Rating: 
Summary: See it in person first
Review: I was considering purchasing this TV, but instead went with the 50" Sony LCD projection. The difference is striking - it's in the contrast.Before buying this TV, make sure you see it in person, preferably next to other TVs (either regular CRTs or even the Sony LCD). It's very apparent that this TV does not have good contrast - everything looks faded compared to a regular television. The blacks aren't very black... they're just darkish grey. If this is okay for you, after a while you probably won't even notice. When you see it next to other TVs, or if you start to notice it after owning it, it will probably drive you crazy though. Sony put a lot of work into getting better black tones out of their LCDs... Panasonic didn't, it seems. It's kind of unfortunate, because the Panasonic is at a very attractive price for the technology. If you're willing to spend a little more but still want a lightweight TV, you might want to also consider the DLP-based sets, which are coming down in price.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good value for HD-ready widescreen TV
Review: I was searching for a HD-ready widescreen TV but was not ready to pay the [$$$] for a 42" plasma set. This came along in May ... with a price tag for less than [$$$]. It is HD-ready, 40", and has a matching stand available for it. The picture with non-HD TV is good, and you are able to either select either zoom, justify, or full to fill in the vertical and/or horizontals and fill-in the 16:9 screen with the 4:3 picture. With DVD, the picture is above average, and with an HD tuner hookup (over-the-air or DirecTV HDNET/HBOD) the picture is superb. I would rate the HD picture very close to plasma, and for the price, a better value at this time. As with all LCDs, the blacks are not pure black, but I don't watch a lot of space movies. HD sports is great due to the excellent color saturation it produces. LCDs also produce some motion artifact, and there is no exception here. I find it slightly annoying, but certainly not much worse than on plasma sets. A set definitely worth the money if you are interested in a widescreen, HD-ready set.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding "almost-plasma" HDTV
Review: I've had this tv for over a month. (Also purchased the new Onkyo 950 home theater package to go with it.) While more than your average projection TV, this LCD rear-projection offers almost the same resolution as plasma. The delivery guys from Best-Buy brought it to my house and set it up had never seen one before. After we plugged it in and fired it up, both of them uttered, "wow" as the screen came alive. They had set up two plasma tvs for NASA in the past, and both of them througt this Panasonic was as good .... with a lot less hassle than a plasma. Reactions from new viewers on DVDs is predictable: universal acclimation that it's a much. much better experience than in the theater. Stunning clarity: you will notice more visual details than in the theater. It doesn't get any better than this, unless you're willing to fork over MUCH more money. Couldn't be happier.
Rating:
Summary: Cant swing a plasma go for this!!!!
Review: This has almost all the benies of a plasma, but without the cost.
Hookup your pc. dvd.vcr or anything else you can think of .. great picture and a great value.... all around great tv for the one who has a lil extra to play with....looking for more info and cant find .... email us at .... [website]
Rating:
Summary: Panasonic 40" LCD
Review: This set was a must-have for me when I purchased it in the middle of 2002. I've had the set a long time now and have a greater appreciation for it. The first thing you'll notice is the 'spacey' design. Most of these items in the past have resulted in a cool looking product that calls a premium for looks. Let me say this set wows not only with its design but with its picture as well. Please note this is an LCD projection TV, not an LCD panel. It is 18 inches deep instead of 3, so you won't be able to hang this on the wall, but it is very space-conscious in design. I replaced a 1980 50" Sony projection TV with this and the space I gained allowed me to do my home theater setup properly. I will get a couple of complaints out of the way. The contrast is not as good as a DLP or direct-view set. You can correct the washed-out look with some calibration DVDs (or get a pro to do it for an outstanding result!). I also had a green 'blob' on the screen. Some others complained about this but didn't do anything about it. Luckily, I have friends in the business and found it was a _fingerprint_ on one of the internal mirrors in the set. I made Panasonic come out and clean it. After that, the blob was gone and my set was ready to go. As with any TV, the picture itself is going to be your main focus, so here goes. The picture is very good even with regular cable. It has a decent internal line doubler and the viewing mode of "Just" stretches the outside more than the center part making non-widescreen shows look fairly normal. LCD projection TVs don't have to worry about burn-in, so you could also watch this in 'normal' mode making shows viewed in this mode about the size of a 32" 4:3 TV. The "Just" mode is easily adapted to, and