James Miller/Anyone else using a Panny 42PZ80 as a computer monitor

Alexrose1uk

Alexrose1uk

Alexrose1uk

Soldato
Joined
26 Apr 2004
Posts
9,784
Location
Milton Keynes
How have you found it?

Once used for several hundred hours, how have you found IR issues etc in general use?

I'm possibly able to afford one of these if I can still find one reasonably next week, however I don't want to spend the cash on it if I'm going to have major issues with the screen.
I'd been looking at the Plasma down to improved colour and blacks (and movement) compared to LCD in general.

General use'd be PC/360/PS3/HDDVD/Blu-Ray. 1080p is useful to me as that and 720p would consist of all my usage.
 
I'm using my TH42PZ85B as a monitor of sorts (its connected to my Media PC). I also have my PS3 connected up to it for Bluray, gaming, etc.

It's a great TV, and pretty sharp at 1080p though I find it a bit difficult to make out text at 1920x1080 sitting on my couch. By contrast I can read the screen fine using my 30" Dell @ 2560x1600. TVs don't have the same sort of dot pitch as proper PC monitors so I guess that's why there is a difference.

I'd definitely recommend it though - it's very vibrant, blacks are very nice, etc.
 
Durzel said:
I'm using my TH42PZ85B as a monitor of sorts (its connected to my Media PC). I also have my PS3 connected up to it for Bluray, gaming, etc.

It's a great TV, and pretty sharp at 1080p though I find it a bit difficult to make out text at 1920x1080 sitting on my couch. By contrast I can read the screen fine using my 30" Dell @ 2560x1600. TVs don't have the same sort of dot pitch as proper PC monitors so I guess that's why there is a difference.

I'd definitely recommend it though - it's very vibrant, blacks are very nice, etc.
Click to expand...

How have you found things like image retention in general usage, as thats my main worry (taskbars etc)? I'll only be sitting about 1.5-2m away so hopefully text will be readable :)
 
Last edited:
Well, I've only been using my MediaPC with it for about a week - with PS3 & Bluray obviously it's not an issue.

If I'm honest I've been a bit wary of using it as a PC monitor for too long because as you point out stuff like the taskbar would be in the same place on screen all the time.

I haven't got any image retention problems at the moment though.
 
Ah, thats perfect then, as 4-5hours is the most I'm likely to use it in one stretch with bars on the screen in the same places :) Cheers :D

Are you using those recommended settings floating around? (cinema etc?)
 
Last edited:
Durzel
If I'm honest I've been a bit wary of using it as a PC monitor for too long because as you point out stuff like the taskbar would be in the same place on screen all the time.
Click to expand...

set ya task bar to auto hide

adjust ya font size aswell
 
ive had no problems at all with mine :)

i do, however, use eco mode with the lowest settings i can get away with on the desktop. im still running my screen in and im not going to take any chances. plus it uses less juice :p when i stick on a movie or play a game i switch it back to normal mode :)
 
Good to hear then, might just have to grab one of them before they completely dissapear (or the sister PZ82 range, my understanding is it's all black rather than having the silver bar, but a little more expensive than the cheapest price I've seen for the PZ80 - gutted I missed the JL offers :() then! From what I've already heard, I can't see the new 1080p sets being massively better (unfortunately) and it looks like they're going to be out of my price bracket given the prices of the X10 range in comparison to current sets (same/slightly higher than the current PX).

I wasn't likely to use the screen at full blast anyway, was going to give those much touted cinema mode settings a chance, and I can't stand dynamic...ever. :)

How do you find reading text on the PZ, and how far do you sit? :)
 
I used to use my Samsung 32" as a monitor for a few months as I had other stuff to buy and couldn't get a proper one. It was actually not bad as a temporary measure but will never be as good as the real deal for me!

ps good for games, but terrible at browsing :)
 
Your 32" may well have been a 720p model though, so not as clear as a 1080p model for text, my current 32" has the same issues, hence I'm particularly looking for the view from people who've used one of these Pannys :D

Thanks anyway :)
 
text is too small to read comfortable at 8ft from my 50pz, but @ 768p it is very usable :)

768p




1080p




thats about as good as i can take the photos in low light without a flash im afraid :p
 
Last edited:
Haha thanks for the pictures. Will see what text is like when I get it here, then, looking again I may only be a 5/6ft from the 42" so given my eye sight isn't horrendous (yet) I may find it useable, will have to see.

At worst I keep my 24" LCD, I'd rather consolidate if I can get away from it though!
 
I'm using a PZ46 as a pc monitor, only been running it in for about 100 hours so far. I've had no problems at all with image retention and it's crystal clear at 1920x1080. Picture quality on x264's and also for gaming is incredible, I can honestly say except for Pioneer this is the finest tv i've ever seen. Beats any LCD monitor hands down, no matter what the cost, and as long as you're sensible i'm sure burn-in isn't a problem.
 
Just to add, if you adjust the font DPI to 120 and increase text size it's perfectly readable from 8ft away. That's roughly how far away my 46 is and it looks great, even though I am short sighted. I can't stress enough though the lack of motion blur, fantastic picture quality and great colour really makes them worthwhile as a monitor, just use a screensaver if left for a while :)
 
It was more taskbars that worried me, but if I'm reasonable on settings I guess it seems IR (rather than burn) isn't too bad once run in :)

Best prices on the 42 version I've seen are 750 from Richer Sounds, 799 atm from John Lewis and 770 from Laskys (hooray for now being able to talk about tv sellers; I dont think these guys are currently selling the same items as OcUK, feel free to edit if I've missed any :))
Need to see who has stock and if I can find anything better though. I could have tried to get one reserved from Costco when they did the offer, but 46" is just too big for my room.

Anyone else know any better prices (providing it wont break forum rules) :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom