3/05/2010

Samsung PN42C450 42-Inch 720p Plasma HDTV (Black)...




The new PN42C450 PDP flat panel HDTV by Samsung offers great value and features smartly wrapped in an attractive and accented "piano key black" cabinet. Add 600 Hz subfield motion technology, 3 advanced HDMI inputs that feature our Anynet+ (CEC standard) technology making system control of your DVD or Blu-ray Disc player a one-touch operation. New for 2010, all of Samsung's plasmas feature our new E3-panel single filter design that delivers improved performance, meets the new ENERGY STAR power consumption specifications, and eliminates off-angle blur making the sharpest of details like scrolling text easier to see and read. Experience the performance of Samsung's new 42-inch plasma HDTV that's both easy on the wallet and the environment.Just received the TV today! It arrived a day early, which was a pleasant surprise. Once I fired it up, I was ecstatic with this set. The quality is amazing for the price, the picture blows away a top of the line 42" 1080p LCD display that I've seen. Deep rich colors, high contrast, fluid motion...there is nothing not to like! Streamed Spartacus off Netflix, and compared to my old little 22" LCD it really came to life.(Even if the writing is really bad)


It was able to find some basic cable channels in HD, which is awesome, and Modern Warfare 2 looks simply astounding (again, much better than on aforementioned 42" and 22" LCDs.)

The sound is decent, it's actually better than I was expecting. It's obviously no Home Theatre, but I was impressed. It's got a few connections which aren't listed on Amazon...the 3 HDMI, 1 PC, 1 USB, 1 Component, 1 Dual Component/Composite, Audio In 1/8", Audio Out 1/8", Optical out, and cable. The menu is very easy to navigate and adjust, and in it you can turn off it's startup/shut down sound if you find it irritating. It's kinda soothing though.

One negative I've found is that the audio running out isn't controlled by the televisions volume, I guess that's pretty standard, but it means my cheap computer speakers aren't much good. (No remote) Also when installing the base stand it felt like I was about to destroy the thread on the screws that are used...They aren't easy to get in there!

It's very elegant, and looks great in my living room. It's not super bright, which I love (LCD panels hurt my eyes after a while) All in all, for the money it's a fantastic TV. I was looking for quality, affordability, and style.

2/17/2010

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L26X1 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV


From the Manufacturer (April 23, 2009)
The 26-inch Viera TC-L26X1 LCD 720p HDTV is ideal for lovers of music and videos. The iPod Entertainment Kit lets you control and play back your iPod (not included) music and videos. Also the Viera Image Viewer provides a better way to share your digital photos,just put your SD memory card into the memory card slot, and your digital photos are instantly displayed. With Viera Link, you can control your compatible Panasonic DVD recorder, Blu-ray Disc player, home theater sound system, and HD camcorder, all with a single remote and helpful on-screen menus.

12/20/2009

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L26X1 26-Inch 720p LCD HDTV...


The 26-inch Viera TC-L26X1 LCD 720p HDTV is ideal for lovers of music and videos. The iPod Entertainment Kit lets you control and play back your iPod (not included) music and videos. Also the Viera Image Viewer provides a better way to share your digital photos, just put your SD memory card into the memory card slot, and your digital photos are instantly displayed. With Viera Link, you can control your compatible Panasonic DVD recorder, Blu-ray Disc player, home theater sound system, and HD camcorder, all with a single remote and helpful on-screen menus.Very good 26" LCD television and is just the right size in our guest bedroom..... I believe that Panasonic beats them all hands down.... we replaced our very old CRT TV with this new light weight LCD and it does not take up as much space as the old unit did........ in my own opinion, this Panasonic LCD has the best picture and sound over the other brands, and I did a lot of comparing before buying ..... I really like the timer feature too...... the set-up menu and features are very user friendly. The remote is not lit... has no internal light... but I don't think any of them have an internal light..... not a complaint, but the remote has more stuff on it than I will ever use.... I have owned my 42" Plasma Panasonic for over 2 years now and I am very satisfied with it too.... The plasma has a little bit of a better picture, colors are more vivid, than a LCD has but a plasma also cost more money too.... and a plasma weighs more and uses more power than a LCD TV... This TV only comes in glossy black, the frame and base, which looks very nice but shows every speck of dust. I even called Panasonic and complained about that.....for not offering an alternate color like silver or gray.... I think that most all of the other brands, under 42", also come in only glossy black this year..... oh well.... my wife doesn't mind the glossy black..... Last month I purchased the TC-L32X1 for our bedroom and we liked it so well that we bought the TC-L26X1 LCD in the 26' size for the guest bedroom...... this TV also comes with a dock for plugging in your ipod but I'm not into any of that stuff so I can't say how well it works.... sorry... I have also posted a picture of our new TV here and that's my soda pop can next to the TV so you can get an idea of the size, etc.... and the President just happen to be on the news when I snapped the picture..... I recommend this Panasonic TC-L26X1 LCD TV...... they are very nice and well worth the little extra money over the other brands......

9/19/2009

Panasonic VIERA C12 Series TC-L32C12 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV...


