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The last time I purchased a TV was in 1996. It was a Toshiba 32-inch TV, which at the time was a pretty good TV because it had an S-video port as its main cool feature. Today, with all the choices of TVs available, from LCD to DLP, LCOS to Plasma, EDTV, HDTV, and still the traditional CRT supporting some of those flavors, choosing a TV can be a challenge. Currently, consumers are fascinated with LCD flat screen TVs and plasma screens. These are the current best sellers in the new crop of TVs, but they are still pretty expensive. While prices will be way cheaper a year from now as manufacturers ramp up production, I didn't want to wait any longer, so I waded in and bought a TV. The model I went with was the Panasonic PT-43LC14, an HDTV LCD projection TV for around $2,200. Mind you this was several months ago, and the price has dropped to $2,099, probably cheaper if you shop around. Mark the PT-43LC14 as the first purchase in the Virata household's quest to build a home theater system for less than $3000.
The TV
The Panasonic PT-43LC14 is a 43-inch HDTV LCD TV that uses projection technology to drive its image. It retains the flatness of an LCD, because the glass is an LCD, but it has a larger depth of around 12.8 inches. It features a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio and is compatible with 480p/720p/1080i HDTV specifications. Right now, 43-inch TVs are the sweetspot for HDTV. I bought this TV because it output a good quality image, was fairly inexpensive, and has some built in multimedia functionality. The TV carries digital audio and digital video via an HDMI port, which is the wave of the future for connecting home theater devices. For more on HDMI, click here.
The Screen
The Panasonic's screen gives you a theater-like look to your movies, and also provides, via the remote control, the capability to view TV content via the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio. You can also stretch the image to fit the screen and zoom the image as well, (but you have to be careful because your favorite stars can get stretched to the point that they'll have to perform plastic surgery even more so their hips don't look so wide) so you have several choices in which to view the content. For widescreen DVDs, I like to view in the widescreen format, for news broadcasts, the standard 4:3 aspect ratio is what I use.
The beauty with this TV is in its capability to output HDTV content. You get better detail and color than old style analog broadcasts, thanks to the display's higher pixel count which means less artifacting common with digital images. Your eyes will have to adjust though, because after a lifetime watching a traditional CRT TV, the change over to one of these new HDTVs is a shock to the visual senses. Because everything seems to be so crisp and the colors so vibrant, I recommend that you let your eyes break into the brightness. In other words, don't sit in front of a new HDTV for a three hour broadcast of Monday Night Football.
Built in Multimedia
With companies such as Microsoft trying to turn PCs into the media center of your living room, other companies like Panasonic are fighting back, making their TVs more and more attuned to the nuances of those who are into multimedia. While computers are the primary viewing source for digital images, it is only in the last few years that TVs have shipped with multimedia capabilities.
One of the cool features with this TV is its built in multimedia capabilities. I like to shoot a lot of digital images and I don't always like to download them to a computer to view them. The Panasonic PT-43LC14 features a built-in SD/PCMCIA card slot, so you can view your images direct from a camera that uses those media types. If your PDA supports the SD card format, you could also view digital images from those devices as well. In addition, the TV sports a VGA/SVGA/XGA connection, enabling me to hook up my notebook computer to the TV and use the display as a computer monitor, a 43-inch computer monitor. In my line of work, a big screen can be a great help on occasions. Browsing the Web and working on a notebook computer from such a big screen could make you spoiled though, especially after you unhook the computer and resort to its built in LCD.
