Archive for the ‘Panasonic TV’ Category

Panasonic TC P58V10 – 58″ plasma TV – widescreen – 1080p

Written by Best Buy HDTVs on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 in Panasonic TV.
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Panasonic TC P58V10

I’ve had this set for about a month now. It is a fantastic plasma display. As far as I’m concerned it’s probably the best current HDTV available because a) Pioneer Kuros are no longer being made, and b) LCDs don’t compare to a good plasma. The resolution and clarity are superb, the colors are extremely accurate in THX mode, the Warm 2 color temp preset is reasonably accurate right out of the box, and it has great contrast. Picture uniformity is stellar as is overall picture geometry. The 24p/96 Hz option is great as this maintains the proper film cadence (as opposed to 60 Hz) but does not introduce visible flicker (like the 48 Hz option). When the set is fed a good 1080p signal, the image is phenomenal.

So why only 4 stars? Ironically (for a plasma) it’s the black level. When the image has mixed bright and dim areas, the blacks look spectacular…the contrast is great. However, on a full field black signal, the best this display can do is a dark gray. Luckily, low contrast material doesn’t usually make up most of a movie (Dark City being an exception) so this isn’t too bothersome but the overall full field black level could definitely be better. If you already own a fixed pixel display (other than a Kuro or a local-dimming LCD) you’re probably already used to this but I had a CRT RPTV before this and nothing compares to the black levels on those…black is BLACK (not gray). However, everything else about this TV blows my old CRT out of the water (including black levels on medium to high contrast images).

I got a sweet deal for this set on Amazon when it popped up one afternoon for about $600 less than the usual retail price. I understand they are hard to come by but they are worth every penny. The THX mode, fully adjustable Custom mode, and 24p/96 Hz option are worth the upgrade over the G or S series, IMO.

***Feb. 9, 2010 Follow up:

Still no problems with rising black levels (yet). Have over 600 hours on set. 0 IRE window measures 0.009 ftL. Will update if this changes.

Reviewed by : Robi1138,   Dec 27, 2009

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Panasonic TC P65V10 – 65″ plasma TV – widescreen – 1080p (FullHD) – HDTV

Written by Best Buy HDTVs on Sunday, February 21st, 2010 in Panasonic TV.
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Panasonic TC P65V10

Let’s start by asking why you want this tv? LCD tv’s are lighter, use less energy, costs have come way down, no screen burn in to worry about. However, Plasma tv’s are still cheaper, have greater viewing angles, and produce vastly better picture quality. LCD’s have come a long way, but they can not reproduce the deep, rich blacks of a plasma. I waited thru a back-order status to get this. Everything I read said that the Pioneer Elite is the best plasma you can buy(for $7000!). Not wanting to spend that, the second best was supposedly this tv. However, I still would not pay $4000. That’s why I was shocked to see that my local big-box retailer had it for $2900!! For that it’s worth every penny. LCD tv’s produce pictures that are bright, crisp, and sharp. Well, I don’t like that. Real life is not sharp and crisp, but soft and textured. The picture produced by LCD’s seems fake to me. Most often, you’ll find LCD’s displaying animated films in store demo mode. The reason is b/c animated films are supposed to be sharp and creased and bright, and are good matches for LCD’s. I like films, and plasma’s do a much better job displaying them. So, why should you buy this model, and not a lower model? What are the main differences? Well, this model is capable of displaying 1080P 24fps(frames per second) at 24hz(the refresh rate of the pic), lower models do not have this capability. What this means, is that it is a perfect match for Blu-ray. Most films are shot in 24fps 24hz. If the tv can’t display that, it must “convert” the signal to it’s native resolution to display the film. That can mean less smooth motion, and can introduce “noise” into the picture. Broadcast tv doesn’t run at 1080P 24 fps, only Blu-Ray films. So, this tv is for serious movie buffs only who will be playing plenty of Blu-Ray films. If you only want to watch tv, or dvd, you can easily get a lower model, such as the G10. This tv is not for the tech inept. It is loaded with features, and is capable of so many adjustments that non-pros can easily get lost. The remote is pathetic. It’s non-universal, and won’t control any other components, unless they are also Panasonic, and have the proprietary Viera Link. For a tv this expensive, it’s expected you’ll have a universal remote. Only the Vol and Chan buttons are backlit. There are 6 “modes” to watch. Standard, Game, Vivid, Studio-Reference, THX, and Custom. I use Studio-Ref, as I find THX too sepia toned, Standard too washed out, VIVID and Game too bright(tho Vivid is useful for brightly lit rooms). There is a C.A.T.S system, which automatically adjusts brightness depending on ambient lighting. I leave this off. You’d think that in bright rooms it would get brighter, but it actually gets dimmer?! These days, plasma’s are less susceptible to burn-in, but jic, there’s 2 modes of anti-image retention. You can have a scrolling bar go across the tv, or have a “random pixel orbiter” to help. There’s an eco-energy saving mode, which puts a timer on the tv to turn-off if there’s no signal for a certain amount of time. You can set different levels of block noise and mosquito noise reduction. You can set different black levels from dim to bright, and there are 2 different sizes for HD. Sometimes, broadcast tv has digital info on the screen edges that show up as a “crawl” on the edge. Adjusting the size can eliminate that. There are multiple audio settings as well. There’s an automatic volume control that keeps the volume at the same level(sometimes commercials are louder-this prevents that). There’s also a simulated 3d sound field. Let’s face it tho, if you buy this, it’s expected you’ll have a surround set-up, and not rely on the tv’s speakers. There’s plenty of inputs;4 HDMI(including 1 on the side for ease in wall-mounting) PC inputs, sd card input, and plenty of analog. The worst con of this tv is reflection. This tv is supposed to have an anti-glare screen, but even when my small 25 watt lamp is on, I can see it reflected on the screen. Otherwise, the picture is outstanding. There is superb black level performance, great color quality, and smooth motion. With my Oppo BDP83, the picture is stunning. With regular tv, there is still false-contouring artifacts aplenty(best way to describe this is seeing “rings” of distortion when watching, say, a light in a fog bank). Watching HD Theater, a 1080i channel, the picture is amazing. There is very little “noise”, colors are accurately rendered, and there are deep, rich blacks. I recommend this to anyone who wants the best of what’s currently available. That means 1080P Blu-Ray movies, and HD TV, and surround sound with universal remote. If you just want regular dvd, and lots of TV, go with the G10 model, and save money. Oh, and I will definitely be having an ISF tech calibrate this, as it has so many adjustments that even a techno-phile like me is a bit overwhelmed.

