Panasonic CT-34WX52 34" 16:9 HDTV-Ready Pure Flat Screen TV

Rating:
Summary: Great picture -- dark scenes a bit of a problem, though
Review: ...shipping all the way accross the country to California. It fits perfectly into my entertainment center area -- but this set is VERY HEAVY to lift and tips easily when handled. Be careful. The factory default settings were brilliant, just like in a showroom, but the blacks and darks drop out, expecially in dark scenes. This is a common complaint with this set. I had to punch up the "Brilliance" setting almost to maximum, and I'm now satisfied with the picture. Some folks mentioned the need to have the set professionally calibrated, but I'm not that picky. It looks fine to me now. I love viewing widescreen DVD movies on the 16:9 screen. I use the set's zoom feature to minimize the top and bottom black bars and spread the picture out to the edges of the screen. Then, I use my DVD's zoom feature to zoom in once more to get rid of the black bars and fill the wide screen. The result is a near movie theater quality picture. It really makes watching movies at home an excellent alternative to going to the movie theater. I did not need to invest any money for extras to start enjoying this television. I do NOT have HDTV, satellite, digital, or anything else extra. I have standard analog cable, a standard Magnavox VCR..., an inexpensive APEX DVD player..., and a Panasonic "boom box" with two inputs to enhance the already very good sound from the TV. (Any standard stereo with auxilliary inputs would do nicely.) All of these components, which I already owned, work very well with this set. So, if you are worried about having to shell out lots of money for extra goo-ga's, relax. This set will work with what you already have, and it works great. This TV is a good way to get started on the "new wave" of high definition television. It's HDTV compatible, so in the future I can upgrade it -- although frankly -- the picture looks so good, particularly with widescreen movie DVDs, I probably won't bother for the time being. There are drawbacks/tradeoffs with a 16:9 screen: normal analog broadcasts (95 percent of all existing television) are broadcast in 4:3 ratio. You can display a normal broadcast in 4:3 (which results in black bars to the right and left of the picture that can "burn in" if this setting used too much). Other options are to zoom in, which results in the top and bottom of the picture getting cropped (my preferred setting); or stretching the picture so the people look short and squatty; or "justifying" the picture so that the middle part is normal, but the edges are stretched. I prefer the "zoom" setting. However, just the pleasure of being able to watch widescreen movies, with a clear DVD picture, in their original aspect ratio, adds so much to the enjoyment of seeing movies on TV, that I put up with the tradeoff. I also like this set because its size does not dominate the room, like a projection TV would. Yet, the 34-inch widescreen diagonal picture is very impressive and shows a lot of detail that you would not normally see in a 4:3 screen...Buy this set. You can use your existing cable/satellite and components, and upgrade later, if you don't want to spend a lot of [money] initially.

Rating:
Summary: ME TOO! Power problem... 4/26/2004
Review: Bought this TV last year. Now it is two weeks after the one year warranty has expired and the TV is dead. Like the two previous reviews entered, I also have a problem turning on the TV. Certainly didn't have a power surge problem because I have redundant power surge protection. This suddenly occured today.

The symptom is: When I try to turn on the TV it gives that inital sound as if it where going to turn on but a second later it just powers off without the screen actually coming to life. Then I would attempt to turn it on again by pressing the power button but no response at all. After unplugging the TV and plugging it in again, the same thing would occur after I attempt to turn on the TV where it would just power off before the screen comes to life.

This is definitely a flaw that has to be addressed by Panasonic with this particular model. Ofcourse being among the first to report this problem, I will probably have to eat the loss of either having it repaired or throwing it out depending on the estimated repair cost.

Panasonic if your reading this, please address this problem because it will most probably be a recurring complaint on this model.

In general I was very satisfied with the clarity and performance of this product.

Rating:
Summary: ME TOO! Power problem... 4/26/2004
Review: Bought this TV last year. Now it is two weeks after the one year warranty has expired and the TV is dead. Like the two previous reviews entered, I also have a problem turning on the TV. Certainly didn't have a power surge problem because I have redundant power surge protection. This suddenly occured today.

The symptom is: When I try to turn on the TV it gives that inital sound as if it where going to turn on but a second later it just powers off without the screen actually coming to life. Then I would attempt to turn it on again by pressing the power button but no response at all. After unplugging the TV and plugging it in again, the same thing would occur after I attempt to turn on the TV where it would just power off before the screen comes to life.

This is definitely a flaw that has to be addressed by Panasonic with this particular model. Ofcourse being among the first to report this problem, I will probably have to eat the loss of either having it repaired or throwing it out depending on the estimated repair cost.

Panasonic if your reading this, please address this problem because it will most probably be a recurring complaint on this model.

In general I was very satisfied with the clarity and performance of this product.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing HDTV
Review: I bought this set, had it delivered, watched the High Definition broadcasts in amazement. I then thought that I didn't need to spend so much money on just a tv and returned it and had a Sony 32" HDTV delivered. Let me tell you...no comparison. I called the store (who at this point thinks I've lost my mind) and asked them to bring the Panasonic back. The clarity of picture is due to the high resolution screen which isn't found on any other brand and only on the two tube-type widescreen HD televisions from Panasonic. Another plus is the two tuner input capability (not available on any Sony...which renders PIP inoperable when using a cable box) that allows me to use my Picture in Picture while running my hi def cable box. I currently have 9 high def channels and all are beautiful on this television although, as another reviewer mentioned, the darks...particularly on CBS...are very dark and I can't seem to fix that issue. But when a high def broadcast comes on that has been filmed with a high def camera, you would swear that you were there. Most people who have been in the house when the tv is on literally sit and stare. I can't tell you how many times that I have found the plumber/handyman/kitchen contractor just standing in my living room mesmerized by the picture. I have it hooked to a home theater system and a Panasonic DVD player. However, the set has pretty good speakers without having to use the home theater. But the 5.1 sound capabilities with HD broadcast are really good. The only cons have been that I don't think that the remote has the functionality that it should have. It was unable to learn the codes for some of my equipment. I haven't had the power problems that two of the reviewers have had so that's a plus.

