Awesome picture, very good sound, easy to use, stylish and comfortable to watch

Plastic casing creaks, no component connection

The picture on all Loewe TV is vivid yet natural...subtle and bright colours co-exist...it's a lovely balance without the harsh contrast of some Japanese TVs. Very solid blacks and neutral colour balance.

The sound is full and detailed - people often overlook the quality of the speakers!

Ergonomics is great - online information menu and a remote control that feels very comfortable and looks like a piece of art.

Bad points, the plastic casing on the TV sometimes creaks or groans as the TV warms up. Advice was to put felt under the TV to isolate the rubber base which allows just a tiny bit of 'give' to allow expansion.

Component connection (S-video, RGB is avail) would have been nice since this gives the best DVD image.

If you can afford it, the Loewe Aconda is that much better which is surprising since Planus/Profil/Calida are already so good.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Panasonic

Upcoverts interlace signal to digital progressive. Lots of functions, menu driven, bright, vivid colors, & on line help.

This is by far the best TV I own. I'm using cable to watch TV programs and the upconversion is great. It produces clear, vivid, & bright pictures. Format 16:9, 4:3, Panorama and Cinema are very useful. Sound is better than the Wega with different DSP. But to top it all, every bit about this unit can be tweaked. If you want to use the VGA input, you must set it up by calling Sensory Science/SonicBlue for support, otherwise, you will not see the connection settings.
Hook up your DVD to component video is great. The CV input can only accept interlace signals, so if you have a progressive DVD this will not work. Instead, spend another $170 for the transcoder DVT-100 which converts CV to VGA is worth it. Using the VGA input (accepts: 480i, 480P, 1080i at 31.5 to 60 Hz)to watch DVD is the ultimate viewing experience. It's very realistic watching movies like Final Fantasy, Cats and Dogs and Star Wars. Though I have not tried DTV/HDTV, for right now, I'm very satisfied with my setup.

My setup:
Loewe Planus
Sony STRDA 777ES
Toshiba SD9200 Progressive Super Color Stream
Polk RM7500 satellite speakers
Polk PSW650 & JBL PB12 Sub Woofers
Sensory Science DVT100 transcoder
Monster Cable (video & audio)

Similar Products Used:

Sony 36" Wega.

This Loewe tv has a great picture with well balanced colours, not overly bright or colourful as most Japanese tv's.
Can use their sound system or link easily into home cinema system or just via VCR to hi-fi.

100 Hz flicker-free screen and some clever electronics to show a 4:3 format on 16:9 with least distortion.

Slightly expensive but a quality product, also great looking.

Haven't taken delivery of my PLanus yet, that will be in a couple of days. However, the dealer said this model is being discontinued, thusly my great deal on this model w/o the stand (who wants that anyway???). So, if you're interested in a killer TV, go get it ASAP. I'll submit a review later, but for now, I'll dream of connecting this baby to my Pioneer DV-09 and McIntosh preamp, along with Paradigm Active/20's and watching some Braveheart and Eyes Wide Shut, woohoo!

*

excellent picture quality, better looking product compared to the competitions and possible better made.

1. no 30, 60 or 90 minute turn off option 2. You cannot switch back and forth between favorite channels with out using the PIP, picture in picture option.

I purchased this set because it offers a great picture (even on cable) and the Planus's great looks fits perfectly in my living room environment(not to big, not to small).

I saw the top of the line Panasonic flat screen approximate
cost $3,900. The Pansonic knocked me out, it trully has a great picture and probably is the best TV of it's type on the market today. Next came the top of the line Toshiba flat screen... again a great TV. As for Planus it to has a great picture and in my opinion comparable to the above Panasonic and Toshiba. What sold me on the Planus was it's seeming solid build quality, overall great picture compared to the competition and that I could get this set in charcoal grey (I hate silver TV Sets.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic, Toshiba

Crisp image, no jagged lines, incredible color,
simplistic design,

not found one yet

This is the LOEWE ACONDA that I have which is the new
flat screen HD ready Loewe. Looks like a piece of art
..seems much slimer that it is..looks like a flat panel..because of the curved back. weighs much less than
any comparable tv...overall very happy with it..
DVD images look amazing...
one note: i am not sure wether its the fault of the DVD or not (cheap sony) ..but DVDs ( i.e dinosaur) in certain color situation ( pale white on red) will show a blue artifact
around thin objects moving fast...weird thing is that when
I repeat the sequence I dont see it..only when I play it
from a chapter before and look for it...
could be also the motion compensation feture on the LOEWE.
have to play with the settings

