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By Philip Wong, CNET Asia
Aug 25, 2008

Panasonic's latest midrange plasma TV, the Viera TH-42PV80, improves upon its PV70 predecessor with vastly upgraded features. For Japanese panel supporters, this is also the only 2008 entry in the market at the moment, since Pioneer and Hitachi have yet to announce their latest offerings. Here's a quick run down on some of the pros and cons of the new Viera compared to the Samsung Series 4 and LG PG60.

Upside: As with every new release, Panasonic will overhaul the TV's underlying panel and processor, and the TH-42PV80 is no exception. Beneath the newly designed "horizontal arch" styling chassis is a G11 plasma panel. This 11th generation model is at step-up from the G10, capable of delivering 50 percent higher native contrast (15,000:1) and 67 percent longer panel life (100,000 hours). The former should translate to deeper blacks, while the latter offers an estimated 30-year service life for daily 8-hour usage. Lastly, there's the 1080p-tuned V-Real 3 video engine.

The onboard JPEG playback function, once an elusive feature of its premium Viera TVs, has also trickled down to the PV80. Implemented via a built-in SDHC card slot, the JPEG playback enables direct photo viewing without relying on an external media box. The choice of SDHC media over USB is a tradeoff between faster file loading time and storage media compatibility. This is somewhat a minor handicap in our opinions, considering the popularity of this format in mainstream laptops, digital and video cameras from most key vendors.

Another notable and timely upgrade went to the HDMI 1.3 ports. Not only are there three HDMI inputs, these have been further brought up to speed by movie-based 1080p24 video handling. Optimized for Blu-ray players such as its DMP-BD30, 24-frame playback eliminates an unnecessary video-to-film frame rate conversation which has a tendency of introducing artifacts. For those who own a suite of Panasonic home A/V products, the TH-42PV80 sports the latest Viera Link that allows one-remote operations of compatible home theaters, DVD recorders and other devices.

Downside: There are two particular issues that bug us when it comes to this Asian model. The omission of a 100Hz frame-rate doubling motion enhancement, as seen in the Australia's PX80 offering, is a huge disappointment. While it's understandable for Panasonic to go without a digital tuner due to the availability of the broadcasts, it's another thing altogether to shortchange the local consumers. And then, there's the 30,000:1 native contrast of Samsung's PS42A450P1 and LG's 42PG60UR which dwarf this Viera's 15,000:1 rating. These may just be a tad too much to compromise for S$100 (US$66.92) savings in the panel's retail price.

Outlook: At S$2,899 (US$1,940.04), the Panasonic Viera TH-42PV80 is currently one of the most affordable midrange 42-inch plasmas. The integrated JPEG playback and 24-frame playback are added icings to spice up the panel's appeal, though competitors are keeping up with innovative features such as 3D gaming support and the "sheet of glass" design.

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