Rating: 
Summary: Great Addition to Any Home Theater
Review: 12/21/03. I have owned this TV for eight days and give an overall rating of Great. I auditioned this set with Sony, Toshiba, and Samsung. I liked the picture quality and presentation best with the Panasonic. Also, the Panasonic has a custom stand available (Stand drawback is the limited interior width of 29 inches). I only use this TV for cable and DVDs. DVDs and true HDTV are excellent picture quality. Like many reviewers, I was initially disappointed by the non-HDTV picture quality. Panasonic was available for assistance with all my questions at 1 866-843-9788. Please note that digital cable and satellite does not equal HDTV. In reality, there are about four HDTV channels in my cable area. Digital cable picture quality ranges from Good to Poor. I was able to improve the picture quality by tweaking the Picture adjustments. First, change the Picture menu default to Cinema. I keep the Color Temp at Normal. The Picture Adjust allows you to fine tune the Color, Tint, Brightness and Sharpness. (NOTE: Normal is the reset - I learned the hard way). I keep all these settings below the mid-line in various positions (Set to your own liking). The greatest change was noted when I finally turned the Picture adjustment down. The non - HDTV channel grain was decreased quite a bit. With all the changes, the picture is darkened some, but still looks fine. My set up is through a Yamaha home theater amp and cable box via component cables. Depending upon your connections (component, s-video, etc), some of the advanced set up features may be automatic - Component - per Panasonic. So, I have the following - Video NR off. ID1 off. 480 p color Matrix - SDTV. 3D Y/C on. 3D IP on. Also, when connected through a cable box many of the TV actions/features are defeated- i.e. PIP- Split Screen - Mute- Captions - etc. The speakers for the TV are adequate, but I use my home theater for sound on everything. I have the speakers shut off. Watch the price on this TV. I have found the base price is less in the store and there is often a $$$ rebate. The best time to buy is the day after Thanksgiving. I paid $$$$ for the TV and $$$ for the five year extended warranty (Recommended). This set weighs about 89 lb and is easy to move on the custom stand. The set is well packed in an oversize box. Even though the box is large, keep it for at least 30 days, in case you want/need to return the TV (They may not take the TV back without the box). I also performed additional research on the internet and found the Panasonic highly rated. Lastly, do yourself a favor and purchase a home theater sound system of equal quality (not a jack in the box system - I made that mistake a year ago {Returned it} and vowed not to update my home theater system from a 30 inch TV and a 20 year old amp with four speakers and a sub-woofer). My new audio system cost more than the TV and completes the home theater experience. I was amazed at the sound and sight of special effects. (The key for the audio is the proper calibration of the speakers that my amp can do automatically). Panasonic 50 inch LCD TV - -- Recommended Purchase!!!! 12/22/03 A Few More Tid-Bits Recently, I provided a review and thought of some more information to share, from my many hours of research The LCD TV functions with a high intensity light, that has an estimated life of 10,000 hours/5 years. The Panasonic service department indicated the light shelf life is probably actually less, based upon usage, number of times the set is turned on/off, etc. My salesman indicated the cost of replacing the light is $$$, but Panasonic indicated it would be less, and will go down in 5 years anyway. It appears that the end consumers can replace the light themselves. Moreover, the Panasonic service tech indicated the life of the LCD TV is probably ten to fifteen years without a major breakdown/repair - Not bad, since my 30 inch Toshiba lasted about seven years before it needed a $100 repair. You can download the Panasonic PT-50LC13 operating instructions from the Panasonic web site - A good idea before your purchase. The service department is open to speaking with consumers before the sale at 1 866-843-9788. I have contacted twice and found more help the second time from another tech (Phil). After re-visiting my salesman to view the TV with my wife, I noticed a small blue spot on the screen (only when the screen was between feature presentations and dark/black). Per the salesman, this is a pixel malfunction and would be covered under warranty. I am not sure what causes this malfunction, but have only seen it on this one TV. The set is light-weight (89 pounds) and thin/narrow. So thin, the top of the TV will not accommodate a TV top shelf. I like the optional custom stand, but as I noted in my previous review, the space for components is lacking. (Stand drawback is the limited interior width of 29 inches and limited depth - my amp with all cables just fits within the depth and I can only fit my narrow cable box next to my 17 inch wide amp). The remote is pretty easy to operate. My only drawback is that I now have four remotes that I need to tune to operate the other components. At this point, I have the DVD tuned to this remote and that works fine. I expect for any advanced feature, I will still need to use my other remotes. I have