Panasonic PT-50DL54 50" Rear-Projection DLP HDTV

Rating:
Summary: fantastic picture quality
Review: after much research, trying to choose between a dlp, rear projection lcd, or plasma tv, I chose to go with dlp. The blacks seemed to be truest to the color and have the best range. I compared several different makers of dlp with hd2+ chip. I did not like the mitsubishi because of its protective screen. I considered samsung, panasonic and toshiba. The toshiba is a 52 inch screen, and has the most features, including a built in hdtv tuner, a cable card slot, reads all media cards, and a host of other functions. however, in three different store, the sd tv (non hdtv) looked a lot worse than panasonic. I was not crazy about the styling of samsung. so I went with panasonic. Been over all happy with it.

Pros:
Excellent picture quality for hd and sd
Sound quality is very good from the tv speakers
Remote control is fairly simple (although that can be a negative too)
Nice stand

Cons:
You can hear the fan running if you are close to tv, or once the tv is off (for a few seconds, as the fan continues to cool down the lamp)
The remote is somewhat limited in controlling other devices
Only accepts the sd card for slide show off of the digital camera
the vertical angle of view is only 30 degrees.



Rating:
Summary: Great HD TV ..But a few drawbacks..
Review: First off.. The TV is nice.. VERY NICE !! It weighs 87 lbs.. its 15.3 inches deep..But if you are like me, you will also find some issues with this TV. First, when you turn on the TV , you will notice the fan noise from the projector lamp.. It sounds like the fan in the back of your PC, but a little more noticeable.. =[ .. Second ... HDTV rocks !!! I mean it is flat out great !! I have seen other lcd TV's and In my opinion I think DLP is better.. The sounds is good too, but I am sure most ppl with get a home theatre system..Third.. It only has an HDMI not a DVI. I you are planning on watching DVD's on this TV with a standard DVD player... THINK AGAIN !! You will have to buy a Denon DVD-1910 Single-disc DVD player with 720p/1081i DVI output in order to get a good picture !! This is something that I have not read on any other review !!... =[ .. Anyway.. If you hook up your existing DVD player with an S-Video cable (Monster or not)! the picture quality is horrible !! I mean really poor.. If you use the other video outputs it gets a little better.. But you really do need to buy a DVD player that outputs in 1080i and upconverts the picture signal !! You can waste your money on a $170 Toshiba or Samsung Up convert DVD player.. But my advise is to spend the extra money and at least get the Denon DVD-1910.. you will need to get an extra HDMI to DVI cable and then some audio cables because DVI does not support audio like HDMI does.. Also you don't need all the Monster cables , only an S-Video!! You need to call your cable company and have them install an new HD box so you can watch the HD programming.. THEY WILL PROVIDE THE CABLES !! So dont waste your money until they hook it up !! FYI.. You can't watch HD Programming without an upgraded cable box !! Fourth .. The angle of the TV horizontally is a pretty big area of viewing before it gets dark.. However the vertical view is disappointing. I mounted the TV on top of my mantle and noticed pretty quickly that it had to be tilted... So before you buy this TV... make sure it will be eye level when you watch it... Lastly... enjoy HD!! Regular TV is not any better then on your old TV (probably more grainy and not as good as your old one) ..But watching any sporting event in HD is a religious experience!! What ever shortcomings the TV has... HD is great !!


Rating:
Summary: Fantastic set at a great price!
Review: I had been shopping for a big-screen TV for two years until I finally pulled the trigger on this set. If you are not familiar with DLP rear-projection technology, it allows for slim, light televisions with good brightness, reasonable viewing angles, and no burn-in at relatively low prices.

This set features what is currently the newest DLP technology from TI (the HD2+ chipset) along with an 8-segment color wheel. Television choice is highly subjective, but I compared the picture quality of this set to that of the equivalent Mitsubishi, Samsung, and Toshiba products and, for myself, found the Panasonic to be the best, along with the Mitsubishi. At the price offered by Amazon, it was a no-brainer.

With HD content, the picture is astounding. DVDs also look great. SD (or "regular") content looks dull and washed out, but no worse than any other TV of this size. The chassis itself also looks very nice. My only complaint is that there are not individual picture settings for the different video inputs, but this is minor considering the overall quality of the product.

Rating:
Summary: Best 50 inch dlp I've seen
Review: I've had this tv for almost 2 months now. I'd like to first respond to one reviewer:

I've quoted the reviewer with >><<

>>when you turn on the TV , you will notice the fan noise from the projector lamp.. It sounds like the fan in the back of your PC, but a little more noticeable.. =[ .. <<

I haven't noticed any fan noise. no problem here


>>If you are planning on watching DVD's on this TV with a standard DVD player... THINK AGAIN !! You will have to buy a Denon DVD-1910 Single-disc DVD player with 720p/1081i DVI output in order to get a good picture !!<<


That's ridiculous. You don't have to buy any kind of special dvd player to get a good picture. You just need componenet video output or better, which is standard on almost every dvd player sold today


>>Anyway.. If you hook up your existing DVD player with an S-Video cable (Monster or not)! the picture quality is horrible !!<<


That is why the tv has HDMI and component inputs. Use the component inputs for dvd.



>>But you really do need to buy a DVD player that outputs in 1080i and upconverts the picture signal !! You can waste your money on a $170 Toshiba or Samsung Up convert DVD player.. <<


Again, that's ridiculous. Any dvd player with component output is fine. Just take off the stock "VIVID" picture setting on the tv and set it to the "CINEMA" setting



>>Also you don't need all the Monster cables , only an S-Video!! <<


S Video is not a great picture. Maybe that's why you're complaining about picture quality...



Now to my thoughts: I love this tv. I compared it to the Samsung HLP5063 and thought the Panasonic was the clear winner in picture quality. I didn't think the Samsung 5085 was worth the extra money either. It looked as good as the mitsubishi 525 series, too. This tv performs better than ones costing much more, so I went for it. I couldn't be happier. Even standard definition cable looks great, and HD sports is definitaly an amazing experience.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: For the moment (Fall 2004), DLP is the way to go!
Review: My neighbor bought this TV from a retail store. Now, I'm over at his house every Sunday to watch football (and also Monday night).

Unlike the rear-projection LCD HDTVs, the DLP HDTVs are much slimmer in profile. Plus the picture quality is noticeably better than the LCD TVs. And at prices thousands less than plasma for an otherwise comparable TV, it's almost a no-brainer.