One Year Review
Written: Dec 10 '04
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Pros: Great when it works.
Cons: Utterly discouraging when it doesn't.
The Bottom Line: As much as I want to, I cannot recommend this tv. Far too unreliable. And Panasonic will not own up to their mistake, which makes it even more frustrating.
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| ragontona's Full Review: Panasonic TH-42PA20E 42 in. EDTV-Ready TV |
Alright, let's just get this part out of the way -- when this television works, it's the greatest television I've ever owned. The picture is fantastic even with non-HD digital cable. Run a progressive scan DVD player through it and it's heaven. The black-levels are the deepest I've seen on any plasma... and that includes models that are true HDTV (this model is EDTV) that cost a lot more.
But, as I stated in the previous paragraph, that's when it works.
I initially bought the television in September 2003, through Tweeter. Probably the single-most exciting purchase I'd ever made. Brought it home in its huge box, set it up on my tv stand, and basked in the glory that IS a 42-inch plasma sitting in my living room.
That was in September 2003.
In November 2003, while watching a dvd, the television emitted some gnarly high-pitched whine and shut itself off. The LED on the front repeatedly blinked five times, glowed, then blinked five times.
(If you look up the User Opinions on CNET on this model, I wrote a review in there... and was actually the first guy to bring up this problem. Definitely not the last, though.)
The only way to get the tv to work was to unplug it for a bit, then plug it back in. And each time the shutdown happened, the period of useability shortened. By the time the Tweeter tech came out to pick up the tv, it was only staying on for a couple of minutes at a time.
While Tweeter had my tv in their shop, they provided me with another Panasonic plasma as a loaner -- the exact same model. And guess what? A couple of weeks later the loaner shut itself off in the exact same manner. Luckily, Tweeter was done replacing the faulty power supply in my TV, so I was okay.
Oh, yes... the faulty power supply. Apparently Panasonic put out a batch of these tv's with faulty power supplies in the fall of 2003, and I was one of the lucky ones to catch a bad one. Panasonic insists that only a small percentage of consumers got stuck with these lemons, but internet searches suggest otherwise.
Anyway, I got the tv back in December 2003, and all was good in the world again.
Well, for eleven months, anyway.
In November 2004 (last month) when, while watching "Long Way Round" on Bravo, the tv emitted a high-pitched whine and shut itself off.
My heart sank. I felt ill. It was at that exact moment that a sharp realization hit me: This is not going to be the last time this happens. This is going to happen again, and again, and again. I immediately got back on the phone with Tweeter, and they're going to pick up the tv to look at tomorrow.
They asked if I wanted a loaner while my tv was in the shop, and I declined. I just lugged up my old 27-inch Phillips from the basement. No fear of that one shutting itself off.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 4199
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Epinions.com ID:
ragontona
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Location: Northern Virginia
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Just a guy with opinions about stuff.
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