Panasonic PT-53WX54 53 in. HDTV CRT TV
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- Digital TV Standard: HDTV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 14:9
- Weight: 187 lb.
- Projector Technology: CRT
- Built-in Tuner: ATSC
- Screen Size: 53 inch
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Want a great picture for little dinero?
Pros
Great Price, Great Picture, Reliable & Widescreen HD compatible
Cons
Big and heavy, Possible glare issues, Doesn't have the "Cool" slim factor, Periodic picture adjustment
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
If you are willing to put in a little time calibrate the picture, you will truly be blown away that a TV of this price can look so good.
NOTE: The specs. on this website (and MOST others) are incorrect. Do not use these to go by. Read more for further info. Mainly, it does not have an integrated ATSC tuner.
General:
This model TV is essentially the wholesale version of the PT 53X54. My guess is the W stands for WHOLESALE...but it does have the OLDER or last years (2003) cabinet design, which in my opinion, is still very good looking. But from all the research I did BEFORE and AFTER purchasing this TV from Costco, it does and has (NEARLY) the same features as the retail model [read further for more explanation]. My TV was made in Mexico in August 2004.
I purchased the TV at Costco in the Los Angeles area and had to get the TV to my house, which was done in a compact pick up truck. The TV w/ the box is pretty heavy and unwieldy, definitely a 2 person or even 3 person for smaller people; job. It is very well packaged and protected, the outer cardboard seems to actually be a good 40-50 pounds. TV weighs about 175lbs. but does have 4 roller locking wheels on the bottom.
The 53" TV is a pretty big and not extremely deep; it's average for CRT RPTV's of this screen size.
The remote control is universal and the manual includes many brand with #'s to program it for multiple items. All of the buttons can be illuminated red (for night use) and it's layout is easy enough to use to change channels and navigate through the menu.
The quantity of user menu settings are only average but will give most people; 85% probably, a picture they are more than satisfied with.
The manual is just okay. If you don't know HiDef TV lingo some of the TV descriptions and what the set can and cannot do are not that apparent.
Menu Settings and other Features:
This set does have a nice Dual Tuner Picture In Picture feature. You can watch two channels side by side (split function) or have the standard little window, which you can move and change sizes. You can also determine which picture will have sound. Nice for husband/wife, parent/child or the sports lover.
Scan Velocity Modulation (SVM): this feature "softens" up some edges, however, it is selectable, and generally the picture looks better with it OFF; very nice because since it is selectable.
There are a 3 different picture settings, VIVID, STANDARD and CINEMA. So depending on the type of show you are watching, you can have three picture different settings. Very helpful for watching movies that have dark pictures or settings or shows during the day, so all you have to do is switch between the 3 settings without adjusting the Contrast or Brightness, a major convienance with CRT RPTV's.
There are a number of other settings to help get your TV as clear and crisp as possible. But through the "User Menu" I find the "fine tuning" settings a little lacking, mainly the 9 convergance, which helps to align the three tubes displaying the picture.
Picture & Use:
Out of the box the picture was OKAY, not great but not bad. Once you got through the automatic convergance or do it yourself, it improves to good.
If you are only going to be using this TV for basic (non-digital cable) I would not suggest this TV. Not that the picture is bad, but with higher end TV's, a bad picture or signal is magnified, making it look worse on a TV such as this.
I'd recommend having at least digital cable, a dish provider and or using this with a antenna and good quality coaxle cable from the antenna to the TV.
I've owned this TV for approximately 1.5 months now with about 75 hours or so of actual TV time. The only thing I have done to date is the standard "User Menu" setup, i.e. changing picture settings and using the 9 point convergence (as discussed earlier). This makes the picture look as good as possible without getting into the more enhanced albeit difficult and complex service menu settings. However, once I hit the 100 hr use mark, I will do a more comprehensive service menu convergence. However, to get into the service menu requires a number of button pushing in a certain sequence, which requires access to the Service Manual. But these TV's that have been fine tuned through this process look absoulutely STUNNING. But a warning: You can seriously damage your TV by "messing" around with the service menu settings. Or you can have someone come out a professionally calibrate it, apprx. cost is $300, but your set will look fabulous! [See the bottom of this review for a link for further "Fine Tuning"].
This TV DOES NOT have an integrated ATSC tuner (the specs on this site and others say it does)...what does this mean, yes the TV can display an HD signal from your cable/dish or antenna but you need a HD tuner from either your Cable or Dish company or a purchase your own for getting Over The Air HD signal from your local broadcast towers.
