Panasonic PT-50LC13 50 in. HDTV LCD TV
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- Digital TV Standard: HDTV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 4:3 Enhanced 14:9
- Weight: 83 lb.
- Projector Technology: LCD
- Built-in Tuner: ATSC NTSC
- Screen Size: 50 inch
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
An Amazing Viewing Experience
Pros
AWESOME picture, Easy Setup, Light/Easy to move, Lots of inputs
Cons
STUCK PIXELS THAT ARE NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY, Limited HD programming, HORRIBLE support from Panasonic
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
I was really happy with the TV, and it is still watchable, but I don't think it's worth the risks and having to deal with Panasonic's pathetic support.
Like many others here that have posted reviews, I did quite a bit of searching before deciding on this TV and it wasn't actually my first choice. Originally I had decided on a DLP TV, but then came across some issues that put a damper on that for me. I then decided LCD would work and had picked out a 44" for $2200. I then came across this Panasonic PT-50LC13 for the same price and it's 50". Not only that, but through CompUSA I got 3 years no interest financing and a free surround sound system. I did have several issues with CompUSA's service, but that has nothing to do with the TV. Now, I am no a techie, I'm not a expert on TVs so I am going to skip all the tech talk and just tell you about my experience with the TV as an everyday joe.
The 'requirements' I had for the TV were pretty standard. I wanted multiple component inputs - preferably 4, but a minimum of 3 (for HD, Xbox, DVD, etc) and I wanted a DVI connection (for either HD Cable or maybe a higher end DVD player down the road) as well as a RGB connection so I could use my computer with it.
My order of use would be
1. DVDs
2. Gaming (Xbox and PC)
3. Standard TV Programming
These requirements narrowed the field quite a bit, but the PT-50LC13 met all of them and with the deal CompUSA was running, that sealed the deal for me.
I received the TV and had no problem setting it up at all. Everything is very straight forward; the TV is extremely light for its size (about 80 lbs) so it was easy to move to get it in just the right position. After setting up the surround sound and appropriate video inputs, I fired it up. After reading through forums about this TV (and other LCD/DLPs) I was expecting a terrible picture with the standard cable signal.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I turned it on. Right out of the box I thought the colors looked great with some minor tweaking, the standard signal was very acceptable I thought. Maybe that was because I had my expectations low, but I thought it looked close enough to my previous CRT TV.
The next test was the DVDs. The system that came with the TV for free was an off-brand DVD/VHS/Surround Sound setup (but for free, I can't complain) and it doesn't have a DVI output, so I hooked it up with component cables. WOW. DVDs looked great! I tried several different ones, some with action, some with lots of scenery; they all looked awesome. And for a free surround sound system (it retailed for $299 I believe) the sound was great as well.
Next up was the Xbox. I bought the HD adapter (The Microsoft one) for $20 and hooked it up with that. The majority of games right now are at 480 resolution, there are a few that are 720, and there maybe a couple that are at 1080. The games in my opinion look great. Some are slightly pixilated, but overall they look and play great on this TV. I can't wait to try out some higher resolution games, I'm not sure what Halo 2 will be at but I can promise you it will be getting a LOT of run on this TV come Nov 9th! Another cool thing I've done - While playing games (baseball for instance) I'll have the PIP (Picture In Picture) of a real game going on at the same time, or even split the screen - One half of the TV my own game, the other half with a real game going on. And with the push of a button, you can swap the two, so that the PIP becomes the main screen and the main becomes the PIP. Awesome!
A few days later I had a HD receiver installed from Time Warner Cable. I can't really describe how good the HD channels look. I've gotten chills multiple times watching Discovery Channel HD, the amount of detail, the vibrant colors, the overall picture is just stunning. Discovery HD Theater is officially my favorite channel now. TWC here has about 10 HD channels; Discovery looks the best by far. There are 2 HBO HD channels that great, the local channels (NBC, CBS, FOX, and ABC) will sometimes broadcast in a full HD signal that looks great, sometimes the video is just scaled up and it's not so great and won't even fill up the whole screen. I guess it depends on how the show was filmed/produced. After getting the HD converter, ALL of the channels look better though.