looks,picture,sound,on board info

channel change delay

I CANT REALY FAULT THIS TV, IT EVEN LOOKS GOOD SWITCHED OFF.
I HAVE READ A FEW TESTS ON THIS TV AND MINE SEEMS TO BE THE
ONLY ONE WITH NO PIP, I FEEL A TELEPHONE CALL TO LOEWE COMING ON.PICTURE QUALITY IS GOOD ON ALL FORMATS WITH TOP
MARKS FOR STEREO SOUND,(PLENTY OF BASS).THERE IS AN ON BOARD
MANUAL FOR ALL OPTIONS, PROGRAM INF,HOOK UP ADVICE ECT.
FINALLY WHEN YOU SWITCH OFF,THE PICTURE CLOSES LIKE A PAIR OF CURTAINS....CLASS.

Similar Products Used:

harman amp, wharfdale dvd, panasonic vcr, wharfdale speakers

Excellent picture, even with so-so sources (VHS tapes)

Slow channel changes, lack of inputs

My criteria for selecting this TV was size and quality. I wanted a widescreen TV for watching DVD's and some off-air broadcasts, but really didn't have the room for a 50+ inch rear projection TV. I considered the Toshiba TW40x81, but had read too many complaints of problems and poor construction. I also didn't want to have to re-calibrate the set from time to time. Another set I considered was the Princeton 30" widescreen monitor, but as soon as I heard that it was 200+ lbs, I decided against it. The Princeton is also a fairly bare-bones system; just a monitor, though a fine one from what I've read. The Samsung PLH402W was also in the running, but it was too dim.

The Loewe Planus weighs in at around 120 lbs which is a bit more managable than most widescreen TVs. I was able to look at one at a local Good Guys; something I couldn't do with the Princeton. they let me bring in a few DVD's and try them out on the Planus and that is what really sold me. The salesman was very well informed about the set, which helped alot, but looking at some known material on this set was the clincher. I have to admit that I was also take by it's looks, especially in the graphite version.

Actually, there is an excellent etown review that really does a good job of describing the Planus.

http://www.etown.com/categories/product_profile.jhtml?bodyinclude=product_review&productID=523

I wouldn't add much to the etown review except that I didn't find any problem with the white levels. I used the Avia CD to check it an white levels seemed just fine.

The Picture quality is pretty amazing, even with poor quality VHS tapes. This is important to me because I rent a lot of movies and some of the more obscure VHS videos are not in great shape. In many review on the web, I often see the term "filmlike" used to describe this set, and it is a good description. Detail and color are great. The sound is a bit boomy with the integrated stand and it's built in woofer... you might consider a cheaper stand and a good quality subwoofer. This alternative will save you some money and improve the sound. Of course, this isn't an issue if you have a home theater sound system.

As mentioned in other reviews, channel changes are slow, but if you use the pip function or the channel selection menu (it's a bit like the DirectTV menu), it's really not a problem. If you go for the integrated stand, be aware that it has just enough room for two devices, DVD and DSS for example, so if you've got lots of home theater equipment you'll have to have some additional cabinet space elsewhere.

The Planus' week point is the lack of connections. It offers two antenna, two S-video, one component and one VGA connection. The VGA connection is the only one that will accept a 480p signal. If your progressive scan DVD player or HDTV decoder does not offer a VGA connector, you'll have to resort to a component-to-VGA adapter. I didn't have a problem with this limitation since I don't currently use other progressive scan devices. The S-video connection from my DVD works fine for me. It's still the best picture I've seen in a TV.

I've only had the set for a week, so I can't comment on reliability. Loewe is new in the US but I gather that it is a well known, high end brand in Europe. Loewe provides an in-home 2 year warrenty so I felt reasonably comfortable buying this set.

If you've got space limitations, or you just want a widescreen tv for a den or bedroom, the Loewe Planus is an excellent choice. There are few set out there that have the combination of features and good of the Planus. I'm no video expert, but I've looked at a lot of sets recently, and the Loewe auditions very well indeed.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba, Hitachi but this is the first "high end" TV for me.

16:9, 4:3, cinema, and zoom modes; film-like image using good source; spacious panoramic view

none

coming from a Sony Wega, i thought the fact that this model didn't have a completely flat image was going to be a drawback, but to be honest it doesn't even factor in my viewing of it. the super flatline tube really does give a pretty much pleasing distortion free image. Braveheart and Titanic are gorgeous on this model, I can't wait to view other movies, and cable offers a fantastic view also.

using with:
Pioneer Elite DV-09
McIntosh C15 stereo preamp
Paradigm Reference Active/20's
Tributaries audio interconnects
AudioQuest YIQ-2 Component video cables

this system yields an extremely accurate playback of audio and video, highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Sony Wega