Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic CT32SX31 32" Tau Pure Flat Screen TV

One of the best flat screen TVs out there. When I was shopping for a good 32 inch flat screen TV, I started with Sony Wega, this one and few other brands (like JVC, Samsung). When I compared this one with wega (kept right next to each other), I liked picture on this one better. Images where crisper and brighter. Featurewise both sets were almost at par. (Including BBE sound, PIP, number of component outs and so on). This one is slightly cheaper than Sony but not by much ! I was watching travel channel programming the other day (South Florida beaches...) It was so much fun to watch on this TV! Sound is great as well !! If I have to complain about one thing, that would be design of remote control. Its too compact and some of the buttons feel too small. (May be I was used to my old Sony TV remote!) But this should be almost a non issue, given the fact you get universal remote with almost every VCR/DVD/Cable box these days. Plus, not to mention those hi tech universal remotes sold by sony under 100$. Overall 2 thumbs-up!

I still spend weekends window-shopping. PANASONIC and SONY still manufacture the best tube televisions as far as I can discern. When entering into the tube TV market (20 inches and above) your best bet for uniform picture quality and consistent performance is PANASONIC and SONY. Both of these manufactures still stake their reputations on this market. Both manufacturers also still have a loyal following of satisfied customers who return time and again to their Televisions. I used to sell audio and video products. A returning PANASONIC customer settles for nothing but another PANASONIC television. A returning SONY customer settles for nothing but another SONY television. That's the way it was. From my point of view PANASONIC and SONY still make the best television sets utilizing a conventional picture tube. Price range aside, my criteria for choosing a set is simply how well the picture looks to me. I look for picture definition, sharpness and color consistency. Personally I found SONY to have a slight edge over PANASONIC in picture definition and sharpness. PANASONIC televisions offer great definition with a slightly softer looking image than SONY. However, I do find that PANASONIC still has better control over color consistency. A color picture is made up of Red, Green and Blue signals. Reds are the hardest to reproduce and control because they have a tendency to over-saturate and "bleed." From the many sets that I have observed PANASONIC controls this "bleeding." PANASONIC keeps the Red signal at the same level and consistency of the Greens and Blues, which is more pleasing to the eye. In order to compare sets I always use the same video source, which is usually, a DVD player (I use the same player as well as the same software). My point is that I saw a discernable difference in the PANASONIC 32-inch sets compared to Sony's 32-inch sets. The Panasonic CT32SX31 32" Diagonal Stereo Monitor-Receiver Pure Flat TAU is an incredible set.

This TV was great while it lasted. Unfortunately it didn't last long. I had this TV for only 2 years before it died on me. It seems as though the more expensive TVs last less time than the cheaper older televsions. I have a 27" sanyo TV that has lasted me over 5 years and it was only $150.
Oh well...it isn't worth the $300 it will cost to fix it, so I am going to buy another 27" TV for $225.

The picture was OK when it worked. After 2 years this TV died completly. Technology is a commodity these days but for the money paid for this TV I certainly expected more.