you'll be wanting to keep the screen full once you get accustomed to the slight stretch. However, you don't buy this set just to watch cable TV. Pop in a DVD to a progressive scan player and get ready for a treat. The real test is getting an HD picture on this set. I've used 720p and 1080i signals from OTA (over the air antenna) and Comcast cable. Both types of broadcasts are phenomenal. If you remember those nature shows from the past, watch an HD version. You'll actually sit there mesmerized by the picture. Get an HD movie in there such as The Fifth Element or Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and be ready for the 'falling' scenes. I was more impressed watching them on this set in HD than in the theater. The DVD in 480p was wonderful, but the HD broadcasts blew me away. The sound is fairly good especially for the small size of the internal speakers. The BBE sound interpolation is fairly neat, but I rarely even have the sound on at all on the set. With this type of set, you almost need the 5.1/6.1/7.1 setup with an external receiver to get the full experience. I'm actually happy the speakers were smaller than most big-screens to save space. The matching stand has the same design and looks like one piece when put together. I think it is a perfect compliment to the set. You will also need to clean a filter every 400 hours or so (the set will tell you when it's time). That takes all of 30 seconds to do and isn't a bother. I would recommend this set to anyone short on space but wanting a phenomenal picture without paying many thousands more for an HD-capable Plasma or LCD Panel TV. This is a great example where style and substance are both outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: Futuristic w/ an eye-popping HD-picture to back it up
Review: This set was a must-have for me when I purchased it in the middle of 2002. I've had the set a long time now and have a greater appreciation for it. The first thing you'll notice is the 'spacey' design. Most of these items in the past have resulted in a cool looking product that calls a premium for looks. Let me say this set wows not only with its design but with its picture as well. Please note this is an LCD projection TV, not an LCD panel. It is 18 inches deep instead of 3, so you won't be able to hang this on the wall, but it is very space-conscious in design. I replaced a 1980 50" Sony projection TV with this and the space I gained allowed me to do my home theater setup properly. I will get a couple of complaints out of the way. The contrast is not as good as a DLP or direct-view set. You can correct the washed-out look with some calibration DVDs (or get a pro to do it for an outstanding result!). I also had a green 'blob' on the screen. Some others complained about this but didn't do anything about it. Luckily, I have friends in the business and found it was a _fingerprint_ on one of the internal mirrors in the set. I made Panasonic come out and clean it. After that, the blob was gone and my set was ready to go. As with any TV, the picture itself is going to be your main focus, so here goes. The picture is very good even with regular cable. It has a decent internal line doubler and the viewing mode of "Just" stretches the outside more than the center part making non-widescreen shows look fairly normal. LCD projection TVs don't have to worry about burn-in, so you could also watch this in 'normal' mode making shows viewed in this mode about the size of a 32" 4:3 TV. The "Just" mode is easily adapted to, and you'll be wanting to keep the screen full once you get accustomed to the slight stretch. However, you don't buy this set just to watch cable TV. Pop in a DVD to a progressive scan player and get ready for a treat. The real test is getting an HD picture on this set. I've used 720p and 1080i signals from OTA (over the air antenna) and Comcast cable. Both types of broadcasts are phenomenal. If you remember those nature shows from the past, watch an HD version. You'll actually sit there mesmerized by the picture. Get an HD movie in there such as The Fifth Element or Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and be ready for the 'falling' scenes. I was more impressed watching them on this set in HD than in the theater. The DVD in 480p was wonderful, but the HD broadcasts blew me away. The sound is fairly good especially for the small size of the internal speakers. The BBE sound interpolation is fairly neat, but I rarely even have the sound on at all on the set. With this type of set, you almost need the 5.1/6.1/7.1 setup with an external receiver to get the full experience. I'm actually happy the speakers were smaller than most big-screens to save space. The matching stand has the same design and looks like one piece when put together. I think it is a perfect compliment to the set. You will also need to clean a filter every 400 hours or so (the set will tell you when it's time). That takes all of 30 seconds to do and isn't a bother. I would recommend this set to anyone short on space but wanting a phenomenal picture without paying many thousands more for an HD-capable Plasma or LCD Panel TV. This is a great example where style and substance are both outstanding.
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