~10am), took out the TV, assembled the stand, and make sure it was setup before they left. I'm pretty lazy so it was nice to not deal with unpacking it and lugging it from the store.
Overall, I'd say you can't get a better TV for this price and I am very happy that I went plasma and got it on Amazon. Even if there are burn-in issues 5 years down the line this TV probably won't be worth anything, so I'm not too worried, especially now that I am past the 200-hour mark and haven't noticed anything.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I love this TV!!!
Comment: I did a fair amount of research on plasmas (wasn't interested in LCD since most have pixelation during fast moving scenes) and I decided that this model was the one for me! Boy am I glad that I did! The Amazon shipping was awesome and fast and the TV was cheap compared to other ones in it's class (I was on the fence between this one and the Samsung LN46A550 which is $300-500 more). The picture is terrific with an insane black level that you don't see in most TV's (really adds to sci-fi films). Also since I live in San Francisco I constantly have to factor in earthquakes and the stand that it comes with makes me feel super confident that it won't be tipping over without a fight. In fact it's so solid that my TV might be the only thing standing in town after the big one!
This is a great deal for the price. At the time I purchased it the model above it (the 85U) was $100+ more, but it's now crept down to being only $30 off. I would buy that and consider yourself lucky. This TV rocks! The thought of it makes me sprint home after work.
Customer Rating:
Summary: PANASONIC DOES IT AGAIN
Comment: I am extremely pleased with the quality of picture on my new Panasonic 42" plasma TV. I looked around and this TV was highly recommended by Consumer reports and Forbes Magazine. You cannot beat this deal from Amazon!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Overall solid TV
Comment: This is a good TV for the bedroom. The picture looks great in a dark room but relatively ordinary with lighting on. It is a good buy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nice step up.
Comment: I wouldn't exactly consider my review to hold much weight simply because I've been using an old 19 inch Mitsubishi for the past 18 years, so as far as I'm concerned, most likely anything I were to buy would probably end up looking like a @#$% drive in screen to me!!! However, I am very happy with what I got, and most happy for the price that I got it at. Everything I read told me that the Pioneer "Kuro" series was the holy grail of the plasma tvs in this size range. My father bought the "Kuro" and paid $800 more for his than I paid for mine, and I can't see any difference in the quality of picture. It may make a difference when you go larger than 42", but at this size, for the money................I think I'm pretty satisfied that I got the best TV out there.