Panasonic TVs are suck

[outoftheblue]

Needed a new 27" TV... and narrowed it down to the Panasonic 27D11 b/c of its reasonable price, component input support, brand reputation etc...

Bought one @ Future Shop, took it home... and it was like someone had swiped a magnet on the side of the screen... I probably could have used the warranty to have a tech come and degauss the screen, but I expect a new TV to work out of the box!

Returned it and got a second one, and this one had an extreme blooming problem. When watching TV for example, the network logo in the corner would change position by up to 1" between scene changes. Another exaple is when watching letterbox DVDs, the size of the bars would fluctuate like mad between scenes of low brightness and hight brightness WTF??

So after this... I went to a tv/audio only store, which actually had a clean demo of all the TVs setup, not like the staticky coax signal that Future Shop was feeding their demo wall...

I picked a nice scene from the Pearl Harbor DVD... and stuck it in their player... and ALL of the Panasonic TVs (even the Tau) exhibited the problem (although less than my defective unit)... it was really annoying. All the other brands did something similar.

Then i payed attention to the cheapo entry-level Sony, and the picture was absolutely stable! I'll be picking that one up later tonight, even though it lacks component input.

The Wega is a totally different story *drool*... but a bit too much for my budget.

Seems that not only did my two bad Future Shop TVs fall off a truck, but all Panasonics do this...

I understand that because of the nature of how a TV works, all TVs will exhibit some blooming... what boggles my mind is that the Trinitron technology which is like 20 years old still beats all CRT TVs on the market.

Now lets hope the TV doesn't crap out on me... Sony only has a 1yr warranty

BTW: MY 19" Sony Trinitron from 1985 just died last week... which is why I've been forced to get a new one...

 

[Electric Amish]

Interesting, since they are on of the preferred DVD player maufacturers around here. I guess they don't know about tubes?

I have a Magnavox 27" TV that has been peachy for nearly 9 years.

amish

 

[RossMAN]

I would also consider a Toshiba or JVC TV but I'm not sure if they're in your price range or not.

 

[Shack70]

I've got a panansonic 32" Flatscreen (TAO) and it has been flawless since day one. When i bought it, i chaecked out thw WEGA right next to the Panasonic. No comparison. The Panasonic looked much better. Now, I know that a TVs have alot to do with personal preferances...

If you keep getting TVs with problems, it might be the shop you are buying them at. Was that shop and authorized Panasonic dealer???

 

[mithrandir2001]

We have a 24" Panasonic Tau. Drop-dead beautiful picture and sound for the price ($425). As a total package, I think it's better than the Wegas.

I know what blooming is, but have not seen that as a problem with our Panasonic. Can't say that bought the crappy CTX monitor I have at work, though.

 

[kami]

You can't just assume things like that because you have bad luck or someone doesn't know how to setup a TV. Panasonic makes great TVs for the money, sure blows Sony out of the water for value.
The 27D11 is a fantastic set, you just got unlucky

 

[Kev]

Here, I found you a nice deal on this Philips 27" TV that I am planning on buying today, acutally.

If you want to read some reviews of this TV, go here.

It has a component input & S-Video input

Don't buy a Sony! You're just paying extra for the name.

 

[Doggiedog]

I had a Panasonic 27" TV die on me after a year. Wasn't mine so I didn't care. I've always been a Sony guy myself. My 36XBR400 has been great for the last year.

 

[Renob]

My 27incher has done me good for the last 10years. It did get moved into the bedroom to make room for my 61incher.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

I went through a similar hassle with the 27D10's. All in all I went through three of these TV's and ALL of them had pink & green bands of dicoloration running vertically down the screen. Finally settled on the third (from a different store than the first two) and just got an extended warranty to try and get it fixed later (my warranty fiasco is a whole 'nother story that after a year is still unresolved). I think ALL these TV's had this problem because it was a rather short lived model and was soon replaced by the 27D11's.

 

[exp]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I've owned a ton of Panasonic products over the years--TV, DVD player, VCR, speakers, CD player, phone--and never had a single problem. I guess you were just unlucky.

 

[mpitts]

After years of recommending their products, I don't much care for Panasonic anymore. I had the DVD-A110 DVD player die on me last year. There was a known problem with the unit that Panasonic will NOT admit to, and they wanted more to fix the unit than it cost to purchase a new one. I have also had a Panasonic cordless phone die on me after less than 3 months.

I steer clear of their products now. I just purchased a new 57" widescreen TV and Progressive Scan DVD player and both are Toshiba.