First Impressions
After a few months with the Panasonic PT-43LC14, I am generally pleased with the TV's output. I like the fact that it is an HDTV TV as opposed to HD ready, or Enhanced Definition, and I also like the built-in multimedia capabilities as well as the fact that the TV can be used as a computer display. The HDMI cable reduces the amount of cable clutter that are usually found in the back of TVs to a single cable, so that makes things easier. But it also retains the traditional composite and component connections as well. The TV's fan can be a little noisy, especially if you are up real close to the TV, and it does take a few moments to warm up. The TV does have a bulb that has to be replaced every 10,000 to 12,000 hours. And that is a $250 bulb. I purchased the PT-43LC14 because it was at a price point I felt comfortable with and it sported all the features that I thought were necessary for my uses. Although it is expected that a similarly featured LCD TV will be around this price for the holiday buying season, that is almost eight months away, so I went with it. Next up on the list is an inexpensive surround sound speaker system to go with the new TV. But that is for another story. For more information, visit www.panasonic.com
| Specifications | |
| Diagonal Screen Size (inches) | 43 |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 (Widescreen) |
| HDTV Compatibility | 480p/720p/1080i |
| Digital Comb Filter | Motion-Adaptive 3D-Y/C |
| Edge Correction | Horizontal/Vertical Edge Correction |
| Progressive Cinema Scan (3/2 Pulldown) | Yes |
| Progressive Scan Doubler | Yes (Enhanced) |
| Wideband Video Amplifier | Yes (HD Enhancer) |
| Artificial Intelligence Sound | Yes |
| Bass/Treble/Balance Controls | Yes |
| BBE High Definition Sound | Yes (BBE ViVA HD3D Sound) |
| Built-In Closed Caption Decoder | Yes |
| Closed Captioning On Mute | Yes |
| Speakers | 4 |
| Stereo/SAP with dbx® NR | Yes |
| Surround Sound | Yes |
| A/V Input Jacks | 2 Rear, 1 Front |
| S-Video Inputs | 2 Rear, 1 Front |
| Component Video Inputs | 4 |
| RGB PC Inputs (D sub15) | 1 front |
| Photo Viewer SD / PC Card Slot | Yes |
| UHF/VHF Input | 1 |
| Auto Power On | Yes |
| Auto Programmable Scan | Yes |
| Channel Search | Yes |
| Menu Language | English/Spanish/French |
| 181-Channel NTSC Tuner | Yes |
| Picture-in-Picture Capability | 2-Tuner Split Screen |
| Rapid Tune | Yes |
| Remote Control | Lighted Disk Home Theater Deluxe Remote |
| Sleep Timer | Yes |
| Auto Shut Off | Yes |
| V-Chip Program Lockout | Yes (US/Canada) |
| Video Input Picture Memory | Yes (Standard, Cinema, Vivid) |
| Video Input Skip | Yes |
| ENERGY STAR Qualified | Yes |
| Cabinet Finish | Silver |
| Audio Input (for PC) | 1 front |
| Resolution (Pixels) | 1280 x 720 |
| Brightness Level (cd/m2) | 400 |
| First Surface Glass Mirror | Yes |
| Noise Reduction - Luminance | Yes |
| PC Display Capability | VGA, SVGA, XGA |
| Anti-Glare Screen | Yes |
| Selectable 4:3 Scan Mode | Yes |
| P-I-P - PC/Video | No |
| SAP/DVS Button on Remote | Yes |
| 16:9 Aspect Ratio | Yes |
| 2-Tuner P-I-P with Split Screen Display | Yes |
| Motion-Adaptive 3D-Y/C Digital Comb Filter | Yes |
| SonicPath Audio System | Yes |
| Enhanced Progressive Scan Doubler | Yes |
| HDMI-HDCP Interface | Yes |
| Built-In Tuners | NTSC (Standard analog broadcasts) |
| CableCARD Ready | No |
| Audio Output | 30W (8 ohms, 70Hz - 16kHz, 10% THD) |
| Artificial Intelligence Picture Control | Yes |
| Extra Wide Viewing Angle | Yes |
| A/V Output Jacks (Program Out) | 1 |
| Color Letter On-Screen Display | Yes |
| Parental Guidance | Yes (Channel Lock and Game Guard) |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 31.3'' x 49.6'' x 12.8'' |
| Weight | 68lbs |
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John Virata is senior editor of Digital Media Online. You can email him at jvirata@digitalmedianet.com
Related Sites: Oceania , CEN - Consumer Electronics Net , CEN - HomeTheatre , CEN - TVs
Related Newsletter: BN - HD Weekly , CEN - Gadgets Newsletter , Review Seeker
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