50 inch Panasonic HDTV rating

[wbrightwell]

Anyone own a 50 inch Panasonic HDTV (LCD), if so how do you like it. How is the picture quality and reliability rating. I have Panasonic DVD player, DVD recorder and VCR, Thought it would be nice to have a Panasonic HDTV too. Thanks

[eklektique1]

I do not own, but have seen many Panny LCD's. In my opinion they look horrible when next to a Sony or Hitachi LCD. You may want to consider one of them if you want LCD. If, however, you want to stick with Panny, it would behoove you to check out their DLP with HD2+ chip and 8 segment color wheel. I think the model number is PT50DL54. These look like a true underdog in the DLP format.

[scherer326]

I have the panasonic 43in LCD and love it. Everybody's opinion is different, but I think both SD and HD picture quality are OUTSTANDING.

[oman321]

http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=13125

http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=13339

I've posted my opinion a couple times on this set. Just to spare others and in case you haven't read already.

[TVAuthority]

On model number PT50DL54

These aren't bad , but they are a first gen from Panasonic

[Matt27]

Yes with the LCD sets the Sony's and Hitachis are much better because they have better colors, which the panasonic are known to exaggerate in a lot of their tv models.

[scherer326]

I have this tv the picture is great. HD is amazing. My only question is that I hear buzzing noise coming from my STB. I have the SA 8000 HD DVR. Are you supposed to be hearing this noise. Is it common. Is there any way to make it quiter.

also with the panasonic lcd rp. By turing off the speakers, will this make the fan quieter because I will be using a home theater system for sound.

[oman321]

See your other post about the STB. The fan on your set is for the bulb in your set, speakers on or off do not make a difference. Cant even notice the fan on mine, especially with my STB on a shelf below it.

[charas]

Hi My PT50LC14 arrived yesterday. I am not getting the feeling 'WOW' after watching the 'Nemo' widescreen DVD with Panasonic DVD.
Though the DVD is widescreen I don't understand why I still see horizontal bars on top and bottom.
The brightness and color is so poor. I may have to change default settings. I did switched picture between 'Vivid', Normal, & Cinema but no satisfaction.
Please advice me what is wrong with it.

[Ratman]

For starters...
Read the some of the FAQ's.

specifically, "black bars" and "what...new TV".

[Derek2k]

I own one of the Panasonic 50 inch LCD's and I personally like it more than the Sony. It has better black levels and do not push the reds as much as the Sony. I think it is just as nice as the Hitachi but cost less. The Panasonic does need to be adjusted more initially than the Sony (I know I owned the Sony for about 2 days and took it back). However, once adjusted it is great. To say that it does not have a good picture is simply uneducated. Mine came default in the Dynamic mode which is really bad. Panasonic should remove this mode or not make it the default. I think this is why some say the picture is not that great. My one buddy just bought that new Sony 55 inch and recently saw my TV for the first time and wanted to know how I set my TV up because it was a lot better looking than his. I won't say the other LCD's are poor I just think setup is critical. Most of the new fixed pixel technology is very similar in quality. You just have to decide which set you like the most asthetics included. Just beware when people have such definitive opinions, like some of the views expressed in this thread.

[scherer326]

I have the PT-43LC14. Does your tv make any noise from the fan. Mine makes alittle bit of noise, but so does my hard drive from the STB. Is there anyway to make the noise a little quieter coming from the TV. Can I block it somehow.

[oman321]

Whatever you do, do not block it, the fan is to cool your bulb.

Charas on 2:40 aspect DVD's use Zoom under aspect control to get the rid of the black bars top and bottom, your set does a good job of still keeping the sides intact.

[Derek2k]

There is not much you can do to get rid of the fan noise. All the LCD's, DLP's, & LCOS have similar fan noise. The Sony I had and my buddies Samsung DLP make fan noise similar to my Panasonic. It does not really bother me but I rarely watch my set without my surround sound going.

[scherer326]

thanks. benn alot of help

[charas]

HI,
Now I get rid of the bars. it was because my DVD player was set to 4:3 aspect ratio.
And another seeting was on my DVD player by default interlaced scanning was set. When I changed to progressive now the picture is lot better.
Still something is missing. The picture is not crispy, I mean the edges are not sharp. I have tried to adjust sharpness with THX optimizer but I don't see sharp lines. Suppose for letter 'V' , I see some shadow between two lines of the letter V at the bottom.
There some white line around the faces....
I am newbie for these TVs and I don't have frinds having HDTV so only u can help in setting this TV properly. I have tried with settings that Oman suggested but still it looks same.
I am also able to listen the fan sound in quite room but not disturbing.

