Panasonic TC-P42G15 excellent TV

I did a lot of researching before buying this TV, and I have so far been very happy with the results.

The picture is amazing, of course. There is virtually no glare on the screen, which can be a problem for some plasma tvs. The blacks are incredible, and the colors have been great, even without doing any hard calibration. Setup was very easy. The sound is very good. Not sound system good of course, but you can easily get by without one. We've had some televisions in the past, including HDTV's, with absolutely horrid sound, and this comes nowhere close.

Some people say that the THX picture mode is too dark. While it is somewhat dim, it is absolutely perfect for viewing in a darkened area for movie viewing. Adjusting all of the picture modes is very easily done, however for an out of the box calibration without breaking it in, THX is a very good option.

A very minor nitpicks, hardly worth mentioning really. The remote does not have a button on it to just flip through the picture display options (standard, custom, thx, etc), but rather have to go into a menu to access them. The menu is right on top, it's not buried, but it would be more convenient if you could just flip through without having to go through that.

I have yet to experiment with the VieraCast options, so unfortunately I cannot comment on those.

Overall, an amazing tv, especially for the price.

Panasonic TC-P42G15 Outstanding

I have never owned a flatscreen before so I was trying to get the best for my money. I never considered a plasma tv, I always thought LCD was the way to go; I understood that plasma tvs burned out quicker, used way more energy, heated up to the point where they couldn't be watched for long periods and of course I heard horror stories about image burn in. What I was delighted to find is that many plasma manufacturers have addressed these issues in their new tvs. This TV is energy star certified, which means its energy consumption is very comparable to many other LCDs of the same size (ie, almost identical to LG LH50 42"). The heat created/circulated in the tv is not an issue at all, even after watching the tv for several hours, the back of the panel is barely warm. and burn in is impossible with new orbiting pixel technology. Even more impressive is a new screen wipe technology, so that in case your tv was left on for a week solid, even then any trace of a burn in image can be completely erased. One of the best selling points of this tv is the lifespan, over 100,000 hours. thats almost double even the best LCD lifespans (60,000). As for the picture itself, let me just say you can not find a better picture than a plasma, LED can not come close. and the top of the line for all plasma TVs is panasonic. pay no attention to contrast ratio, every company has different ways of measuring that stat. Plasma is back in a big way, in a few years, the prices on these tvs are certain to go up.

Panasonic TC-P42G15 Why is plasma losing the HDTV war?

I have been a home theater enthusiast for some time now and I am the type to upgrade every few years in a desire to experience the newest and greatest tech out there. I have had experience with old school tube TV's, CRT rear projection, LCD and DLP rear and front projection, and LCD flat panel TV's. As a gamer, I had never taken the chance on plasma due to "image retention." That said, I have to say that I am SO glad I finally took the risk! After just a few days of use, I can already say that the G15 is the best TV I have ever had. I have yet to see LED, but honestly, I am not sure how picture quality can get much better than this. I haven't even done any calibrating of my own. I just use the preset Game and THX modes. If you are in the market to buy a new TV, and you are a gamer and Blu-Ray watcher, then do yourself a favor and buy a plasma. I think I have finally found a TV I could possibly keep for a lifetime, assuming it stays alive.

Panasonic TC-P42G15 Very Good but not Perfect

The biggest problem with this unit, as with plasmas in general, is the reflection off of the glass of any lights near the viewer while sitting directly in front of the TV. To remedy this, I no longer use the table lamp sitting next to me. Instead I turn a table lamp on further off to the side so it doesn't reflect directly back into my eyes. This is rather inconvenient if you are leisurely watching TV and want to read, if only during the commercials. Another minor problem is the distracting reflections off of the shiny bezel and base from lights positioned in other parts of the room (my lamp off to the side). Over-all, the picture itself is 5 star fantastic! I gave it only 4 stars because of the reflection problem. I wish they had it on a stand which would tilt and rotate so that the viewing position could easily be optimized to minimize the reflections. You can buy stands that tilt (and maybe rotate) but the one I looked at which tilted was quite expensive. The sound is unimpressive but I compliment it by also playing it through an amplifier with external speakers.

Panasonic TC-P42G15 Features

Features

• 41.6" screen (measured diagonally)
• widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio
• built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required)

Panasonic TC-P42G15 Product Details

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3257 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: P42G15
• Dimensions: 31.00" h x 46.00" w x 12.00" l, 73.00 pounds
• Display size: 42

Panasonic TC-P42G15 42" VIERA® G15 Series 1080p THX®-certified plasma HDTV

Product Description

41.6" screen (measured diagonally) * widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio * built-in digital (ATSC) and analog (NTSC) tuners for over-the-air TV broadcasts (antenna required) *