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150 of 159 found the following review helpful:
 DO NOT PURCHASE THIS TV - edit - be aware of this Jan 17, 2008
By Peter Bretherton
The Panasonic TH-58PZ700U is not only a great looking Plasma TV, but the picture on it is incredible. The remote control, besides not being backlit, is excellent in layout and functionality. It's great having the SD card slot, and although some people have complained about the sound, I've found it to be very good.
Why am I telling you NOT to buy such a wonderful television? Because it is being sold with a horrible defect. The internal power units go out. They just cease to function.
I have had my Panaonic for 5 days, and now it won't turn on. After doing some quick searching on the web, I discovered that this is an all to common issue.
Not a problem for me, because I'm taking it right back to Best Buy. But what would happen if it goes out in 13 months - one month over Panasonic's factory warranty. Well, according to Panasonic, who did admit that there is a problem, they will 'handle it on a case by case basis.' I asked why they just wouldn't warrant a bad power system for 5 years, which I believe is perfectly reasonable on a $3000+ television, and they told me that they couldn't commit to anything. Wow!!!
So to summarize. Panasonic is selling very expensive Plasma televisions with a known defect. They have several options. They could recall all the TV's and replace the power systems. They could just extend the warranties on that particular part of the set so that a mass recall wouldn't be necessary and which would probably save them money. Or, they can continue selling them, and fix the ones that fail within a year, and decide what to do about the rest later.
Because they chose option 3, I will not only be purchasing a different brand, but I will warn everyone via the web about this issue.
I tried to contact Panaonic Customer Relations to voice this concern and to find out if they are looking at it in more detail as these things continue to fail, but alas, there apparantly isn't a Customer Relations Department or they prefer to remain out of touch and unseen.
---------EDIT on 8/19/2008------------
Well, just as an update, I ended up deciding to give it another chance and exchanged it at Best Buy. Due to a few Best Buy mistakes, I didn't get my replacement for nearly 3 weeks; however, I ended up paying around $75 extra for the 5 year warranty.
This television is awesome. It's been 6 months since I received my replacement, and I'm still thrilled about it.
I'm not sure whether or not this issue has been totally resolved or if Panasonic has extended the power component's warranty, so I wouldn't recommend this television to friends. A tv this expensive and heavy shouldn't be a gamble.
I can say I absolutely love mine, and if I had to buy it over, I would. But only because I know about the issue and got the extended 5 year warranty.
If you get the 5 year warranty, it gets a 4 star rating from me. It would be 5 star if I felt the warranty wasn't a necessity.
------------ Edit on 01/31/2011 ---------------
Well, it's been nearly 3 years now. The TV hasn't had another power issue, and I'm still thrilled with it. I like it so much, I bought a 50" Panny Plasma for the bedroom. I still can't believe that Panasonic didn't have a better policy with a problem they acknowledged; however, I'm still a fan due to how great the pictures are on their sets.
39 of 39 found the following review helpful:
 Excellent PQ Jun 07, 2007
By C. L. Olson
"HD Geek"
I had originally bought the 50PZ700u and I loved it, but kept thinking I could go bigger so I got this one. It has a beautiful picture using a High-Def source and a very good picture using a standard def source. I'm viewing it from 13' away and have it hooked up to a regular DVD player, DirecTV HR10-250 HD Tivo and a PS3.
As I said, regular programming looks very good on this tv. I hadn't exptected much in this department, especially with a 58". I thought a 480i or 480p picture would look jaggy or blocky on a set with a 1920 x 1080 native resolution. The picture is as good as it was on my 35" Sony CRT.
But HD programming is where this unit really shines. Discovery HD, HDNET, etc all look amazing! And Motorstorm, the Gran Tourismo HD demo and POTC: DMC Blu Ray on the PS3 are mind blowing. I can't wait for DirecTV to launch that new satellite and add more HD programming!
I don't use the TV's built in tuner or the speakers (I run the audio through my Amp) so I can't comment on them. Some people who see this set in the store say it's too dim, but at home, with the settings as high as possible it's actually too bright.
My only gripe is that it only has 2 HDMI inputs. You can never have too many HDMI inputs these days. Other than that this TV is top notch, I highly recommend it.
44 of 45 found the following review helpful:
best tv on the market today Jun 08, 2007
By johnny di
"john"
as of right now this is by far the best tv on the market, plasma techonology beats out every other technology in the over 46 inch screen category and panasonic is the only company making a 1080p consumer model right now with a built in tuner and pedestal stand, I was one of the very first people to own this tv when it came out and it does not dissappoint, the picture quality is the best I've seen and SD programming looks very good, but this baby was born for blu-ray and when hooked up to a blu-ray player the images are ready to come out and grab you, it's like having a professional movie theatre in your house the picture is that good with blu-ray, if u want to mount this to a wall make sure you get a very good mount like maybe the sanus vmpl3, this mount can be installed with 3 studs on your wall for extra protection because this tv is heavy 140 lbs, the speakers are not that great but again this tv is for a home theatre set-up with a good a/v receiver capable of HDMI output, I'm using the sony dg1000 which works perfectly with this tv
26 of 27 found the following review helpful:
your search stops here Sep 07, 2007
By Doo Dah Man
I spent more than a year researching and looking at TVs. I read a million reviews and trolled cnet for hours and hours. This TV is the best TV out there at the $4k range. True the Pionner 1080p might be better - might - but, at this size, that's almost double the price. This TV is simply fantastic. The picture in HD is flawless and the pic in SD is good and is at least as good as tube TV (which you'll find is rather rare in cheaper plasmas). Motion is pristine. Colors are fantastic - from black to yellow, it handles them all perfectly. Handles glare well. The frame is beautiful black. Nothing but big bold picture to blow you away. Take the plunge! It's worth it.
16 of 17 found the following review helpful:
 Great TV - but a big Head's Up! on Amazon's "white glove" delivery! Dec 01, 2007
By JAL3
Delivery of my Panasonic TH-58PZ700U 58" 1080p Plasma HDTV, ordered and shipped from Amazon arrived 4 days in advance of its scheduled delivery. I can add nothing to the other reviews of the excellent Panasonic HDTV - it is simply amazing for this price point. HOWEVER, Amazon's "white glove" delivery - through the carrier Eagle - was unacceptable. The single Eagle delivery person refused to set the TV on its shipped pedestal and said that Eagle would not accept liability to be incurred by that basic set up. The "best he could do" was to set the TV (precariously!) on its styrofoam shipping inserts on my table top! A family member had ordered a Panasonic HDTV from Sears at a comparable price point. 2 Sears delivery personnel set up his TV on its included pedestal (wall mount, of course would be extra). By comparison, Amazon's "white glove" delivery was unacceptable on this delivery. The Eagle delivery person said his supervisors would not allow him to help further. He also indicated that other customers had been similarly misled by merchants about what was / was not included in Eagle's home delivery. So - it's a GREAT HDTV - but such unexpected, unacceptable, and risky delivery. Be ready to prop up your large TV if Amazon ships it by Eagle transit!
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