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Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P42S1 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

User Reviews about Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P42S1 42-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

This review is going to be biased.
Info: I live approx. 6 mi from the TV transmitters in my area.
Previous TV for comparison: JVC D-series 27" CRT w/ Insignia SD tuner box
Other equipment: B&W speakers, Pioneer Elite receiver, Oppo BluRay player
Tech level: High. I read AVSForum, listen to tech podcasts, and program computers for a living.

Also note, this is my first HDTV purchase, and I made some mistakes in the process, so I'll share them with you so that you can perhaps avoid them.

Advantages:
-The fact that you get a performance plasma for a low price means this unit is a great value. You'd be hard pressed to find another plasma that has the performance/price ratio this one does.
-It *is* a plasma. As such, you get spot-on motion resolution (very natural!), wide viewing angles, and good black levels. It produces a very nice, non-fatiguing picture, which many LCDs simply can't compete with, at or above this price point.
-Optical audio output works very well; it can even put out 2-channel audio from HDMI input sources out over optical.
-I thought I would hate the glass face (potentially reflective), but I found that if you don't have lights back where you sit, it actually brings the picture out and makes it look better.

Disadvantages:
-The color performance on this display is so-so. People, in general, tend to look pale and bland (too green), especially with DVD, SDTV material on TV after using a calibration disc. Out of the box it was too yellow. It's kinda boring to look at, perhaps like you're watching a lake with a mild algae infestation. Most of the Panasonic THX plasmas (G10, V10) above this model aren't this bad, so you may want to spend more if you don't like the color on the S1. Note: With truly HD or BluRay material, I've found the color doesn't bother me as much and I'm okay with it. I'm not sure why, maybe its the way the S1 does color conversion. In short, this HDTV cannot provide a picture that's remotely close to reference, even with significant tweaking. It's better than many of it's peers, but it still falls short.
-Calibration controls for this set are few. There is no 11-step gray scale adjustment, or any color management system. Because of this, you really can't fix the color decoding issues without expensive external hardware. Even the service menu controls are limited, which means even an ISF calibrator would be hard pressed to fix these problems.
-No VGA/PC input. Thought I wouldn't care too much about not having this, but discovered that I do. There are so many times where I wish I could hook up my laptop to my TV (streaming video, playing video games, etc) that I wish I had this. YMMV. I could get a VGA to HDMI adapter, but that actually costs more than moving to a 42" G10 with the VGA input.
-The ATSC tuner is very bare-bones. You can't see extended show information, what's coming up next, no guide or anything other than the title of the show from show metadata. The tuner is also not very sensitive, I find I need to tweak the antenna a bit more to keep the station coming in well. (I'm comparing to an Insignia SD tuner box I used previously; LG made it and use a similar ATSC tuner system in their TVs, I believe; much better IMHO).
-After I got it, and had it in the room, I realized that yes, I could have gone 50" and it would have made a big positive difference. If your'e hunting for a TV, you may want to think about getting one size bigger than the size you want.

Conclusion: while this display met my budget requirements, and while it is a pretty good display for the money, if you are kinda picky about picture quality you may be disappointed. I learned, after this purchase, that I should have saved a bit more and gone for a G10/V10, even if I had to mail-order it. I'll make a better decision next time. -- Good value, but there are a lot of areas for improvement

I bought the Panasonic after much research & comparison. I was waiting for the earlier issues of plasma TV's to be resolved. I knew that the color was more vibrant than any LCD I had ever seen, but was worried about all the things that would sour my eventual purchase. Price, viewing angle, power consumption, screen burn-in, heat, weight, contrast ratio, ease of operation, etc. As time passed one by one every concern I had about plasma was resolved to a more than acceptable level. The TV has the easiest set-up menu I have ever seen and within 20 minutes of dragging the box in the door I had assigned the TV inputs to my SAT HDMI, my Blu-Ray to another input, my outside antenna to but another, and was watching HDTV. If you are someone who isn't real handy with technical babel I highly recommend this TV. The picture is amazing, and I was very surprised to how well the 'on-board' speakers sound. It was a great deal, super fast delivery to my door by UPS, easy to set-up & use, and has been an absolute joy since I got it. If they had a sixth star I would rate it six out of six!

My son who has been leaning towards the new LED TV's came by to see mine and after about five minutes of being completely blown-away has since ordered a 58" Panasonic plasma for himself. The 2,000,000 -1 contrast ratio really makes a difference in the sharpness & the blacks etc. For fast moving sporting events this plasma is the best I have ever seen & I have been staring at plasmas for five years waiting for all their quirks to be improved. Amazing TV and better than the Samsung that cost a thousand dollars more. -- more than surprised

We aimed to buy a TV that offered the latest technology of interest to us and wouldn't be obsoleted anytime soon. This Panasonic is giving us just what we wanted. The picture quality is outstanding, it's viewable from the side, light from our sliding door doesn't create glare, etc. It can access Internet video, including Netflix. -- Thoroughly satisfied

I am really please with the Panasonic. I rated the sound 5 stars, but i have to point out that i have it connected to my sound system and not using the TV's sound. I didn't try it with direct hookup. With this hookup, i have theatre type sound.

The picture is really crisp and clear. The colors are vibrant. Hooked to cable using HD service, there is almost a 3D depth to the scenes. -- Great TV

This was our first flat panel and plasma TV. I checked it out at Best Buy to double-check what the actual picture looked like. This TV has an incredible HD picture! There are vivid and deep colors and little to no reflective glare that I read about in other reviews. I am more than satisfied this Panasonic model and am very glad I stuck to this model and a plasma set. -- Great way to begin my first plasma experience!