[oman321]

Charas besides the DVD player what are you using as a connection source? Cable or Satellite, HD or SD?

Also are you using composite or component connections?

[charas]

Oman,
Currently COMCAST doesn't have HD in our area. So I have only SD. I have connected DVD player with component connections.

[oman321]

Unfortunately Charas you probably wont be amazed until you get an HD feed to your set. Check to see if Comcast will be rolling out HD anytime soon. If not you should consider OTA as an HD option.

[aswanso1]

I have had a panasonic PT-50DL54 for 8 or so months now which has been great and recently purchased a windows media center edition pc to use a a DVR. I am using a DVI - HDMI cable on it with a res of 1280 X720 @ 60HZ as recommended by Panasonic. The problem I am having is that the picture from the PC is stretched off the screen of the TV on all four sides. It is almost like the TV is stuck in zoom aspect mode, but the aspect modes do not work on the HDMI input. Has anyone else run into this problem? I have called panasonic support and they were worthless. Any advice is appreciated.

If I can't figure this one out I am thinking of simply putting a DVI -> component video converter in but would rather stay HDMI/DVI if possible.

Thanks in advance

[inggy]

aswanso1

I have a Panasonic PT43LC14 hooked up to my HTPC with a DVI to HDMI cable. The overscan is normal. It does it with component cables as well. I don't know which video card you have but I have a NVidia 6600GT using the 71.84 drivers and it allows you to select custom resolutions to eliminate the overscan problem. I set mine to 5% underscan which shows the entire desktop. The new drivers are much more HDTV-DVI friendly than previous versions. I'm sure ATI has a similiar function with their drivers. Hope this helps some.

[armentage]

If you want to know about the DLP version... I really love mine, but at times I'm annoyed by too much red or green in people's faces. Seems like the TV has a little trouble doing even flesh tones. Otherwise it's fantastic.

[stealthvader]

I've had a PT40LC12 since June 2002. When I saw it in the store it had a great picture. When I first set it up the DVD picture was great, but the DTV picture sucked. After a few days I looked at the available picture adjustments. I found that the default settings for color, picture, and brightness were set extremely high. the sharpness was set low. After screwing around with these settings I was able to get an extremely good DTV picture (non HD) and improve an already excellent pic from my DVD. I also found that for most stuff I could use the cinema setting, which saves on the bulb life (the cost of which is about $330 for this set). I've never had a problem with this set. 9 months ago I got a message on the screen that it was time to change the bulb and reset the hours meter. I ordered a new bulb, but decided to wait until the original bulb failed before installing it. Since then I've put at least 1000 more hours on the original bulb...and it's still going strong. I've been looking at the PT50DL54 (wanted to get something bigger). I saw one at my local Sam's club for about $2300. It seemed to have a great pic...I'm assuming that they don't tweek the pic settings, so it is most likely running with the defaults. It it's anything like my current set I expect that the picture can be greatly improved by tweeking the pic adjustments once you get it home. I've read some owner's opinions on the web, and it seems to be getting excellent reviews.

[pmc]

I own one of the Panasonic 50 inch LCD's and I personally like it more than the Sony. It has better black levels and do not push the reds as much as the Sony. I think it is just as nice as the Hitachi but cost less. The Panasonic does need to be adjusted more initially than the Sony (I know I owned the Sony for about 2 days and took it back). However, once adjusted it is great. To say that it does not have a good picture is simply uneducated. Mine came default in the Dynamic mode which is really bad. Panasonic should remove this mode or not make it the default. I think this is why some say the picture is not that great. My one buddy just bought that new Sony 55 inch and recently saw my TV for the first time and wanted to know how I set my TV up because it was a lot better looking than his. I won't say the other LCD's are poor I just think setup is critical. Most of the new fixed pixel technology is very similar in quality. You just have to decide which set you like the most asthetics included. Just beware when people have such definitive opinions, like some of the views expressed in this thread.

I could not agree with you more. I own the PT-60LC14 and have the same feeling about the picture. Especially the black levels. It really is a matter of personal choice. The technology in all the major manufacturers TV's in the same price range is basically the same. There's only so much that can be designed to make a drastic difference. Buy the best TV you can afford that looks best for your needs. For me...it was the Panasonic.

[DWDYEM2001]

I also own a PT-50LC14.....IN LOVE WITH IT!!! :hyper:

[ozarkhawk]

I have owned Panny's 57" projection for over a year. Fantastic tv - but here is a recommendation. Go to one of the many forums that exist, and learn how to get into the service menu. About every 6 months, I go into the service menu and recalibrate the tv. Focus, alignment, color correction - it all needs to be worked every 6 months. Aside from that - tv is great.