Lacking Inputs - Panasonic CT-27G3
Written: Aug 25 '00 (Updated May 06 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good picture, reliable, all the needed features
Cons: Not enough inputs
The Bottom Line: Nice TV overall (except the deficit of in/out jacks) - would recommend it everybody (but if you have DVD, better get the TV with S-video or component video inputs).
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| dkozin's Full Review: Panasonic 27" Stereo Monitor-Receiver CT-27G3 |
Panasonic CT-27G3 is the most basic Panasonic TV available. However in this case (as with many Panasonic products) “basic” does not mean “limited in features”.
This TV was bought by me more than 2 years ago (May of 1998). I would estimate the average daily usage as about 6 hours. During this time, I didn’t experience any problems with it. Except occasional left speaker rattle, that started to happen (just occasionally) about one year after I purchased the TV.
The picture quality is very good, especially when playing DVD or rented videos. The sound is excellent (this model has stereo sound and 2 speakers) when I use my Dolby® Pro Logic stereo system, otherwise it's lacking both high and low frequencies and sounds as portable stereo.
This model does not have a super-flat screen, but colors are bright and image is sharp. In addition, the range of adjustments (brightness, contrast, etc.) is huge.
27G3 has channel caption function, so you can enter them and see CNN or MTV instead of channel number. It also has a clock and timers (sleep and wake-up). I use the wake-up timer daily – the TV is set to turn itself on at 7:00 am and turn itself off at 7:07 am. Small drawback – it turns on with a volume setting that it was turned off with last time. So if you turn it off with high volume setting, prepare to get scared the next morning…
The TV is quite easy to use. The timer function is great to wake you up in the morning - you wake up slowly. The tuner works well with my cable company.
The remote control is also easy to use, has very good button layout, and, unlike some other brands' remotes, you don't have to point it directly to TV for it to work. The menu controlling buttons (up, down, left and right) are located well. It also has a nice "R-Tune" feature that allows you to switch between two last channels by bushing the "R-Tune" button.
The remote also allows you control your VCR (almost any brand) and some brands of DVD and LD players, cable box. Unfortunately it does not control my Sharp 600U DVD player; I tried to find the code, but was unable to. But if you know it, you are very welcome to let me know :-)
The front panel has buttons to control TV’s menus, so you can do almost everything even without the remote. It has the following buttons: power, channel up/down, volume up/down, action (menu), TV/video.
The setup is easy: channel tuning is automatic. But you have to manually set the clock, I wonder why – my Panasonic VCR (bough at the same time) sets the time itself.
27G3 also has stereo (with noise reduction) and SAP reception, close captioning (selectable from the menu or automatic – on mute), trilingual menu system.
This model does not have an S-Video input, so if you have/going to get DVD player or S-VHS/Hi-8 VCR/camcorder, get TV that has it! Or better yet, get the model that has component video input (it is not critical, S-Video provides excellent picture quality). It would allow you enjoy the best possible video quality, finest resolution and detail that DVD delivers.
In addition, it would be nice to have additional set of inputs, preferably on the front panel - to hook up a camcorder or Nintendo.
The TV has only 1 set of inputs (composite video, audio - left channel, audio - right channel) and one set of sound outs (no video out!). I am sad :-(
Panasonic 27" TVs have very high ratings for reliability, according to "Consumer Reports" magazine. Reliability wise they hold third place – Panasonic 27" TVs hold third spot in ”Consumer Reports” Magazine reliability survey (Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2000, page 35), with Toshiba and Philips occupying two top spots - there is not much difference in reliability between them. FYI: SONY is 9th.
Nice TV overall (except the deficit of in/out jacks) - would recommend it everybody (but if you have DVD, better get the TV with S-video or component video inputs).
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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Location: California
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About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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