Panasonic TC-P42U1 Plasma TV Review

Panasonic is the name of the company that decided to take over the market of plasma TVs in 2009. This would have not been possible, unless the manufacturer had thought of complying with each and every request coming from potential buyers, no matter the size of their wallet. This is how competitive low entry products entered the market, and claimed it for Panasonic, and Panasonic TC-P42U1 is just one 42 inch plasma TV released this year, to justify the company’s greed for market share. Rest assured that for a Panasonic plasma TV, the model reviewed here has all the basics and even a bit more, all at a price that would have you take a second look to see what the fuss is all about. If you do not intend to spend a lot, then looking for a low entry plasma seems like a good idea.

Features

• G12 Progressive HD Plasma Display Panel (an older type of panel. Mid-end and high-end series use the new, improved NeoPDP panel)
• Resolution: 1080p
• Contrast ratio: 30,000:1 (native)
• Shades of gradation: 5120

Performance

Quality can never be neglected entirely, no matter how cheap a product gets. With Panasonic TC-P42U1, you don’t need to, as its overall performance sits well with the price tag it carries, and with your wallet, too. Despite being a low entry product, this model has 1080p resolution and a contrast ratio that brings value, so all in all, its performance is superior to Panasonic TC-P42C1.

Black Levels

Picture quality seldom relies on the performance one plasma TV sports in the black levels area. This is where usually plasma TVs are better than LCD TVs, that had yet to conquer the gap (except for some high-end LED LCD TVs). Considering it’s class, Panasonic TC-P42U1 is more than decent when it comes to black levels, because of the Infinite Black technology, implemented by the company on all the models released this year. With this technology, black is black indeed, and the level of shadow detail will take your breath away.

Colors

Unfortunately, Panasonic TC-P42U1 is not appointed with the coveted THX certification as that would have increased the price quite a bit, and there is little you can do about tweaking the colors if you don’t like them. Most basic colors look crisply clear, but green has some problems that may get on your nerves. Skin tones seem to receive a bit of green tint, so, if you know yourself to be a pretentious consumer, be aware of this aspect before taking the money out of your pocket.

Video Processing

While it says that Panasonic TC-P42U1 has 1080p resolution, you should know that the model actually works with only 900 lines of moving resolution. It may not mean much, as this plasma TV does a pretty swell job with all that is deemed high definition content, including Blu-Ray discs, and this has got to stand for something. Of course, to be fair here, the performance of the video processing system is not that great when compared to the mid-end models from Panasonic, Samsung or LG.

Standard Definition (SDTV) Performance

Standard definition content is not a domain of excellence for Panasonic TC-P42U1. As a matter of fact, all Panasonic plasma TV models are only average performers in this area (even the high-end series). The overall quality of the picture, when you watch regular TV programs, or DVDs, has to suffer, by becoming too soft, and not so free of jaggies. While Panasonic TC-P42U1 makes it to graduation with this one, no better than mediocre is the word to describe its SD performance.

Conclusion

If you stop and look twice at Panasonic TC-P42U1, then it has to be because of the price. Luckily, there is more to it than an affordable price, and, by that, we mean a pretty decent picture quality, 1080p resolution, and good black levels.