Panasonic TH42PC77U Plasma TV Review

My husband has been wanting a wide screen television, so for his birthday at the end of August we purchased a Panasonic 42" plasma TV at Costco. We've used it every day since and have been completely satisfied with this set.

If you have never shopped for a big screen TV, it can be a daunting experience trying to decide. We especially had a hard time deciding if it was better to buy a plasma or a LCD. There are pros and cons to both. We kept hearing and reading that plasma was the better choice for great picture quality - and Panasonic was a name that kept popping up as a good brand in plasma TV's. TV salesmen explained that plasma TVs have deeper black levels, making the movie watching experience more like at the theater. They also handle fast motion well. The cons are that the LCD TV's often look brighter and have less problems with glare. The flat panel was definiely a feature we wanted, although we were not interested in mounting it on our wall. I was initially concerned about the stability of the TV, since the feet are not really wide, and the set seemed a bit top heavy. Fortunately the unit came with metal bands and screws to secure the base to a cabinet.

You can hook up many different multimedia sources to this television, such as a home theater system, VCR, DVD recorder DVD player, camcorder, cable box, and SD memory card.

This Panasonic model has the anti-glare coating, which is more effective than anti-reflective. Here are all the specs and details about this television:

Features
* Screen Size: 42" diagonal
* Aspect Ratio: 16:9
* Resolution: 1024 x 768
* Contrast Ratio: 10,000:1
* Shades of Gradation: 3,072 equivalent
* Anti-Glare Screen Coating
* Tuner: Integrated ATSC
* HDTV Capability: 1080p, 1080i, 720p
* SD Memory Card Slot (SDHC Compatible)
* Motion Adaptive 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter
* 3D Color Management
* Progressive Scan
* Video Noise Reduction
* Dimensions (HxWxD): 27.1" high by 44.7" wide by 3.7" deep

Audio:
* Speakers: 2 x 20 Watts
* BBE® ViVA HD3D Sound
* Surround Sound