Panasonic CT-20G3 - Great Second TV
Written: Aug 26 '00 (Updated May 06 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reliable, lots of features, good picture, easy to use, timer functions are useful
Cons: Only one set of inputs, a bit too pricey
The Bottom Line: This TV is a good buy, it has all the features necessary for the second TV in the house, and more.
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| dkozin's Full Review: Panasonic 20" Monitor CT-20G3 |
I bought Panasonic CT-20G3 more than 2 years ago. The designation (CT-20G3) is easy to decipher: CT stands for “Color Television”, 20 is the size of the screen in inches, G is the series (Panasonic G series TVs feature PanaBlack picture tube, SF series TVs have Super Flat tube), the number is the actual model number. The higher the number, the more features the TV has.
As you can see, 3 is a low number, which means that it is the most basic 20” Panasonic TV available. Let me repeat myself again: in this case (as with many Panasonic products) “basic” does not mean “limited in features”.
Since I bought this TV, it has been used, on average, for 6 hours daily. The TV still works like new and never gave me any reason to worry about its health.
The picture quality is very good, especially when playing DVD or rented videos. Additionally, the relatively small screen size makes it hard to see video noise caused by recording at the lowest (SLP) speed. The TV has stereo sound and 2 speakers, and the sound is good when played through the stereo system, otherwise (what can you expect from such a small package?) it sounds as portable stereo.
The color reproduction is great, the colors are bright and vivid and image is sharp. And I have brightness, color and contrast set to exactly 50%, so should the picture deteriorate in future (like in 10 years), I can increase them.
20G3 has a clock and timers (sleep and wake-up). The wake-up timer has a 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…
Otherwise, the wake-up timer function is great to wake you up in the morning - you wake up slowly. Unless, of course, you left the volume high the previous day. The TV is quite easy to use. 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 do not 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 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.
20G3 also has stereo (with noise reduction) and SAP reception, close captioning (selectable from the menu or automatic – on mute), trilingual menu system.
Although this model does not have an S-Video input, it does not really matter, because you would not see the difference in quality between S-Video and composite input (that this TV has) on such a small screen.
However, it would be nice to have additional set of inputs, preferably on the front panel - to hook up a camcorder or PlayStation. The TV has only 1 set of inputs (composite video, audio - left channel, audio - right channel).
Panasonic 20" TVs have very high ratings for reliability, according to "Consumer Reports" magazine. (Consumer Reports Buying Guide 2000, page 35). Once again, I did not have any problems with my TV in more than 2 years.
This TV is a good buy, it has all the features necessary for the second TV in the house, and more.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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 in Electronics |
 - Top 10 |
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Location: California
Reviews written: 841
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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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