I've had my Panasonic Viera 42" HDTV for about a year now.  It's the nicest TV I've owned and my first larger flatscreen model.  The TV works great and I mainly use it just as a TV and watch a lot of blu-rays as well.  I don't use it as a computer monitor, so I have nothing to add about that.  The picture is flawless from all angles in my living room.  There are plenty of options in the custom menus so that you can set up a very nice quality picture.  I think the remote control is desinged well, features are very easy to access.  I also have a Panasonic blu-ray player, and both remotes control either device, though not all of the features work with both remotes.  I like this Panasonic so much, that I'm actually now shopping for a 50" upgrade, and will be moving this 42" TV to another room.  I have loaded a memory card with pictures from my digital camera and played them on the TV using the Viera Image Viewer program.  The slideshow looks wonderful.  I think you'll be happy with a Panasonic HDTV.

SDkate

La Palma, CA

This Plasma TV has to currently be among, if not the best value in any Tv you could buy. This is 720P but that doesn't mean you can't watch Blu-rays on it. At 42" a Blu-ray may look marginally better on the same size 1080P set. As you go larger the difference is more notable. These newer plasmas don't really have issues with burn-in as the really early plasmas had. And unlike LCDs you want be noticing motion lag on sports events and fast action movies since it has a 600 Hz sub-foeld drive, or will experience dead or stuck pixels. Note that this particular model does not have an anti glare shield, so if you'll be watching in a room with much ambient light you might consider one of the Panasonic models that come with the anti glare shield. This TV has these inputs: 2 HDMI, 2 component, 2 composite, 1 digital audio output. It also has one of the highest contrast ratios in the business with 2,000,000 to 1. The setup is easy through the remote control. Plasma is the way to go and Panasonic ranks at the top.

conehead433

Thomasville, GA

We have had this TV for over six months now and couldn't be happier. Initially, I was looking at this TV and the Samsung for around the same price, but the colors looked better on Panasonic. The picture looks great, It was easy to set up and there were no problems at all. I got it working with my Harmony remote easily. Do note that the screen does have some glare reflection from room lights at certain angles, so make sure you position it correctly after checking where you sit and where the lights would be. One con would be lesser number of composite and HDMI ports on this TV, but the picture quality makes up for it. It is 720p only and not 1080p, but it doesn' tmatter if you are watching this from 8-10 feet away. You will not notice the difference. Plasma is the way to go, and you will noice that there is no ghosting affect during fast action scenes. the Samsung had that problem which made me decide on this. The 720p resolution on this plasma is perfect for standard HDTV viewing.

Something00

South Plainfield, NJ

The Panasonic - TC-P42C2 42 inch Plasma TV is very high in its class. Its picture is perfect, very excellent. When buying, instructions and all connections to it are very easy to figure out. Also, Panasonic offers great customer service, very professional help. The price is another thing worth looking out for. The cost is not too great very affordable to most people, but this will also depend on where you plan to buy your new panasonic Plasma TV. The colors on this TV are perfect, like never seen before. This TV can plug in your computer, vuew pictures and other great features. First time buyers will be very satisfied if this TV is purchased. Makes an excellent gift for birthdays, and other holidays. The only negative thing I find is that Blu-ray will not really be a great fit for this TV, because it is not 1080p, but other than that, it is still very clear and great quality that is hard to find in other TV's.

katiepl18

River Grove, IL

We had been watching and waiting for tv prices to drop. When prices finally fell to a more comfortable lower price, I dug in and started researching brands. The Panasonic rated right up top. I was kinda surprised but in almost every publication of electronics reviews I looked at, the Panasonic was at the top. We have had ours for almost a year and it still works and looks like brand new. It is so light. The picture is amazing. The colors are so accurate and the black colors are true black, not gray like most plasma tv's. We can view our pictures on the tv if we wanted. Installation and hookup was so simple. I like that the power button is on the front panel at the bottom, much more convienient than feeling along the side to power it on/off yet you can't notice it because it blends in perfectly. The channel buttons are on the side, but because we have digital cable it stays on the same channel anyway. Set up of the tv is so easy. It looks so great in our family room since plasma tv's work best in dimmer lighting. The sound goes straight out the back so you have to make sure it is placed against something to deflect the sound outward or hook it up to a surround system. We haven't had any problems with our Panasonic 42" Plasma TV. I am very happy with our purchase and would recommend it to anyone.

