Panasonic CT-34WX50 (discontinued)

Review: My friend got this TV and after having been over to his place and watching a few movies I have to say I would not buy this TV. The picture is simply too dark, This TV has a very low tonal range in the dark areas. It is so dark that often times you can't see people's eyes as the whole eye socket area is black. Even after adjusting all the picture settings and bringing the brightness up to the maximum the darker areas remained black. I gave this TV 8 for value because it is very affordable, 5 for support because many people seem to be complaining about Panasonic's support. 6 for quality for the obvious problems with the dark picture and 7 for features because additional equipment is needed to get this TV to work in HDTV mode. If you want an honest opinion on this TV be skeptical of all the good review given by owners, after all who would want to admit they bought a bad product...

Review: Once ISF calibrated, this set is simply amazing. Buy one and you won't be disapointed

Review: Had to replace the remote. the 2 and 5 button stopped working. Could be because it is on 18 hours a day for the past year. A Great HDTV for our family.

Review: If space is a consideration, this good looking direct view set will fit the bill with compact size and a great widescreen picture. Despite list price, readily available at $2000-2500 max.

Review: We purchased our set about 1 month ago. This set is unbelievable when coupled with a progressive scan DVD player (with component outputs).. The only complaint that I have is with the picture coming off of my Directv satelite service. Previously, we had a Sony XBR set, 4:3 about 7-8 years old... When we watched Directv on this set the picture looked awesome! (actually, it still does look awesome because the Sony is in our spare room).. But, for whatever reason, the picture quality on the Panasonic (while watching satelite) is horrible. I don't know if I have set it up wrong but I am guessing that this TV is just too far ahead (technology wise) of the compressed Directv signal and the digital line doubler makes the picture look very bad. Any suggestions?

Review: I purchased the tv at best buy and have it connected to a toshiba (color stream)dvd and a toshiba HDTV satellite reciever. I think all in all it was a great match up My only complaint is not with the tv it's with the idiots that place a review on the msg board, and dont even own what they are judging

Review: I don't really like how it handles the aspect ratio conversions. I wish there were a way to simply tell it that the picture is broadcast in 16:9 instead of dealing with the Automatic aspect ratio. Otherwise, it looks nice.

Review: We recently purchased this model (although the screen size of our model is a diagonal 30 inches rather than 34 inches; model #CT-30WX50) and within a month it started mysteriously turning off about 5-15 minutes into operation. We called Panasonic and were referred to a local TV repair shop in New York. The repair is being covered under warranty but we are now very concerned about the quality of such an expensive TV. Another reviewer on this site recently reported a similar problem in which his TV suddenly "turned off" in mid-operation after owning it for only three months. He reported having to go through extensive problems in trying to get it fixed. Our TV is not yet fixed and I'm getting concerned that we might be faced with a similar problem. The TV technician said that he thought we had a "loose connection." After almost a week, we called the repair shop and they said they could not give us an update on the status of the repairs. For the few weeks that we had the set, we loved it. The picture was awesome, it played our widescreen DVDs with beautiful sound and picture, and has a cool feature that detects a signal from the DVD player to fit images from DVDs enhanced for widscreen TVs perfectly to the screen. I hope that we get our TV back from the repair shop soon, and in good working order. However, I'm starting to get nervous about the fact that it broke so quickly. I've never bought a TV that has had problems like this. Are there production or technical problems with the manufacturing of this model that haven't yet been widely reported? Is Panasonic reliable? The signs so far are not encouraging. Could production standards on such an expensive TV really be that bad or are we just part of a fluke statistic? I'll try to give an update when I find out about the status of the repairs. If they are timely and the problem seems truly corrected, I'll consider giving a higher rating.

