Manufacture and Handling

Casing:
The front side of the TH-46 PZ 80 E is simple, but thoroughly elegant. The bottom is dominated by a curved silver strip, and the rest by a broad, high-gloss black frame. The screen visibly reflects ambient light, but not excessively - the latest glossy laptop monitors are worse in this respect. The loudspeakers are hidden behind a fine grille just above the silver strip.

In the middle there is a flap covering the front AV inputs, headphone socket and SD card reader. This connections panel is significantly more accessible than on many other flat-panel TVs, where these connections are placed on the side for design reasons.

The supplied pedestal is solid, and allows rotation by around 10 degrees in each direction. The TV itself does not have a swivel connection; instead there is a turntable mounted almost invisibly below the pedestal.

The back of the unit has a much chunkier look to it and looks technical, like the back of 1970s HiFi components, for example. The connections are easily accessible and not hidden beneath parts of the casing.

Those wishing to wall-mount the TV should be sure to leave enough distance from the wall - as with most flat-panels - in case cables need to be plugged in or removed. On the top side of the casing there are four virtually silent cooling fans.

Handling:
The Panasonic comes in a practical, reusable box, which is held together by four plastic clips. Plasma TVs are heavier than their LCD rivals, so two people are required to be able to unpack and mount this set. To tighten the screws for the pedestal, the user will need a Phillips (crosshead) screwdriver.