Panasonic TX32LXD500 - the best of the best

Ramspeed

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To all those sitting on the fence - there's a whole raft of reviews out in the July/August editions of the usual magazines. The consensus seems to be that the new Panasonics - the TX32LXD500 (and the 26" version ) - are the best LCD's ever made. Not a single criticism. HDMI, VGA, component, fantastic blacks, not a hint of grain, not a hint of motion blur or smearing. Yes they're pricey - but they're also more or less perfect. Unless Sharp, Sony or Philips come with something truly amazing between now and November I'll be getting a Panny to usher in the glorious era of XBox 360 and hi def gaming.
 
To quote home cinema choice

Not to put too fine a point on it, they kick ass!
when referring to fine detail

..startling good black levels, which avoid all traces of greyness......
when referring to the John Hurt Alien scene in the cave
 
Do you know when the 26" will actually be available? Ive given up on the Samsung, its going to be this or the eqully excellent sounding new JVC LT26DS6.
 
Are these panels the same as the LXD50 with just a added HDMI port or are they a brand new panel altogether? I loved the panny viera range of plasmas, can`t say i`ve seen to much their lcd screens. Will have to keep my eye on this one along with the sharp GD7E.
 
Same as the LXD50 but with HDMI. You pay a few hundred quid more just for the HDMI. Rip off oviously - but if you want the best you gotta pay for it. The JVC does indeed look good. Interested to read the reviews when they appear.
 
Ramspeed said:
26" available in July.

Available mid to end July according to Panasonic.
 
Ramspeed said:
Same as the LXD50 but with HDMI. You pay a few hundred quid more just for the HDMI. Rip off oviously - but if you want the best you gotta pay for it. The JVC does indeed look good. Interested to read the reviews when they appear.

have just installed an lxd50 for my parents and it is truly awesome - as a panny plasma fan this lcd really impresses me and if i decide to get a smaller panel for the bedroom this will be the one :D :D

it was the 32" which i got jl to price match with crampton and moore for £1234 :smashin:
 
The problem i find with the philips sets is that the picture can look a little to processed sometimes. And i noticed this on philips 9986 sets with pixel plus 2. On the upside It can make make freeview and even analog look pretty decent on a LCD. But on the down side it can give the higher quality feeds a processed feel which i`m not a fan of. Where looking at the panny LXD50 earlier it has a far more natural looking image with which suits higher feeds very well, but isn`t to great for lower quality feeds like freeview and analog. The panny is definatly on my list but will have to trial it along with the GD7E before i make any decisions.
 
samjet said:
have just installed an lxd50 for my parents and it is truly awesome - as a panny plasma fan this lcd really impresses me and if i decide to get a smaller panel for the bedroom this will be the one :D :D

Samjet

You must be the only person reporting first hand experience of the 50 series (is everyone else daft enough to wait and pay extra £400 for an HDMI input and card slots?)

What's picture like on freeview? Any obvious artefacts/blocking/smearing? Are black levels good when viewing at night? Does CATS light sensor do its job properly? If not using auto viewing mode (i.e. backlight full on), do you find picture too intense at night?

Sorry about all questions, but seriously pondering my next move....

Very interested to hear your feedback and any problems you're aware of. Very little discussion from owners. Presume they must all be happy!!

Prices still falling prior to release of 500 series. Can now get 26" version for around £870.

Only difference appears to be HDMI, card slots and extra speakers. Hardly worth £400 if there are no other significant differences. After all you can still feed progressive through component...

Dave
 
Well just to add balance to this Panasonic mutual admiration thread, I waited months and months for the 50 series, and have already reported my findings on this forum - dreadful. Yes it might be OK with DVDs and material of a similar ilk, however, with normal broadcast t.v. the results I witnessed still make me shudder when I think back. The motion blur and smear when viewing an outside broadcast via Freeview was just woeful, the whole thing was like digital soup. Did any of the reviews mention testing with outside broadcast sporting events? I doubt they did. I now take all these reviews with a pinch of salt as I never come to the same conclusions they do. All I can say is thank goodness they have thousands of pounds worth of equipment to conduct these tests whilst all I have got is my eyes.
 
