The best and coolest think I have EVER owned!
Written: Oct 09 '01 (Updated Mar 04 '02)
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Pros: Picture quality same or better than models costing $4k+, Easy to set up
Cons: Plain remote
The Bottom Line: You can't beat the price and the picture quality. THE BEST DEAL OUT THERE!
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| booyotch's Full Review: Panasonic PT-47WX49 47 in. TV |
I'll start off by saying that this is the best thing I have ever owned in my life.
Here's a picture of my set-up:
http://members.home.net/bsmith664/TV/glad.jpg
When I decided that my Home theater was more than respectable and that my TV was now the weak link, I started doing my homework.
After alot of research, I ended up narrowing my decision to two or three TVs, including the Panasonic PT-47WX49.
From all the Forums I had visited, the consensus was that the Panny (as the owners refer to it) was the best deal on the market today.
The biggest thing I can say is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK! First you need to decide whether an RPTV (Rear Projection TV) is right for you. Do you have small children or overactive pets? If yes, then you might want to get the optional protective screen on this TV. As for burn in, just be careful not to leave channels with bright, obnoxious logo's on too long. Stations like Food Network and Discovery have see-through logos, so that they do not damage this kind of TV.
here are a few links that are ESSENTIAL in finding out more about RPTVs, and This model in paticular.
www.hometheaterspot.com
www.hometheaterforum.com
This is a great resource for asking questions, with knowledgable people more than willing to help.
By talking with these people, I learned so much. I finally decided that this TV was for me.
I pricematched the TV at Sears, and it was delivered in a few days to my house. The first thing I thought was "Whoah, this alot bigger than it looked in the store!"
An important thing to note is that you CANNOT trust the picture quality of this TV in the store. They just take it out of the box and plug it in, not even setting the convergence like you are supposed to when you first get it. Talk to people who own it.
Anyways, After studying this TV, and learning about it's inner workings I went to work.
First, when you get this TV, you must Turn the Contrast, or "picture" down! It comes set to the maximum from the factory, and if left there, will ruin your TV.. Most RPTVs come like this, and is called "Torch-mode" because it is set too high.
I set the contrast down, and did the simple 9 point convergence in the user menu. This is something that is done on all RPTVs. No biggie.
After that, I went into the "Service" menu, that is only accessable by servicemen and people who don't want to pay $500 to a serviceman for something they can do themselves.
Here is a link that you MUST STUDY if you want toi get this TV. It is a dedicated site that a great guy named Brett put together just for this TV. http://www.panny.tv/ ***UPDATE: I have corrected for his new site*** This is a must see...
So, with the technical information I had learned, I disabled the SVM (Scan Velocity Modulation), which is a useless feature implemented by companies that "softens" the image. It really only blurs the image, defeating the point of having an HDTV. I also did a few tweaks totaling about 10 minutes.
I was BLOWN AWAY! To get the full resolution of DVDs, you need to have a Progressive scan DVD player. I popped in Toy Story 2, and I was dumnstruck. I had no Idea that it would be as sharp and clear as it was. Colors were sharp and vibrant, and the picture was so clear, it was like looking through a window. Disc after disc was nothing but SPECTACULAR! Combined with Digital surround, it was just like being at the movies! The full resolution of HDTV was showing me what I had been missing.
TV watching is great also. There are several modes in which to watch, which are:
4x3 (like a normal TV, with grey bars on the left and right)
Zoom (Zooms in on the picture so that it fills up the TV)
Full (almost the same as above)
Just (the best of all of them)
The "Just" mode is simply amazing. It does some kind of conversion where it makes regular TV look like a widescreen broadcast, WITHOUT distorting the picture. Nothing is cropped, and no real noticable distortion. I don't know how they do it, but they do it SO well! I watch all my TV like this, and it's great, especially when ER, Sopranos, and Discovery are in widescreen anyway.
The user menus are very easy to navigate, and are very helpful.
There are alot of other side features in this TV, that are alot of fun.
Since there are two tuners, you can split the screen, and watch one show on the left with sound, and another on the right w/out sound (great for watching your shows AND baseball).
You can freeze an image and store it on the right side of the screen. you can watch TV on the left side, and have 6 thumbnail images rotate on the right side at the same time, so you can watch and channel surf 6 other channels on the other side!. Wow...
There are pleny of imputs, so hooking up your existing equipment is a snap. They TV also is mounted on hidden caster wheels, for easy arrangement and moving.
The biggest thing is that with a little bit of tweaking that ANYONE can do (about 10 minutes worth) will result in a picture equal to or greater than a TV that costs $4000+.
Just do yourself a favor, and poke around on the links, and you'll be set.
I have a few threads there listing everything I have done, including pricematching the TV... Hope it helps!
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UPDATE! March 4, 2002
Hello again!
Well, it's going on 6 months since my purchase of the Panny, and all I can say is that it's as much fun today as it was the first day. I have had NO problems with the Panny, and everything has been smooth sailing. I have been watching lots of DVDs, and my friends still drool at the picture quality. I have moved since the last review, and the Panny handled the move very well... A simple user menu convergence, and it was right as rain.
Some have asked if I have HDTV television, and to that I must answer no. It's not avalable out here, but I must say that Cable TV looks MUCH better on the Panny. DVDs of course look phenominal, but I imagine I'll get HDTV when it's avalable. I DID have Digital cable, but since the Resolution is so good on this set, it made the inherant digital artifacting on D-Cable really stand out, so I got rid of it.
I have been playing my XBOX on it, and even hooked up my PC to the TV for some gaming.
I cannot TELL you how much fun this set is. Watching DVDs is a joy, and we have people over all the time for "Movie Night".
Now all I need is to upgrade from the DD/DTS 5.1 system and get the new DD-ES/DTS-EX 6.1 :)
Don't hesitate to get this set, you won't regret it. I sure don't!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1900
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Epinions.com ID:
booyotch
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 2 members
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