Reviewed by : G. Ross,   Jan 9, 2010

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Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Written by Best Buy HDTVs on Thursday, February 11th, 2010 in Panasonic TV.
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Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1

Pros
-good quality IPS panel, a superior LCD technology generally used in just a few premium computer monitors. Panasonic, NEC, and Apple are among the only manufacturers who guarantee IPS panels. Few other TV makers use them and even when they do, companies such as Samsung, Dell, LG have been known to swap them for inferior cheaper panels after initial positive reviews are published.
-less than a single frame of input lag with progressive sources, and a good quality de-interlacer which adds merely a single frame of lag, making this one of the best gaming TVs for ANY price.
-horizontal and vertical viewing angles are nearly as good as CRT and plasma, no color shifting
-saturated and accurate color (when calibrated), crisp and bright, no banding of gradients, no loss of detail in shadows or highlights, extremely rare for an affordable television
-S-Video, Component, Composite, and 3 HDMI inputs, both digital and analog audio outputs
-1920×1080 signal can be displayed 1:1 with no cutting off of the edges, such as from a PC with a DVI-HDMI cable
-a wide variety of VGA input timings are supported

Cons
-VGA input resolution limited to 1280×1024
-diagonal viewing turns blacks gray (just make sure the TV is placed at eye level to get the ideal wide viewing angles)
-the speakers are somewhat weaker than other similar TVs
-only Cinema mode (with brightness at 50 and Contrast at 100) has reasonably accurate color, the other modes make color changes that are not user accessible.
-fluorescent backlight gives slightly bluish “Normal” color temp, “Warm” looks best
-the black levels are good enough, but not remarkable
-colored text is slightly fuzzy even at 1:1 pixel resolution due to subpixel font rendering techniques of OSX and Windows (still readable and better than turning subpixel smoothing off, but this TV is not ideal for use as a full time web/productivity computer monitor, it is perfect for a media PC however)

Reviewed by : Miles Jacob,   Jan 29, 2010

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Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P50G10 50-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV

Written by Best Buy HDTVs on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 in Panasonic TV.
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Panasonic VIERA G10 Series TC-P50G10