Faust said:
Well just to add balance to this Panasonic mutual admiration thread, I waited months and months for the 50 series, and have already reported my findings on this forum - dreadful. Yes it might be OK with DVDs and material of a similar ilk, however, with normal broadcast t.v. the results I witnessed still make me shudder when I think back. The motion blur and smear when viewing an outside broadcast via Freeview was just woeful, the whole thing was like digital soup. Did any of the reviews mention testing with outside broadcast sporting events? I doubt they did. I now take all these reviews with a pinch of salt as I never come to the same conclusions they do. All I can say is thank goodness they have thousands of pounds worth of equipment to conduct these tests whilst all I have got is my eyes.

I have been waiting for your post faust, i had a feeling you would be turning up

It is also worth pointing out that non-hd pictures such as those from the built in digital tuner, are also superb on the 32lxd500

or in a different review

...you'll be struck by just how clear, fresh and vibrant everything looks. Whether its the solid primary colours of Cbeebies brightly lit newsrooms on itv1 or scratchy documentaries about the sinking of the bismarck on UKHistory, you'll benefit from an invigorating dynamic watch almost entirely bereft of the usual noisy nasties that Freeview tends to throw up...
 
Bought the jvc 60 series today, same manufacturer as panasonic, just different internal electronics, and it's great with analog signal, i think it might just have to do with the shop or where ever you saw the lcd?
 
Faust, if my memory serves me correctly, your viewing has been limited to shop display models. Don't forget these are usually set up by callow youths whose idea of 'better' is 'more'.
They can't resist attacking the menus and setting all the sliders and knobs to maximum, and the results are predictable: sharpness up full, causing all manner of 'ringing' effects, and massive noise reduction bringing about the 'oily water' effect. Combine this with the bittiness of fast movement on Freeview and you have a picture which is not worth watching.
A few brief sessions at home can work wonders, as I found out - and up 'til recently I have been a critic of non-CRT sets.
 
msg said:
Samjet

You must be the only person reporting first hand experience of the 50 series (is everyone else daft enough to wait and pay extra £400 for an HDMI input and card slots?)

What's picture like on freeview? Any obvious artefacts/blocking/smearing? Are black levels good when viewing at night? Does CATS light sensor do its job properly? If not using auto viewing mode (i.e. backlight full on), do you find picture too intense at night?

Sorry about all questions, but seriously pondering my next move....

Very interested to hear your feedback and any problems you're aware of. Very little discussion from owners. Presume they must all be happy!!

Prices still falling prior to release of 500 series. Can now get 26" version for around £870.

Only difference appears to be HDMI, card slots and extra speakers. Hardly worth £400 if there are no other significant differences. After all you can still feed progressive through component...

Dave

no evidence of any artifacts or smearing etc :D

gave a demo last night of wimbledon through freeview - no problems at all

regarding the cats sensor - no noticable changes so it must be working properly - my viewing has all been in daylight without the curtain being drawn so night/darkened room should be even better

i have taken it off dynamic and reduced contrast and brightness - who the hell would ever want dynamic is beyond me :devil:

was selling a vcr for my parents yesterday and demonstrated said vcr and the picture was aweful - it just shows how technology has moved on :D

hope this helps

ps as for fausts comments he is obviously seeing poor shop demos - mind you he'd appear able to find fault with my viera plasma as well :devil:
 
samjet said:
regarding the cats sensor - no noticable changes so it must be working properly - my viewing has all been in daylight without the curtain being drawn so night/darkened room should be even better

Thanks for that Samjet.

If you get chance please view at night; this is when the ability of the TV to handle blacks becomes more apparent.

