Excellent picture quality and audio is good enough to function as the center channel in a 5.1 setup.

Deceptive obfuscation in the owners manual that leaves the owner unaware of the severity of the problem of rapid CRT burn in from operating the set in a standard operating mode.

I have had my Panasonic PT-47WX49 for just over 90 days now. I have CRT burn-in from running the set in 4:3 mode. I don't feel that the manual was anything close to being honest about the potential devastating effects operating their set in a STANDARD OPERATING MODE could have on their product. Now I'm screwed. They won't cover the tubes. They should have a big red warning label that clearly states that running the set in the 4:3 mode will ruin the picture and cost $1050.00 to fix. Better yet, why not just exclude the mode altogether? The picture in progressive mode is basically 35mm film from any practical standpoint. Now though, the areas covered by the greybars in 4:3 mode are dark and red shifted. Not only that, but my set was supposed to be up-reved to include a resistor change to lower the luminescence, but it has the old circuit in it, even though their service bullitin SB-B02-01-08 states that units past serial number X will have the fix. My number was way higher. The technician was quite suprised. I'm blown away. One thousand dollars in damage from BARELY running a brand new TV in a standard operating mode. I'm going to see if I have any legal options here for sure

Similar Products Used:

None

Excellent picture quality and audio is good enough to function as the center channel in a 5.1 setup.

Deceptive obfuscation in the owners manual that leaves the owner unaware of the severity of the problem of rapid CRT burn in from operating the set in a standard operating mode.

I have had my Panasonic PT-47WX49 for just over 90 days now. I have CRT burn-in from running the set in 4:3 mode. I don't feel that the manual was anything close to being honest about the potential devastating effects operating their set in a STANDARD OPERATING MODE could have on their product. Now I'm screwed. They won't cover the tubes. They should have a big red warning label that clearly states that running the set in the 4:3 mode will ruin the picture and cost $1050.00 to fix. Better yet, why not just exclude the mode altogether? The picture in progressive mode is basically 35mm film from any practical standpoint. Now though, the areas covered by the greybars in 4:3 mode are dark and red shifted. Not only that, but my set was supposed to be up-reved to include a resistor change to lower the luminescence, but it has the old circuit in it, even though their service bullitin SB-B02-01-08 states that units past serial number X will have the fix. My number was way higher. The technician was quite suprised. I'm blown away. One thousand dollars in damage from BARELY running a brand new TV in a standard operating mode. I'm going to see if I have any legal options here for sure

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None

price

dont know how to adjust picture

Love my TV. At costco it comes with the screen protector.I've noticed red the pictuce where it should be black I think. I have a Panasonic rp-56, loves pretty good to me.

Picture quality Price

Need to tweak out-of-box

Did a LOT of research to determine which set to buy. Decided on the Panny. I bought this set used from a couple who had fallen on hard times and had to sell it quickly. (They had paid $1900.00 and did NOT want to sell it. Almost cried when I hauled it away.) Set was only 6 weeks old and had no problems in that time. From what I''ve seen, when these sets have problems, they usually have them soon after purchase, so I feel pretty good about this set. Original owners had not sent in warranty info so I can still do that. Brought the set home and the picture was just OK. Went to Brett''s Panny site and did all the tweaks and WOW!!! What a difference!!! DVD video from my Pro Scan player is incredible! I was planning to buy this set from Sears and pricematching anyway, so getting it used, but still new was a BONUS. I highly recommend this set if you don''t mind doing the tweaks. You won''t regret it.

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None

Price, inputs, clarity & color once adjusted properly. Stands up to relatively bright light. Small footprint for size of screen.

Sound is mediocre -- I would assume anyone with this set is also running a full-bore home theater with dedicated amp and 5.1 speaker package. Cabinet is a bit flimsy. Takes a lot of tweaking time to get just right. Picture is unwatchable out of the box.

As many have indicated, it takes some tweaking to get this set looking just right. To me, that''s part of the fun. And once you get it set (I used "Video Essentials") -- wow. "Toy Story" is amazing -- the clarity, the colors, the three-dimensional imagery . . . The cabinet seems a bit flimsy for a set of this size, and to me the audio quality doesn''t approach that of the KEF Q15''s I use for the three front channels. But at less than 2 G''s delivered, this set is an outstanding bargain. I haven''t yet begun the next round of tweaking (disable SVMs and, down the road, ISF adjustment) so this set is going to look even better down the line. Very pleased so far.

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32" Panasonic direct view.

Value. Picture. Easy to operate. Appearance. Sound.

None found yet.

This TV really was not an option at first until I done my homework. It seemed to grow on me every time I would watch it at any retailer. And of course, the price had a lot to do with it. This set fits me to a T, looking for something inexpensive while impressing me. Mission accomplished.

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None in HDTV.

Audio, design.

Line doubler, SVM, foucus, Red Push, and remote.

Last year (February 2001) I wrote a review for the Toshiba 56H80. The set was exceptional, especially the picture. It required very little tweaking. DVD''s were cinema quality. I gave it a rating of 5. I wish I could do that with the Panasonic PT-47WX49. This set has nowhere near the picture quality of the Toshiba. The line doubler is medicore at best. I did the Avia calibration, defeated the SVM and did the convergence. The picture is still in need of further calibration. Even with DVD''s the picture is not cinema quality. Unfortunatley, I know of no ISF technicians in the Williamsport, PA area. Most of the Panny (Panasonic) web sites I have visited say that once the set is calibrated correctly, the picture is stunning. The problem is, when you pay this much for an HDTV, you should not have to work this hard to get a good picture. I wish I still had my Toshiba. If anyone knows of an ISF technician in the Williamsport, PA area, please let me know.

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Toshiba 56H80 (Highly Recommend)

Great Picture Great Price

Takes some tweaking to get just right.

This set is great for the price that I paid. I Still see sets that are not as good priced much higher then mine. I got this set as a price match plus another 10% off that. If you are looking for A great HDTV then this baby is the way to go.

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None

Image Quality (when properly calibrated)
Price
Size/Footprint

Cabinent (mine is a tad bent in places)
Red Push

HAve had the set for about 2 weeks disabled SVM on day two (Edge enhancement feature), adjusted the Red Push and had it professionally calibrated yesterday.

HUGE difference when properly adjusted. HUGE.

If you are going to spend XXX amount on this TV, you should pay the extra money to have it look the way it's supposed to.

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N/A

Incredible widescreen picture. This HDTV is a great unit at and a great value. The picture quality for DVD and Directv is awesome. The has the best picture that I have found in any unit under $4k.

Looks terrible in the store and out of the box. Requires tweaking to bring out great picture.

I did a considerable amount of research before buying this tv. The Panasonic looks terrible in the stores. I viewed it at Best Buy, Circuit City, and Sears and the picture quality was poor in all three locations regardless of the source. However, after researching the unit on the web, I was convinced that the picture quality could be greatly enhanced with a few tweaks. I went to two different Sears armed with prices off the web before finally convincing a salesman to price match. Total price at Sears including delivery was $1650 which is $400 less than they sell the tv for.

When the unit arrived I went to work on adjusting the picture. I performed the SVM tweak, lowered the red push and other settings in the service menu. Then I did the basic convergence settings. Still not 100% satisfied I bought the AVIA DVD and performed the additional tuning.

Wow what a difference. Even my wife was amazed how much more impressive the picture looked after the tweaks. The picture quality for DVD and Directv is awesome. The has the best picture that I have found in any unit under $4k.

If you are willing to take the time to do the necessary adjustments and take a leap of faith and buy a unit that looks terrible in the store, I promise you will be rewarded with an outstanding HDTV once you do your homework.