Panasonic 50PZ800U 58PZ800U Ranked Best Buy

Panasonic's highly regarded THX Certified plasma display prices are dropping into the Best Buy range. Earlier this year CNet awarded the 50-inch Panasonic TH-50PZ800U their Editors' Choice among 50-inch plasma TVs, and the newly released 58-inch version received equally high praise, with an identical score and Editors' Choice award. Part of the reason has to do with color accuracy, for which the TV's THX Display Certification deserves credit. These THX certified sets look fantastic right out of the box.

If you're shopping for a large-screen plasma, the other high-end option is the 60-inch Pioneer PDP-6020FD. However it's significantly more expensive than the 58-inch Panasonic. The Panasonic's THX-certified color accuracy is a huge plus. Couple that with super crisp picture detail, black levels as deep as the 60-inch Pioneer, and a newly discounted price and you've a no-brainer Best Buy recommendation.

50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1859 at Amazon Best Buy
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2408 at Amazon Best Buy

New Price Drops on Panasonic THX-Certified HDTV

Great Price on Panasonic TH-50PZ800U

Several months ago we tagged the great THX-certified Panasonic TH-50PZ800U as the best-value 50-inch HDTV, offering oustanding image quality at a reasonable price. Since then the 50PZ800U price has plunged and it's now available for $1728, less than the smaller 42-inch TH-42PZ800U! The price on the 46-inch TH-46-PZ800U also dropped—more than $400—but is still about $500 more that the 50 inch set. At the current price the TH-50PZ800U is a terrific bargain. The larger TH-58PZ800 also offers great value at about $2600.

42" Plasma Panasonic TH-42PZ800U $1799
46" Plasma Panasonic TH-46PZ800U $2206
50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1728 *** Hot Deal ***
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2607

Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-111FD Product of the Year

Sound & Vision Magazine has awarded the 50-inch Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-111FD plasma HDTV product of the year for 2008. Sound & Vision called the PRO-111FD "the best all-around TV that money can buy." We love the PRO-111FD but it's a bit pricey and the same great picture quality can be had at lower cost with the outstanding Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD.

Also honored in the video categories are the Sony XEL-1 11-inch OLED TV, Samsung’s LN55A950 55-inch LCD HDTV, the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U 50-inch plasma TV, Panasonic’s DMP-BD55 Blu-ray Disc player, the Sony Bravia KDL-55XBR8 55-inch LCD HDTV and Sony’s VPL-VW70 SXRD front projector.

The Pioneer PRO-111FD is the top-of-the-line 50-inch Pioneer Kuro. Outstanding picture quality including incredibly deep blacks is a hallmark of the Kuro line. Related models include the 50-inch PDP-5020FD, and the 60-inch PRO-151FD and PDP-6020FD. Sound & Vision prefers the Panasonic TH-50PZ800U to the Pioneer PDP-5020FD, but we rank the PDP-5020FD slightly higher.

The 50-inch Panasonic TH-50PZ800U is one of four THX-certified sets in the PZ800U line. The others are the 42-inch TH-42PZ800U, the 46-inch TH-46PZ800U, and the 58-inch TH-58PZ800U. Picture quality is uniformly excellent across the PZ800U line. In an interesting pricing quirk the current prices for the 50-inch and 58-inch sets are less than the smaller 46-inch model, and the 50-inch set is also priced below the 42-inch model! If you have the space go for the larger 50-inch TH-50PZ800U or 58-inch TH-58PZ800U.

Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-111FD $4399
Sony XEL-1 11-Inch OLED Digital TV $2499
Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1749 Hot Deal
Sony KDL-55XBR8 $6149
Panasonic DMP-BD55K Blu-ray Disc Player $399
Sony VPLVW70 Home Theater Front Projector $7299

Related Models:

50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2773 at Amazon
50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2499 at J&R
50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2799 at OneCall

60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3812 at Amazon
60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3999 at J&R
60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3999 at OneCall

42" Plasma Panasonic TH-42PZ800U $1779
46" Plasma Panasonic TH-46PZ800U $2608
50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1749 *** Hot Deal ***
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2694 *** Hot Deal ***

Panasonic THX Certified HDTV Price Drops

Great Prices on 50" and 58" Sets

Prices have dropped on the highly regarded THX HDTVs from Panasonic. CNet ranks these sets above the so-called World's Best HDTV, the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020FD and PDP-6020FD.

At Amazon the 50-inch TH-50PZ800U is currently available for $1859, less than the 46-inch TH-46PZ800 and about the same price as the 42-inch TH-42PZ800U. The 58-inch TH-58PZ800U is currently available for $2699, about the same price as the 46-inch TH-46PZ800U. At these prices the TH-50PZ800U and TH-58PZ800U are terrific bargains.

42" Plasma Panasonic TH-42PZ800U $1779
46" Plasma Panasonic TH-46PZ800U $2608
50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1859 *** Hot Deal ***
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2699 *** Hot Deal ***

For reference here are some prices on the Pioneer Kuro:

50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2382 at Amazon
50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2499 at J&R
50" Plasma Pioneer PDP-5020FD $2799 at OneCall

60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3999 at J&R
60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3869 at Amazon
60" Plasma Pioneer PDP-6020FD $3999 at OneCall

Amazon Top Selling Plasma HDTV

Great picture quality, low price, and free shipping make these the best selling plasma HDTVs at Amazon (January 2009) :

1. Panasonic TH-42PX80U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
2. Panasonic TH-42PZ85U 42-Inch Plasma HDTV
3. Panasonic TH-50PZ800U 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
4. Samsung PN50A550 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
5. Samsung PN50A450 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
6. Panasonic TH-50PZ85U 50-inch Plasma HDTV
7. Panasonic TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch Plasma HDTV
8. Panasonic TH-58PZ800U 58-Inch Plasma HDTV
9. Samsung PN50A650 50-Inch Plasma HDTV
10. Samsung PN42A450 42-Inch Plasma HDTV

All Amazon Top Selling Plasma HDTVs

Panasonic THX Certified HDTV Raise The Bar

Panasonic's highly anticipated THX Certified plasma displays are now widely available and they don't disappoint. Earlier this year CNet awarded the 50-inch Panasonic TH-50PZ800U their Editors' Choice among 50-inch plasma TVs, and now the newly released 58-inch version receives equally high praise, with an identical score and Editors' Choice award. Part of the reason has to do with color accuracy, for which the TV's THX Display Certification deserves credit. These THX certified sets look fantastic right out of the box.

If you're shopping for a large-screen plasma, the other high-end option is the 60-inch Pioneer PDP-6020FD. However it's significantly more expensive than the 58-inch Panasonic, and judging from our review of the 60 inch Pioneer, the Panasonic color accuracy is a huge plus. Couple that with the fact that the 58-inch Panasonic delivered even deeper black levels than the 60-inch Pioneer, the Editor's Choice and higher rating compared with the Pioneer is a no-brainer.

42" Plasma Panasonic TH-42PZ800U $1779 at Amazon
46" Plasma Panasonic TH-46PZ800U $2608 at Amazon
50" Plasma Panasonic TH-50PZ800U $1799 at Amazon Hot Deal
58" Plasma Panasonic TH-58PZ800U $2694 at Amazon Hot Deal