used monster cables for all my connections and find excellent clarity and sound. The aspect feature works well and the Full setting looks fine with many of my 4:3/normal concert DVDs. However, with many of my 4:3 or normal movies, the stretching is apparent in the face and body. Not sure why the difference. I recommend the 5 year extended warranty for this purchase. Based on what my salesman told me and by reading the fine print, the coverage is for in-house service - parts and labor - including the light. I shopped locally for this TV set (Two big chain stores and a regional audio-visual specialty store), and found each to be competitive in pricing. The competency and integrity of the salesman is key for me. Like many other consumers, I contemplated purchasing from an E-Tailer, with a nice little price savings - That is all you get - a little price savings. Please realize the following when ordering from an E-Tailer: You will still pay shipping $$$ plus - Tax may be applied if the E-Tailer is located in your state - The Panasonic Warranty may be void and you may only have coverage through the E-Tailer - The extended warranty may be more costly - Contact/Service after the sale may be lacking. I had contacted a few of the E-Tailers and found the TV set and stand were backordered for two months. I asked for a different stand and a call back, with no response. A few dollars more spent locally, will save future headaches. Panasonic 50 inch LCD TV - Recommended Purchase!!!! 12/24/03 - Day 11 of ownership - Last Installment of information (3). Recently, I provided a review(s) and discovered the following last night. NOTE: Keep in mind that (Contrast) Cinema, Dynamic and Normal all have their own options for Picture Adjustments - Color, Tint, Brightness, Picture and Sharpness. I keep Dynamic and Normal at the factory pre-set at this time and use Cinema as my primary contrast. I have noticed that THX certified movies are difficult to fine tune for color and contrast - There is a deeper red tint to some of the character faces in Tombstone and Planet of the Apes. (I am not sure if this has anything to do with component cable connections - So far only THX movies have the color variation). I have utilized the disc optimizer for adjustment, but I still needed to delve deeper with my Panasonic fine-tuning. Hence, I have tweaked up some of the adjustments in the Cinema contrast. Thereafter, I set the Contrast setting on my DVD player - Panasonic S25K - to Cinema 2. The flesh-tones now look perfect on the DVD(s) and on cable as well. My line settings for THX Movies (Range is 1 - 17) for Cinema Picture Adjustment from the left of the screen are:
Color - 7
Tint - 9
Brightness - 10
Picture - 10
Sharpness - 9
(Note Normal is the factory reset - Do not reset until you write down your settings). My initial line settings for watching Non-HDTV in the Cinema Contrast mode are:
Color - 7
Tint - 9
Brightness - 9
Picture - 7
Sharpness - 7
(Note Normal is the factory reset - Do not reset until you write down your settings). I hope my reviews prove helpful and turn any disappointment and frustration to cheerfulness.
Rating:
Summary: No problems
Review: After reading some of the bad reviews, I hope my luck holds out, but I have had no problems. This month, I will have had the set for one year. Fantastic picture for a projection TV. I will venture a guess that some of the problems might be the result of not using a high-end surge supressor that covers incoming video signals as well as electricity. (Panasonic should just build one in).
Rating:
Summary: Sleek, lot cheaper than a 50" plasma and performs better
Review: Having researched a lot of HDTVs including DLP, Plasma etc., the Panasonic PT-50LC13 represents the best out of the lot out there!
Both from a quality and price perspective, it represents a great buy - purchased mine from Circuit City for $3000 and was delivered the next day (would NOT recommend buying from an online retailer even if it is $300 - $500 cheaper, since LCD TVs can have some bad pixels sometimes - this is a lot easier to exchange at your local supplier vs. dealing direct with Panasonic! Most online retailers - you canNOT do the exchange with them and have to deal with the manufacturer).
The TV itself is quite stunning to look at - a lot better than the Sony WEGA LCD which looks quite terrible at the base and the sony does not have RGB input either. It is a whole lot cheaper than a 50" plasma tv and does not suffer from the same problems as a plasma tv does.
Very easy to handle (compared to a regular CRT or projection or even a Plasma).
The depth is only 16 inches and tapers off sharply at the top. Does not suffer from a convergence problem like most projection TVs do.
Does not suffer from the Plasma TV burn - most Plasma TVs will last only 20,000 hrs and need to watch out for burn-in if you have constant bars at the side or at the top.
LCD TVs do not suffer from this.
Plasma TV - cannot be fixed if they have the burn-in.
LCD PTVs on the other hand can have a lamp burnout - but the good news is that the lamp can be replaced for around $300. The lamp usually lasts around 10,000 hours. We sit around 6 feet away and the picture is quite stunning on HDTV.
Note however, if you just connect plain analog or even digital cable, you will be sorely disappointed - with the signal, not the TV :-).