 

[Freejack2]

TV is suck. I used to watch it a lot more, but for the past few years the tv only gets turned on a couple of times a month to watch a dvd.
Have an almost 10yr old Samsung 25" stereo tv. No sony trinitron tube (like my monitor is) but it's worked reliably since I got it.
Do have to admit though, for anyone who watches tv with any regularity, a trinitron tube tv is hard to beat.

 

[Sephy]

We have 2 Panasonic TVs, and they both are excellent.

 

[yellowperil]

I have the 27D11 and have no problems with it, and neither do other people I know who own it. Maybe you ran into a bad batch or something. I thought the Panablack series had better color saturation than the Trinitrons.

 

[MWink]

Yea, the quality of Panasonic products has gone from great to absolute crap. I bought a Panasonic 20" TV late last year and it has at least one problem. When I try to turn it on or off sometimes it cycles. For example if I press the power button when it's on, it will turn off and back on (same problem when turning it on). I'm just too lazy to get it fixed.

I also got a new Panasonic VCR (one of the high end ones) and it was horrible! It never should have gone into production. It was so loud it would put a Delta to shame!!! :Q Not to mention it had virtually no features. When I took it back I found there were at least 3 other open box Panasonic VCR's for sale. I then went and bought a Samsung (the low end one) and was completely satisfied. It was quieter (half as loud and rewinds twice as fast), better built and had a pile more features.

I used to be a big Panasonic fan. Not anymore!

 

[mithrandir2001]

Sony has gone downhill, too. They all have. It's all about cost. Back in the days when a good VCR used to run $400-$500, they were built like tanks. Now you can hardly find one for over $150 and they are all lightweight plasticy crap. With the lower cost and quality, you have a more frequent replacement cycle.

 

[Imdmn04]

panasonic tvs kicks ass. at least the flat screens, in fact i prefer them over the wegas.

 

[amdskip]

Working at Wal~mart we sell the cheapest of the cheapo tv's out there. RCA's have one of the highest return rate's by far. I recommend the Panasonic TV's because they hardly ever get returned. We sell quite a few TV's for just walmart, I'd say 3-4/day on average which is great considering it is a very small store.

 

[Cfour]

ive had one of those panasonic TV/VCR combos since 1993, and it hasnt broken once! The VCR in it needed new belts on a couple occassions, but that is all.

Tony

 

[Koing]

in our house we only have Sony tv's. We've got a 32" Wega screen that looks great. Also got an older Trinitron 29" screen thats great. Been working for YEARS. Got a 20" also. My brother knocked it off 4" (foot and not inches btw) and it STILL works! The screen didn't crack either. Probably lucky but it still works, this is an oldere model though.

 

[polypterus]

I have a Panasonic TV from 1980 and a VCR from 1982(? the huge old kind), both still work great.

dc

 

[outoftheblue]

I'm not knocking everything Panasonic makes.... I have CD-ROMS, a VCR, answering machine, and an ancient radio that all work great.

I was probably just unlucky with the two defective TVs, but just about ALL the TVs except the Trinitron based ones had a problem with picture stability that was noticeable to me.

Future Shop is a major retailer of consumer electronics here in Canada... (I think Best Buy bought them recently, so maybe thay'll have a name change). I'm pretty sure they're an authorized retailer.

If anyone wants to see what I'm talking about (I'd esp like to hear from Panasonic/Sony owners)... try track 9 of the Pearl Harbor DVD Disc 1. Its a black and white scene, you'll hear ".... something something German Luftwaffe..." and there'll be vintage footage of planes going overhead. Watch the letter box at the bottom of the screen, and you'll see what I mean. If you have the DVD Heat, in the opening scene where they rob the armored truck its pretty noticeable too.

When I demoed it to the guy at the store, he was like :Q .... as the Panasonic 27D11 was pretty much the best conventional CRT TV there.... I'm off to get the Sony now

 

[AU Tiger]

mwink, I have a 20" Panasonic panablack in my bedroom that does exactly what you describe. It will turn back on after turning off and has lately begun to turn off after we turn it on. Takes two-three times sometimes to turn the thing off. I thought it might be the remote sending the signal twice for power, but I am glad to hear someone else has the problem.

 

[bcterps]

Maybe the quality has degraded somewhat recently. I bought a Panasonic 27" 3-4 years ago, and it's great. Excellent picture quality, and havent had any problems with it at all. My parents had a Toshiba 32" and that was pretty good too, the picture was not as sharp as my Panasonic, but overall a good value. Only thing was that the remote went kaput after 2-3 years.

--Ben