I was concerned with a few things when buying a big screen tv.
1. Do I have to change my cable service – no you don’t. I kept my basic cable and got a number of channels in 1080i and 720p. You just have to run the normal set up of letting the tv search for channels which took about 10- to 15 minutes or longer if I remember.
2. I hate the complexity of using some set ups with cable boxes and complex remotes etc. I ran the cable right into the tv and it’s so easy to use my wife has no problem at all even with the viera cast and renting movies etc.
I have a blu ray player and an older dvd and vcr combo hooked up. We record shows on the vcr and they’re watchable. We also have everything hooked up to a monster
home theatre surge protector which works great and even cleans up the signal.
3. was worried about standard definition tv and if it would be watchable – no problem the 50g does a great job with sd tv channels
4. I have a small room and wanted to use the sound on the tv – for us it works great. If we had a big room we may have considered a surround speaker system but the sound on this is decent.
5. what size tv to get. we sit 8-9 feet away and though a 50 might be too big – no way, if anything could have gone a bit larger. If you’re watching blu ray or HD tv then you could go up to 65 but with sd tv 50 is a good size for 8-9 feet away.

What I like about this set is the naturalness of the picture. It is crystal clear and looks and feels as though you are there. I never really thought of Panasonic for a TV but this may be the best on the market. No motion blur at all even with THX mode. I’ve seen so many lcd tv’s at friends and they pop with color and contrast but they just don’t look natural and after awhile are a bit hard to watch. They also still have problems with motion blur.

I find no need to have this set professionally calibrated as a few tweaks to suit your taste and the picture is as Panasonic describes – STUNNING! Don’t forget, it depends on the source of your video. If watching a SD tv stations then it’s ok. If watching a 1080i station it’s incredible, blu ray – unbelievable. If you press ‘info’
on the remote you can see the type of resolution you’re watching.

We’ve rented a number of movies with amazon and very easy. Sometimes the picture just stops which is a pain and you should expect that if renting over the internet. I wish they would get netflix on the viera cast.
The weather on viera cast is helpful and you can put 5 or 6 different locations in to see what’s happening at friends and family far away.

I have the bd60 blu ray player by panasonic and it is outstanding. Regular dvd look great and blu ray is just out of this world. clarity, detail, naturalness of picture is stunning.

We’ve had the set about 2 months and I wanted to wait to write a review. We did the break in period and kept the color, contrast, sharpness and brightness at around 20 to 30 and varied it a bit. you’re suppose to do this for about 200 hours of use.

I found the best time to buy a tv on amazon is about 2 to 3 months before thanksgiving for some reason.

I think the g series is outstanding in every way. I checked with consumer reports and they were helpful and stated which sets had good sound. Sound can very with different sizes in the same series. These sets were rated as very good.

Don’t hesitate to buy this tv – don’t know how much better the picture can get. We have no problem with brightness at all and the colors are just spot on. If the sun is shining directly on the screen it effects the picture, and we have to shut the curtain, but we don’t seem to have any problems with glare other than that. While watching some blu rays, you feel like you’re in the picture or actually there on scene. If you want to wait till the new models come out, keep you’re eye on panasonic and read the reviews in cnet and consumer reports. I’d be happy to answer any questions if I can – just put them in comments.

Reviewed by : Jack “love a great gadget”,   Jan 25, 2010

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Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L26X1 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

Written by Best Buy HDTVs on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 in Panasonic TV.

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Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L26X1

We have a 50″ Sony SXRD Projection TV in which we paid over $5,000 for including the stand! I love the TV but when your Electricity bill is over $300.00, you need to find ways of cutting down on the utilities. Besides that, this TV needs to have its projection lamp replaced once a year at the cost of over $300! Even at discount places, this lamp is still over $250! Think about replacing that lamp every year. In no time, you would have spent enough to purchase a brand new 40 – 50 inch LCD TV. This Panasonic TV is not only smaller but Star Energy rated, so that should save some on the energy cost.

In the bedroom was an old Toshiba 13″ CRT type TV and watching movies on it wasn’t much fun, so what better time to replace the bedroom TV. Since I’m retired and have a limited income, my budget was under $350 and this fits the budget perfectly.

I read somewhere that the size of the TV one should buy should be based on the distance (in inches) from the TV to where you’ll be sitting; divided by 2.5. After measuring the distance, I came up with 80″, divided by 2.5 and it comes out to 32 inches. A 32″ TV would have been perfect but too big for the stand I wanted it to sit on, so I settled for this TV and I’m a happy camper! Besides, it would have been beyond my budget! I do wonder however if this is just another advertising ploy to sell you a larger unit? I think that dividing the distance by 3 works out just as well.

In comparison, the Sony has a softer smoother image while the picture on this TV is more vivid and has more contrast. Having worked at a large Electronic Store, I have noticed that most people prefer a brighter more contrasting image when it comes to TVs and monitors. I still prefer the Sony because the picture (to me) is a bit more realistic but that’s just a minor complaint.

