Customer Reviews

Panasonic VIERA X1 Series TC-L32X1 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

While walking the long island of small HDTV's... One things immediately stood-out about this Panasonic T.V.
Compared to all the other T.V's (that were in a long row)... we noticed when we stood at a "angle", the Panasonic picture remained crisp and sharp. The majority of other 32" HDTV's were "washed-out" at an angle.
99.5% of all other "exact sized" HDTV's... became out of focus or "dim".... when viewed at an angle.

This is very important (to my husband and I), because this Panasonic HDTV... will always.... have people viewing it at angle. (No couch or chair will be directly in front of this T.V.)

We saw this Panasonic model in "Three stores". Hands-down, this 32" Panasonic HDTV had the sharpest pictures and best, "true-color" ... compared to all the other 32" HDTV's. in it's class.

I have been searching for the best LCD for kitchen/family room, hence no FULL HD as we don't watch bluray movies in the kitchen/family room. Just wanted something with the following requirements:
- great for the kids;
- easy to use remote for the kids;
- next to nothing light reflection;
- non-full HD, i.e. 720p only;
- lots of inputs for connecting up game consoles and DVD player;
- well known reputable brand;
- built-in digital tuner;
- reasonably priced.

The only two which fitted my requirements were the Panasonic and the Samsung equivalent. When I did the on-line check for tech specs, the Panasonic was definitely the winner so then it was off to see the shops for the real thing. I could definitely see the difference between the two side by side watching the same picture. I found that the blacks were definitely more blacker on the Panasonic due to the higher contrast ratio with the Panasonic. The other important part was the sound, the sound on the newer LCD's are usually quite bad, but I was very surprised to hear some good sound coming out of the Panasonic, nice base and also speech was very good no muffling sound.

If you are after the best picture and sound then you cannot beat the Panasonic TC-L32X1, it is definitely by far the better buy. Although, I must say that the Samsung does look a little better aesthetically.

After reading lots of reviews of many LCD TV brands I decided on this Panasonic VIERA model. With only five days left on my 30 day return option, I am seriously considering sending it back and getting another brand. The color and picture quality are adequate (but only after spending lots of time with adjustments) and I am mostly satisfied with the TV, except for a couple of problems.

One problem is with the dark scenes, nighttime, darkened rooms, etc. The screen goes nearly black and it is really hard to see details of the scene. I have tried messing with adjustments, brightness, sharpness, contrast, backlighting, etc and nothing seems to fix this problem. This is my first LCD TV, my old Toshiba lasted forever, so maybe this is typical with these TVs? I hope not!

The second problem, and this one is the real dealkiller, is the volume. It's ok, sort of, with regular TV or Tivo, needs to be at around 40 to catch softer conversation but it works. With DVDs it's a different story. The volume has to be jacked up all the way to 100 to catch normal or quiet conversation when watching DVDs. And this is in a quiet room with no ambient noise! My hearing is fine, and no problems with other TVs, just DVDs on the Panasonic. It is very annoying. I can't find any setting that fixes this. Maybe it's a defect in this TV. There are no jacks or audio outputs for easy external speaker attachment, plus one shouldn't have to add speakers onto a 480.00 TV just to hear it!

I will probably send this TV back because once the 30 day return period is over I will probably regret keeping it.

Update; 4/4/2011

I kept the TV. After using this Panasonic for a year or so and getting used to some of its flaws I think it deserves a slight rating upgrade. The sound quality is still an issue, although since most of my movie viewing is now streaming, the inconsistent volume with DVDs has become almost a moot problem. Still, the sound quality is tinny and harsh like most TVs of this type. Like mentioned in earlier review, as far as I can tell, the Panasonic Vierra is one of the brands that do not have an "audio out" jack for easy connection of external speakers. I was told by Panasonic (and the guy at Best Buy) that to use external speakers I'd have to get a sound system/tuner or whatever you call it. Receiver? I am not into spending money for that, so I accept the cheap sound quality of this TV. The picture quality is great, nice and sharp with true colors after a lot of messing around with the settings. The TV is reliable and has not had any problems at all so far. Still, if I had it to do over, I would probably purchase a different brand of TV. This one is adequate, but not great. I've upgraded the rating to three stars. It would be four stars if there were an easier, less costly way to add external speakers. And, it would be five stars if no external speakers were required for decent sound.

