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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Excellent HDTV performance
Pros
Sleek, lot cheaper than a 50" plasma and performs better over a longer period
Cons
Standard Cable (even just plain digital) looks just so-so. takes around 1 min to startup
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Highly recommend if you have HDTV in your area from the cable provider. Do not use if using a standard analog or just plain digital cable.
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.
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.