Review: the television set perform ok for 3 months and it just died while watching a show. And never could turn it on. P.O.S. I immediately called Panasonic and received information from your customer service that I would be contacted within 48 hours and was given a case number: 1. A technician from Modern TV visited my home and examined and tried to fix my TV. 2. The technician was not able to troubleshoot the TV and took my TV to their shop. 3. The tech found a bad regulator. 4. This process from 1 to 3 took 4 days. 5. They replaced the regulator and realized that it is not the problem. 6. They told me that maybe a transistor was bad, replaced it, not the problem... hmmm 7. The technician thinks (99% sure this time) flyback transformer is bad... gets the flyback transformer all the way from New Jersey (you know how long that takes), and guess what. it is not the transformer. 8. Totally imcompetent service people (panasonic and their field techs) thinks now it is the main board. 9. Well it is not. They now think it's the other boards. 10. Well they changed all fricken' boards in the TV (now the TV is virtually new except for the plastic case and tube) and still don't know why the TV doesn't work. 11. It took them 5 weeks to do from item 1 through 10 12. Meanwhile, they (panasonic and our local tech) says they will try to get me a new TV 13. it takes them 2 weeks to get me a new TV 14. The new TV finally arrives and I don't get a "sorry" 15. The new TV set is out of vertical and horizontal picture alignment. 16. after nearly 2 months, I get a new TV but the picture corners are rounded like a old tube. 17. I say don't ever buy any f'n thing says Panasonic because Panasonic customer service people might as well be replaced by an automatic answering services. 18. dont buy this TV or for that matter, don't buy anything from Panasonic because if it ever breaks, you will have to grow gray hair or have all your hair fall out before you get something ok from them. 19. I paid 2600 plus shiping and handling and I got screwed. 20. The time I spent trying to get Panasonic people and the local tech to give me a new TV after 2 months is not replaced with anything, not even a fricken sorry letter. 21. I figured the time I spent is worth more than $10,000 and do you think you can get that compensated by those Panasonic robots? 22. think again and don't buy this TV.

Review: IF THIS SET HAS A BUILT IN TUNER TO PICK UP HDTV THATS GOOD BUT WHAT DO YOU DO FOR THE AREA THAT HAS LOCAL TV STATIONS BRODCASTING IN HDTV. CAN THE RECIEVER PICK UP SIGAN FROM THE LOCAL STATION IN HDTV

Review: It may not be cheap but if you want the best picture out there this set IS IT!

Review: Got this as an open box for 999, incredible price! The picture using digital cable for TV and X-Box for DVD is beyond my expectations. Almost went with the Proscan 38" but the picture quality isn't in the same league. Panasonic has got a real challenger for Sony's best now.

Review: I bought this set slightly more than a week ago, when my wife's 7-year-old 19" Magnavox TV/VCR combo bit the dust. We moved our 4-year-old 27" ProScan from the living room to her workout room, and put this monster into the living room entertainment center (it JUST fit!). VERY HAPPY with the quality; still tweaking and playing around with it. Two observations: I used to have all three of my video components connected to the ProScan through my Sony A/V receiver with a single pair of video cables (S-video & composite) routed from the receiver to a single video input (Video 1) on the ProScan(S-video for cable box & DVD player, composite video for VCR). I could then switch between video sources, including the correct audio program, with a single touch of a button on my receiver's remote (select Video 1, Viedo 2 or Video 3). When I tried this with the Panasonic, the set is "too smart," and refused to display the composite signal supplied to the Video 1 input, even though no signal was being fed to the S-video connector on the same the input. So, since this meant I had to route my video signals to separate inputs on the Panasonic, and hit two buttons to change video sources (one on the TV for the display, and one on the receiver for the audio), I left all audio signals routed to the receiver, but I routed all video signals directly to the TV. I went ahead and upgraded to component video connections between the DVD player and the TV in the process. (Neither my Sony receiver nor the ProScan TV have component inputs). Second observation is for "choi": I disagree with his (her?) minor flaw comment that "You can't display a 4:3 image in its true aspect ratio through the component video in; the TV assumes that component in is always widescreen and you only get aspects modes to support it." I viewed a 4:3 DVD via component inputs, and it dispalys fine. Then again, my DVD player is interlaced, not progressive. The purists may scoff, but what about setting that progressive DVD player to interlaced (I think they all have a switch in the back, and some may also switch via a menu option), and let the Panasonic's line doubler do the conversion. I think the quality of the line doubler is excellent.

