Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV

Review by M. Beverley for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
Bottom line, this TV is currently ranked the 3rd best 32inch TV according to consumer reports, only behind the much more costly Samsungs, but ahead of the more costly Sonys. Tier one brand, great price, buy with confidence.

My TV situation: stood in the corner of formal living room, designed not to dominate room, used a few hours a day.

My TV viewing: general TV, casual films (no gaming or surround sound serious cinema).

My TV source: digital antenna/OTA/ATSC (no cable or sat) via Tivo HD, plus Netflix and Amazon video on demand.

I was shopping to replace my old 27inch CRT TV and a 32inch LCD is a perfect size for that. There is a bewildering choice out there. In a big box store I honestly could not tell the difference between the many manufacturers. Reading user reviews on line was ultimately a waste of time as someone always has a complaint or some unique need or set up.

I made my choice for this TV because of 1) the excellent professional reviews by consumer reports 2) brand quality reputation, 3) great amazon price, 4) clean case design 5) good number of inputs.

The picture by the way is excellent without modifications, bright, clear, viewing angle is not an issue.

Considerations: I technically probably didn’t need a 1080p TV, 720p would have been fine as most TV signals are that, and I would not see the benefit at my viewing distance at 10+ ft, but this TV gives me flexibility to use with higher quality sources like HD downloads, gaming consoles or as a PC monitor in future. This 1080p model was also not much more expensive than a 720p model.

I wasn’t sold on on the added cost for 120Hz for my needs: 120Hz does not seem to matter for TV signals, only 24fps movies, and if you’re into serious cinema you’re probably not looking at 32inch 🙂

Sound on this TV, like most 32inch TVs, is from 2x10w speakers, and is absolutely fine for a living room and casual viewing, I have not had to go above 50/100 on the volume level.

Review by Miles Jacob for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
Pros

-good quality IPS panel, a superior LCD technology generally used in just a few premium computer monitors. Panasonic, NEC, and Apple are among the only manufacturers who guarantee IPS panels. Few other TV makers use them and even when they do, companies such as Samsung, Dell, LG have been known to swap them for inferior cheaper panels after initial positive reviews are published.

-less than a single frame of input lag with progressive sources, and a good quality de-interlacer which adds merely a single frame of lag, making this one of the best gaming TVs for ANY price.

-horizontal and vertical viewing angles are nearly as good as CRT and plasma, no color shifting

-saturated and accurate color (when calibrated), crisp and bright, no banding of gradients, no loss of detail in shadows or highlights, extremely rare for an affordable television

-S-Video, Component, Composite, and 3 HDMI inputs, both digital and analog audio outputs

-1920×1080 signal can be displayed 1:1 with no cutting off of the edges, such as from a PC with a DVI-HDMI cable

-a wide variety of VGA input timings are supported

Cons

-VGA input resolution limited to 1280×1024

-diagonal viewing turns blacks gray (just make sure the TV is placed at eye level to get the ideal wide viewing angles)

-the speakers are somewhat weaker than other similar TVs

-only Cinema mode (with brightness at 50 and Contrast at 100) has reasonably accurate color, the other modes make color changes that are not user accessible.

-fluorescent backlight gives slightly bluish “Normal” color temp, “Warm” looks best

-the black levels are good enough, but not remarkable

-colored text is slightly fuzzy even at 1:1 pixel resolution due to subpixel font rendering techniques of OSX and Windows (still readable and better than turning subpixel smoothing off, but this TV is not ideal for use as a full time web/productivity computer monitor, it is perfect for a media PC however)

Review by J. West for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
I started out on my venture to purchase a new gaming TV (mainly for my PS3). My old set was a 27″ Samsung CRT that had some really bad coloring and geometry issues. I finally got fed up and decided to start looking around for a 1080p LCD that would fit into my existing entertainment cabinet. After reading a bunch of reviews online, I discovered this horrible affliction that all LCD TVs experience – Input Lag. Generally, if a TV has a good/great picture (Sony and Samsung), it has more input lag. If you want a TV with low input lag, the picture won’t be as good. As mainly a gaming TV, I decided to try to find a TV set with great input lag numbers with a good picture. After hearing how well previous Panasonic models were for gaming, I decided to get this TV.

Well, I couldn’t be more satisfied with my purchase! Not only is the input lag very low but the picture quality is quite good. The colors are very good, but the blacks aren’t as good as a Samsung or Sony. Mind you, I haven’t had much time to go diving into the color/service menus to fine tune the display. Also, I cannot rate how well it handles SD signals as everything I’ve used it for have been 1080i/p native. Yes, the sound volume from the TV is pretty bad, as most reviewers have mentioned. But this is a non-issue if you have a receiver to hook it up to.

PROs

Excellent input lag

Good picture quality

Great price (Thanks Amazon!)

Great input select menu (press input and then hit 1-8 to immediately go to the input you want)

Very attractive design with a non-gloss screen

Lots of input options including 3 HDMI

CONs

Weak speakers

Only 1 component input*

*I had my PS2 and TiVo HD hooked up through component on my old TV. On this TV I had to go buy another HDMI cable just to have them both hooked up at the same time.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with this TV. If you are reading this and are looking for a great 32″ gaming TV, do not hesitate to buy this TV!

Review by NF for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
I removed my CRT 32″ Toshiba from it’s TV cabinet while I was doing some flooring in my home. I forgot just how darn heavy and bulky these old school TVs can be. I decided at that moment that I would replace it with something more modern, and lighter. This 32″ tv out of the box looked so much smaller, in height, than the previous one that I was concerned it was too small for my needs, it turns out it wasn’t. The picture on the other hand, was absolutely brilliant in HD mode. Rich, vibrant colors that makes my bedroom Element HD TV look poor in comparison. Audio quality is pretty good, very clear. Not very good low frequency sound but very good nonetheless. No probs with the connections and a good intuitive menu. The only prob., and it’s not really a prob, is running an audio cable to my surround sound audio system. It requires a single digital optical audio cable. Last time I tried one of those cables on a different system, I wasn’t pleased with the audio quality (ie tinny sound) so we will see how this one sounds once connected.

Review by Daniel T. Light for Panasonic VIERA S1 Series TC-L32S1 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Rating:
This is a fine television. Yes the audio seems a little low but I’m getting older so that maybe the problem with that. The picture is outstanding and the colors are beautiful. The value for the dollar speaks for itself on Panasonic TV’s. I’m happy with this TV.