I bought this TV and thought it had the integrated tuner, which it does not. If it did, I could simply use my antenna on my roof to grab the free digital signal that is sent by your local broadcast towers from CBS/ABC etc...and display the HD picture. However, again, this TV does not DOES NOT include a ATSC tuner. Only a NTSC tuner, which means you'll get the basic non-digital stations. Don't get me wrong, even the regular channels look great from a good cable signal or the antenna but the HD signals look GREAT!
I do not have a HD tuner yet [I will update this review when I do] so I cannot attest to OTA (over the air) or a Dish/Cable HD signal picture. But I do have a nice Pioneer Progressive DVD player with good quality component cables. The picture is very cinema like! Very vivid and life like colors.
The only way to take advantage of the newer DVD players high quality playback (progressive scan 480p or 1080i signal output) is to have the signal go thru the component inputs (there are 2 of them) or the DVI input (1 of those) [discussed further below].
Note: This TV does not have 540p capability, it is 480p; which is the industry standard anyhow. The retail model does feature the up-conversion to 540p (which is nice, but most people cannot notice the difference in the picture). For a definition on 480i/p, 720p & 1080i; do a little HD research over the web.
Inputs:
DVI input: This TV has a DVI input (where as the "X" model has HDMI) no big deal. DVI is a PC technology but allows for essentially no signal degradation (i.e. the best possible picture you can get) from a DVD player or a box (like a Dish/Cable box). HDMI was designed specifically for the A/V industry, and sends audio signals as well. DVI does not send an audio signal, only video, but that only means you have the Red/White cable (or an optical cable) going to the TV for your sound (this is all discussed in the manual as well). However, the DVD player or your cable/dish box has to have a DVI/HDMI output to take advantage of this technology and you have to have a special cable, which can range from $30 - $120 (most times these are included with your DVD player but not always), generally the $35-$50 cables are fine for 98% of the population. If you buy a DVD player or a Dish box that has HDMI output but no DVI output, no worries, there is a converter that will solve that problem, but that is about another $30. (Hint: so before you choose your next DVD player or get a new tuner box, make sure it has DVI or HDMI output).
Component input: This TV has 2 inputs for component cables. These cables are similar to your basic composite cables; the yellow (or video) and Red/White (or audio signal). However, the component cables are far superior and near the level of the DVI/HDMI cables. The component cables use three cables for the video signal but they are ONLY for the video, so you have 3 cables sending 3 different video signals, hence a better a picture. So you will also be using the Red/White for inputting your sound to the TV.
S-Video input x 2 this is middle of the range quality, don't waste your money on these, go straight to DVI or component.
Composite cable input [aka RCA cables] X 3 (2 in back, 1 in front); these are even worse quality than S-video, so don't bother, except for the audio.
RF input x 2 (this is your standard coaxle cable, from either your cable or antenna box, even a Dish box if you want). [Note: You can actually get a better picture with high quality, shielded coaxle cable than S-video or composite cables].
Optical cable input x 1: you can also get a nicer higher quality sound with your surround sound system by using this input for only your audio.
Also, this TV DOES NOT have a SD or PC card slot (as the specs on this website and others indicate). Usually only more expensive TV's have this. The PC Card slot means you can use your digital camera memory card and display the pictures you have already taken on the screen. And the SD card slot is for TV's WITH integrated tuners and for use with your digital cable so you do not have to rent or buy a tuner box to get your cable and HD signal. However, most (if not all) cable companies charge for you to rent their card. And there are still issues of compatibility with the SD cards. So you are not really missing anything.
Final input note: This TV DOES NOT accept a 720p signal input. Which means two things:
1) ABC and FOX broadcast in 720p(for HD that is) but because you cannot watch an HD broadcast signal without purchsing a seperate tuner box anyhow (dish/cable or otherwise) it's not a big deal. So just make sure the tuner box you buy or use will UP CONVERT a 720p signal to 1080i signal (NOT DOWN Convert to 480p).
2) If you use an X-Box for video games and do not have a HD tuner like I mentioned above, you will not be able to play some of the games, unless you turn down the settings.
But the above is no big deal. You still need to purchase a tuner box to see HD signals anyhow (other than watching DVD's).
Overall the TV is great. Great picture when properly setup. However, be warned. Purchasing this TV has made me obsessed with HD technology to where I have self-educated myself and am always in search of the best picture.
