Customer Reviews

Panasonic TC-L32U22 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bought this TV for the bedroom. It has a fantastic picture and great sound quality. One great feature is the automatic picture adjustment based on the room ambient lighting, saves having to mess around with the picture when you flip on the side table lamp. Also the factory color presets actually support the intended display, example: cinema setting looks more like film.
The only thing this set doesn't have that I would have like is an IP/Ethernet port. Otherwise I am extremely happy. Plenty of HDMI ports too.

After trying two other flat screen TVs and studying different models in showrooms and on the the web, my wife and I gave this model a try. My wife can be very sensitive to the intensity of an LCD TV picture and one thing she likes about this TV is that is has great adjustments for contrast, brightness, etc. In particular, the "Cinema" setting tones the brightness down and gives good picture clarity. She can also select a picture size or formatting that makes videos, widescreen or full screen DVDs, etc., all look good. Furthermore, there is no noticeable blurring. Overall the quality of the picture is superb, and it was worth paying a little more for the 1080p. Even TV programs not broadcast in high-def look great. In addition, unlike other TVs, the speakers provide sound of sufficient volume and excellent quality. I also like that it has plenty of inputs (including 3 HDMI, 1 component, and 2 composite inputs). Its ability to interface with SD cards and computers is also neat. And, in my limited experience, Panasonic has excellent customer service, with personnel who, in general, are more knowledgeable than most I have talked with at Samsung in regards to that company's products. My only complaint is that the only audio output on this TV is digital/optical (for new "home entertainment" systems), which, apparently, is the direction newer LCD TVs this size and up are going. Sometimes I need to use headphones when I am playing something to which my wife does not want to listen. In order to do this I connect my Blu-Ray/VHS/or satellite box output to the input of a little 2 watt amplifier I have and run the headphones off of that, using the amplifier's volume control, with the TV volume on "mute". I would like for this TV to have a 1/8" audio output. In spite of that, in my opinion it is worth 5 stars.

TV now works great. However, it arrived with a defect on the screen - three highly visible light blue dots (1/4 to 1/8 inch in diameter) about 9 inches apart in the center of the screen plus a pattern of tiny light blue dots that looked like the milky way. Panasonic referred me to their authorized service center where the TV was repaired (replaced the panel).

Took me a long time to decide on which TV to buy, started @ COSTCO - but all the TVs were not rated well, only 720p, etc. Came across this Panasonic (afte find a similar one - but was only 720p).....reviews were great, price as well. I kept noticing that Amazon could Not keep them in stock (another good sign - of demand)....also price was going down.....i finally grabbed one at $406 from Amazon - it was out of stock at the time, but within 1 week it was shipped to me!

Set up was a breeze, including putting on the mount.

So far A++++

I'm am very pleased with my Purchase. The TV is great. I particularly like the SD slot, which enables me to review or display a slide show of pictures from my digital camera. Delivery was prompt and set up was very easy.

~ Our ideal location - Bought as a replacement for a Sharp AQOUS, that was in one of our Masters suites. Was Wall-mounted using this Omni-mount, go to: [...]
Both the Panasonic & Omni-Mount Look Fabulous!

Model - This Panasonic's 32-inch VIERA TC-L32U22 LCD HDTV, is the top-of-line U22 Series (there's 3 Versions), in the LCD Class, before you get into the Plasma's.
SetUp - Digital cable only, with few HD Channels, and a Sony PSP 3 as the default Blu-ray DVD & game player.
Audio-Video TIP - Whether, I'm setting up a Basic TV & DVD Player or something more Advanced, I found a Movie that has lot's of ACTION & SOUND (Dolby 5.1), whether it's on a Widescreen DVD or on a Blu-ray, I like to Use it to 'Tweak' my TV's MODE (Cinema, Game, Custom, etc) & Sound, as well, as Check for any Video stutters and/or 'artifacts'.
The movie, 'Flight of The Phoenix', circa 2006. Great Soundtrack too!
- Use the Blu-ray player's MENU, go to the 3rd(?) SCENE, where they board the plane ... turn up the Sound, step back and enjoy the Ride!

PRO's - Highlights:
* PRICE - bought it when it was on-sale for only 399.00 + free ship, plus no taxes.
* 1080p resolution, 24P Playback function for superb imagery from 24-frame movies on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
* PIcture Results - Crisp, Clear, Bright Images, with an ultra-wide viewing angle of 178-degree's.
* Colors - Deep & Rich on the Cool-side, which is a Panasonic trademark.
* Contrast - Bright & Clean.
* Automatic Ambient Light Sensor
* Inputs: 3 HDMI & 1 digital audio output - Important to me!
* In Plane Switching (IPS) for an ultra-wide viewing angle and higher moving picture resolution that results in clear, bright images.
- Translation - Plays well with PSP 3 or XBox in rendering fast moving images, without stutter and/or diminishes Video artifacts.
* VIERA Image Viewer feature, which enables you to play slideshows of JPEG images stored on SD memory cards. - Have not used this feature yet.

