Panasonic Viera TC-L32X1 32" HDTV LCD TV

I had spent a great deal of time researching LCD sets. I checked Consumer magazines, read reviews online and spent a lot of time in stores comparing many sets, both 720p and 1080p. I concluded that I needed a 32" to work best in the space that I had available. The distance from where the TV would be placed to the sitting area was about 5-6'. I had read that you should roughly double the screen size do determine the optimum viewing distance. So for me, 32" was just about right. I also looked at a couple 37" and 40" flatscreens, both 720p and 1080p.

After considering all the information I had accumulated I decided that the picture quality of the TC-L32X1 just cannot be beat, especially taking the price into consideration. Another set I looked at was a 40" 1080p Toshiba Toshiba 40RV525R which was selling for $578 at BJ's. The picture quality on the Panasonic was far superior even though it was "only" 720p.

The Panasonic has 3 HDMI connections, plus an SD card slot which allows you to view photos that have been uploaded to the SD card. I put about 75 photos taken from my digital camera and could not believe how good they looked on the TV... it was really surprising to me that they looked that good.

The only weak spot this set has is the sound. It is lacking in bass and lacks "punch". This can be solved by hooking up an amp and speakers, like many people would do anyway. But if you do not intend to add external speakers, you might be a little disappointed with the sound. But you must also consider the sound relative to the price and for me I was willing to sacrifice a little to get such an otherwise excellent LCD television.

I like the way the remote control was laid out. It had some shortcut keys for commonly used functions and worked really well.

All things considered, this is an excellent LCD TV.