DVDs look good - had to purchase a progressive scan DVD player just to make the pictures look good! Progressive scan DVD at 480p look great. However if the DVD is of poor quality, then the errors are magnified on the 50" screen! The TV does 1080i and 720p very well on the DVI connector.
The RGB inputs work great - was even able to get my Dell Latitude laptop connected and working (most of the older laptops cannot connect with RGB to a LCD monitor).
THe BBE sound is nice as well - provides a much better surround sound experience. However, the auto volume correction does NOT work with BBE. Overall, having external speakers definitely makes the experience a lot better.
LCD TVs like Plasma TVs have a fan to cool the inside - but I did not hear the fan with normal and very low volume output. Only when the TV is off, I can hear the fan operating silently for some time before it switches off completely (after the lamp is cooled). Pros:
- Looks extremely sleek - better than Sony wega LCDs!
- Lot cheaper than a 50" plasma and performs better over a longer period
- 2 sets of RGB inputs - one at side and one at back - this is great for laptop or computer connectivity. Imagine connecting the laptop to it and surfing from the couch with a wireless keyboard
- DVI / HDCP Input - for those who understand what this means, connecting the cable box via this connector provides the best possible connectivity (better than composite, better than RGB). Works great on Time Warner / Brighthouse HDTV cable box with DVI output.
- TV Comes with DVI cable
- Lots of composite and component inputs and digital audio out as well
- Remote looks and performs well (silver finish just like the TV) and is able to control the cable box as well if needed. We use the cable remote to control the TV instead.
Remote menus very easy to understand and operate.
- Offers quick aspect scaling from Normal 4:3 -> Full (extends the normal 4:3 screen to 16:9) -> Just (extends only the extreme sides so that people in the middle do not look abnormally fat!) -> Zoom (uniformly zooms out - but can lose the ticker at the bottom!). This aspect scaling works on the component, composite and the coax inputs. Cons:
- Does not come with composite cables - but ask your cable provider - they usually provide one.
- Standard Cable (even just plain digital) looks just so-so. The size of the TV and the high resolution of the LCD display magnifies any deficiencies in the signal.
- DVI input does not seem to have closed captions - do not know if the problem is with the signal or with the TV
- BBE surround sound does NOT have auto volume correction
- takes around 30 sec - 1 min to startup after a cold start
- Lacks a built-in HD Tuner - but then most plasma TVs do not have it either and is a lot cheaper because of its absence!
- Cannot scale aspect on the Digital Input (DVI/HDCP) - I think this is a restriction on the signal as it is already 16:9 720p signal.
- Need to set the TV to Cinema mode otherwise the cable inputs on standard or digital look terrible! Make sure you do this, otherwise you will NOT have a good viewing experience! Wish Cinema mode is the default.
Rating: 
Summary: great picture, but VERY noisy fans and 1 bad pixel
Review: I bought the 50LCX63, same as the 50LC13 except it has an integrated HDTV tuner.
The picture is excellent. Easy to use menus (it probably runs linux code because the user manual has a copy of the GNU license in the back). Well thought out connections in the back.
My screen had 1 bad pixel (always on, blue). It's noticable in menus and playing games, but when watching TV you can't tell. I'm getting it fixed under warranty.
The main reason I can only give this product 3 stars: the cooling fan for the light bulb is amazingly LOUD. If you have a big wall unit that will insulate the TV's fan sound, this would be a 5-star TV for you. The noise is making me wish I had bought a quieter LCD-projection or settled for the older but much quieter CRT-projection technology. I don't have the guts to open up the unit and put in a silent fan like you can in a PC. The 50LCX63 also makes noise when turned "OFF". It's another fan (for the HDTV tuner). That noise probably doesn't exist in the 50LC13, but you should check. But if you're considering the 50LCX63, it's yet another annoying noise you'll have to live with.
Rating:
Summary: Great Television for the Price
Review: I had done a very detailed analysis before selecting this television. I think the picture on this television is wonderful with HDTV. Not so great with Analog cable.
It displays my computer image very well. I bought a wireless keyboard mouse and my televsion has become another computer.
I love the number of av inputs. 4 component, 2 RGB connections & I DVI was a big factor in choosing this set.
Rating: 
Summary: Great All Purpose Movie Viewing
Review: I purchased this 50" LCD Multimedia display for Christmas to complete my entertianment room and have not been disappointed. It was a race between this and a similar Hitachi model, but for the price the Panasonic won. In playing with the various settings I have discovered one thing that may work for others regarding regular cable viewing. If you choose to watch cable channels directly through the TV itself (that is changing channels with the TV remote without the use of a cable box) I agree that the picture looks so-so. However, in playing with the settings I discovered that if I watched TV through the assistance of my VCR (using it to change channels) the picture quality was dramatically increased for cable channels (non-digital) as well as the picture automatically filling the entire screen without distortion. I am not exactly sure why this is so, but it may be in part due to the fact that I have the VCR connected to the TV using higher quality Audio/video (Y,W,R)cables, assisting the overall picture output quality.