Review: Best price I found was Best Buy $2,379. I originaly purchased at Tweeter @ $2,999 less some "customer appreciation" discounts brought me to $2,799. When I told the salesperson I spoted the set at Circuit City @ $2,599 he said I "can pay $35 & Tweeter will pick up the set" they also said they "have to draw the line somewhere". So much for "Price Matching" at Tweeter. Do yourself a favor Tweeter Customers & shop around, after 20 years of buying from them I won't set foot in that RIP OFF STORE AGAIN!!! Needless to say I didn''t pay the $35 I delivered it myself along with the monster cables & cancelled a $2,800 Mit 57" order at the same time! They lost $6,000 in one POP... I can draw a line TOO!!! The picture quality on this set is second to none. Progessive scan DVD's are like looking outside through a spotless window. I didn't have to adjust much other then turning the color way down. This is my second Panasonic, my other has become my second set & has not given me one bit of trouble in 6 years. Panasonic make an excellent product. I also purchased the progressive scan panasonic DVD ? model# around $219 & it is also excellent. You will not go wrong with this set, I looked at the others & they do not come close to this set (in my opition).

Review: I haven't seen a better looking TV out there (excluding front projection). It does a phenomenal job on NTSC with it's line-doubler. And the side-by-side PIP is fantastic for football season (and watching two games at once). Where it shines though is for progressive anamorphic DVDs, the picture is stunning. (I calibrated it with Video Essentials and have not seen any of the video problems mentioned above). The picture is detailed and virtually flawless (I prefer a tube TV to the 'BIG' rear projections). I have found that the analog inputs needed a lot of calibration out of the box (VERY Red and high contrast) that gave a pixelated view. My advice - don't judge it until you've calibrated it. I just got my HDTV cable box and WOW! This set does a great job on HDTV material. (And you don't have to pay for the HDTV tuner in the Sony.)

Review: About a year ago, I picked up a hi-tech video magazine, which reviewed this television in a most detailed and painstaking manner. I honestly wasn't familiar with all of its hi-tech engineering talk. At the end, having dismantled and tested the set to oblivion, the reviewer concluded this was one helluva TV. He was especially impressed that such an early model HDTV was so close to perfection. With the price coming down on this 34" Tau model, I'm working on excuses to give my wife to buy it.

Review: Before purchasing the CT-34WX50, I took the wife to circuit city to view HDTVs. We checked out the RCA 38" 16:9 $2200 (not sharp, poor blacks, dim whites, weak saturation) Next we checked out the Zenith 32" 4:3 (non-progressive)$1400, nice but without progressive scan it just isn't the best possible picture. Next we compared the Phillips 16:9 at $3200 and the Sony 40XBR2 at $3500. The Sony picture blew away everything in the store for sharpness, brightness... but then its $3500 and not 16:9... Next we compared a Panasonic 36XT41. This was really good, but not as bright and just a touch softer focus than the Sony. This set was priced at $1999 and is really nice for the price, but not 16:9... (The salesman said that the Sony 36" was "too sharp" to watch standard video/cable signals - that they were getting that set back from people that did not have satellite. I can believe this, since the Panasonic sets are phenominal on cable source. The line doubler is just a much better algorithm than Sony's.) So when I found out that Panasonic had a 34" 16:9, I went on the search for a place to see it. At the local "We give SOUND ADVICE" I was able to see the Sony, the Panasonic 34" widescreen, the Hitachi 34" and many others. I came away with the impression that the Panasonic has the best picture quality, even better than the Sony. The reason I feel this way is that the picture is free of scan lines, pixelation, or mask effects. The image has a film appearance rather than video. At the time Best Buy and Circuit City had a price war going on so CircuitCity ended up giving me the lowest price $2200 ($2599 sucker stickered). Now that I have had the set for two weeks, I am even more impressed with the set. Sound is very good from the 5 speakers built into the case. Remote is easy to use. Settings are individual for each source. And a bonus - you don't need a splitter and cables to do split screen! Only two negatives about the set - first, no XDS info display, so you can't find out the name of movies and time remaining. Second, there is not a single button closed captioning with sound feature. You either have to have closed captions on mute, or use the menu->closed captioning-action-closed caption mode->on/off->exit-exit to have sound with closed captions. So the capability is there, just no shortcut button to turn the closed captions on and off quickly. The set tuneup with Video Essentials is a little tough because the darker than black pluge cannot be seen, and the TV does not have a "Contrast" adjustment, only "Picture" which is not quite the same. Overall, a really great picture, good sound, great inputs, strong (standard) tuner, good noise reduction filters, phenominal line doubler makes cable source look great (you can tell its cable, but it is smoother than you've ever seen cable), and progressive DVD quality (I use Panasonic RP56 480p with BetterCables Component hookup) is so real the image looks three dimentional.