One concern was choosing between a 1080P and 720P monitor. But from what I’ve been told, it makes a difference on a larger TV (40″ or more), but not so much with the smaller screens. I tend to agree with that since it’s all about the number of pixels (dots), the distance between each pixel and their size. Have you ever noticed on the old CRT TV’s that the smaller the TV, the better the picture quality? That’s because (without getting too technical) there’s a set number of pixels horizontally and vertically on a CRT, and the smaller and closer the pixels are, the better the image. On the smaller screen size, the pixels are smaller and closer together which makes the images clearer. The number of pixels does make a difference, but only to a certain extent. It depends on the area to be filled. On this size TV, the 720P works very well and you won’t see a major difference if it had 1080P.

Another concern was whether to purchase a new DVD player. Hooking up an old standard DVD player to an HDTV didn’t make any sense. So I had to consider a Blu Ray or an up-converting DVD player. That was an easy decision since we have about 2000 standard DVD’s. Replacing all those with the Blu Ray equivalent would get costly (about 10-20 grand), so an up converting DVD player was the obvious choice

So I purchased the Sony HDMI DVP NS710H up-converting player, and combined with this TV, works great! The picture is stunning and I couldn’t be happier. No, it’s not quite as good as having Blu Ray, but it does improve the image of a standard DVD considerably. However, the up-conversion only works if you hook it up via an HDMI cable. So please be aware of that!

You can hook your PC video output to this T.V. via a 15 pin VGA cable and the image looks fairly decent, but you may have to adjust the Horizontal and the Vertical positions on the TV, and the resolution on your graphics card as well. The native resolution for this T.V. is 1366 x 768, but you can try the different resolutions that your graphics card has to offer and find one to your liking. The process is fairly simple if you have the right cables and a 15 pin VGA output plug on your PC. However some of the newer graphics cards only have DVI outputs, so you will have to get a DVI to VGA converter. Right now, I have this set up to output my Netflix movies to this T.V.

(Addendum as of Jan 16, 2010) I now have a Roku HD player for watching Netflix and Amazon movies and it works wonderful. Now I don’t have to mess around with flipping back and forth from Computer monitor to the T.V. It was becoming a pain and the PC is unusable while it was being used to stream in the movies. The only thing you should be aware of is that you NEED some kind of a router for it to access the internet and use HDMI cable instead of the provided composite cable for best results.

In regards to the poor viewing angle; It IS disturbing that the description of this TV states that the wide 178 degree viewing angle ensures clear images even when viewed from an angle. This is clearly not the case as far as my TV is concerned. Well maybe to their point of view, having a clear image versus a washed out image are two different things. However again, it’s a minor complaint because how often are you going to watch it from the sides?

Picture Quality (when hooked up to Cable, DSL, Antenna)?
Excellent IF you’re getting good reception from your provider. But keep in mind that if your reception is poor, this TV will NOT improve the image quality. In the copy world it’s referred to as “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. That simply means that if you try and copy an illegible image or text, don’t expect the copier to suddenly make it clearer and sharper. I am not aware of any TV that has what may be called an “Image Clarifier” but may be possible in the future. But as of now we know that NOT all channels will come in clear, and so this TV will only output what’s coming in.

Sound Volume? It has plenty for a bedroom. In fact, I had it on a little over halfway and my wife who was in another room downstairs asked me to turn the volume down. However, audio output is only 10 Watts (5W +5W) and the speakers are located underneath: to the left and to the right of the stand. So this TV is meant for a bedroom or a similar environment. It is not meant to be the main TV in a large room connected to a surround sound system. That, I have on my 50″ Sony TV. It is also not meant for a noisy environment such as a garage while you’re working on your table saw or doing laundry, or in a Kitchen while you’re running the garbage disposal or the dishwasher. No, it’s not meant to compete with other surrounding noises. So please keep that in mind when making your purchasing decision.

Outputting TV sound to a sound system or Speakers: It DOESN’T have a Headphone Jack, and please be aware that this can only be done via an OPTICAL cable. So whatever you’re connecting it into must have an OPTICAL (Toslink) input. You can purchase a third party converter such as the GENFEN but be aware that there are two versions (The cheaper model does NOT convert Hi-Def (5-1 Dolby Surround Sound) audio. Another option is to purchase one of the Behringer MS### Speakers which has an Optical input.

