spooon's Full Review: Panasonic TC-32LX70 32 in. HDTV TV
Now is the time to start looking at buying a TV. Now that 32" lcd TV are below the magic $1000 mark it's only a matter of time before name brand models get closer to $500. What kind of quality can you get for under $1000. Plenty.
Specs:
• Built in tuner
• 1 component
• 2 hdmi
• No PC input
• Not 120hz
• 720p native
• Contrast Ratio up to 7000:1
• Response speed: 8ms
• No stand swivel
• 36.7 lbs
• 500 (cd/m2) Brightness
• 178 Viewing angle
• Compatible Signal Formats 1080p/1080i/720p/480p (It can accept 1080p signals but the resolution is still only a 720p set)
• 8ms Response Time
It was that time of year again to start looking heavily into buying a TV for the bedroom. Certain restrictions applied of course.
1) Does it handle 720p/1080i or even 1080p?
2) Does it cost less than $700?
3) Does it have more than 1 HDMI?
4) How does the picture look in HD and SD vs. other brands?
5) Does it have speakers on the bottom or are the removable?
General Thoughts:
Generally all TVs in the 32” range will display HD content and 480p stuff from non upconverting dvd players. I needed a television that had good picture quality yet had some flexibility in hooking up different players/systems to it. Right now I only have an Oppo Digital Upconverting DVD connected to one of the HDMI connections. Picture quality from an upconverting dvd player was better than expected at normal viewing ranges. It was actually better than expected. Of course when you get up to about 2-3 feet from the screen you will see more grain and pixels which should be expected as it’s not a 1080p set. The 720p HD native setting works fine for all the over the air HD I get through the tuner. Having 1 HDMI input was not an option and I was happy to see that this set had 2 but didn’t understand why the only included 1 component input. I have other systems that only use the component input like my Nintendo Wii. Most TV will have a standard PC input but this was one of the few that didn’t. Most will never use this TV as a monitor or even need to put memory cards into the TV. It would just be nice for the odd occasion where you need to hook up a laptop for quick file viewing. The overall feel of the body was not the highest quality but it will work. The unit was pretty easy to move around with just one person. The non swiveling stand makes it a pain to get behind the TV and connect to it as you have to rotate the entire TV.
Video:
Yes, this looks good. At the correct viewing distance of ~ 4-8ft, this unit really shines in both dark and light settings. The settings are configurable and allows for small tweaks to backlighting or 3 presets that work pretty well. I currently only watch TV at night with a lamp on so I prefer the Standard preset. It’s hard to say how good the set looks until you actually see it for yourself. I have had a Vizio and Sony Bravia LCD I would say its closer in picture quality to the Bravia. The Bravia has one of the darkest Blacks I have ever seen on an LCD but this Panasonic is about the same if memory serves correctly. This set does look better than the Vizio hands down. The Vizio was nice but the picture quality doesn’t compare. Standard Definition channels actually look alright and are watchable. After viewing HD, SD, and DVD sources I would say this unit can handle them all very well. There is no real need for 1080P at this size of television. If you sitting at the required distance and with good room lighting, 1080P shouldn’t be a factor in picture quality. Now, if you plan to use the TV as a monitor I would highly recommend getting a 1080P set and running it at that resolution and just making multiple work spaces as the text tends to get pretty small at higher resolutions. I can't really comment on viewing angle as this TV is sitting in my cabinet. From the angles I can view it, this TV has no real problems so far.
Some cool things I've learned about this tv using it the last month+
-The wide viewing angle provided by the In Plane Switching (IPS) (extremely wide viewing angle of 170 deg)
-1366x768 (WXGA) image resolution yet could still accept a 1080p signal from my playstation 3 (ps3)!
-LCD AI technology uses Active Light Control and Active Contrast / Gamma Control (helped a lot with the contrast levels)
HD Tuner:
I have had my run-ins with poor HD tuners but this one by far has the strongest reception. I can get the big 3-4 channels in HD and still average over 90%. I was able to actually pickup my PBS channel that I was never able to pickup without hurting my other main channels. I’m not sure about the technology of HD reception, but the 1 major flaw is that even at 90% reception strength I can still see some video defects on the screen from time to time. I was told that digital was all or none. I can see the channels but at times artifacts flash across the screen like I’m losing data. I don’t remember this happening very much with my other sets I’ve used so I will need to test it further if it’s a TV issue or just a HD reception issue. The signal strength option is buried and really should have had its own dedicated button. The first time I did the auto channel selector it crashed and was stuck at like 68%.
I haven't been able to figure out how to adjust the aspect ration for HD channels and make it stay a certain aspect. I like to have it justified yet it will continue to default to full. This is a problem when you have standard 4:3 broadcasts that have huge black bars on the left and right side. I am used to a little horizontal stretch so I would rather my image fill the screen then see those black bars. So for ever channel that has that 4:3 image I have to change the aspect ratio every time which is a bit of the drag since it would have been so easy to just allowed the user to set the aspect ration globally vs having it refresh to Full and making the user change it each time.
Controls:
I like the layout of the remote. One thing that is missing is an info button. Instead they use a “recall” button. I like to use this to determine what the input is on the TV. The input labeling is very nice and being able to turn off an input was a very nice treat. No need to have to skip inputs when you never use them. I was unable to use the TV remote as a universal remote for my oppo and that was disappointing. Why did Panasonic feel it was necessary to stick the on/off power button on the top side flushed to the back? When I first looked at the TV I wanted to turn it on without the remote. Since my TV is in a cabinet it was hard to find after feeling around the whole front face of the TV only to find out in the instructions that the button is flush to the back. The non swiveling stand is disappointment too. Sometimes viewing angles can be improved with a little movement but without that swivel, your stand or wall mount has to do it.
Sound:
The sound is acceptable for people who don’t have a separate audio system. I have a system setup but only turn it on for movies. The sound is configurable and I don’t really hear much difference from their different audio settings.
Reasons to NOT buy this TV:
1) No PC input
2) Not 120 Hz refresh, depends on 3:2 pull down
3) Not 1080P
4) No piano finish. WAF (Wife acceptance factor)
5) Only 2 HDMI and 1 Component
Superb Viewing, Even at an Angle The wide viewing angle provided by the In Plane Switching (IPS) LCD panel lets you enjoy an extraordinary picture fro...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
1366 x 768 178 Degree viewing angle for maximum color and clarity Normal, Zoom, Full, and Just modes to meet any broadcast needsMore at Amazon Marketplace
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