Review: Now I am worried. I was looking forward to purchase one but the report on bad service and lack of consideration from Panasonic makes me shy away. Maybe I should wait for the next model. I also wanted to hook it up to their DVD encoder (ROM) but am not sure that it will be compatible with my computers. While companies squable with which format will take over, maybe we should deprive them of our hard earned money. Remembers BETA and VHS?

Review: The BEst TV out there. It is 34'', Digital, Flat Screen, HDTV, Digital Surrond sound! The perfect TV ever made. Best for Video Games! Graphics are absolutely stunning on this TV.

Review: Overall I Liked the styling, but I found that Tubers such as carrots and potatoes do not puree well.

Review: Dear Panasonic: I AM WRITING TO YOU AGAIN SINCE LAST WEEK BECAUSE I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THIS CASE. I am writing to you again because I feel my ongoing effort to get my television set repaired or replaced is taking too long and I think there must be some kinds of corrective action and a disposition of the cause of what I feel unnecessary delays. My name is Yoon SHIN and I purchased your new Panasonic CT34WX50, high definition, 16 x 9, digital television about 3 months ago from an internet retailer from New York. This television set was delivered to me very promptly and brand new in Panasonic sealed box and the TV indicated that it was manufactured in March 2001. Rest assured, the television set perform flawlessly for 3 months and unfortunately the TV set indicated a failure to turn-on. The TV set just went dead while we were watching a show. I immediately called Panasonic and received information from your customer service that I would be contacted within 48 hours and was given a case number: Below is the summary this far from the briefing from my (your authorized) service store 1. A technician from Modern TV visited my home and examined and tried to fix my TV. 2. The technician was not able to troubleshoot the TV and took my TV to their shop. 3. The tech found a bad regulator. 4. This process from 1 to 3 took 4 days. 5. They replaced the regulator and realize that it is not the problem. 6. The further troubleshoot and finds a transistor in question, replaced it. Also found the Flyback transformer bad, and orders it from Panasonic, NY (?). 7. The tech gets the flyback transformer, however I am informed that it is not my turn to get my TV fixed yet even though they have the suspected part from Panasonic. I was told that they had to work on this guys TV who have been waiting for over 4 months. I feel the sympathy, but I think this should not be an issue in this situation. 8. After nearly 10 days, the tech realized once again, that it is not the problem with flyback transformer or the transistor he replaced. 9. The tech calls Panasonic in NY and talks to someone there and receives a recommendation that to further test the Microprocessor related functional issues. Thereafter I was not advised the findings on the TV set. 10. 2 days later, I was told my the technician that they ordered a new board (?). Evidently it was the board with the flyback, regulator, and the transistor the tech replaced, because when the tech replaced the board, the problem did not go away. The tech told me that evidently he already fixed the problems on the board already. Are you confused yet? 11. 2 days later, I was further advised that they ordered another board. I did not ask what it was because at this moment, I was getting a bit frustrated with the situation. 12. Today is October 14, 2001 and I still DO NOT HAVE MY TELEVISION. 13. Do you think your new, state of technology TV is a little problem child? 14. NOW YOU ARE TELLING ME AND THE TECHNICIAN TO JUST WAIT??? HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT? There must be something you could accommodate more than just to fix my TV and please don't' tell me that it really doesn't matter how long it takes to fix my TV. Your customer satisfaction rating, if I was given the opportunity, would be about 5 out of 10. I would like to rate it 5 because the TV outputs are very nice. However, your customer service department in conjunction with serious problems like this are not being addressed quick enough so that customer like me will not be OUT OF TV for over 4 weeks. As long I feel and know your customer service (warranty service) will take a sole out of a person, I will not have confidence in your line of products. Sincerely, Yoon Shin CAN YOU PLEASE ANSWER???

