Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U - LCD

The 85U series is at the mid range of Panasonic's consumer plasmas for 2008, which is their 11th generation of plasma offerings. Positioned above 80U series and below the 800Us, the 85Us feature the same core technology as the more expensive sets but sacrifice some of the more advanced features such as THX Certification and the 4th HDMI input. It first became available in the late-February and retails for $2200.

Pros & Cons
Pros:

•Single pane of glass design reduces haloing of white text and improves aesthetic
•Very solid price/performance ratio


Cons:

•Plasma technology is being phased out, so long term support is shaky


More information

Features

- 1080p native resolution
- 30,000:1 contrast ratio
- 24p film mode
- Game mode
- VIERA link
- One-sheet glass design with anti-reflective screen
- 100,000 hour half life
- Inputs: 3 x HDMI 1.3, 1 x VGA, Component, Composite, S-Video
- price: $2199

85U, 800U, and 850U features

One-sheet glass - The one-sheet glass design is similar to the Sony XBR4's, and Pioneer Elite and Kuro televisions where a single pane of glass covers the entire front of the television, including the bezel. This design reduces/eliminates the "halo" effect that can occur around lettering and logos with traditional 3-pane designs.

Note: 85U doe NOT have a one-sheet-glass design.

PC-input - usually a staple among HDTVs, in Panasonic's 2008 offerings only the higher end televisions retain a dedicated input for computers.

24p support - the details are still unclear if this means the television changes the refresh rate to match content that comes in at 24 frames per second, or if it just means the TV can accept 24FPS content and does a conversion. As of January 2008 the only consumer grade Plasma with native 24p support is the Pioneer 5080HD. Most likely this feature simply does a conversion from 24FPS to the set's native 60Hz.


Common to all 2008 Panasonic Plasmas

Anti-reflective screen - created by Fujitsu these screens reduce the amount of ambient reflection that can appear in a brightly lit room.

100,000 hour half life - Panasonic rates the panel to last 100,000 hours, which is about 30 years of regular usage, or 11 years of non-stop, before the brightness of the display is halved.