RX-7

Looked at a few different RPTV's over the last few weeks in my search for a new HD set including this one. I looked at this set side by side with a Hitachi and Sony. I could not make the picture look anywhere near as good on the Pany compared to the others in all my tweaking in the video settings. However, I did not disable any of the auto settings first. I am told the Panasonic can rival the others when properly calibrated but I could not get it close. The picture seemed very dark and the color imagery was just not good. The reviews on this unit all say its a very capable unit when properly calibrated. I'm ready to write it off unless I was just missing something. Anybody have any first hand experience with this unit or any Pany RPTV?
Thanks

Tom_BZ

I just bought this tv and I love it. The picture is great. I used the Fight Club DVD with THX to set my picture and it worked great. A good buy for a good, but cheap priced TV.

RX-7

LOL, I never thought I would be refering to a $1,500.00 TV as cheap, but yeah, I know what you mean. The price is what is attracting me most about this unit. As I mentioned, it gets great reviews from owners, but the one at CC just did not look good to be quite honest. I have not looked at it anywhere else. I probably should before writing it off.
How is the off angle viewing for you on this set? Oh yea, one more question: Will the unit accept 720p?
Thanks.

Tom_BZ

Well no it is not cheap, but I'm glad u knew what I ment. The off angle is not bad to me. My father has a toshiba and the off angle seems the same. I hooked my xbox to it and play NBA 2k3 on 720p and it gave me a black screen with the sound still on. So I guess it will not work with 720p. Sorry

RX-7

Doh !

BadCamper

I might be wrong, but I don't believe you are able to adjust the convergance of that particular Panasonic in the user menu from more than the one center point. It could possibly be the 9 point convergence...but nonetheless it is still not tremendously accurate just from the user menu. Having it "calibrated," in the context of what you've read probably means having somebody who is certified to come out and get into the designer menu (if Panasonic has them?) From there you are usually allowed to make more advanced adjustments.

Again, my knowledge on Panasonics is fairly limited...but those are just possiblilities. And it could have very well been just a bad cable or connection being used on that Panasonic TV at that particular Circuit City. A bad Component Video cable can make all the difference! If you're seriously considering this TV simply take a look at it while shopping at another store. (and while you're at it, see if they can beat the $1500.00 price you were offered at CC!)

spaceman_spiff

I have this TV for almost 2 months now. I loved it right out of the box, everything was perfect. I did do AVIA settings and 9 point convergence, awesome picture. I loved the picture of this in the store over the 51" Sony that I was going to buy.
Good luck !

Jayz

I looked at Panny's side by side with the others, Hitachi, Toshiba, Mits, and in none of the stores did it look even close. But, in none of the stores, Sears, CC, BB, etc did they have it setup well nor were they using decent connections. Based upon what I read in this forum and the others, I believed that it would be "tweakable". I got a great buy on the 47WX42 at BJ's for $1080.00 two weeks ago.

It has been terrific out of the box. I tweaked it with Avia, and it is even better. The high definition broadcast of the Tyson fight was amazing. The "just" mode for stretching 4:3 is acceptable and SD broadcasts of TW cable (SA 3100) are fine. I am using a Denon 900 dvd player and the 580p is also terrific-all things considered a great addition to the home

Clint Thompson

Tom and Spaciest, I agree with you both!

I purchased my 53" x 42 Panny widescreen on August 17th and have wathced about 20 movies or more with it already! The picture is great!

I've been looking at this model for almost a year and comparing it to most other models (price vs. options) and I still think
the Panny is top-notch for it's price range.
I bought mine on sale for $1299 @ HHGregg when they had all their TV's on sale, so I knew I couldn't wait any longer and purchase the one I've been looking at for so long.

I went to HHGregg and the guy was an ass really... here I was looking at the Panny in all it's glroy (haha) and here he was telling me how he wouldn't recommend the model and that I should go with a Hitatchi or Mitsu.. as it's ONLY $500-700 more?! Dude, get out of my face! I already know which TV I want!
(Obviously, I've been doing months of reserach on the net and going to different stores to compare models)
But, he -insisted- that I should get a better brand name because the Hitatchi or Mitsu would last much longer?

I know a deal when I see one, I also know that buying a 53" widescreen for 1299 that has just as good, if not better in most cases picture then a 47" 1799 priced Mitsu (which I didn't even really care for the style anyawys)
'sides, I've never had a problem with Panasonic TV's myself.

The angle-viewing is alright. Then again, my frontroom isn't setup to watch the TV from the side wall.... you don't go to the theatre and watch a movie from the far side do you ?

480/1080 (no 720, but you can get a box to up or downconvert respectively)
(Which I plan on doing for Christmas, $$ was a big issue to me, I want the most for my $$)

Regardless, I was happy to purchase the tv that the guy was telling me was not a good idea (I sure would like to know what he was thinking when I wanted it even after he had bashed it to hell and back because it was a Panasonic, he didn't even give any info as to why other then brand name.)

So , in end, I got me the 53" and the extra money I saved, I got me a new entertainment center and a Onkyo LSV-550 (I think that's the model, pretty bad I can't remember) and some $30 component cables and TOSlink... so, yea, I'm absolutely satisfied with my purchase! :p and would
hightly recommend it to anyone that is looking to get a cheap yet high quality HDTV set! Best Bang for the Buck!! (IMHO)

You can view a pic of my setup below...

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Clint Thompson

One more pic...

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