Review: This TV looks good - and has a good picture to match. Very clear and inviting. However, a closer examination reveals some major conveniences that have been left behind. One is the lack of Dolby Surround Sound. They could have at least installed this unit with Virtual Surround Sound to give us audiophiles something to dance about. In an era of luscious sounding speaker systems, it seems like a step back to 1970 with this HDTV. Another flaw I consider is the present lack of HDTV programming. There are relatively few productions that are in whelm of HD standards. Sure that will change as the years go by - but so will the price of this set in years to come. The third major flaw is not really Panasonic's fault. DVD's movies played on this 16:9 ratio screen may or may not fill the screen. You will still get black bars top and bottom on some movies. The problem lies in the format the filmmakers used when shooting. Panasonic does allow you to adjust and stretch the picture but I found it rather distorting to do. In the end, I would buy this unit if I won the lottery and money was not an object. For hard wage earners looking to ride the wave of HDTV, what this set delivers is more in looks than in performance. I think the average street price of $3000-3500 could be better spent on a conventional TV set with better performance standards, like Surround Sound and 16:9 enhancements. In years to come this set will thrive but by then it will have been replaced with newer generation models, hopefully, with more advanced standard options.

Review: Having had several HD sets on loan for my office and at home for over two years and with many hours of true HD now availble free from local broadcasters every night, it's time for me to buy. The CT-34WX50 will take my hard earned dollars primarily because it is future proof. The most exciting thing about HDTV is that it is constantly evolving and the last thing I want is to locked out of future improvements by built-in or propietary features. I prefer to think of my HDTV set as a high performance display with a specialized multimedia computer, RF modem and expandable storage attached. I want the Off-air set top, AC3 sound system, Digital VHS, DVD and HDDSS boxes to be seperate so that when upgrading, or when a device fails, I loose the least of my previous investment. Who would want to buy their best computer with a modem or hard drive that can't be upgraded? As far as performance the Falt screen 1080I performance CT-35WX50 easily matches my previous sets from Sony and Panasonic and yes...my wife likes the styling too.

Review: For an expensive television, it has really bad pictures. If it is a night or a dark back ground, the whole area blends in that I can not see the contrast between the objects in the dark area. When a person is wearing a dark blue suit at a dark room, I only see the person's head. I have called Panasonic, but they have told me multiple times to return my call because the technician was on the phone. I have not heard back from my last call 1 month ago.

Review: This is a great set for DVD playback, but only a good set for watching broadcast television. The built in line-doubling of NTSC signals misinterprets freeze-framed or very still images causing visible pixellation equivalent to 240 lines of resolution. This can be easily demonstrated by freeze framing your VCR or Tivo. Unfortunately, since the TV doesn't display 480i, you can't turn off the line doubling. That said, it's still an excellent choice for DVDs. Minor flaw: You can't display a 4:3 image in its true aspect ratio through the component video in; the TV assumes that component in is always widescreen and you only get aspects modes to support it. I have to use the S-Video input to view Casablanca!