As you can probably tell, I've been thrilled with the TV and it has exceeded my expectations in almost every category. I have had only one problem that came up which was a 'stuck' blue pixel. LCD TVs have pixels that can become 'stuck' on or off, and with millions of pixels, it's not that uncommon, and usually you can't even tell. However, after a few days, I noticed and very bright blue pixel on the screen when I was switching between inputs and there was an all black screen. When there was video n the screen, it wasn't noticeable unless it was a dark image behind it but after discovering it, I couldn't help but constantly look for/at it while watching. This one little blue pixel was ruining the TV for me. I called Panasonic and they gave me the number to an authorized service tech to come look at it. Before I set up the call however, the blue pixel had disappeared. I'm not sure how or why, since most of what I've read about this says that this doesn't happen, but it did. While I'm extremely happy it happened, it is a little troubling. I did purchase a 4 year extended service/warranty contract through CompUSA however, so if it ever comes back up, I will be getting it looked at immediately. Another issue you may hear people complain about is the lack of depth when it comes to blacks, which is a standard 'issue' with DLP and LCD TVs. While I agree they could be deeper, I have no problem with the current black levels.
Overall - I LOVE the TV. I was expecting to have some buyer's remorse after buying it, but I haven't at all. Also I should note that I sit about 8.5' away from the TV, which I thought may have been too close, but now I think it's just perfect. The big screen along with the surround sound truly makes for a great viewing experience.
_____________________________________________________
8-19-2004 UPDATE:
The blue pixel came back, with a vengeance.
The stuck blue pixel(s) have come back, very bright, very distracting, very annoying. I called a service tech to correct it, but he said he couldn't get authorization through Panasonic to get the part.
I called tech support, they pretty much blew me off. I called their Product Info line and acted like I hadn't bought the TV yet, but that I wanted to know what they would do in this case - and used my current situation. He told me that yes, it would be fixed.
I called tech support back, he told me what the first one did - that I just had to deal with it. When I asked why I had been told it would be fixed when they I was 'thinking' about buying it vs being told it would not be fixed after I bought it, he said to me 'We don't get paid by you, so what does it matter to us if you buy a TV or not.' Nice, classy response from Panasonic.
I'm going to keep working on this to try and get it fixed, because you can see the bright blue pixel from 8-10' away, I will post another update if I can get anything done.
The 'requirements' I had for the TV were pretty standard. I wanted multiple component inputs - preferably 4, but a minimum of 3 (for HD, Xbox, DVD, etc) and I wanted a DVI connection (for either HD Cable or maybe a higher end DVD player down the road) as well as a RGB connection so I could use my computer with it.
My order of use would be
1. DVDs
2. Gaming (Xbox and PC)
3. Standard TV Programming
These requirements narrowed the field quite a bit, but the PT-50LC13 met all of them and with the deal CompUSA was running, that sealed the deal for me.
I received the TV and had no problem setting it up at all. Everything is very straight forward; the TV is extremely light for its size (about 80 lbs) so it was easy to move to get it in just the right position. After setting up the surround sound and appropriate video inputs, I fired it up. After reading through forums about this TV (and other LCD/DLPs) I was expecting a terrible picture with the standard cable signal.
I was very pleasantly surprised when I turned it on. Right out of the box I thought the colors looked great with some minor tweaking, the standard signal was very acceptable I thought. Maybe that was because I had my expectations low, but I thought it looked close enough to my previous CRT TV.
The next test was the DVDs. The system that came with the TV for free was an off-brand DVD/VHS/Surround Sound setup (but for free, I can't complain) and it doesn't have a DVI output, so I hooked it up with component cables. WOW. DVDs looked great! I tried several different ones, some with action, some with lots of scenery; they all looked awesome. And for a free surround sound system (it retailed for $299 I believe) the sound was great as well.
