Panasonic PT-43LC14 43-Inch Widescreen HD-Ready LCD Projection Television
Great TV, look no further!
After seeing the picture postcard like LCD displays in many stores, I fianlly gave in to the temptation of buying a HD LCD tv - and what a tv it is! <br />I am glad I listened to my friend who has had this set for a year and a half. <br /> <br />Was surprised to see the rating that this tv has on amazon. Looking closer, I found that some of the negative rating were for other Panasonic tv's and not this one. A goof up somewhere. <br /> <br />Singling out any one feature may do injustice to the many this one has to offer. Let me explain each on its own merit: <br /> <br />1. Picture: First thing that would bowl anyone out is the picture quality - crisp picture, great rich colors, excellent contrast, just too pleasing to the eyes. To compare the video from different sources: <br /> a. HD Cable channels: This tv enhanced the clarity of the HD channels even further, when comparing to some of the pictures I have seen in TV stores. <br /> b. Standard TV channels: The TV has a \\"normal\\" video mode for watching standard width format SDTV programs. Standard TV channels look very preety good on this TV, easily comparable to my old Sony Trinitron.  <br /> <br />Room Lighting effect: The TV has 3 main preset modes for different lighting conditions. Vivid is great in a well lit room. The  Normal mode is good in \\"drawing room\\" dimly lit conditions. The cinema mode brings home the theatre in low light conditions. Plus, the TV has good manual setting controls to change the picture \\"look\\" as per user tastes. <br /> <br />2. Sound: After setting this TV up, I did not feel the need for connecting my Onkyo speakers for a month after listening to the surprisingly good sound from this set. With the speakers lying around and the availability of so many slots for hooking these up behind the TV set, I did make the connection. Luckily my neighbours are on vacation. <br /> <br />3. Looks: The TV, with the matching stand looks stunning. With its low depth, it is as good as a flat panel TV for people who do not want to hang it on the wall.  <br /> <br />4. Remote: The remote is very easy to use and has a lot of controls on it. It was easy for my fingers to get used to this one after being trained to use the Sony for so many years. <br /> <br />5. Controls: The TV has manual and auto channel tuning. You would love the search option where by it keeps showing a small window of 3 channels on the side which playing the cahnnel you want to see on the big part of the screen. Thus I do not miss any action while watching the TV guide for what's next! <br /> <br />6. Connectivity: It is easy to hook up the HD box, computer, DVD player, Tivo Xbox and everything else together on this box. It has multiple s-video, component and composite slots. <br />The TV offers these video connect options to connect the source to the TV. These are listed below in the order of quality, the best listed first: <br /> HDMI  <br /> SVGA  <br /> Component <br /> S-Video <br /> Composite <br /> <br />7. Extras: SVGA cable is inside the pacakage, saves a few good dollars. <br /> <br />8. Bulb Life: A few reviews here said that the bulb has a short life. They have mentioned a differnt TV model and not this one. Mine has been good since I bought it and my friend has not had to replace it for 18 months now.  <br /> <br />9. Computer monitor: I used the SVGA cable to hook my computer to this TV. With a wireless mouse/keyboard set, am able to use my computer without moving a muscle. What I love even more is that I can surf the net and watch my favourite sport together on the same huge screen. <br /> <br />This product is highly recommended!