Colors

Lack of dark color separation; red colors flare; bright whites overpower images; loss of top and left of images; manufacturing defects.

I selected the Panasonic CT-32HX41 based on its size (the only 32” HDTV that would fit in my cabinet) and its sharp picture quality. I purchased it at Circuit City, picked it up, and installed it myself. Initially I was amazed at the clarity and color, even from my video games. The DVD picture was sharp and colorful. The sound was poor, but that wasn’t really a concern for me. The manual was an absolute travesty. Also vibrant red colors really seemed to flare, and bright whites really seemed to overpower the image. It was a short time later that I began to notice the more significant flaws.

I set up my six-year-old Toshiba 27” television next to it for comparison. I ran a DVD to both televisions simultaneously to compare the picture. The Panasonic did not have the same level of contrast. For instance, black clothing against a brown leather couch all blended together into darkness. Setting the brightness at maximum helped, but of course this washed out the entire picture. No amount of adjusting the picture and brightness could bring about the color clarity I sought. Also, unless the DVD was in progressive scan mode, there was quite a bit of pixelation on the DVDs (especially skin tones).

Then I noticed the most glaring flaw – a discolored bar extended from the top of the screen all the way to the bottom. This bar was about 2 inches wide and was located about 5 inches from the right side of the tube. I thought it was a bad DVD, so I inserted another one. Still there. I thought maybe my DVD player was bad, and that my old television just wasn’t clear enough to show the defect, so I replaced the DVD player. The problem persisted. I thought it might be bad component inputs on the TV, so I ran it through S-video. Still there. Maybe all the inputs on the back of the television were bad – I tried the front inputs. Same problem. Maybe there was interference. I took the DVD player out of the cabinet, removed it from any possible source of interference, and ran S-video to the front input of the TV. Still there. I noticed it when using my VCR as a source. The most baffling part is that the problem did not appear when viewing a DVD in progressive scan mode, nor did it appear from a video game source.

I called Panasonic and described the problem. They did not have any advice and gave me the location of the nearest authorized repair shop. They said I would need to bring it there. I said perhaps they misunderstood – this is a 200 pound television, and I have had it for only two days. Surely a technician can be sent here. Nope – not without a charge. This is what I was told.

So I went back to Circuit City and described the problem. They said they would deliver a new one and pick up the defective unit. They delivered and installed the new unit. They were about to leave when I tested the picture – the discolored bar was still there! I pointed it out to the installer. He said he had never seen anything like that before. (He initially thought it was a shadow and began humorously waving his arms in the air in front of the TV). Then he went through the same troubleshooting steps I did, but nothing worked.

I had to max it the geomagnetic correction to –9 to get the picture on the second unit to level out. I also noticed on the second unit that about 5% of the picture on the top and left sides of the picture were missing (off the screen)! If I didn’t have my old TV running side-by-side I probably wouldn’t have known. No amount of fiddling with the aspect adjustment would give me the full picture. I returned the second unit for a refund.

I have nothing but praise for Circuit City for being professional and sympathetic in handling the exchange and return. I have since spoken with about 10 employees and store managers from different retailers and none of them have ever heard of any of these problems.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba

Hard to rate the TV. I ordered this from an internet vendor with a good price, but they are dragging their feet on delivery. Paid $1300 for the TV and $175 for delivery.
They charged my credit card on 07/22/01, but nobody has called yet to set up a delivery date. I have called the vendor numerous times (a large well known internet vendor), but no luck so far. If they do not do something in the next week, I will call the credit card folks and file a dispute claim.
Anyway, hope to be able to review this TV soon.
The problem now is not Panasonic, it is the e-tailer.

Clarity, Sharpness and ease of use. Nice flat screen is equally as good as the newest Sony WEGA with its DRC chip that this TAU is competing against.

Ugly Remote.. oh well

I have had this for about three months now and find this to be the best HDTV ready 32" TV on the market as of June 2001. I had compared this side by side the newest Sony WEGA XBR with DRC 480p using a Pioneer DV-37 Progressive scan Componant output and found them identical in quality. Playing Gladiator, A Bug's Life and Disney's Dinosaur proved to be very, very sharp. I cannot wait to put this TV to the test once I can get a 720p or 1080i input via satelite to get maximum resolution quality.

If you buy this TV you MUST buy a Progressive DVD player or you have wasted your money. You can tell the difference when switching from Progressive to Interlaced and MAN WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! Also it helps that the pioneer has additional features to control ambient lighting, black, whiteness and many more.

This TV is the best and is the same tube as the 36" and the WIDESCREEN TAU 34". If you are choosing between the Sony and Panasonic they are identical in picture quality but the Sony does look nicer and has more features but it is also $550 more expensive. You really can't buy a better quality tube.

Similar Products Used:

Sony WEGA 36"

good picture; good input connections

remote is so-so; menus are so-so

It's smaller and lighter than most other 32" flatscreens,
but still quite heavy....a major job to move it.

Made basic adjusments to contrast, brightness, and color
using Video Essentials. Holds black level OK. Colors are also OK. Overall picture is good. TV tuner is good.

Nice set of input connectors on the back: 2 component,
2 s-video/composite and 1 composite-only. I was able to
hook up DVD, LD, DBS, and VCR directly to the TV (I no
longer need a switchbox).