Rating:
Summary: Great All Purpose Movie Viewing
Review: I purchased this 50" LCD Multimedia display for Christmas to complete my entertianment room and have not been disappointed. It was a race between this and a similar Hitachi model, but for the price the Panasonic won. In playing with the various settings I have discovered one thing that may work for others regarding regular cable viewing. If you choose to watch cable channels directly through the TV itself (that is changing channels with the TV remote without the use of a cable box) I agree that the picture looks so-so. However, in playing with the settings I discovered that if I watched TV through the assistance of my VCR (using it to change channels) the picture quality was dramatically increased for cable channels (non-digital) as well as the picture automatically filling the entire screen without distortion. I am not exactly sure why this is so, but it may be in part due to the fact that I have the VCR connected to the TV using higher quality Audio/video (Y,W,R)cables, assisting the overall picture output quality.
Rating:
Summary: Ditto
Review: I searched all over the web for reviews in considering the Sony and Panasonic 50" LCD's. It's seemed like Sony had a manufacturing problem with theirs, so I turned to the Panasonic. I was (and still am) concerned about the quality of the signal from my dish (Directv)as it is far inferior to the DVD, but found that if I just do as everyone said....Cinema mode, adjust the colors....it is at least okay. We turn it to the 4:3 mode with the bars on the side. I think it is, by far, the best mode to watch regular tv. Oh, and I do have an s video cable. You really do need to sit 7-10 feet away from the set or else it's really not very good. If we had a tight room, I might have gone with a 36" tv. I would say that if you plan on buying this to watch Friends and the like and do not have HDTV, you will be disappointed until HDTV catches up with us. Watching movies on this is what I bought it for and it is incredible for that. INCREDIBLE!!! We watched Seabiscuit and Finding Nemo on it and it was flawless. We just use the TVs speakers now, but will purchase a home theater system, bit by bit, over time. I think the speakers are great. Loud, without much distortion. But...I am not an audiosnob. I recommend the set with the idea that I know that I'm on the bleeding edge a little bit and hope that HDTV catches up with us sooner rather than later. PS - After researching DVD players and seeing what I could find here in Puerto Rico, I bought the Toshiba SD 3900 DVD player for about $80 and it seems to drive the "flawless" picture on the Panasonic TV just fine. I planned on buying a $2-300 dvd player, but couldn't find the one I wanted here, so I just bought the Toshiba "for now"...and I may just stick with it.
Rating:
Summary: Ditto
Review: I searched all over the web for reviews in considering the Sony and Panasonic 50" LCD's. It's seemed like Sony had a manufacturing problem with theirs, so I turned to the Panasonic. I was (and still am) concerned about the quality of the signal from my dish (Directv)as it is far inferior to the DVD, but found that if I just do as everyone said....Cinema mode, adjust the colors....it is at least okay. We turn it to the 4:3 mode with the bars on the side. I think it is, by far, the best mode to watch regular tv. Oh, and I do have an s video cable. You really do need to sit 7-10 feet away from the set or else it's really not very good. If we had a tight room, I might have gone with a 36" tv. I would say that if you plan on buying this to watch Friends and the like and do not have HDTV, you will be disappointed until HDTV catches up with us. Watching movies on this is what I bought it for and it is incredible for that. INCREDIBLE!!! We watched Seabiscuit and Finding Nemo on it and it was flawless. We just use the TVs speakers now, but will purchase a home theater system, bit by bit, over time. I think the speakers are great. Loud, without much distortion. But...I am not an audiosnob. I recommend the set with the idea that I know that I'm on the bleeding edge a little bit and hope that HDTV catches up with us sooner rather than later. PS - After researching DVD players and seeing what I could find here in Puerto Rico, I bought the Toshiba SD 3900 DVD player for about $80 and it seems to drive the "flawless" picture on the Panasonic TV just fine. I planned on buying a $2-300 dvd player, but couldn't find the one I wanted here, so I just bought the Toshiba "for now"...and I may just stick with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Great TV until it abruptly broke
Review: Just after 1 year and 2 months, it just stopped working. I suspect it's the bulb. Called Circuit City, Panasonic no help. Panasonic's customer service is really bad. I had to call a local TV repair agency who is going to pickup the TV and charge me for transportation + parts + labor. Paid 3K for this TV and I might end up paying more than $500.00 just to get this fixed, and god knows how long it will last after that.
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