Extremely pleased with Panasonic Viera after returning top-rated Samsung due to harsh chemical smell which never went away. TV was easy for me to set up by myself (small woman) and attaching the stand was a breeze compared to the Samsung. Picture is clear and the SD card slot is Great!! I purchased this tv at Best Buy as I was in need of it immediately, but I cannot say enough for the delivery service I received from Amazon when I ordered and returned the Samsung. Customer service was outstanding in dealing with the very stressful situation of a chemical smell coming from the Samsung. I finally was told by the salesman at Best Buy that this is NOT uncommon and depends on how much fire retardent gets sprayed on the circuit board.

In summary - hooray for the Panasonic Viera and Amazon's continuing excellent selections, pricing, and customer service!!

Everything about the purchase, delivery, and set-up of this HDTV was far beyond my expectations -- as was the amazing picture quality and technical features !!

Once again, the Consumer Reports' top-rated model, in this case, the Panasonic Viera TC-L32X1 32-inch LCD HDTV set, was all they said it would be.
Set-up and programming was fast and easy, even for a senior citizen -- and the picture quality is clear, sharp, and with brilliant colors !!
And all this with just a glorified "rabbit ears" antenna !!!

UPDATE - 10/28/09: The Viera is now connected to Cox Cable -- and the picture quality is beyond excellent !!

Amazon's bargain price and speedy delivery made this a rewarding buying experience !!

Silly me - I assumed all of these new flat screen tvs came with headphone jacks, or at least audio out jacks. Not this one! I'm hard of hearing and need either VERY loud sound or headphones to watch television. This model comes only with a digital audio out jack - no other audio out jacks. So I watched tv last night with the sound set at 80 and still had trouble hearing clearly. I was so pleased that I got a great price for this set, but the price really is that it's too expensive to return it and get one I can use with headphones. My only other option, as far as I can see from searching the internet, is to purchase a stereo receiver with a digital audio in jack and a headphone jack, likely adding a minimum of $100 to the purchase price of this set to make it usable for me. Why, why, WHY would Panasonic make a television without a headphone jack or at least component audio out jacks in this day and age? And why didn't I pay attention to the jacks it has (far fewer than on the smaller Samsung lcd tv we already own)? I realize this is my fault, but why did the company have to skimp on jacks?

I like this set, and will probably keep it. But be warned about the sound quality and quantity. As others have mentioned, the sound is only so-so. I don't fault Panasonic for this - it's just physics. You really can't get very good sound out of something sized like this. What I do fault them for is the decision to include only a digital audio output on a set like this. If you already have a newer stereo reciever that you plan to use, you may not have a problem. But don't count on finding powered speakers to use with this set. I have a nice external speaker/subwoofer set that I used with my old Panasonic, but it only has analog audio input. As does every other set of external speakers that I've looked at. I knew this going into it, but I was hoping the sound right out of the set would be adequate. It's really not. I have my DVD piping the audio into my old externals, so that works okay for movie watching. But it doesn't help with just watching TV, or with using the nifty iPOD dock. Your music is going to sound weak, which makes the omission of an analog audio jack even more puzzling. And don't think you can just buy an inexpensive adaptor. I found one that is almost $70, which is more than the speakers cost. So I'll hold off, and keep watching for someone to start selling a powered speaker set that has a digital audio input. But leaving off an analog audio output is just a case of poor engineering, or poor marketing.

Bought this from Amazon and it was delivered within 3 days. Excellent picture, fast acting remote (very little delay if any). Best part of all, is the iPod dock. Interestingly enough the product says it's iPod compatible (iPod Classic, Touch, Nano, etc.) but it also works great with my iPhone 3G and charges the battery. When I plug the iPhone 3G into the dock, I do receive the standard message on my phone that the iPhone isn't designed to work with this particular item and asks if I want to switch to airplane mode to reduce any interference. I always say no (or the message will go away by itself within a few seconds). No problem with interference or compatibility so far. Very satisfied.

We bought this HDTV after weeks of research....and it was worth it. Received the set last week, and it literally took minutes to set up. Very easy, simple instructions. It has a great dynamic contrast ratio, low power consumption (120 max, .7 standby)user-friendly remote, excellent viewing angle, suprisingly good sound. It also has an IPOD dock with a great on-screen interface. (other models in the series don't, look for x1's). We are using it in a bedroom (32 inch-perfect size). It also has a game mode if you hook up your PS3, xbox, etc. I ended up with over 100 channels (previously had 57 with old standard set...And the price? It always came in well under 32-inch Samsungs and Sonys which we were looking at. Panasonic continues to be an excellent brand.

This is undoubtly the best tv at the best value I have EVER purchased.
Beautiful picture, easy setup, great all around hdtv.
One odd thing, I have basic cable tv,but when I did the find channels it found HD channels that are not in my subscription pricing. Don't why, but very happy.