| Product: |
General Panasonic TV Opinions |
| Date: |
29/10/02 (2813 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Good Picture, Good sound, Good price
Disadvantages: The autosizing screen mode
Having recently bought a brand new DVD player, my old television set was beginning to show its age. So after ten years of trouble free viewing, my old Samsung was reluctantly handed down to a lesser mortal in the Judgee household. My sadness was to be very short lived, I saw the range of new televisions in my local Curry's Store and was left asking the question "old television, what old television?"
Now, the new television that I required had to fit a certain criteria. First of all, it had to have features that would enhance my new DVD player ie Widescreen with good sound. Secondly it would have to fit in to my bedroom. Not as easy as it sounds when you sleep in the smallest room in the house, that would comfortably pass as a cupboard in most other dwellings. Thirdly, it had to fit into my budget range of £300 to £400.
Measuring things up, it soon became clear that a 24 inch Widescreen television would be the ideal size and although not the most popular size as far as Widescreens go, there was quite a selection to choose from. One thing that made this Panasonic stand out from the other televisions right from the start, was the lack of wasted space. What do I mean? Well I don't know if you have noticed but most Widescreens have a few inches of pointless plastic either side of the screen. Not a problem in a large front room perhaps but when every inch counts (easy girls!) it really makes a difference. This Panasonic television has a speaker at either side, with no wastage. Saving me space and making it a front runner in my choice for a new television.
Next, the speakers. Well as I mentioned earlier, I was to link it up with my DVD player, which can also play CD's. Unable to test this at the store, I was not disappointed when I tested this at home. CD's played through this television sound superb. The television has base/treble control and a couple of other handy sound features. At the touch of a but
ton you can set it to sound better when speech or music is being played. It also has an on/off ambience setting, which gives you a kind of surround sound, without actually having the need for surround sound speakers! All in all the sound is fantastic!
Right, I guess the main feature of a Widescreen television is the picture. Well, you are able to view pictures in 4:3, 16:9 or 14:9 ratio settings. In addition, you can view pictures in zoom mode (in or out!) and best of all you can have your Panasonic choose the best mode for you. The only problem with this is that sometimes it can flick between modes making you go a bit cross-eyed. Normally, I just set the view myself. It is easy to change should the need arise! You also have the usual controls, brightness, colour, contrast, sharpness and a couple of other nice adjustment features. These being cool, warm or normal settings (bluer or redder picture) and a picture noise reduction switch which when on can clean up any picture interference.
Other features of this television include Teletext and Fast text, two Scart sockets and if teamed up with a Panasonic video they can all be operated from the same remote control. Teletext is pretty self-explanatory but perhaps I should expand on Scart sockets a little. These are high quality connection sockets that allow a better quality of transmission from one electrical device to another ie video to television. Having two of these sockets has allowed me to connect both my video recorder and DVD player to my television at the same time! Oh one other thing, this television has a timer, so you can set it to switch itself off if you are inclined to watch television in bed and often fall asleep before the end of your program.
Overall, this is a superb product and one that I would recommend. The picture is great, the sound superb and the controls simplicity itself. If you have trouble setting up electrical equipment such as this, fear not. As soo
n as I switched my television on, it programmed itself, now that IS clever! I bought my television from Curry's and it cost approximately £350.00 a bargain price for a baby widsecreen television!
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