Nov
16

Panasonic Viera TH-58PZ800U 58-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV Coupons & Reviews

This is just a heads up about pricing.

I placed my order for this television, from AMAZON, on 9/2/2008.

THE PRICE from AMAZON with FREE SHIPPING was $2,835.21.

Delivery time quoted, when I placed the order, was 1 to 2 months. UPDATE: Amazon delivered my TV on 9/30/2008 (about a month) in perfect condition at the price I’ve quoted ($2,835.21).

Prices are changing day by day. In fact, the day after I placed my order, Amazon raised their price by $500.00. That is quite a price increase in one day! Over the course of the next TWO weeks the price went up to match the list price of $3700. So, in just two weeks time, there was a $900 increase in price! Finally prices are drifting lower again. Early in November, the price has dropped back down to the $2800 range without any amazon coupons.

There are no reviews yet on this HDTV but its 50″ sister - the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U - has received top reviews. In fact, the 50″ version of this set is widely considered either the best HDTV ever made or second only to the much more expensive Pioneer Kuros. UPDATE: This HDTV was just Awarded “Editors Choice” by CNET on 10/3/2008 (now only the 50″ Pioneer Kuro Elite is rated higher). CNET even rated this Panasonic 58″ a tiny bit better than Panasonic’s 50″ version due to slightly deeper blacks.

Don’t pay too much for this set. This set is just starting to trickle into stores and finally, late in September, Amazon had this TV in stock. I can’t see why any consumer would pay any more than I have ($2835.21) and I hope they will pay less.

As a general guideline: I’ve found that a good discount for a Panasonic Plasma will be about 25% off of the list price.

What is interesting is how carefully the other merchants listed on Amazon.com follow Amazon’s lead on price. On the day I purchased this HDTV there were other merchants that were VERY close to Amazon’s total price even after including any shipping charges (one was actually a few dollars less including shipping). Once Amazon raised its price, within 24 hours, all these other merchants raised their prices to match Amazon’s new price. That trend has continued with these other merchants closely following Amazon’s lead.

Amazon’s white glove delivery service works extremely well. I was concerned about this and wondered how Amazon’s delivery service would stack up against buying this set in person? Well, I was pleasantly surprised. The TV was delivered on time, it was unpacked, the stand was installed, and the TV was placed where I wanted it (the packaging was also removed). I knew how to connect the TV to all my other components but you certainly shouldn’t expect the truckers to know how to do this for you! Still they waited 5 minutes for me to make all my connections and confirm the set was in perfect condition. Even if you don’t know how to connect the set (prior to studying the manual) - just plugging it into a wall outlet (no other connections required) and turning it on displays a menu on the screen which confirms it was not damaged in transit.

KUDOS to AMAZON on its White Glove Service! Well Done and hassle free!!!

The picture quality exceeds my wildest expectations, assuming a few important changes are made to the set’s default settings. With good high definition content the picture is absolutely stunning, better than what I recall was shown at my local movie theatre. High definition movies on HBO really do look better than when I saw them in the theatre. If there is a criticism to be found it is that the default settings are either too dim (THX mode) or too garish (custom mode). However it is easy to adjust the settings to produce a much better picture. I’d encourage everyone to use the settings listed in Greg Lavery’s Amazon review (these were first published by CNET and then discussed/updated in the AVS forum). These settings are extremely important if you want the best possible picture and the improvements they yield are NOT subtle! However, having said that, this still may not be the best TV for a brightly lit room because it is not the brightest set available and the screen is somewhat reflective. For everyone else, you are purchasing one of the finest HDTVs ever made. The quality and naturalness of the picture is often jaw-dropping. It is hard to explain in words, exactly how good this set is — even to those of you who have already purchased another HDTV. For example, I purchased a 26″ Toshiba HDTV (2008 model) for my office. That HDTV truly looks miserable when compared to this Panasonic. It is almost impossible to overstate the quality of the picture that this set can produce.

One Final Comment: Know who you are buying from at Amazon. Just below the price if it says “ships from and sold by XXX company” you are NOT buying from Amazon but another company who pays a fee to Amazon to sell products on Amazon’s website. While these other companies may be fine - I choose to purchase this HDTV directly from Amazon and NOT from one of these other merchants whose track record I could not as easily evaluate.

When I first saw this unit on Amazon, it was $3499. After talking to my wife, I placed an order the next day and was surprised to find the price to be $2999. Two days after my order, the price went to $3699 and was no longer being shipped from Vann’s. Mine was shipped from Vann’s and arrived in perfect condition 4 days later.

Anyway, the TV is wonderful. I can’t imagine getting a better picture from a TV. The colors are significantly richer and deeper than our other TV, a Samsung 42″ LCD that’s in our bedroom. The display and degree of color on the LCD, although vibrant, sometimes appear to be sightly unnatural and there doesn’t seem to be a way (that I have found) to adjust it out.

The Panasonic color is very natural and there are several user friendly adjustments that make it easy to enhance picture clarity, hue and color.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the set-up was straight forward and actually simple. There are on screen prompts that take the user through the process to completion. The remote is uncluttered and easy to use with larger than usual buttons. Aesthetically, the set and the stand are very attractive.

I highly recommend plasma over LCD and the 2008 Panasonic Viera series over the competition we explored. (Vizio, Samsung, Sharp and 2007 Panasonic).