There are better TV's out there that will give you a better picture out of the box, but not without you paying significantly more for it. And with a little "tweaking" and adjusting this TV, it will make as good of a picture as the $5000 LCD and Plasma screen TV's out there; IF NOT BETTER.
It is a Panasonic, so reliability should not be an issue, and so far has not with me.
Generally, if you are going to have a problem with a CRT RPTV you are going to have it within the first 35 hours of TV time. And I have no problems or gripes to report, other than I was mislead by this and other sites in terms of the capabilities and features of this TV but have become pleasantly surprised by the great picture!
Summation of why you should buy this TV:
1) Very Reasonable Price
2) One of the best pictures out there you can get; regardless of money!
3) Reliable brand
4) It's HD compatible and it's a Widescreen
Finally for the bad things:
1) It's big and heavy
2) if you are putting the TV in a room with a lot of light, you will probably have some glare issues.
3) CRT RPTV is older technology and doesn't have the "Cool" slim factor.
4) It will need periodic picture adjusting for optimal display
I've taken some specs. from websites and combined them, read below.
Here is some specs taken from another website:
Product Type:Standard Projection TV
Features:SAP, Tone Controls
General Features:3/2 Pulldown, Closed Caption, Multi-Language Menu, Sleep Timer, V-Chip
Remote Control:Illuminated Remote
Aspect Ratio:16:9 (Widescreen)
Audio Format Supported:BBE High Definition Sound, MTS Stereo with DBX? Noise Reduction, Surround Sound
Comb Filter:Motion-Adaptive 3D-Y/C
Diagonal Screen Size:53 in
HDTV Compatible:Yes
Picture in Picture:Advanced PIP Functions, Dual Tuner PIP
Progressive Scan:Yes
Video Broadcast Standards:ATSC (Digital - SDTV, HDTV), NTSC (analog) (AGAIN, IT DOES NOT HAVE AN ATSC TUNER)
Input:A/V (Composite), Analog Coaxial(RF), DVI, Front A/V (Composite), Front S-Video, HD Component Video, S-Video
Output:Digital Optical, Variable/Fixed Audio
Slots:cableCARD, PC card (Type not specified) (DOES NOT HAVE THESE)
Dimensions
Height:51.4 in
Width:49.1 in
Depth:25 in
Weight:187 lbs (THE TV FEELS CLOSER TO LIKE ~170lbs
Finally, if you want to get an idea on what's involved with "Fine Tweaking" this tv through the Service Menu, check this link out. It will give you some ideas on what I mean by this. But heed all warnings.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=452174
General:
This model TV is essentially the wholesale version of the PT 53X54. My guess is the W stands for WHOLESALE...but it does have the OLDER or last years (2003) cabinet design, which in my opinion, is still very good looking. But from all the research I did BEFORE and AFTER purchasing this TV from Costco, it does and has (NEARLY) the same features as the retail model [read further for more explanation]. My TV was made in Mexico in August 2004.
I purchased the TV at Costco in the Los Angeles area and had to get the TV to my house, which was done in a compact pick up truck. The TV w/ the box is pretty heavy and unwieldy, definitely a 2 person or even 3 person for smaller people; job. It is very well packaged and protected, the outer cardboard seems to actually be a good 40-50 pounds. TV weighs about 175lbs. but does have 4 roller locking wheels on the bottom.
The 53" TV is a pretty big and not extremely deep; it's average for CRT RPTV's of this screen size.
The remote control is universal and the manual includes many brand with #'s to program it for multiple items. All of the buttons can be illuminated red (for night use) and it's layout is easy enough to use to change channels and navigate through the menu.
The quantity of user menu settings are only average but will give most people; 85% probably, a picture they are more than satisfied with.
The manual is just okay. If you don't know HiDef TV lingo some of the TV descriptions and what the set can and cannot do are not that apparent.
Menu Settings and other Features:
This set does have a nice Dual Tuner Picture In Picture feature. You can watch two channels side by side (split function) or have the standard little window, which you can move and change sizes. You can also determine which picture will have sound. Nice for husband/wife, parent/child or the sports lover.
Scan Velocity Modulation (SVM): this feature "softens" up some edges, however, it is selectable, and generally the picture looks better with it OFF; very nice because since it is selectable.
