Panasonic CT-34WX54 34" TheaterWide HDTV-Ready Flat Screen TV
See it at Amazon.com for $1,399.99Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First (5 out of 5)Crystal Clear Image
I've been working for a major electronics retailer for the past 4 years and this is definately the best image for this price that I've seen. So great that I had to get one! The built in NTSC tuner is pretty strong too. Much better than the Sony that I had before this. Only thing that would make it better would be a built in ATSC tuner.
(5 out of 5)Could not be happier....!
I have had this unit for about a week now. I have nothing but great things to say as the picture is fantastic. The sound is so good that I have to get new rear speakers to handle the added sound. Still getting all my other accessories, DVD, DVD recorder, VCR, CD player, CD recorder installed correctly so they can be handled by the units remote. Should be something else. HD is the coming trend...keep it coming.
I have one small complaint though in that when delivery was made, they only sent the driver out with the unit, and it was quite a struggle for him to get the unit out and off of the truck. We had to enlist the help of another male to get delivery, unpacking and finally placement of the unit. The delivery papers distinctly state
(5 out of 5)Jaw dropping...
My wife and I have been looking for a HD television for about 6 months now. We originally started looking at rear projection televisions, but quickly found that the total area they consumed would be too much for our living room. We took a breather for a couple of months, and began looking at tube HD televisions. After reading several reviews of the CT 30WX54 (the 30" cousin) we decided to check it out. Our local Circuit City had the CT 30WX54 and the CT 34WX54 side-by-side, and we went with the 34". The picture is beautiful, DVDs look great, television is awesome and XBox is cooler than ever.
If this is your first HD TV, you'll need to pick up a few extras, component cables for your DVD player, the Monster component kit for XBox, and a new stand, because, man, this is one heavy TV!
Compared to other models by Sony and Samsung in the same size range, the Panasonic really comes out on top between quality and price.
A couple of side notes:
* There are only two component ports on the back, you'll probably need to pick up a DVI-HDMI cable to hook up your cable/satellite box if you are using them up.
* HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY, make sure you get a friend to help you move it in. This is NOT a one person job.
* It's a lot bigger than it looks at the store. Remember the showroom is huge, chances are yur living room is not.
(5 out of 5)Excellent Value, Wonderful Picture, Great Sound, Heavy!
We recently purchased this television after only about a week of research into the HDTV market. I had seen plasma screens in other people's homes, and while the picture on those sets is fantastic, the units are far more expensive. We decided to go with a direct view set because of the price and the size of the room that the TV now sits in. We picked the Panasonic model over the comparable 34" Sony model based largely on reviews from this site, as well as Circuit City's site, all of which said that Sony's model had "grainy" SDTV (normal cable) reception.
We have Time Warner Cable service, and the picture is really spectacular (especially on channels like HBO HD and Discovery HD Theater that feature full screen HDTV - ESPN HD has dark gray bars on the outer most edge of the screen for most programming). Standard cable channels come in great, although in my estimation not as good (about 95% of the quality) as the 27" Sony Trinitron from 1987 that the HDTV replaced. Also, unless you want to have SDTV channels stretched out to fit the 16:9 ratio, there are light gray bars that run from the top to bottom of the screen on the sides of all SDTV channels (similar to the horizontal, black letter-box bars that show up on a widescreen DVD). It takes some getting used to, but really does not matter to us.
All-in-all, buying an HDTV is an investment for the future, and I think that if you have the space for this unit (it is quite large), it is an excellent value (we bought it from J&R Music World in NYC for $1200 in late November 2004). On that note, the TV has an HDMI input in the back, which from what I understand, is the best way to connect HDTV boxes and also leaves open the possibility that HDTV will not be the standard in the future. Keep in mind just how heavy this unit is. My brother and I (both in our late 20's) really struggled to get it inside the house. But now that it is here, we could not be happier.
Finally, this stand complements the unit nicely: http://www.bello.com/AV/avs-422t.asp (available at J&R or on Amazon.com). Enjoy this set, highly recommended!
(5 out of 5)This tv combines the quality and price
While I agree with all endorsing reviews of this tv so far, my feedback will be more based on overall experience rather than technical.
I want to start saying that I believe, not only I have a great tv now, I also have had a great value.
Having crispy picture from all-angles, now watching HD programs and DVDs are so pleasant.
I must admit the sleek design and slim look of LCD and plasma tvs still take my attention every time I walk into any electronic store. However, after I bought this tv, I dont feel jealous looking at those expensive ones anymore. Realizing that we will see more of falling prices in all plasma, lcd and other high tech tvs, as far as my opinion this tv is an optimum buy as it is in great price while you can get great picture and audio quality, so you don't have to be waiting years flat panel prices come down to your budget or feel guilty when you check their prices in two years or so, if you dont care about its depth and weight.
I think it is very important to have 180 degree viewing visibility especially after spending a nice chunk of a money. We do have regular size living room. Having some of the seatings are positioned in a narrow angle when watching the tv, the picture can be seen in any angle. In addition, the screen size does not seem like a small screen, so it is very satisfactory for an average size living room. I also want to mention that at no price, 'rear-projection' tvs cannot keep up with this one as their main defect is not having same picture quality from all the angles you possibly can view a tv.
Think how often you move a tv around the house, and decide whether its weight matters to you or not.
With even less price than low end projection tvs, I can recommend this tv to every one.