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Opinions on Panasonic PT53WX42? (1 Viewer)

Joined
May 30, 2002
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Hello all,

I'm somewhat of a home theater newbie, so cut me a little slack, okay : )

I've cobbled together a decent audio setup and now I think it's time for a widescreen TV. As you can tell from the thread subject, I'm looking at the Panny PT53WX42. Any opinions? I watch virtually no broadcast or cable TV, so this will be 95% DVD-use only. I have a Malata n996 progressive player. And I'll be sitting straight-on, about 9 feet from the screen. Oh yes, and I won't be calibrating the TV beyond what I can do myself with Avia.

If people have other suggestions for under $2000 shipped, please let me know.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Mike

P.S. I know this TV is a little older - i searched for reviews and only found two threads - one about the dangers of DVI making current widescreens obsolete, and another about testing TVs in Atlanta. Sorry if I missed something more pertinent...
 

jeff lam

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Tony,
I use auction diner for my pics. I sell a lot on ebay and they allow you to use their image hosting for all auction sites. They used to be called bidbay but get into some dispute with ebay so their site has been changing and up and down for the last week but I think they are bac on track.
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Sign up, upload your pics, use the url to post here. It's simple.
I would love to see pics of your TV.
 
Joined
May 30, 2002
Messages
26
Tony,

Re: the "old tv" bit, I found this set on clearance at an online retailer and the wary consumer in me figured that it must be an older model that they are trying to clear out. Whoops!

Great to hear that the set's a winner, doubly so given the price point. I've never had anything larger than a 27" Sharp before (and that TV's at least 7 years old), so the jump to the Panny ought to be a mindblowing experience.

Before I bite the bullet, is there anything that you think I ought to know about the set? Will it look alright even without ISF calibration? I think I can justify the purchase to my significant other, but I'm not sure about another couple hundred bucks on top of it right now.

Thanks again for your help. I'd love to see pictures of the set in action.

Mike

P.S. Also, I've found quite a few references in this forum to a burn-in FAQ and other tips on what to do as soon as you get your TV (Avia calibration is all I had in mind) - anyone know where I can find a good source for these tips?
 
Joined
May 30, 2002
Messages
26
Tony,

I'm convinced. Sadly, I'm heading out of town soon, so I can't order the set until next wednesday, which already seems like a wait.
Of course, I still haven't mentioned any of this to my Significant Other, but she owes me a decent amount of cash, so perhaps *she'll* be the one to buy me the set : )

Aside from turning everything down (esp. contrast) and running a calibration disc, do you have any suggestions for out-of-box first actions?

Thanks much,

Mike

P.S. If I don't pass the bar because of this TV, will I really be *that* upset? : )
 

JohnnyG

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 18, 2000
Messages
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Regarding tweaks, some of these normally associated with last year's PT-47WX51 are no longer applicable. The red-push fix works in the same manner, but the default and range of values is now completely different and the colour decoder is actually quite accurate out of the box. There's also no need to physically disable scan velocity modulation as it's now a menu option. I also wouldn't bother with 'eyeballing' greyscale because again, it's much more accurate out of the box than last years model.

Panasonic has done a great job with this set.
 

Gil D

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 15, 1999
Messages
577
I stopped by Tweeter to look atthis set and was told they don't carry it anymore due to it's high failure and customer return rate. They did have the 47" though.

Any opinions on how reliable the Pannies are?
 

Josh Lowe

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 19, 2002
Messages
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I stopped by Tweeter to look atthis set and was told they don't carry it anymore due to it's high failure and customer return rate.
The high failure and customer return rate for a TV that's been out for little more than a month?
Riiiight. :rolleyes
 

Gil D

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 15, 1999
Messages
577
Is the PT53WX52 the new model listed at Sears? BestBuy has the WX42. How long has the WX42 been out and any idea what the difference is between the WX52.
Could very well be the Pannie 53" is a very good set and was impacting sales of the higher priced Mits and Sonys at Tweeter ;)
Any opinions on the Pannie HD 4:3 set PT-51HX42? This set would fit better and I still watch alot of standard 4:3 stuff.
 

Gabriel_Lam

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 7, 2002
Messages
1,402
Protective screen (that you'll remove for better picture quality as long as you don't have any pets or small children that might scratch the TV)

Marginally better remote

Better speakers (which you won't use if you have a sound system).
 

Josh Lowe

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 19, 2002
Messages
1,063
My 53WX42 has landed. It's in the garage and I may not be able to set it up until Sunday.. results as soon as it's out, both pre and post Avia.
 
Joined
May 30, 2002
Messages
26
Josh,

I sure hope that you like the new set, pre and post AVIA - I plunked down my cash (or rather, plastic) yesterday on that model, and I'm a bit nervous as it's my first RPTV (and my first TV that cost over $300)...

Mike
 

Josh Lowe

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 19, 2002
Messages
1,063
Mike -

My old TV is out and the new one is in the other room, waiting to be rolled in. I'm trying to find the motivation to do this today, but it's tough - I'm overseeing the move of a lot of stuff out of our old data center tomorrow morning and I have to be there at 4AM. But if I don't do it now then I won't get another chance to until Sunday.. and I don't know if I can wait that long to see how this thing looks.
 

Josh Lowe

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 19, 2002
Messages
1,063
Ok, I set it up but had very little time to play around. I tried to do the Convergence 1 but I'm not sure if I got the green right because what I saw on the screen is different than what was described in the manual. I did the 9 point convergence as well.

The display looks good but I swear I see a lot of artifacts, like there's some excessive edge enhancement going on somewhere. I have SVM turned off. I think it might be a setting in my RP91 that I am overlooking.
 

JohnnyG

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 18, 2000
Messages
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Try setting "Video NR" to ON. It sounds counter-intuitive but that actually turns off the sets edge enhancement.
 

Jimmy Gonzalez

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 21, 2001
Messages
52
Hi guys,

I am going to buy my first Widescreen TV tomorrow. I was looking at this unit.(Model: PT-47WX42)

Did you guys get it set up yet? How do you like it? Is there any other Widescreen TV's Is should be looking at?

Thanks in advance.

Jimmy
 

Calvin_Su

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jan 18, 2000
Messages
186
I just got the 53" Panny from Best Buy for only $1499. plus with this purchase I got a $60 discount on the Psnny RP62 dvd player.

Basically, I bought the 53" panny + the RP62 player for $1505.
 

Jimmy Gonzalez

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 21, 2001
Messages
52
Wow! I wonder if I can get that deal. You think I can still ge the same deal today?(Sunday 10/27)

How is the DvD player?

Thanks,

Jimmy
 

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