There are a 3 different picture settings, VIVID, STANDARD and CINEMA. So depending on the type of show you are watching, you can have three picture different settings. Very helpful for watching movies that have dark pictures or settings or shows during the day, so all you have to do is switch between the 3 settings without adjusting the Contrast or Brightness, a major convienance with CRT RPTV's.
There are a number of other settings to help get your TV as clear and crisp as possible. But through the "User Menu" I find the "fine tuning" settings a little lacking, mainly the 9 convergance, which helps to align the three tubes displaying the picture.
Picture & Use:
Out of the box the picture was OKAY, not great but not bad. Once you got through the automatic convergance or do it yourself, it improves to good.
If you are only going to be using this TV for basic (non-digital cable) I would not suggest this TV. Not that the picture is bad, but with higher end TV's, a bad picture or signal is magnified, making it look worse on a TV such as this.
I'd recommend having at least digital cable, a dish provider and or using this with a antenna and good quality coaxle cable from the antenna to the TV.
I've owned this TV for approximately 1.5 months now with about 75 hours or so of actual TV time. The only thing I have done to date is the standard "User Menu" setup, i.e. changing picture settings and using the 9 point convergence (as discussed earlier). This makes the picture look as good as possible without getting into the more enhanced albeit difficult and complex service menu settings. However, once I hit the 100 hr use mark, I will do a more comprehensive service menu convergence. However, to get into the service menu requires a number of button pushing in a certain sequence, which requires access to the Service Manual. But these TV's that have been fine tuned through this process look absoulutely STUNNING. But a warning: You can seriously damage your TV by "messing" around with the service menu settings. Or you can have someone come out a professionally calibrate it, apprx. cost is $300, but your set will look fabulous! [See the bottom of this review for a link for further "Fine Tuning"].
This TV DOES NOT have an integrated ATSC tuner (the specs on this site and others say it does)...what does this mean, yes the TV can display an HD signal from your cable/dish or antenna but you need a HD tuner from either your Cable or Dish company or a purchase your own for getting Over The Air HD signal from your local broadcast towers.
I bought this TV and thought it had the integrated tuner, which it does not. If it did, I could simply use my antenna on my roof to grab the free digital signal that is sent by your local broadcast towers from CBS/ABC etc...and display the HD picture. However, again, this TV does not DOES NOT include a ATSC tuner. Only a NTSC tuner, which means you'll get the basic non-digital stations. Don't get me wrong, even the regular channels look great from a good cable signal or the antenna but the HD signals look GREAT!
I do not have a HD tuner yet [I will update this review when I do] so I cannot attest to OTA (over the air) or a Dish/Cable HD signal picture. But I do have a nice Pioneer Progressive DVD player with good quality component cables. The picture is very cinema like! Very vivid and life like colors.
The only way to take advantage of the newer DVD players high quality playback (progressive scan 480p or 1080i signal output) is to have the signal go thru the component inputs (there are 2 of them) or the DVI input (1 of those) [discussed further below].
Note: This TV does not have 540p capability, it is 480p; which is the industry standard anyhow. The retail model does feature the up-conversion to 540p (which is nice, but most people cannot notice the difference in the picture). For a definition on 480i/p, 720p & 1080i; do a little HD research over the web.
Inputs:
DVI input: This TV has a DVI input (where as the "X" model has HDMI) no big deal. DVI is a PC technology but allows for essentially no signal degradation (i.e. the best possible picture you can get) from a DVD player or a box (like a Dish/Cable box). HDMI was designed specifically for the A/V industry, and sends audio signals as well. DVI does not send an audio signal, only video, but that only means you have the Red/White cable (or an optical cable) going to the TV for your sound (this is all discussed in the manual as well). However, the DVD player or your cable/dish box has to have a DVI/HDMI output to take advantage of this technology and you have to have a special cable, which can range from $30 - $120 (most times these are included with your DVD player but not always), generally the $35-$50 cables are fine for 98% of the population. If you buy a DVD player or a Dish box that has HDMI output but no DVI output, no worries, there is a converter that will solve that problem, but that is about another $30. (Hint: so before you choose your next DVD player or get a new tuner box, make sure it has DVI or HDMI output).
Component input: This TV has 2 inputs for component cables. These cables are similar to your basic composite cables; the yellow (or video) and Red/White (or audio signal). However, the component cables are far superior and near the level of the DVI/HDMI cables. The component cables use three cables for the video signal but they are ONLY for the video, so you have 3 cables sending 3 different video signals, hence a better a picture. So you will also be using the Red/White for inputting your sound to the TV.