Despite the small size, the speakers sound fair after
adjustment (the default setting was much too bassy).

The remote is OK as a TV remote but decidedly lacking as
a universal remote. In can be set up to control multiple devices, but not all functions are available and some buttons are inconsistent in meaning across devices. (Eg
it lacks a "select" button when set up for a Sony DBS).

The menus are not bad but some of them involve too much navigation to reach what you want to adjust.

Overall I'm satisfied with the set, only minor complaints.



device. Button
layout is OK and for the TV it's fine, but I'm sticking
with a separate remote for the DVD and DBS, it's too
crippled to adequately control these.

Great colors, nice design, cheaper than Sony with better qualities..

On-line menu looks a bit tacky..

I think its a great HDTV, colors need a bit adjustment, other than that its a great deal since it has better qualities, and cheaper than the competition Sony.
36' one is also nice if you want a bigger one but a bit pricey..
I am very happy with this HDTV so far, especially when watching DVD and Satellite stuff..

Similar Products Used:

tested Sony with same characteristics..

Picture quality, picture quality, picture quality!!! Lots of inputs.

Weight, highly directional clunky remote

No geometry problems on mine. TV looks absolutely fantastic, even on cable-- I must have good cable quality. Colors are awesome.

It was a toss-up between the 32HX41 & 32XBR. I have exclusively watched Sony TV's for the last 15 years, but Sony lost out this time. The picture qualities on both looked amazing, but I preferred the Panasonic just a bit more. Then when you add in the 2 year warranty, free stand (November promotion), cheaper price, little lighter and smaller case, the Panasonic wins by a lot (IMO).

Sony has to wake up to the fact that their products have historically been blown away the competition, but not any longer.

The other choice for me was the 34WX50. The significantly more expensive price tag for a bit larger picture was a deal breaker for me. Also, the matching stand is very expensive. If they had thrown the stand in on the 34, I would have probably got it instead, probably. Picture quality betwen the 32 and 34 is identical, so in the end, the superior value of the 32 won.

The stand matches the TV nicely and holds a LOT of gear.

Enjoy

Good quality, simple to use. Like the ability to turn off the line doubler...although it does tend to make the picture somewhat darker. Picture quality from digital sources is simple outstanding.

Picture defaults not adequate...had to adjust the picture, brightness and sharpness levels to suit my tastes. Picture quality from analogue sources can be very dissapointing depending on signal strength.

There is not a lot of HDTVs out there right now, although the numbers are growing rapidly...but this is by far the best one I have seen for the money and I made it a point to check them ALL out. I have not been able to actually view HD on it yet (except in the store) but hope to soon as soon as I get my cable STB and I am also looking for an OTA tuner. Digital sources from a cable box makes standard difinition TV look absolulity inferior! Even analoge sources are much better with the line doubler if you have a good quality signal. At first, I was a little disapointed with it and even considered taking it back but the more I watch it...the better I like it. I still have several standard difinition TVs in the house but find myself not watching them anymore.

Similar Products Used:

None

Fantastic Picture Quality. Ability to turn line doubler off for interlaced TV video (if needed).

Lackluster instruction manual.

I first saw this set with an HDTV signal (1080i) at Circuit City, and was absolutely blown away by the picture. All the other sets picture around it was "pale" in comparison. I looked at Sony's, JVC's, and Toshiba's, and never saw as good a picture.

However, I was very concerned about getting a HDTV monitor for standard TV viewing, since I currently only have standard cable. I heard other reviewers mentioning that I better have a strong cable signal to get the most out of the progressive scanning feature (line doubler, or I would probably find the picture less than desirable. Even the salesperson indicated how HDTV sets were being returned because once at home the owner would find the progressive scanned TV picture unacceptable with an analog signal.

With this in mind, I wanted to make sure I had a set that I could turn the line doubler off and use the standard 480i interlaced signal if required for analog reception (on this set it's called the "game" setting).

Needless to say, I must have a decent cable signal. I have been using the 480p "TV" setting and would never go back to looking at 480i (standard interlaced TV). I don't miss those black scan lines. The picture is very bright and detailed with very little pixelation from a few feet away and much more movie-like. The only picture adjustment I made was to turn the sharpness level up a bit more.

I play games and watch DVD's with my Playstation 2. The Playstation 2 allowed the use of the line doubler feature, thus creating the same movie-like quality on games and DVD's. So, for now I don't see a need to get a progressive scanning DVD player.

If you need to upgrade your set now, and don't see the need due to lack of HDTV content, this set still does a great job with standard analog TV allowing DVD movies and games to look better than ever.

bright picture,good audio,cheaper than sony

line doubler is disapointing,needs good signal

good value,sony is more expensive has 90 day waranty.looks great with progresive scan dvd. flesh colors take some adjustment depending on signal. Works best with 1080 hdtv satillite. makes you crave hdtv signal.matching stand is recommended looks good together.

Similar Products Used:

Sony xbr

As mentioned in all other reviews.

Poor line doubling quality of analog signals.

I tried three of these sets. All of them had a VERY bad analog picture. The line doubling feature on an analog signal was terrible. I tried Satelite, and DVD (NTSC, doesn't output a HD signal) as well as standard antenna.

Don't buy this set if you are using an analog signal.