BamaMomma68

Cottondale, AL

I have just purchased this television a few weeks ago. The color is great the pictures are sharp and the sound quality without the surround sound is excellent. There are plenty of ports for extras and it can easily be hooked up to the internet. This is my first flat screen television. We had a 60 inch projection screen that finally died. I think my husband was wishing for it so he could get this television. We have completely stepped into this century now. The guide book is easy to understand and set up was a breeze. There are many FAQ's and Troubleshooting tips that are also very easy for the average Joe to figure out.  It has a nice clean design and fits well in my décor. It has a 720p HD Resolution, 720 lines of moving picture resolution and weighs about 60 pounds and a VIERA Image Viewer for JPEG image slideshows directly from an SD memory card. This is a really cool feature for showing pictures of your latest trip or the newest addition to the family.

ikindubetter

Kent , WA

I've had it for about 3 months and so far have had no issues. The picture quality is amazing for the price and the size of the screen is truly a thing of beauty compared to my previous tv, which was only about 26 inches. I use this to play ps3 and xbox 360 as well as for watching movies. There are definitely better TV's out there, but you'd have to pay a lot more to have any significant reason to purchase that one over this. When I first got it I was surprised to find that there was no manual in the box. I looked and looked, but I just couldn't find one. I ended up having to go online and downloading a manual for the tv to see how to operate the menus. I think this was simply an error at the factory or maybe the box was opened and someone took it out because they didn't have one. The remote that comes with this TV is also very sturdy and much better than the one I had on my other TV. All-in-all, this is a fine TV and worthy of your purchase.

RivetCityRampage

Costa Mesa, CA

I spent hours and hours researching tvs when my family made the decision to upgrade to a flat screen.  I finally decided on this one based on the fact that it was the right size, the right quality, and had the best reviews for the price.  It's been over two years, and I have to say that I've yet to be disappointed.  The picture quality is outstanding.  I love how clean and crisp the images are.  It's almost as though I'm right there, where ever "there" is.  The sound is great.  Clean, clear.  I do wish that it had that really neat feature of lowering the volume automatically when commercials came on, but I can do that with the remote, too.  This tv is heavy.  We ended up setting it on a console instead of wall hanging so I could have a place for cable boxes, bluray & such, but I would say that if you do decide to hang it have it done professionally.  Overall, this tv has been well worth the money, and I'm looking forward to getting a larger size one so I can move this from the family room to the master bedroom!

KendraMarino

Rochester, MN

When my old television broke I was very upset because I thoughtthat any screen I could afford would be a downgrade from the television my parents gave me when they upgraded to HD in there house.  I am happy to say that Panasonic exceeded my expectations with this 42" model. I find that during the day, there is some glare from the windows on the television's screen however it does not make it hard to see.  So while slightly annoying it's not enough to make me hate the television. The picture quality is amazing and it had enough spots so that I could plug everything in at once.  That was my biggest complaint about my old television because I would always have to switch wires around for my game systems. The salesman showed me a feature in the settings menu that "wipes" the screen and he recommended using it after I play video games.  He explained that this feature was added to the television to prevent burn in which was a major complaint of older plasma televisions.  When I first turned Rockband off, I did notice the pattern still on the screen but after the ten minute wipe it was completly gone.

makingcentsofit

Whitehall, PA

I love my new Panasonic 42" TV. My old tv lasted about a year before burning out and would cost as much as a new one to fix, so I bought a new one and a better brand for sure. I spend a lot more time watching tv in the living room now that I get to watch everything on a huge tv with quality picture. My boyfriend loves to play his video games on it and is extremely excited.

kellyan

Blythewood, SC