Panasonic TC-P42S30, Amazing Plasma HDTV Aided By The Best Price
I am the ecstatic owner to a Panasonic TC-L32X2 32-Inch 720p LCD HIGH DEFINITION with iPod Dock, so when it came time to move up to 42″ set for the living room (and move the 32″ into the bedroom to replace the 27″ esophagus TV), I mostly confined my search to Panasonic. I had considered the prior version of this Panasonic TC-P42S30 since the device was highly rated on Amazon, as well as slightly less expensive, but I chose to take a chance on the more sophisticated model–even though it’s so new so it has no ratings or reviews. (As about 3/27/11, however, this unit is cheaper. )
I ordered this TC-P42S30 over a Saturday and received it via shipping and delivery truck on Wednesday. Setup was smooth (it is pretty heavy, though). I was pleasantly surprised to make it a point it supports Internet connectivity (although it wasn’t something I was looking for, the concept has really grown in me), but less pleasantly surprised to educate yourself that the wireless dongle (Panasonic DY-WL10 Wi-fi LAN Adapter for select Panasonic Viera HDTVs together with Blu-Ray Disc Players) is another $99. For the much, I think I’ll run the LAN cable. [I did; see here. ] I’m using the three HDMI ports for my Verizon FIOS set finest box, Apple TV 2, and JVC XVBP11 Blu-ray Player. A set of RCA audio/video inputs provides my Pioneer laserdisc player. (Yeah, I will be old school. ) I don’t foresee when using the SD card slot for anything though firmware updates, but I like having USB ports so we could watch our Flip movies in full HD glory–once I how to do it, that is.
I was very happy with my LCD TV even during the day; maybe that’s why I never realized exactly how bright our living room is. Initially I tried to watch this TV on the couch, the reflection from the skylight appeared to be terrible. Around noon, the glare was nearly unbearable.
In late afternoon/full darker, this Panasonic TC-P42S30 looks fantastic. It’s so great, in fact, that I couldn’t tear myself away from 2 Fast 2 Furious, which says lots. The problem is that I do most of my viewing in daytime, so I’m not sure that it’s going to work for me in the long run. I’ll have to give it a few more days. The preset color modes usually are not perfect, but they’re fairly accurate right out of your box. Both Netflix and iTunes movies streamed over the Apple TV look great. When I have some time I’ll run Video Essentials to locate the levels dialed in.
LCD TV – Full HD TV – Panasonic Viera V10