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Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-P46S1 46-Inch 1080p Plasma HDTV
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Now on to the set. I have owned two televisions in the past 15 years. The first was a 19" Zenith CRT. The second was a cheap 27" Apex CRT that I bought from Sam's Club about seven years ago. I had been waiting to buy a HDTV until a decent 1080p set was available for a price that I considered reasonable if amortized over ten years. Each person has their own definition of reasonable, but I felt that time had finally arrived.
I researched this purchase for about two months. Early on I decided I wanted Panasonic plasma. Plasma is currently the only choice for those who want the best possible picture at a given price point. The only question was which model and what size? There were three models in my price range when I decided to buy: the X1, the S1, and the G10. The X1 series is Panasonic's 720p line of plasmas. It comes in 42" and 50" sizes. For my viewing distance (10 feet), 720p was a definite possibility. The S1 series is Panasonic's lowest 1080p plasma line. The G10 is a step up from the S1 and includes a THX mode and Viera Cast, Panasonic's internet and video on demand service. A decent rule of thumb is that each step up in size is about $200 and each step up in model type is about $200. For example, the 42" G10 is about the same price as the 46" S1 and the 50" X1.
I created cardboard mock-ups of the 42", 46", and 50" sets and placed them where the TV would go to help determine the correct size. It quickly became clear that 42" was too small while 50" was too large for my personal taste. The 46" was perfect. Unfortunately, this eliminated the X1 series from contention as there is no 46" set in that line. I would have bought the X1 had it been available. That set is the best HDTV for the money that is offered right now, IMO. Still, 46" was the sweet spot for me, so I was going to have to move up to a better model. Now the question was should I go with the TC-P46S1 or TC-P46G10?
In my case, I was planning on buying the Panasonic DMP-BD60 Blu-ray player to go with the set. When I was ready to buy, Amazon was offering $150 off the BD player when purchased with an S1 set or $200 off when purchased with a G10 set. The price of the BD60 itself was $200, so that made the deal irresistible. The BD60 also offers Viera Cast, which would have duplicated that functionality if I went with the G10 set. So the decision came down to whether or not I wanted THX for an extra $150. In the end, I decided the cost was not worth it and went with the S1. I have no regrets about that decision at all.
The color and detail on this set is fantastic. Watching the BBC Planet Earth Blu-ray set in 1080p is awe-inspiring! This set paired with the BD60 is a match made in heaven and a much better setup than many others costing hundreds of dollars more. Colors look realistic (and can be made more realistic with some tweaking or a professional ISF calibration). The set has plenty of connections including three HDMI inputs; however, I've found that pairing this with a good AV receiver that has HDMI output makes the number of the connections on the set irrelevant. Even the onboard sound on the TV is decent, but if you're purchasing a TV of this caliber, you would probably want to hook it up to a decent sound system to fully appreciate the home theater experience. The set also has an SD card slot for viewing photos, so the TV can stand in as a very large digital picture frame if you are so inclined.
One of the knocks against plasmas are that they put off more heat than LCDs. Really, this is a non-issue, IMO. The amount of heat generated is far less than a much smaller CRT. Yes, it's warmer than an LCD, but are you really willing to live with all the faults of LCD (less contrast range, poor off-angle viewing, and poor black levels) just to have a TV that is a little bit cooler? Are you watching TV in your family room or a freezer? One consideration that is a possible concern is that the anti-reflective coating is not very effective. If you have strong reflections that you are unable to control, you may want to consider an LCD, although the best LCDs have glass panels instead of matte screens anyway. Overall, I don't think you can buy a better TV for the money (well, maybe the TC-P50X1). Highly recommended!
Pilot Air Freight delivered with the best Amazon ordered service. They did not plug in the cable, but did unload, plug in and double check that all lines were scanning properly - no bars or burnt out spaces. Once again, Amazon.com is $200.00 cheaper than Fry's or others and their door delivery (free) was excellent.
One issue: The size. I was allowing my husband's demand for the largest set to get in the way of my choice. We bought the 46" and should have bought the 42" for our size living room. It is possible to get eyestrain from "scanning" the whole screen! Our Comcast cable techie did help with deep programming to eliminate the automatic 4:3 stretch that was soooo bothersome. Now everything is received on the screen in the proper format without any fiddling by the user. Eliminated eye strain as well.
Note: the stand is extremely stable - no fears of tipping by active 3 year old grand niece. Also, the Plasma is in front of a picture window with no (never) drapes or blinds. There is no problem with dimming in full daylight (maybe a smidge) and no reflctions from other lighting in the room. Best choice for those conditions.
Very occasionally, I notice the colors tend a bit green, but not enough to bother me. I suspect this can be corrected with calibration. The audio is adequate for a TV (comparable to Sony). If you want high quality sound, then you should use a receiver and external speakers. Commercials are loud, and I wish there was a setting to compensate for this. The S1 series does not give many options for picture adjustments in the user menu -- not nearly as many as the Sony -- but there are enough for most users.
Overall, the picture quality is excellent. Even SD is decent. Upconverted DVDs very good. The TV is a great value. I considered the X1 720p, but you could see a very noticeably difference in brightness and PQ in the store. I tinkered with settings as much as I could, and my wife and I both agreed that the S1 was much better and worth the extra $. Of course, it may not matter as much at home. Plasmas never look as good in stores -- under bright fluorescent lights, next to overly bright LCDs -- but trust me, they look better at home than almost any LCD.
The G10 really only seems to offer THX mode and THX certification and some online features. THX is too dark without calibration. To get smooth 24fps playback (without flickering), you have to step up to the V10, and that is considerably more expensive. They all have the same panel, and most people will be very happy with the S1. Of course, the V10 is better, but if money is a concern, go with the S1. You won't find a better TV for the price.
The Menu can be slow -- when making adjustments or manually tuning channels -- but that's quibbling. You can find advice in online forums on the best settings -- even advice on service menu adjustments, if you're venturesome.
[...]
Great feature set and PQ for the price. Fantastic size choice for a 10 foot viewing distance. This may not be as important to others, but this TV runs VERY cool. I bought it for a medium to small bedroom and in the last five years I have used a 32" CRT, a 37" LCD, and lastly a 42" DLP before this. Each of these TV's has made a pretty big difference in how warm the bedroom is in summer. This is the coolest running set I've ever seen or even heard of.
This TV does 'push' green a bit just as others have reported but a couple of ticks of adjustment does the trick for me. As soon as it has been used a month or two I'll run an AVIA calibration on it. I also have a 50" PZ85U Panasonic in the living room. We really love this set!
The speakers are small and down firing but are OK for late night quiet viewing, but most people will bypass these for a surround system. I just purchased a receiver with Audessey sound leveling and the difference is incredible if only just for the pleasure of NOT having my local stations cut in thier advertisers over the network feed and blow my hair back with the volume difference. I can't be the only on that gets annoyed by that. The oversaturation is so bad on some of the local commercials in the DFW area that the stock TV speakers actually had what sounded like cone breakup without being overdriven at all. It's like having some annoying ass in your house, monkeying around with the volume control.
Cons:
None really but could really use a dedicated sleep timer button on the remote. Also, does not help me pick winning lotto numbers.
The shipping was the most impressive as the item arrived almost a week before it was scheduled and the delivery people themselves arrived 15 minutes early. Excellent.
The only surprise I had is that I did not realize that a 46" TV is quite that big. Probably would have been fine with the 42" and the 720p.
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