The SD card viewer: Would have been nicer if they had a USB port instead where you can plug in a flash drive or an SD card reader. There are so many different types and sizes of SD cards that if you don’t have the right size, it won’t work. As an example, I have a Nikon D200 (uses an SD card) and an Olympus C3040 Camedia Camera (uses a Smartmedia card) and neither one will fit into the TV’s card reader. I could purchase the right size SD card, insert it into my SD card reader and transfer pictures into it, but why go through the extra expense and effort?

The IPOD Docking Station: I don’t have an IPOD, but I’m willing to bet that it’s a nifty little feature that a lot of people can use. Lots of people out there with IPODS! I have the less expensive Sandisk for listening to music while I work outside or walk and it serves me well.

The Controller: Easy to read with LARGE LEGIBLE buttons for Old tired eyes like mine! Two of my favorites are LAST (to flip back and forth from the last channel watched) and MUTE (for those annoying commercials!)

I know that this has been a lenghty review, but I hope that I’ve given you enough information for you to make an intelligent purchasing decision. I love this TV and would highly recommend it for it’s picture quality, stylish look and it wasn’t too long ago that you couldn’t touch an LCD T.V. like this at this price! AWESOME!

Reviewed by : Tony Thiel,   Dec 21, 2009

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

Written by Best Buy HDTVs on Monday, January 18th, 2010 in Panasonic TV.

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Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P42S1

In my quest for a new MB/R TV, I had been researching LCD vs. Plasma, features, pricing, ratings and reviews for more months than I truly care to even mention. I caught a late October in-store special at HHGregg, which not only offered the lowest price I had seen anywhere on this TV, but also a free Panny Blu-ray player. That made the deal both irresistible and unbeatable, at just under seven Ben Franklins for everything. These newer Panasonic Viera plasmas with the fast 600 Hz Neo PDP panels are brighter, more power efficient, have an ultra wide viewing angle, suffer no image retention, run much cooler and are only just slightly heavier than an LCD TV of the same size. The more natural looking plasma picture quality, along with the full-time 1080p zero motion blur, is seriously, as good as your gonna get. Period!! They are an absolute steal in this price range, compared to any fast LCD or LED models. This combined with the legendary Panasonic build quality and reliability made it a no-brainer. The top-of-the-heap ratings from Consumer Reports magazine along with stellar customer reviews, absolutely sealed the deal for me, hands down. Simply put, I just couldn’t justify spending 2x-3x the coin for a 240 Hz LCD TV or an even pricier LED TV for about the same (or less) picture quality. You’d have to be a complete fool to spend so much more and get absolutely nothing for it. So I beg anyone to truly compare and understand the specs and features on TVs, (or anything you’re buying) and DO IT BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING!! As for the TV itself, the initial assembly was easy. The stand was very solid and stable, using a total of six stainless steel bolts for fastening to the TV to the stand. The rear panel is also made out of metal – not plastic, which would likely make for more sturdy wall mounting, if that’s your choice. The remote also felt solid and worked well. Both the TV and Blu-ray easily programmed with my universal remote, making it even more convenient. The initial TV set-up menus were also easy to navigate and the Viera link automatically recognized and configured the Viera Blu-ray player flawlessly. Watching my local news and the recent World Series with free digital HD broadcast using only rabbit ear antennas in 720p looked awesome. The VZ FiOS TV HD channels looked incredible at 1080i and the Blu-ray movies were nothing short of absolutely breath-taking in 1080p – totally impressive!! The sound on the TV is also well above average for a flat panel, especially after you tweak the bass, treble and surround settings to your taste. The Panasonic build quality is just what you’d expect: solid with a high gloss, piano black finish. They even include a soft polishing cloth to help preserve the TV’s beautiful finish. I am absolutely impressed with the TV and can highly recommend it as an outstanding choice to anyone considering a fine addition for their home entertainment enjoyment. And no matter where you buy, don’t be scammed by any in-store, shameless sales-hole trying to hose you with extended warranties or worse yet, overpriced “Monster-profit” HDMI cables. The truth is that you can get a quality 6-9 ft. HDMI cable online at many of the major online sites with no tax and free shipping for about the price of a sandwich! Trust me, there is NO difference; try it yourself and see. Save your hard-earned money for some of your favorite movie titles on Blu-ray. You will absolutely love this TV!! Just be sure and have at least one HD source – like an HD cable/sat. box or a Blu-ray player to enjoy it to it’s fullest. I hope my honest review seriously helps anyone out there looking for a great HDTV at a more down-to-earth price. Enjoy life. ((Bob-O!))

Reviewed by : Robert C. Belden “Bob-O”,  Nov 10, 2009

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