Panasonic PT-45LC12 45 in. HDTV-Ready LCD TV

Panasonic PT-45LC12 is a 45 inch HDTV-ready LCD rear projection TV set.  These LCD rear projection sets used to be good alternatives to plasma TV sets when I bought this in 2003.  Now plasma and LCD TVs are much cheaper of course and the best bet.  A few people still use this like myself and I wanted to provide a few important tips on repair but also safety.

The picture quality of this TV is very good and even stunning when one watches true (ie. over the air HDTV broadcast such as PBS) HDTV. One needs a HDTV tuner though, as the TV is only a HDTV receiver.  The quality of component signal from a progressive DVD is also very good. The analog cable quality is average though. Another drawback is a relatively low contrast when watching dark scenes in dark rooms (ie "black" is only gray) The TV can double as a computer monitor with its RGB input (1024x768 IIRC). No HDMI inputs though, as they only became more widely available after 2003.

The set has a few high-end TV features such as fully functional Picture In Picture (2 analog tuners), freeze, swap, and similar things that are rarely used.  The light source power has 2 setting: normal 150W (ie shop demo or high ambient light) or low-power (“cinema” or dark room) 120W setting.

I won't comment much on sound quality since if one uses a high-end TV, one certainly listens to surround sound from a surround speaker set-up and not the built in speakers that are just satisfactory.

The fan noise that many people complain is not a big deal at all, it is barely audible during normal watching, maybe except for pure audiofiles.

The deal breaker is the short bulb life. Don't be fooled by advertised 5000 hrs life. Mine failed in less than 2000 hrs (of low-power, “cinema” setting) with a loud explosion, fortunately the TV works after the $300 lamp replacement (easy to do DIY). While doing some research on the bulb issue, I found that Panasonic bulbs suffer from short life span:
http://www.petitiononline.com/panbulb/

There is more to the story than just cost of bulb replacement.  The high performance (high pressure) HID lamps used in these projection sets contain 20-30 mg of mercury vapor that is freely released into air during catastrophic bulb rapture and the fumes are quickly ventilated into room via the cooling fans.  That can produce mercury level spikes in excess of toxicity levels and requires forced ventilating of room to prevent adverse health effects. None of that was disclosed in the manual and I was unaware of that issue.

I learned that the HID lamp life could be extended by infrequent switching on and off and keeping it cool (clean filters). Based on that knowledge, sometimes I keep the TV on muted for a few hrs to prevent unnecessary on and off cycles. I also invested in interrupted power supply for those rare power interruption incidents. I keep the air filters clean and the amount of dust at home decreased when I upgraded to better furnace and AC filters.

So far so good, and the next bulb survived close to 5000 hrs when I replaced it with a safer alternative. More on that in my TY-LA1500 review.

Another problem I had recently was a thermal fuse burnout that is a common problem in panasonic LC12 series rear projection TVs: http://www.fixya.com/support/t142873-panasonic_pt40lc12_blinking_green_power
Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not allow servicing that fuse, forcing to replace the entire ballast that is very costly.  If one has some electric repair skills and is not afraid to take the set apart, the fuse can be replaces for cost of a new part (a couple of bucks).