PC makeover with Best Buy $1,199.99
- Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 42 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
-
9 out of 10 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"unbelieveable pic and sound"
Pros: picture, sound, features, inputs
Cons: cost, power consumption, setup
Summary: This set is true Panasonic. I based the purchase mostly on the Panasonic reputation of the past few years since there were no reviews of this set. I would place this with the Pioneer FHD1. The cabinet is beautiful. Inputs are good. Sufficient for me now, but I may need more than 2 HDMI in the future. I can't see it though at this time.
Setup and adjustment is a little bumpy - not smoothly executed but totally sufficient when done.
It has automatic audio leveling when using an antenna input. Unfortunately, with cable or satellite it has to be done in the cable box, which it isn't. You can't level an input.
Speaking of the audio, it is fantastic. My neighbor commented on that immediately and is jealous. The speakers themselves are about 2". The processing makes them sound as good as using my 12" stereo speakers. Bass is fantastic. There appears to be a resonance at a low frequencies. However, it may be what was broadcast because it happened only in one spot on one advertisement and repeated with the ad.
The connections to secure it to the wall when using the supplied pedestal stand are a joke. Fortunately, it is very stable on the pedestal and really doesn't need this, assuming it is sitting on a stable stand to support 123.5 pounds.
I would really like it if calibrating these sets was made doable by none technically challenge people. I think this set is less calibratable then last years version, but I am still waiting on a real technical review to find out.
It looks most impressive at about 4 feet. That is where the pixels disappear with 1080P resolution. Normal viewing for me is about 10-11 ft.
It may have some green push, but when I think it might, it is hard for me to tell if the green is not suppose to look like that. Not all green looks pushed just some landscape green - grass, trees, etc. - especially the ad for Planet Earth in HD.
Cost - paid a no hassle $3019. delivered - not setup. You can probably do a little better at a few other online retailers - but expect a hassle with some.
I can't configure it to make it easy to switch between component and HDMI on my DVR to see if there really is a difference. That is an issue of the cable box. The cable guy said one could see a difference especially in 50" and over sets.
Anti-glare screen effective but not perfect.
SD card nice touch. No headphone output. Only composite video input on front panel. Some basic controls on front panel. As with most sets the remote is the best place to control it. There appears to be service connections under a panel on the rear which would probably require special equipment.
Power consumption is rated at 695 watts. I was told by Panasonic that it was typically about 1/3 of that and I measured it with a Kill-a-Watt at about 300 watts with a PF=1. IE, watts=VA.
Overall - I would do it again in a heartbeat. Panasonic's reputation is not faltering.