Also, let me know if screen looks too bright in these conditions (this is when CATS sensor should do its job; but only if it's activated by setting 'viewing mode' to auto).

Please let me have your views.

Ready to place order ;)

Cheers

Dave
 
There are other Panny 26LXD50 users on this forum just not many and I'm one of them (had it since April'05). This was a replacement from JL after two of the former 26” formats had pixel failures (within a week of being switched on). This version is a far more superior TV than its predecessor. The black are very good both day/night and the CATS sensor does work (though no LCD will be perfect with current technology limitations).

Use the TV in Freeview and from SKY feeds, Freeview pictures are very good but that really does depend on the signal feed from a professional studio or live sport. Also if you get a poor signal strength on Freeview this will causing more blocking (normal digital error corrections). SKY feeds are general good though the low grade channel feeds are poor this is where CRTs are more forgiving. See my post http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1614736&postcount=19

Game play and DVD (Component View & SCART) I am very please with. For an LCD its very good, though a little high priced when it came out though with JL comes with 5yr warranty as standard :clap:

All in all I am pleased with the TV - though would have gone with a LX500 if it had been available just to future proof (price permitting!!)
 
mork said:
There are other Panny 26LXD50 users on this forum...

All in all I am pleased with the TV - though would have gone with a LX500 if it had been available just to future proof (price permitting!!)

Thanks Mork. I've placed order (am happy to feed progressive through component - and save £400 over 500 series).

Am returning JVC LT26DS6 because of the inability to select a programme from the EPG to view immediately - a fundamental cock-up by JVC IMHO. Otherwise it was very good.
 
Andy3 said:
Faust, if my memory serves me correctly, your viewing has been limited to shop display models. Don't forget these are usually set up by callow youths whose idea of 'better' is 'more'.
They can't resist attacking the menus and setting all the sliders and knobs to maximum, and the results are predictable: sharpness up full, causing all manner of 'ringing' effects, and massive noise reduction bringing about the 'oily water' effect. Combine this with the bittiness of fast movement on Freeview and you have a picture which is not worth watching.
A few brief sessions at home can work wonders, as I found out - and up 'til recently I have been a critic of non-CRT sets.

I can accept a lot of what you say in your post, however, I was back at my local Panasonic store during my lunch break yesterday as I had a call that the 500's were now in stock. The first thing I did was plonk myself down on their comfy sofa with the remote in my grubby little hand. I turned off the Shrek DVD and went straight for the tennis from Wimbledon. Not bad at all whilst the players were sat drinking their barley water, but oh dear, I'm afraid Federas serve is somewhat faster than the Panasonics response times. I'm afraid we were back to the smear and blur again - not good. On the other hand the 37" Viera Plasma sat along side it seemed to be taking everything in it's stride with not a hint of the smear and blur that the LCD was dishing out.
 
sorry if slightly off topic!!

told you the viera was the poodles plums :D
 
Went to see this today - unless I'm mistaken, I was disappointed to see no Backlight adjust. One of my personal needs! Everything else seemed very nice though.
 
Faust said:
I can accept a lot of what you say in your post, however, I was back at my local Panasonic store during my lunch break yesterday as I had a call that the 500's were now in stock. The first thing I did was plonk myself down on their comfy sofa with the remote in my grubby little hand. I turned off the Shrek DVD and went straight for the tennis from Wimbledon. Not bad at all whilst the players were sat drinking their barley water, but oh dear, I'm afraid Federas serve is somewhat faster than the Panasonics response times. I'm afraid we were back to the smear and blur again - not good. On the other hand the 37" Viera Plasma sat along side it seemed to be taking everything in it's stride with not a hint of the smear and blur that the LCD was dishing out.

Which plasma was it? 500 or 50?
 
Depends on what type of screen - between LCDs probably little difference. I always thought Plasmas looked better on Non-HD stuff because of their lower native resolution.
 

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