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Review NaN of Summary:
This 47" rear projection widescreen TV from Panasonic has been around (in Thailand's market) since early this year. Apart from this, there are just few others on the market, Pioneer 50" & 43" and Toshiba 56". Pioneer
TVs are somewhat older than the Panasonic, Toshiba is out of stock for good.
I'd seen the Pioneer on both 43" & 50" and was not so impressed with its brightness and its viewing angle.
When I looked at the Panasonic (with DVD), its picture is much brighter than Pioneer & Toshiba. It's nearly as
bright as a CRT model next to it on the display. Around April '99, this TV was selling for $4,200!!! (Yes, US
dollars), and 5 months later it's now $2,500. I think it's a fair price to pay for an RPTV (widescreen), and for
the same price will only get you a 43" RPTV from Sony.
After calibrating the unit with video essentials DVD, overall colors seems more natural, and its contrast is just
right. This unit has its own "memory" settings for each TV, AV1, AV2, AV3 inputs. So my AV1 pictures /
sounds are calibrated for watching DVD, while my TV pictures / sounds are on different settings. This is great
when you get lousy TV signals like we do here in Bangkok.
This TV is mainly used for watching DVD, and it doesn't disappoint. Seeing the full resolution of DVD on a
widescreen TV really makes a different. It's bright enough for daytime use and it delivers clear picture from
edge to edge, consistant brightness, with wide angle of visibility around the room. It only fall shorts on the
sound department, but it doesn't really matter much since our TV programs are not broadcast with surround
signals. (and it won't be so for another while!)
Apart from great pictures, you also get several picture features like P-in-P, P-out of-P, freeze frame,
multi-window, various zoom modes (2 adjustable), and other things you may or may not use. For me, RPTV is
a great compromise for front projectors (unless you have a big dedicated theater). It is bright enough just like a
CRT unit, and it delivers full screen of DVD movies at any time of the day and you can still watch TV on it
quite easily. It is also quite affordable and doesn't require as much maintainance as front projectors. I'd give
this unit a five-star for picture quality (and maybe 4-star for its sound). PS: no component inputs.
Related equipment:
Panasonic A160 DVD player
Boston Acoustics THX Speakers
(VR35s, VR14, VRS-Pro)
Yamaha YST-SW300 Subwoofer
Yamaha DSP-A2
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