So, if you want mind blowing picture clarity for high def broadcast, get this tv. You won't be disappointed. Just be warned...you may never watch tv alone again with this set in your house...the company just won't leave!

Rating:
Summary: Amazing HDTV
Review: I bought this set, had it delivered, watched the High Definition broadcasts in amazement. I then thought that I didn't need to spend so much money on just a tv and returned it and had a Sony 32" HDTV delivered. Let me tell you...no comparison. I called the store (who at this point thinks I've lost my mind) and asked them to bring the Panasonic back. The clarity of picture is due to the high resolution screen which isn't found on any other brand and only on the two tube-type widescreen HD televisions from Panasonic. Another plus is the two tuner input capability (not available on any Sony...which renders PIP inoperable when using a cable box) that allows me to use my Picture in Picture while running my hi def cable box. I currently have 9 high def channels and all are beautiful on this television although, as another reviewer mentioned, the darks...particularly on CBS...are very dark and I can't seem to fix that issue. But when a high def broadcast comes on that has been filmed with a high def camera, you would swear that you were there. Most people who have been in the house when the tv is on literally sit and stare. I can't tell you how many times that I have found the plumber/handyman/kitchen contractor just standing in my living room mesmerized by the picture. I have it hooked to a home theater system and a Panasonic DVD player. However, the set has pretty good speakers without having to use the home theater. But the 5.1 sound capabilities with HD broadcast are really good. The only cons have been that I don't think that the remote has the functionality that it should have. It was unable to learn the codes for some of my equipment. I haven't had the power problems that two of the reviewers have had so that's a plus.

So, if you want mind blowing picture clarity for high def broadcast, get this tv. You won't be disappointed. Just be warned...you may never watch tv alone again with this set in your house...the company just won't leave!

Rating:
Summary: You have problems, too?
Review: Oh my God. I just read the review by a person who owns this set and is having power problems. MY SET HAS STARTED TO DEVELOP PROBLEMS, TOO. I have contacted Panasonic, and several authorized dealers. They seem to be stumped, so now they just ignore me. One day, I pressed the "on" button on my trusty remote control, and nothing happened. I tried the power button on the set, and still nothing. I finally went to my circuit breaker box, and flipped the circuit breaker on and off, and for some reason, it worked. This happened a few more times, so I paid an electrician $120 to replace the circuit breaker. No problems for about a month, and then --- it happened again. I don't know what is causing the problem, but I suspect that the set needs the power removed (as in unplug it) to be initialized, and then it will come on again. I do know there is a huge power surge when you turn on the set. What a bummer. The set is under one year warranty, but have you ever tried to move a 175 pound set that is sitting 7 feet up in an entertainment center console? What a disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Window into HDTV
Review: Pros: Cinema Scan with 3:2 pull-down; 34-inch, 16:9 Tau PureFlat picture tube; 1080i HDTV-compatible; progressive-scan doubler to 480p; 3D-YC comb filter; two-tuner picture-in-picture.

Cons: Inaccurate factory setup; color decoder overemphasizes reds.

Summary: I like this HDTV. What more can I say. It comes in a big (and I do mean a BIG) box. After taking about a half hour to remove the CRT from its confines, I placed it in my armoire. So, why did I purchase this TV over a Sony? Well, the primary reason was its size. The Pany fit nicely in my armoire, whereas the Sony was roughly two inches too big. This is because Sony has decided (for whatever reason) to put its speakers on the sides rather than on the top or the bottom of the unit. Well, they lost my sale. Also (and this is not a reason), the Pany was seveal hundred dollars less than the Sony. Now, back to the CT-34WX52...After placing the unit in the cabinet and hooking it up to a Zenith HDV420 OTA tuner, I saw my first HD pictures. WOW! Even my wife who really could care less about the clarity of television pictures was awed. The set up was simple and easy. The results were nothing short of spectacular. Much has been written about the need to calibrate this unit. I agree, the television needs to be calibrated, yet you can still get a wonderful and seemingly accurate view by simply adjusting the colors and tints in set up. I do have a few minor gripes. First, the sleeper setting is only for 90 minutes. I think it should be longer. Secondly, the remote control is unable to learn other IR codes. This is unfortunate, because the Pany remote is ergonomically pleasant and otherwise very functional. Thirdly, the outstanding issue of a lack of a DVI input is a concern. Notwithstanding, I am confident that somebody will figure out how to make a buck in the future by creating a converter that will allow the use of HD-DVDs yet at the same time protecting those all important copyrights. So, this issue is not going to cause me any lost sleep. Lastly, well...in my opinion, that's it. There aren't any other downsides. I really like this TV.It's a winner.

Rating:
Summary: Good luck!
Review: This was a great TV for the first six days I owned it. Then, on the seventh day, it rested...or rather, it died, apparently from a rather serious power supply problem. My dealer (not Amazon) tossed this hot potato into Panasonic's lap, and dealing with a manufacturer like that can sometimes be like trying to flatten the Rocky Mountains with a tablespoon. I am proud to say I now own the world's most expensive paperweight, as I watch my nine year old, twenty seven inch JVC, and the Panasonic takes up space on the spare bedroom floor, gathering dust, and waiting for a resolution which may or may never come. No matter how good the performance of this unit may be (when it works) remember, customer service is far more important.