Customer Reviews

Panasonic CT-27HL14 27" TAU Series HDTV-Ready TV

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

this is a great television, and it is a big improvement over an analog set. There are a few aspects of the tv that make it a #2 choice, though compared to the sony. Consumer reports (2003 issue) states that not all hdtv's are the same in terms of the hd picture quality. this is definitely true. they rank (10 point scale)

sony 10
panasonic 9
samsung 5 (boy is Samsung bad. the king of fuzzy images)

the panasoic image is very close to the sony image, but not quite as good. images run prog. scan through a dvd player (not 720 high def., it is 480 lines (enhanced def.)when playing dvds prog. scan) the image is very very good, but there is slight blurring (probably only noticable by those of us that are very detail oriented, but it is there. a good way to test is to turn on the subtitles and you can see how well the letters look). I compared the panasonic and sony at the stores, with some difficulty becasue the images on screen keep changing, and rarely show a steady detailed image for long, but the sony picture (as of August 2004) were better than the panasonic. I would have gotten the sony, but they didn't make a 27" hdtv in early 2004 when I got this set.
Another advantage of the Sony is there are 2 component inuputs, this set only has 1, so you can't run a DVD recorder signal and DVD player into the set at once. also sonly has 4 picture settings, panasoic only has 3, and two of them are really dark. the Vivid setting is the only one that looks good.
The buzzing coming from the set is from the transformer (claims a repair person), that sound isn't from the speakers. a bit annoying, but there's nothing that can be done as far as I know to fix that.
one note on the s-video. the s video images are really dark on this set. I use the s video to get the closed captioning off some dvd disks that don't carry over on prog. scan, but it's unlikely many people will be using s video much unless you have a specific reason like i do. It's too bad they seemed to have messed up the s video on these hd sets (I tested a few). that may have to do with the hd technology inside. an anolog set may give a better image that these hd sets with s video.
this is still a great tv compared to others and the picture is great, I would imagine these tvs will last a long time so one should make the best decision. ( I chose the 4 by 3 shape because that's the format I watch the most of).

I have this TV for past serveral months and have *Love* *Hate* relationship with it.

The *Love* Points

1. Can't Beat the price for this HDTV
2. Can't Beat the size, It is small enough to fit into those tight entertainment centers, Honestly buying a bigger TV means you will have to replace your existing old Entertainment center which will cost you another $200 not to mention the pain of replacing the old Entertainment center.
3. Great HDTV reception via Component Video Input. (Note: Needs additional OTA HDTV tuner)
4. Very Good Picture quality for the price.

The *Hate* Points

1. Constant buzzing sound from the speakers even when the volume is low
2. Poor convergence at the edges looks that Speakers inside the TV produce magnetic interference that the manufacturer failed to notice.
3. Picture is too Dark in Standard Defination Mode (SD)
4. Unable make the 4:3 Aspect ratio lock permanently when used in HDTV mode it always defaults to 16:9 after power off.
5. The Menu for adjusting TV settings is TOO bright and *NOT* transparent.
6. Only *ONE* component Video Input!!!!!!!!!!! Come on panasonic, What were you thinking?.. This is a HDTV for Goodness sake!
7. HDTV ready only, No HDTV tuner included!!

If you can learn to live with the *Hate* points, then this is a decent TV.

I am keeping this TV as in HDTV mode the picture quality is excellent! in 1080i mode. It upconverts all signals to 1080 mode (Frequency doubling). It also as 3:2 pull down conversion for Flims, Velocity Modulation and Video Noise reduction makes the pictures very clean and sharp.

If you can ignore the poor convergence or lucky with your set you can surely keep this one for years to come.

EDIT: (PIECE OF CRAP)

Just after 2 years of use, My TV just Died! - No Picture, Sound OK.

I believe the Picture Tube is DEAD!

Part Number A68QCP891X CRT 27" 294.07 + Taxes and Shipping from Panasonic parts.

DO NOT BUY THIS TV.

Update:
After 2.5 years it stop working like what other reviewers stated. This was pretty much a rental, but I got a couple of more years then most. It cost me $60 to recycle this boulder. All is good now, that I just got a Sharp LCD HDTV to replaced it. I will give this a 1 star since the picture quality is my standard till today. Disregard what I wrote below.


