Panasonic CT-27SL14 27 inch TV

Without getting off subject, I feel it is necessary to start by telling you why I purchased a new tv, because it does influence my review, since I had no intention of buying a new television. On Friday the 13th (the day of Hurricane Charley) a bad electrical storm zapped my trusty old RCA 25" that I had for about 9 years, even with good power surge protection. When my power returned I confirmed my set was really dead and, since the company I work for was still closed, I had time to shop. Losing some salary, I was at first searching for the cheapest set that would replace my old one. I had already decided on getting another RCA (not flat) for around $200. One big problem for me (I'm petite and have a bad back) was getting something that weighs over 80 lbs in my car and into my livingroom without adding $35 or more for delivery, plus I didn't know my work schedule at that time. So I made arrangements for a couple of men to help me that evening and wanted to buy a tv the same day. By the time I arrived at Circuit City I stood there for over an hour staring at the picture on the 24" Sony Wega and the 27" Panasonic Tau, since they were by far the most vivid. They were very close in price. I kept trying to convince myself I didn't need them and the young salesperson wasn't very pushy. One comment he made was that RCA and GE (both made by Thompson) have the most returns and repair complaints. Funny, the RCA reviews by their customers are very, very positive. He said customers rarely complain about Panasonic products. Another customer told me that Sony has been having problems. (This is surprising because my first color set in 1974 was a Sony and lasted 2 decades) Since everything I've ever bought made by Panasonic including one of the first VCRs ever made & my boom box always worked great, I figured it was a good choice for reliability. With my credit card handy (plastic is dangerous) I decided that paying an extra $100 for a new flat screen tv would be worth it in the long run because of all the added features. Also, since I bought a returned set with no box, it fit right into the back seat of my Sonata & I got a $50 discount. Circuit City has a policy that allows you to get full credit (there are some exceptions) should you return an item within 30 days of purchase. I've returned stuff in the past, so I know they honor this policy and promised it would apply to this purchase as well. Note: I just read the other review on this model, so that member might be correct about the pricing error he suspected. I still can't find this set at any store (not including virtual ones) for less than $349. I shopped at Best Buy, Walmart, Target and Circuit City as well as some smaller local ones. I paid $299 for this open box item which came with a full warranty.

The SL14, which is a Panasonic Tau, is the latest in the series of the 27" flat screen televisions. Although I don't need these features, it has online menus in French, Spanish and English, closed captioning and V-chip capability. If you are parents, you can use the lock feature to prevent video games and certain channels from being viewed with a code. I won't take up your time describing every technical specification, since I'd be cheating by copying another review or the manual. I am not an electronics expert, but I can tell you what I like and dislike. Keep in mind that I've owned this set for 2 weeks, so the jury is still out on whether I am satisfied with it or not. I was going to wait, but there are so few reviews online for this model that I want to contribute my limited experience and can follow up later.

Style & Sound: The style of this television is very modern. It has a silver cabinet with the speakers on the side. In my humble opinion, this allows the viewer to listen to the sound in any position. I never understood why manufacturers always placed them under the tube anyway. They always sounded tinny to me. The Tau SL14 has such clear stereo sound, including adjustments for bass, treble & balance with the ability to choose simulated surround sound, that if you live in an apartment like I do, you might not find the need for additional speakers. I realize that's a personal choice. Please note that this is not a high definition tv, but you probably realize this from the price. Therefore, the BBE sound (advanced realism/HD clarity) advertised on other Tau models is not available. However, the sound is still very crisp and clear. I also want to warn readers that having the speakers on the side does add width, so it isn't as high as some 27" sets, but is wider. I measured it at 23" high and just under 31" wide. Flat screen, to those of you who are new to modern video technology as I am, doesn't mean plasma or LCD (but the cost would be thousands more) The depth is still about 20" like the older styles and it's just as heavy.

Side note: The reason I noted the dimensions is because I sell furniture and know that many older entertainment centers do not accommodate some tv sets. Keep in mind when shopping for your audio/video that you must measure both the space you have inside the unit and the television if you are replacing a set of similar size. There is often a variation in cabinet size and design. This might seem obvious to some readers, but I've seen people in tears and a few seconds of measuring might save you a migraine!

Back to sound: This model has a feature called AI Sound which is supposed to equalize the overall volume when surfing and stay constant during commercials. This works fine 90% of the time, but some channels do need a tiny bit of adjusting. Perhaps I am more conscious of it because I am not in a single family home and often watch shows late at night. This leads me to mention a feature that helped to influence my purchase, the headphone jack, something I really wanted. With the purchase of an inexpensive extension cord (which I already owned) you can use your stereo headset from across the room. The sound is still very good. This can also be a factor if you live with someone who is a light sleeper or has a different schedule.

Remote Control: The remote control provided with the television is average. There are buttons for just about everything you need such as recall to see what station you are on, the current time and other settings (like station label if you choose to enter a caption) and R-tune, which returns you to the last station viewed. I had most of these buttons on my old RCA remote. Like most remotes there is a mute key and a variety of other choices. Although it is a Universal Remote, which means you can program it to use with many other components regardless of make or model, it's smaller than what I'm used to. The buttons are tiny and close together, so I tend to press the wrong one from time to time. This isn't a major problem for me, although I thought it was backlit for ease of use in the dark and it isn't.

