Panasonic Viera TH-46PZ85U 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Panasonic has been making big strides in the plasma HDTV market thanks to a rising popularity in its Viera line-up of feature-packed televisions.

The 46-inch model TH-42PZ85U is a fine example, delivering specs that just a few years ago would have cost you a small fortune to bring into your home. In comparison vs. top plasma from leaders like Pioneer and Samsung, the TH-42PZ85U more than holds its own and seems to deliver outstanding value for a reasonable price.

Here's a quick features review of the TH-42PZ85U:

With 1920 x 1080 pixels of resolution, the TH-42PZ85U displays full HD, meaning you will see every line of detail in the high definition content of sources like Blu-Ray discs and the latest videogaming consoles such as PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

The TH-42PZ85U boasts a stunning spec of 1,000:000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, which is a measurement of the deepest blacks and brightest white tones a television is capable of producing. This specificaiton is up several-fold from Panasonic's plasma models from just a few years back.

The TH-42PZ85U also includes the unique Viera Link HDAVI Control setup, which allows you to control all your AV equipment with the press of a single button on your remote control.

Via an integrated SD memory card slot, you can view your own home photos on the TH-42PZ85U through the GalleryPlayer software built into the set.

The TH-42PZ85U also features a color spec called x.v. Color, which is the latest standard for color on HD televisions. x.v. Color will display 1.8 x more reds, greens, and blues vs. traditional RGB-based TVs.

You'll watch your favorite films like never before thanks to the TH-42PZ85U's Progressive Cinema Scan (2:3 pulldown). This technology converts movies from the 24 frames per second to a format that displays fluid, more film-like movement to create the ultimate home-theatre viewing experience.

Of course, you should give this or any other review only a certain amount of weight toward your purchase decision. Before you buy the TH-42PZ85U or any other HDTV be sure to find out what other buyers think about it after putting it to the test in their own homes. Read user reviews for the TH-42PZ85U at Amazon.com.

Compare the Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ85U to these big-screen Plasmas: