Bang for the buck.

Best TV I ever owned. Went into the store thinking about Sony. After looking all TVs over this discounted floor model won my bang for the buck test.
CT32SF36A don't what the A stands for. Maybe a mid year revision.
Needs a bit of adjusting to suit your tastes as said in earlier posts. Three color temp settings (I like a cool picture). Brightness is set to 35 , AI picture turned off.
Makes the most of Digital cable and DVD with S-video inputs.

If you can find one buy it.

Similar Products Used:

Hitachi

Vivid Picture , great cable tuner, awesome screen.

No component but component has such a slight advantage over s-vhs that it is not worth mentioning unless you have a large projection set.

Awesome picture, awesome colors....
Speakers can make audio sound echoed at times.
2 s video inputs
Blows wega away in performance , reliability and value.

If you are going to buy a WEGA, make sure you buy the XBR.
If you are not planning on getting the XBR , get the panasonic.

Side by side superflats beats regular wegas hands down.

Only the XBR series can beat superflat just due to the anomorphic feature on th xbr, but is that only featiure worth 750.00 more. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony, proscan.

Very vivid picture, very clear , flat , awesome details, great colors,The contrasting colors with the superblack screen are awesome!!!

No component input, factory presets are aweful.

This TV is really an awesome set. The only thing that surpasses this set at a higher price tag ins the WEGA XBR 250. Wega is alot more expensive. This TV presents a conondrum. I have messed with color on this set for some time and have come to 2 conclusions.I have my set calibated at Sharpness=20
Picture/contast 40
Brightness=30
Color 24
Tint=26
This is with color temp normal, AI color =off, AI picture =off
3dyc=always on.

Then other setting is
color 20
tint 29
sharpness 20
picture 40
brightness 30
Color temp=warm
AI color =ON
AI picture=off
3dyc=always on
I have heard about signal problems and geometry problem.
Keep in mind that if you have the AI PICTURE=ON , the factory contrast setting is way to high and taxes the power supply of the unit while slowly burning out the lightgun, that will cause flickering and drop outs. Keep it to 40 or less or you will will suffer from permanent screen damage and greatly shorten the life and excellent performance of the set. For those of you that have had the picture level on the highest setting or have been using the AI PICTURE=ON.
You have probably already suffered performance loss and that is why you have flickering. Do not use factory settings.
The most important thing about this set is to keep picture level to 40 or lower If you must 45 max!!!
Sharpness should be set to 20 to 25.
If you follow the above you will have a great picture for years to come.

I prefer to use the first setting described with tint 26 and color 24, but those who want a more warmer picture can use the settings afterwards.

One you have these settings entered you will probably adjust the brightness as needed between 30 and 33
and color between 20 and 24.

DVD,VHS,LD,or Broadcast will determine that.
For TV I use the brightness at 30, color at 24.
For DVD through SVHS input I adjust the brightness as needed.
Just make sure your blacks are black when adjusting brightness.
This TV ROCKS!!! That is the bottom line.
Just don't tax the power supply and distort the picture by using factory settings, Keep AI PICTURE OFF!!! and Keep picture level between 40 to 45 max!!!!

I would have like component input and an option to turn SCAN MODULATION to OFF. These additions would rank this tv as perfect 5. Bang for the buck without the loss of performance against WEGAs , Superflat wins hands down.

Similar Products Used:

Sonys,Proscans.

I too have problems with tape playback streaks of light across bottom of screen. I am connected via rca jacks. tv has good picture , but geometry is off had service in for this problem they said they did best they could not too bad now.very hard too discount some of these problems.like a previous post seems to be implying.if we did that we would all be driving around in the rust buckets they manufactured in the 70's.sorry i didn't keep my 1986 sony almost as good as this set.

Extremely flat screen, great picture and good sound. A very good dollar value, especially when comparing to Sony.

Heavy.

This is a review for 99+% of the population who have a life and don't spend all your free time in front of the boob tube.

It has a terrific picture and if you connect it to a surround sound system it will give you a true cinematic experience. I have a Denon AVR 2800 receiver, Sony 650 DVD/CD changer with Paradigm speakers all around the room.

When the kids are watching television shows the sound is usually coming through the tv's speakers and for their size it delivers good sound.

What is the moire complaints, and the reds aren't red enough crap that the videophiles discuss here? They may have a bad set, but it's probably poor cable reception. Check to see if you have RG6 cable and that all your connections are tight. Make sure that your receiver is at least a foot from your tv and that your center channel speaker is properly shielded- this can cause poor reception. A bad surge protector can cause poor tv reception- and effect your other components too. Give the cable tv guy a tip and he'll be happy to upgrade you to an RG6 cable- it's a fatter cable and delivers a better signal.
Switch to satellite for an even better picture.

Most televisions have all their factory picture settings set for a retail showroom so they are all too high for any room in your home. Just turn them down until you like what you see. The extra high settings can actually damage the picture tube. I may get the AVIA dvd disc to get the ideal settings, I think its about $30.

Component video connections being a negative: Ladies/gentleman, unless you're an electrical engineer with the proper testing gear or a true videophile you won't see the difference when comparing to S-Video cable connections. Please use your eyes to do the comparison at a store. With the testing equipment I'm sure there's a difference, but we watch television with our eyes for gosh sakes!

I think the Sony Wega XBR has a slightly better picture and better sound from it's speakers. The 32" model is discounted at $1500 or so. I got this tv for $875 from a local guy who set-up my Dolby Digital, aka AC-3, aka surround sound system- they all mean the same thing. His prices were comparable to all the on-line dealers and better than the WIZ, Circuit City and PC Richards. He gets new business by referrals only. Consider using a local guy, he's more motivated to help you than a big chain store and certainly the on-line people. A big mistake would be to buy from a non-certified dealer, Panasonic won't honor warranty service. Panasonic would be happy to give you a list of certified dealers.

I bought this tv because it will fit in another entertainment center in my house. I'm going to upgrade to hdtv in a few years, after standards are set and the prices come down. Money wasn't an issue with me, but I really don't think the Sony XBR is worth the additional money. It has a perfectly flat screen so more of your audience can get a good view from different parts of the room and the pictue and sound is slightly better. The Panasonic television has the second best picture in my opinion, second flattest picure and is a great value.

Final note. I took the time to write this because I found this website useful when I did research before buying my system. I appreciated all the time that people take giving others advice. Ignore the pompous comments by those that obviously spend their entire free time in front of a television or may have some personal vendetta. Other websites to check: etown.com hometheatermag.com

Similar Products Used:

Sony Wega XBR, JVC, Toshiba, RCA, Proscan, GE, Zentih

Clarity, blackness, center channel input

lacking component inputs

After days and days of comparisons against Toshiba and Sony WEGA I settled with the Panasonic. After about 2 months of use I can say the only 2 complaints I have are:

1. No component inputs.
2. Subtitle on MUTE doesn't work when using center ch input.

I use the set for watching DVD's, cable, and VCR. IMO for DVD's its picture quality is superior to WEGA and Toshiba's top of the line 32". The Toshiba had component video inputs BUT the internal speakers can not be turned off and there is a slight buzz coming from them all the time. The WEGA was too expensive for what you get. I couldn't see enough of a picture difference to justify the cost difference. I picked up the Panasonic at Good Guys for $830.

After the 1st month of viewing I had made lots of adjustments to the picture setup and thought I had done a pretty good job getting the picture just right. Well I decided to go out and order the AVIA audio/video setup DVD and it looks even better now. The picture is so true to life and the DVD's look even better. Money well spent IMHO.

I have yet to see or have any geometry problems and the AVIA DVD really helped prove that to me. Everything is set up properly from the factory. I have noticed a very small amount of "moire" problems I read about on these boards. It is few and far between and I will keep an eye on it if it starts to show up in many more DVD titles. I had read that some people just had a warranty service call and asked the service rep to soften the focus so at least I have an idea if it becomes a problem.

All and all I think it was a great purchase as I wait patiently for HDTV to become more affordable in the next 5 years or so. Value rating of 5 stars but had to give overall rating 4 stars due to the missing component video inputs.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 32"

black level
colours

whites

really like the set but would like to know if others have these two things happen...during hockey games when the white of the ice is really dominating the screen the tv flickers a bit ...when close up is on players it functions normally. Also when the feed from my dvd is just a black screen there is some mottling of the black in the middle of the screen...this resolves as the movie plays.

Similar Products Used:

other panasonics

Great picture for a lot less than the Sony WEGAs. No geometry problems with picture itself.

see below

I recently purchased a Panasonic 32SF36 and I am amazed with this television except for one problem, and I am hoping that someone can give me some advice. There is a slight discoloration in the upper-left hand corner of the screen that is only visible when the screen is completely black. I have only been able to see the discoloration while watching letterboxed DVDs when the room is completely dark and the screen is either 1) completely black or 2) fading to black, which makes the discoloration extremely obvious, especially when watching credits. The spot is always just a lighter shade of gray than its surroundings.

The discoloration begins on the bottom edge of the top black bar and extends upward in a rough semi-circle approximately 3" and comes back down to the bottom edge of the black bar, about 6-8 inches away from the left edge. The shape is not constant. It moves up and down about half an inch to an inch. There is also a darker band across the very top of the screen that bows upward around the first spot and also moves up and down. The bottom black bar shows no signs of this.

In an effort to detect whether the problem was with my DVD player (a Sony DVP-S550D), with my TV, or with my cables I first connected the DVD player to the TV using the S-video input, the video cables that came with the unit, and a Monster video cable. With each connection the spot was there. Next, I connected the DVD player to my old TV (a Panasonic 22") and to my roommate's TV (a 27" Samsung). Neither of these TV's showed any sign of this problem, so I'm fairly sure it's not my DVD player. Finally, I connected the DVD player to my TV and removed all other components and speakers from the area. The spot was still there, so I don't think the problem is from a magnetic field. I observed the same identical spot viewing both The Matrix and Days of Thunder DVDs. By the way, the room was completely dark with the curtains drawn, so it was not glare.

Has anyome else noticed this problem? Does anyone know how I might correct this problem, or should I take the TV in to be serviced? I would appreciate any help that you can give me. Please reply to both e-mail addresses below. Thank you for your help.

Dave Thomasson

dave_thomasson@bkitech.com
thojd@worldnet.att.net

Similar Products Used:

panasonic 22"

Picture, 4 video inputs including 2 svideo, almost flat screen

remote control

I had 2 Sony 32" Vegas and both had the geometry and brightness problems. Returned them for the Panasonic. In my opinion the Panasonic's picture is much better than the Sony's. The Panasonic has very pure, beautiful whites and the colors are excellent. There is no convergence problems like the Sony's near the top of the screen. The whole picture seems less harsh than the Sony.

The remote control's ACTION button is a real pain. It is hard to hit the center of the button without hitting the left/right/down/up arrows instead.

I do have a problem with the Panasonic which isn't resolved yet. The picture is tilted a little. Really noticeable when watching letter box movies or menus. The Sony had a tilt control built into a menu option. This set doesn't. So either I need to replace it or get service people to come out and rotate the yoke. Not sure what I want to do yet.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Vega

I am absolutely pleased with this television. The picture has excellent color, contrast, and clarity. I considered both the CT-32SF36 and the Sony WEGA XBR but decided on the Panasonic because of the features and overall value of the television. Like most everyone else, I couldn't justify the much higher cost of the Sony. I would have to rate this television 5 stars!