I had this set for three months and it has been a very wise pick for me. Panasonic offers the best bang for your buck. For a couple of hundreds more a Sony or Samsung's set provides better image quality with the same spec of this model. Not to say that the image quality of this set is quite remarkable.

What it like:
HDTV is way, the only form of over the air broadcasting within a couple of years, so upgrade now. For the first time I got to use the progressive scan feature on my DVD player. The quality of the image is greatly smoother, but for some movies it looks a lot less detail, since the sharpening/noise/edge has been removed. Maybe that just the DVD player problems. I have a HDTV tuner, a Zenith model since this set is only HDTV ready, that pick up "over air reception" and the image quality is unparallel. But only a few stations now actually play any HDTV signal at all. I can pick up about 5-7 stations in Seattle, but usually only one has true HDTV broadcasting. I don't have cable or digital cable so I can not speck for that.
The remote is one of the easiest and most convenience to operate. With the major functions located within a big circular disc. The Menu is easy to navigate and to change features. There are three color/image settings. I have a setting save for DVD, normal local reception and one for HDTV reception, since each come in usually brighter or darker then other.

The average:
1 Component input is not very much nor is 1 s-video input, but why 3+1 Composite video for a HDTV set? The price of HDTV is falling but should fall more within the next couple of years. HDTV and wide-screen DVD image is 16:9 so you lose about 2 inches each on the top and bottom for this 4:3 unit. So this 27" is equivalent to a 24-25" wide-screen HDTV. BBE and AI sound are features on this set that you don't really notices at all. There is an annoying humming sound that can be heard when the volume is on 2-3 notches or less or depending on the distance you are from the set even with the mute on. My old analog TV with analog antenna gets better reception then this digital TV with an analog antenna.

Overall I am very please to have this set. The image quality is an upgrade over my older analog unit. I almost returned it for a 26" wide-screen Samsung, but didn't. This set 27" footprint and weight is less then other 27" set.

I bought this model in late June of 2004 at Best Buy in Seattle for around $600.00 - It's now January and the TV is broken....just doesn't have a picture. The "parts" are covered under warranty but it does NOT cover labor and every TV repair place is charging me $100 bucks an hour to fix. I'm going to end up paying at least a 1,000 for this. I've called Panasonic, I've called Best Buy and I pretty much get a "too bad" attitude. Plus, from the consumer websites, I've been on...I"m not the only one. Consider this a warning!!!

My complaint is the same as everyone else's. I have had my TV for less than 6 months. All of sudden; no picture! Sometime's it will turn on, but most of the time nothing. If I unplug it for a few minutes, than plug is back in, it works until I turn it off again. I will NEVER buy Panasonic products again. The Sony 27 HD would have cost me an extra $200, but at least I would still have a functional TV.

Two years and one month after purchase, my screen went black. I called Panasonic and explained just how many people on Amazon have the same complaint, and they really don't seem to care. There's no recall, it's just a poorly built TV. I asked if the whole repair was coming out of my pocket, and they said yes. I then asked why products are dying after only two years and I was told by the CS rep that he wasn't technical and had no idea. ABSOLUTELY NO DESIRE TO MAKE GOOD. Last Panasonic product we'll ever buy.

Mine crapped out, 1 year and two months. I purchased a Samsung to replace it. I will take out the speakers for ham radio use and put the rest of it out for bulk waste collection. I hope there is some future legal compensation for this.

When this TV works, it is great. Mine is 16 months old. Last night I turned the TV on and there was no picture, just a black screen. The sound worked fine. I could not bring up any of the settings menus either. I unplugged the set and let it sit over night. This morning I plugged it in and there is still no picture. The red light on the front is solid (no blinking). I did a search on the internet and this seems to be a common problem with this model. I have contacted Panasonic but have not heard back from them. From other's experience, I doubt that I will. Add Panasonic to the list of electronics that I will not buy again.

It was great for 1 1/2 years but it suddenly died. Sound but no picture. I'm going to call Panasonic tomorrow to complain based on all these other bad experiences.

I just looked this TV up here to see if anyone else had a problem. My symptoms are identical. This evening I had it on and it worked, I just tried turning it on a few minutes ago, though, and the audio works but no picture. Unfortunately, just like everyone else, I didn't pay for the Best Buy or Panasonic warranties, so I guess I'm in trouble.

*sigh*