S-Video input x 2 this is middle of the range quality, don't waste your money on these, go straight to DVI or component.
Composite cable input [aka RCA cables] X 3 (2 in back, 1 in front); these are even worse quality than S-video, so don't bother, except for the audio.
RF input x 2 (this is your standard coaxle cable, from either your cable or antenna box, even a Dish box if you want). [Note: You can actually get a better picture with high quality, shielded coaxle cable than S-video or composite cables].
Optical cable input x 1: you can also get a nicer higher quality sound with your surround sound system by using this input for only your audio.
Also, this TV DOES NOT have a SD or PC card slot (as the specs on this website and others indicate). Usually only more expensive TV's have this. The PC Card slot means you can use your digital camera memory card and display the pictures you have already taken on the screen. And the SD card slot is for TV's WITH integrated tuners and for use with your digital cable so you do not have to rent or buy a tuner box to get your cable and HD signal. However, most (if not all) cable companies charge for you to rent their card. And there are still issues of compatibility with the SD cards. So you are not really missing anything.
Final input note: This TV DOES NOT accept a 720p signal input. Which means two things:
1) ABC and FOX broadcast in 720p(for HD that is) but because you cannot watch an HD broadcast signal without purchsing a seperate tuner box anyhow (dish/cable or otherwise) it's not a big deal. So just make sure the tuner box you buy or use will UP CONVERT a 720p signal to 1080i signal (NOT DOWN Convert to 480p).
2) If you use an X-Box for video games and do not have a HD tuner like I mentioned above, you will not be able to play some of the games, unless you turn down the settings.
But the above is no big deal. You still need to purchase a tuner box to see HD signals anyhow (other than watching DVD's).
Overall the TV is great. Great picture when properly setup. However, be warned. Purchasing this TV has made me obsessed with HD technology to where I have self-educated myself and am always in search of the best picture.
There are better TV's out there that will give you a better picture out of the box, but not without you paying significantly more for it. And with a little "tweaking" and adjusting this TV, it will make as good of a picture as the $5000 LCD and Plasma screen TV's out there; IF NOT BETTER.
It is a Panasonic, so reliability should not be an issue, and so far has not with me.
Generally, if you are going to have a problem with a CRT RPTV you are going to have it within the first 35 hours of TV time. And I have no problems or gripes to report, other than I was mislead by this and other sites in terms of the capabilities and features of this TV but have become pleasantly surprised by the great picture!
Summation of why you should buy this TV:
1) Very Reasonable Price
2) One of the best pictures out there you can get; regardless of money!
3) Reliable brand
4) It's HD compatible and it's a Widescreen
Finally for the bad things:
1) It's big and heavy
2) if you are putting the TV in a room with a lot of light, you will probably have some glare issues.
3) CRT RPTV is older technology and doesn't have the "Cool" slim factor.
4) It will need periodic picture adjusting for optimal display
I've taken some specs. from websites and combined them, read below.
Here is some specs taken from another website:
Product Type:Standard Projection TV
Features:SAP, Tone Controls
General Features:3/2 Pulldown, Closed Caption, Multi-Language Menu, Sleep Timer, V-Chip
Remote Control:Illuminated Remote
Aspect Ratio:16:9 (Widescreen)
Audio Format Supported:BBE High Definition Sound, MTS Stereo with DBX? Noise Reduction, Surround Sound
Comb Filter:Motion-Adaptive 3D-Y/C
Diagonal Screen Size:53 in
HDTV Compatible:Yes
Picture in Picture:Advanced PIP Functions, Dual Tuner PIP
Progressive Scan:Yes
Video Broadcast Standards:ATSC (Digital - SDTV, HDTV), NTSC (analog) (AGAIN, IT DOES NOT HAVE AN ATSC TUNER)
Input:A/V (Composite), Analog Coaxial(RF), DVI, Front A/V (Composite), Front S-Video, HD Component Video, S-Video
Output:Digital Optical, Variable/Fixed Audio
Slots:cableCARD, PC card (Type not specified) (DOES NOT HAVE THESE)
Dimensions
Height:51.4 in
Width:49.1 in
Depth:25 in
Weight:187 lbs (THE TV FEELS CLOSER TO LIKE ~170lbs
Finally, if you want to get an idea on what's involved with "Fine Tweaking" this tv through the Service Menu, check this link out. It will give you some ideas on what I mean by this. But heed all warnings.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=452174