Picture Quality: The picture is usually the reason people like or dislike a television and for me, there's the rub, because I both love it and hate it. Since there are plenty of A/V input and output jacks, my Samsung VCR/DVD combo hooked up easily and I'm usually clueless about these things. This set seems to be compatible with just about every brand name. Movies are spectacular and bright and again, the sound is very good. The S-Video connection improves viewing quality on DVDs and is simple to hook-up. It requires a $10 cable made for this purpose you purchase separately. Component cables are a bit more expensive, but I understand they give DVD players an even better picture. This set gives you many choices. However, when it comes to watching cable tv, I am having lots of trouble. If I were addicted to the Cartoon Channel or Disney, I'd be in Heaven. The colors are so vivid I feel like a kid again (I'm 53) Even some commercials are fun to watch! I wish I could put my old set side by side with this one, because I swear I'm seeing images that weren't visible to me before..so many colors, like a Crayola box. This model also has many picture adjustments including brightness, sharpness, color, tint and picture. I assume "picture" is in lieu of contrast since it adjusts the white & dark areas of the picture. The problem is that several channels are very, very dark and, even with this setting all the way up, are still difficult to enjoy. For example, I watch some Law & Order reruns (don't judge me! lol) and X-files too. Since both these shows have a lot of scenes with dark shadows and muted color, often an actor's face is only partially viewable. There is another feature which allows you to adjust the screen to the lighting in the room which is Cinema, Vivid or Standard. I prefer Cinema most of the time because it gives me a softer, more subdued picture like a film. Even by changing this mode, I cannot always get the channel to view well. Another annoyance is that the news anchors look much too tan to me. Again, I can adjust the tint & color to my preference, but who wants to keep changing everything unless you plan to watch the same station for hours? There is also a problem I believe is called color bleeding because it reminds me of when colors run into each other in the wash when they are mixed. If a character is wearing a white shirt, for example, it might appear to be blue or red in certain scenes. Another feature I use can adjust this a bit. It's called color temperature. You can choose normal, warm or cool. Warm intensifies the reds and oranges while cool makes the blues and greens look brighter and more extreme. I prefer the cool setting. This set also has a VM mode (velocity modulation) which is supposed to increase the sharpness and contrast because of the very black screen. I've had it both on and off and truthfully can't really see the difference. I'm probably not using the correct words, but the background is jet black when watching programs like A&E "Inside the Actor's Studio" so James Lipton and the guest he's interviewing on stage look superimposed on the screen. I hope I'm making sense with this description. I guess this is something that takes time getting used to.

Another side note: In case you are wondering if it's my cable connection, Comcast has been to my home since I bought this set. Because of down power lines and trees which have been cleared, I suspected I might need service. The technician confirmed that my set was properly wired to the cable outlet and the surge protector. I hate to say I already knew that before he scratched up my entertainment center, but he did find a problem outside with the wiring in the cable box. However, it only corrected poor reception on a few channels (snow and wavy lines) and did not affect the aforementioned problem with the contrast. He said that the quality of the surge protector might make a difference. I've also read that better cables improve picture quality. This would be another expense for me and I'm already way over budget, so I need to do some more reading on this subject.

Update 9/15: A new surge protector did help a bit by filtering out some static, but I still have trouble with my cable after a bad storm & the winds of Frances just passed through last week. I think there must be a loose connection somewhere.

So, I am summarizing this review by stating that the picture on the Panasonic Tau flat screen has many improvements over the old style sets with rounded picture tubes. The flat screen reduces glare considerably and can be viewed from many angles without turning the television. This is a plus for families or couples who don't all sit directly in front of the set or if your furniture doesn't allow you to center it in the room. I used to close the blinds and still got lots of reflection and glare during certain daytime hours. This problem has been almost eliminated by the new style and shape. The stereo sound is better than any television I've ever owned. My neighbor has a 54" widescreen and it's not half as clear. The main problem I am experiencing is that, while a number of channels are so vivid you feel you're watching 3D (Animal Planet is spectacular) others are so black they need to be adjusted to enjoy the show. I never made a single adjustment in almost 9 years except to change the station. Perhaps I have gone from a very good old set which was consistent to an amazingly colorful one and have to decide if I am only complaining because I was previously satisfied with mediocrity. All I can say is that tuning a set when switching channels is distracting and becoming a headache. I am seriously thinking about returning it before my 30 days expire but (a) it's going to be a pain to move and replace (b) after seeing these bright colors & enjoying the clear sound I doubt if I'll be happy with something inferior. I returned to Circuit City today to look at other sets and still like this picture the most (in its price range) but the stores have limited channel access and are not using my cable company so I would need to have a similar set at home to make a fair comparison.

Hope my comments have been helpful.

--Nancy

Update 9/15: With tears in my eyes I had to make a decision before my 30 day trial period expired and I exchanged my Panasonic today for a Magnavox 32" (similar price) which I will review after using it for a while. I was afraid to get another flat screen or dark tube, although I think the Panasonic is the blackest. I was adjusting the color and brightness so much as aforementioned that it became a real nuisance. Also, a couple of movies I rented were too dark to enjoy, even with the contrast (picture setting) set high. A few other people on circuitcity.com had this problem. I guess it depends on your cable or satellite system, since some rated this set a 5 on a scale of 0-5. With electronics, you never know. Could have been I just had a bad picture tube. Hope I didn't make a mistake and the larger set I'm getting will make up for the poorer quality picture. There is no question that the Panasonic is sharper and crisper than anything I've seen in its price range..just too dark for me sometimes.