The Best Way to Watch Movies at Home. Ever. With superior video resolution as well as audio playback, Blu-ray Discs are six-times better than DVDs. Not sure which players are BD-Live enabled? Or of what BD-Live even is? Visit your newly redesigned High-Def Headquarters to find out more and get in the know. This TV was just recently released as of the time of this review, and it's one of the best TVs under $500 you can find on the market. I did a LOT of research looking for what I wanted in a TV. I've been wanting a nice flatscreen for a while now. I've been holding out as and quality has been improving while prices have been dropping. I finally settled on this Panasonic.

I wanted a TV for primarily movies (Hi Def and standard or upconverted Def) and video games (Hi Def and standard def). I do not have a cable subscription and am not curious in HD cable services. That being said, I wanted a TV that would double as a humongous PC monitor. I'm pleased to say this TV meets and exceeds my needs so far. It's a big upgrade from the 20 inch tube TV I was using before the VIERA.

The LCD TV is nice looking and has a variety of cable inputs. Both the remote and menu systems are top-notch and useful. This TV puts out true 720p resolution and has 4:3 ratio (standard, full-frame) and zoom scaling as well. For TVs 32 inches and under, 1080p (while nice) is not necessary, as you'd be hard pressed to notice a dramatic difference with your HDMI or component sources. The picture is super sharp, and the image control obtainable with this TV is pretty impressive. You can really play with the picture and color. I was laughing at the efficacy to essentially reproduce that 60's Technicolor supersaturation if you want. It really brings films to life. You can make up to 4 preset color choices, too- One for films, one for sports or live action TV, one for video games, one for kid's cartoons, etc, etc.

There is 1 stuck pixel on the TV. This is to be expected, and is not noticeable unless you're looking for stuck or dead pixels from about 18 inches away. I cannot look the pixel when watching, though, exclusively when I'm up close on the screen. This is not an issue at all. You cannot pick out 1 dead pixel on a TV of this resolution. 1 out of over 1 million pixels, the rest are flawless.

I've just gotten this, and haven't fully tested completely the bells and whistles, like the SD card port or the VIERA Link HDMI software (waiting for 1080p media player, coming in the mail). PC to TV was effortless and looked great. Even my old PS2 looked pretty good, albeit jaggy. I think that's more the game than the TV, though.

I almost went and got a $300 or $375 no-name tv at Walmart or Target, but I'm glad I paid a bit more for a higher-quality product. This Panasonic is really, really, well built, and is a near-perfect 32 inch TV. I'm more than happy with my purchase. As I test it out more, I plan to update this review, but so far, I'm loving it! This Panasonic is a great TV at an affordable price point, and 32 inches is complete for most small to medium sized rooms.

Also, if you have any certain questions, post 'em and I'll do my best to answer.

**UPDATE**

I've had the TV for a while now and still love it. I got an upconverting Sony DVD player (model DVPNS710HB ) that puts out 480p, 720p, and 1080i upconverts of standard DVDs. I bought a $3 HDMI cable from buy.com (skip the $100 monster cables, trust me) and the picture is fantastic. The trick is that since the TV displays 720p, by switching the DVD player to send the data in 720p, you get a native resolution that lets the image look its best on the TV. While the TV has a scaler built in, having the DVD player scan and scale and then transmit via HDMI produces a signifigantly clearer picture. Some of the DVDs I have that were shot on digital video look very, very close to HD programming. My digitally remastered James Bond DVDs look signifigantly better than through a component DVD player. I was impressed.

As for the other features- the SD card reader is slow for my tastes. It takes a couple of seconds to load each picture. Of course, I have a VGA connector hooked up, so its much more convenient to load the pictures to my PC and view them thru windows. HQ images look AMAZING on this TV, though. I had always shot digital pictures at high resolutions, but couldn't really see them as they were meant to be seen, only having a 15 inch LCD. With the early TV as my monitor, my pictures now look 100 times better.

Another cool feature- through Viera Link, the HDMI Sony DVD player works with the Panasonic remote- no programing needed. I simply went into the Viera Link menu and selected the HDMI DVD player, now my DVD player will initiate and interrupt when I power on the TV and I can control it all from my TV remote. Very cool.

I'll post some more updates if I have anything else to say or if anyone has any questions.

LG 32LH30 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV, Gloss Black...


Think there's no such thing as an affordable 1080p TV with great features as well as technology? You'll think again when you take a look at the LH30. It delivers a stunning picture in Full HD 1080p and LG's innovative Core Technologies deliver an enhanced audio and video experience. With the LH30, affordability does not mean compromise. It means getting a great HDTV---period. See for yourself.The LG 32LH30 32-Inch 1080p replaced a 720p 32 inch Samsung which I returned because of erratic sound quality. The LG provides a clear picture for upscaled DVD movies and over the air digital signals. The speakers provide excellent sound for a small living room although the addition of a house theater system would substantially increase movie enjoyment. Standard definition signals reproduce a stable clear picture. Colors are very great and the set provides sufficient tools to tweak the picture for personal preference. I have not used it for bluray as yet but HD from satellite is very good. The features of this unit described on the Amazon specifications list accurately describe its features and can be relied upon. I am not a hard core cinema/video buff but I cannot imagine that this unit'll not satisfy most viewers who want a well priced midsized flat screen high definition TV. My five stars are based upon what I expect in similarly designed and priced units for a