Panasonic PT-50LC13 Television

I love this TV!

By scott_delucia  Dec 10, 2003 | 46 out of 46 found this Panasonic PT-50LC13 review helpful

Pros: Best TV available in it's price range

Cons: Can't do anything but control volume and change NTSC channel without the remote

I spent several months looking at HDTVs in the ~50" size range. The Plasmas are prohibitively expensive and the traditional projections are dim. The LCD projections are an incredible buy for the money. The PT-50LC13 is the best buy out there.... I found 2 other TVs that had a picture that was comparably good as the PT-50LC13. Sony had a pretty good picture but was very limited in inputs unless you want to buy the silly expensive model also, the screen cover gets a nasty glare if you get a little bit of light from an angle to the screen. That left me looking at the Hitachi 50V500. It has comparable inputs the the PT-50LC13. The sound quality from the Hitachi was a little better but if you are buying a HDTV, you are using your surround sound receiver for the audio anyway. I find the sound from the PT-50LC13 to be perfectly fine for watching TV without waking up my kid. I had to go to several stores before I could find both the Hitachi and the Panasonic side by side with the same high def programming on both TVs. The Panasonic had a noticeably sharper picture. I have read some complaints about the darkness of black colors not being dark enough on the LCD TVs but, I don't find the blacks to be any problem with the Panasonic. I am using my PT-50LC13 with a HDTV DirecTV receiver connected via DVI and the picture is razor sharp, bright and incredibly easy on the eyes. Watching DVDs requires changing your color profile from default to warm and cinema modes to get the best picture. A friend of mine has also bought the PT-50LC13 and has a high def cable box from Comcast. It is connected via composite video. His picture is just as good. He has also set his color profile from default to warm and cinema modes for watching cable TV. We shopped for these TVs together and we both agree that the Panasonic is the way yo go. If I had to do it again, I would not hesitate to buy the same TV. Read more Less