CON's:
* No headphone jack
* No BlueTooth, ... OK, perhaps in the FUTURE, U Feel ME, Panasonic?

I have had this TV a little over a week now. Kudos to Amazon for prompt delivery. I bought it for my bedroom. Set up was a breeze. After setting up the time/date and language features, I ran the channel scan (antenna set up). The scan found a number of analog and HD programming. Picture is crystal clear and sound is stereo quality. You won't be disappointed with this purchase!

I have bought only one thing in my 53 years that was made by Panasonic that I didn't like. I would buy Panasonic food if they made it now because everything I have bought by them has been the best quality. This 32 inch TV is for my bedroom and while we wouldn't want it any bigger, I love the big screen. Setting it up and connecting it to cable and my TIVO was fast and easy. The instructions were clear. I may never have to buy another TV for my bedroom for the rest of my life!

Most people see this product as a small, needlessly-sharp HDTV with a high-quality IPS panel...

...but, for those of us who see this as a HUGE adequately-sharp PC monitor with a high-quality IPS panel, I'll base my review on this usage, and post the following tips to make the setup a little less painful:

ATI video chipsets only:
-By default there will be a 15% overscan compensation for HDMI output (including DVI to HDMI cables and adapters.) In the latest version of Catalyst Control Center (CCC) navigate to Desktops and Displays > My Digital Flat-Panels > Scaling Options. Set Overscan to 0% and click [Apply.] There may be a similar procedure for nVidia and Intel chipsets.

Only tested on ATI, probably the same for everyone:
-On your TV/remote, [MENU] > Picture > Aspect Adjustments. Select Screen Format: FULL & HD Size: Size 2. You should now have edge-to-edge 1:1 output.

Everyone:
-Set Sharpness slider to 0.
-Disable A.I. Picture and C.A.T.S.
-I know this is counter-intuitive, but you want to ENABLE "Video NR" (noise reduction.) This will remove edge distortion and dramatically improve the readability of text.
-Adjust ClearType. Press [Windows key] to open the start menu and begin typing "cleartype" > Adjust ClearType Text.

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For those of you hooking this up using an analog connection, first of all, completely disregard my setup tips above -- most of them won't apply to you. If you hook your TV up through your video card's VGA output, a menu option will be accessible called "PC Adjustments." I'm not sure if this is anything more than image alignment. I haven't explored this menu, because I'm only interested in digital output.
--

This is the first time I've used a dedicated HDTV as my PC display. I was strongly considering returning it until I figured out the Video NR setting made text more readable. Now, I have to say, I'm enjoying it pretty much, and it's a serious upgrade from my old Hanns-G 27.5" TN panel monitor. Still, it doesn't seem like all of the image enhancement features of the TV can be disabled, making pixel-perfect output on this display impossible. For people like graphic artists, this might be a deal-breaker. I'm basing my four-star rating on this lack of unadulterated output. TV, video, and gaming are all fantastic of course.

Other minor gripes
-Like most TVs but unlike most computer monitors, there is no tilt adjustment. The viewing angles on this TV are very good, but unless you're at least five feet away from the screen, you're going to want to adjust the tilt. You can prop it up on something or consider your mounting options.
-The buttons on the remote could be a little more rubbery (hey, I told you these were minor gripes!)
-The response time is not as fast as the lower-quality TN panels generally used in computer monitors. It's still extremely good, and only noticeable in the kinds of extreme color transitions generally used as reference tests. On a positive note, I have not noticed any input lag.

**Please comment on this review if you have any additional tips or questions on using this HDTV as a computer display. If you want to post your backlight/contrast/brightness/color/tint/color temp/black level settings, make a note of who's video card drivers you are using. Last time I checked, nVidia's drivers, by default, used "digital vibrance control," which would undoubtedly throw off anyone trying to replicate your settings.

We love the Panasonic brand for TVs. This TV has great picture and is the perfect size for our bedroom. The picture is very clear. The one thing I woudl like better about the TV is the sound. We have not set up a sound system in our bedroom and the sound from the TV is not great... its good.. just nothing to rave about. I have a panasonic 42" plasma TV from a few years ago, and I felt that the sound coming from that TV was better.

For the cost of the TV, which for us was about $378, I think this was an amazing value. At the time of purchase Amazon had a price match and I found on another website for less and Amazon was very quickly able to refund the difference. We received the TV amazingly fast - literally I order on a Tuesday morning at 8am and receievd by 4pm on Thursday - and this was with the free shipping.

Obviously there are better TVs out there - either from Panasonic or other manufacturers, but they also generally cost more money. Also, the prices of TVs change so rapidly it is difficult to rely on my review. I purchased my TV in mid Nov. 2010, and it has worked great since then (about a month). When you consider the cost, this TV is very very good and I would recommend. Also, not only did we receive the item quickly but as you can tell from the review, the item was received fully intact and operational. Until a few years ago, I always worried about buying muti-hundred dolar electronic equipment over the internet becuase I was always concerned it woudl be received broken and then I woudl have to pay to ship some large item back. I have not purchased two TVs from Amazon.com and have not had a problem with either purchase.