Next up was the Xbox. I bought the HD adapter (The Microsoft one) for $20 and hooked it up with that. The majority of games right now are at 480 resolution, there are a few that are 720, and there maybe a couple that are at 1080. The games in my opinion look great. Some are slightly pixilated, but overall they look and play great on this TV. I can't wait to try out some higher resolution games, I'm not sure what Halo 2 will be at but I can promise you it will be getting a LOT of run on this TV come Nov 9th! Another cool thing I've done - While playing games (baseball for instance) I'll have the PIP (Picture In Picture) of a real game going on at the same time, or even split the screen - One half of the TV my own game, the other half with a real game going on. And with the push of a button, you can swap the two, so that the PIP becomes the main screen and the main becomes the PIP. Awesome!
A few days later I had a HD receiver installed from Time Warner Cable. I can't really describe how good the HD channels look. I've gotten chills multiple times watching Discovery Channel HD, the amount of detail, the vibrant colors, the overall picture is just stunning. Discovery HD Theater is officially my favorite channel now. TWC here has about 10 HD channels; Discovery looks the best by far. There are 2 HBO HD channels that great, the local channels (NBC, CBS, FOX, and ABC) will sometimes broadcast in a full HD signal that looks great, sometimes the video is just scaled up and it's not so great and won't even fill up the whole screen. I guess it depends on how the show was filmed/produced. After getting the HD converter, ALL of the channels look better though.
As you can probably tell, I've been thrilled with the TV and it has exceeded my expectations in almost every category. I have had only one problem that came up which was a 'stuck' blue pixel. LCD TVs have pixels that can become 'stuck' on or off, and with millions of pixels, it's not that uncommon, and usually you can't even tell. However, after a few days, I noticed and very bright blue pixel on the screen when I was switching between inputs and there was an all black screen. When there was video n the screen, it wasn't noticeable unless it was a dark image behind it but after discovering it, I couldn't help but constantly look for/at it while watching. This one little blue pixel was ruining the TV for me. I called Panasonic and they gave me the number to an authorized service tech to come look at it. Before I set up the call however, the blue pixel had disappeared. I'm not sure how or why, since most of what I've read about this says that this doesn't happen, but it did. While I'm extremely happy it happened, it is a little troubling. I did purchase a 4 year extended service/warranty contract through CompUSA however, so if it ever comes back up, I will be getting it looked at immediately. Another issue you may hear people complain about is the lack of depth when it comes to blacks, which is a standard 'issue' with DLP and LCD TVs. While I agree they could be deeper, I have no problem with the current black levels.
Overall - I LOVE the TV. I was expecting to have some buyer's remorse after buying it, but I haven't at all. Also I should note that I sit about 8.5' away from the TV, which I thought may have been too close, but now I think it's just perfect. The big screen along with the surround sound truly makes for a great viewing experience.
_____________________________________________________
8-19-2004 UPDATE:
The blue pixel came back, with a vengeance.
The stuck blue pixel(s) have come back, very bright, very distracting, very annoying. I called a service tech to correct it, but he said he couldn't get authorization through Panasonic to get the part.
I called tech support, they pretty much blew me off. I called their Product Info line and acted like I hadn't bought the TV yet, but that I wanted to know what they would do in this case - and used my current situation. He told me that yes, it would be fixed.
I called tech support back, he told me what the first one did - that I just had to deal with it. When I asked why I had been told it would be fixed when they I was 'thinking' about buying it vs being told it would not be fixed after I bought it, he said to me 'We don't get paid by you, so what does it matter to us if you buy a TV or not.' Nice, classy response from Panasonic.
I'm going to keep working on this to try and get it fixed, because you can see the bright blue pixel from 8-10' away, I will post another update if I can get anything done.
