Panasonic VIERA TC-L47E50 47-Inch 1080p Full HD IPS LED-LCD TV Reviews

2 things:IPS Picture quality, and Motion Picture Setting…, April 22, 2012

By 

C. Tai –

  

As a programmer and a gamer, I have my share of expensive monitors (just ask my wife!). And the regular LCD TV never satisfy my quality standard; colors are either too cartonish, black is not black, and white is tinted blue. So I have only used plasma as TV. It’s warm, have rich real color, it’s perfect for movie night, there is no argument there.

So for my second TV, which in my study and music room, I want to try something else, since I keep hearing the LED LCD are the bomb nowaday (even most of them still do not look as life like as good plasma to me), the energy usage is low, thin and light. So I try my first LED LCD with this model after researching the latest 2012 models within my “2nd tv” price range.

Sales person kept pushing LG (got magic wand, apps, thin bezel…..), but for me, IPS is the magic word. For people who do not know what it is just google “IPS panel”, if no time, just know this, IPS is supposedly the best panel you can get as LCD panel (I believe all big Apple monitors are IPS, no exception), color is more vivid and the view angle should be a perfect 178.

Got the baby home, set it up, hook up to my 15TB home server w/ HDMI, play some 1080p clips. Wow, it’s so clear and real looking, this is some great monitor/TV I told myself. Flipped to the movies folder, open Avatar, wow, so this is 120hz, looking real smooth, real clear.

IN FACT, it’s so real and clear, I double check my refresh rate (at 60hz from source) all the codecs. The images looks like a pre-rendered animation, totally flawless. But after the first 5 minutes, it feels kind of weird to me as the movie somehow look much smoother, but “cheaper” at the same time. Then I remember the stuff I heard….soap opera effect.

I never consider my eyes to be sensitive in any case (if anything, years of looking at multi 27″ monitor should have desensitized me…), so whenever I heard SOE, I’d just brush it off as some people’s sensitive eyes. IT’S NOT, it’s very much noticeable to anyone, albeit some people just don’t care about it when watching movies in the first place. In 300, all the grains are gone! Now it’s really looking like animation, watching them fighting the monsters.

By now, 2 hours after I unpacked it, I’m panicking and start looking at all the menu items. After much google, some site suggested to use Game mode, so the TV wouldn’t add additional frames by itself to smooth out the frames. BINGO, the movies are looking absolutely stunning, got the good colors, no bleeding, black is pretty black (not as black as the best plasma…but blacker than most mid price monitors out there, which is a tall order for this size and price). So I open up some calibration graphic test for monitor and tune it abit, I’m pretty much set — happy.

BTW I have not try any apps in there, but I tested the iphone app remote, works great.

So to sum it up, if you just want picture quality with a good price in a LED LCD, not gimmicks like 3D, apps, hair thin bezel, this is it.

Make sure you understand the usage of GAME MODE, tune the brightness/contrast/color to watch movie, and use all the other ones for TV, personal videos, then it’s good. OTOH, if the SOE do not bother you, doesn’t matter then. The color and contrast will win you over in no time.

Edit:
Thanks to helpful reply, the setting to turn off the SOE is under Advance Picture->Motion Picture Setting. Good stuff.

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So Far, So Good!, April 9, 2012

I picked this TV up earlier this month to take the place of a disappointing LED set from another brand, and I couldn’t be happier that I made the switch. This Panasonic model is the sharpest I’ve ever had and a few quick adjustments to the picture settings were all I needed to ensure a consistently solid (if not better) picture. In a TV, I wanted something that would be especially reliable when it came to sports, but also worked well with movies and other everyday programming plus the occasional video game session, and this TV has certainly delivered on all counts. I’m able to see the picture clearly from just about every angle imaginable, with no blurring and only a negligible amount of artifacts.

I didn’t set out to buy a TV equipped with Internet capability, but it’s definitely a nice feature to have. The setup in the room is such that I don’t need the wireless capability and the added expense of an adapter, because I’m able to simply connect an ethernet cable to my router from the TV and I’m good to go. So far, I haven’t had any connectivity problems or real lag. While all the subscription services included in the Viera Cast have their own advantages and uses, the Twitter software is what may give me the most utility. I’m still trying to figure out how to tweet efficiently, but that’s secondary to following my feed by the hashtag of whatever event or show I’m watching. I’ve tried out a few Netflix movies to test the functionality and didn’t experience any problems. It includes a pretty simple interface, even for beginners.

Setting up the TV was very easy, and I especially like that there’s a fitting that the TV slides onto while you secure it to the base with the included screws.

4 HDMI ports may be a little much for some people, especially if the VieraCast software takes the place of a Roku or other streaming media device, but it’s nice to know that I have ports to spare in case I end up needing them later. I’d much rather have extras than find myself switching out a device every time I want to use something different. The stock speakers are just fine (no tinny sound, as can be the case with other LED TV’s, including the one I had before this one), but if you’re an audiophile, I wouldn’t blame you for hooking up something a little nicer, be it a soundbar or a multichannel surround system.

While I didn’t pick it up on Amazon, the price was in the same neighborhood as it was new on Amazon and its affiliated retailers – a great buy for an LED TV with streaming media capability from one of the best brands out there. As for the 42″ size, it’s ideal if you want something substantial but still small enough that it won’t dominate the room if you don’t want it to.

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Love my new TV!, April 19, 2012

By 

Rachel “Chicagoan. Natural redhead. Believer … (Chicago, IL, United States) –

  

I finally set out to buy a flat panel TV for my bedroom. I wanted an LED TV because I like the brightness of it compared to other LCD or plasma. I didn’t want a 3D TV and I spent a lot of time looking for a TV without 3D. I don’t want to pay extra for it and I won’t lay around in my bed with 3D glasses watching a movie so I don’t see the point. I did want an internet capable TV to stream Netflix movies. I previously streamed them through my Wii. This TV does not have built in wireless, but I bought a Netgear XAVB5004 Powerline Network Adapter and it works beautifully. I plugged my wireless router into the adapter and I have four ports to hook up an ethernet cable. I think I get better streaming performance this way. I have watched Netflix almost every day and never had a problem. The picture is beautiful. I found that I go back and forth between the picture settings from standard to vivid to a custom setting depending on the time of day and how much light is in the room. It’s a nice feature. I have an HD cable box and all the channels display great. I love the extra apps as well. I was considering getting a Google TV but all I thought all I really wanted was the Netflix stream. I am finding that the twitter app is a lot of fun as well. I love watching the Sunday new programs or PBS special using the hashtag for the show and seeing all the comments others make. It is a truly integrated experience, and better then looking at twitter on my tablet while watching TV.

Since I loved having such a great picture, I also upgraded and got the Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Integrated Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray DVD Player for watching movies. This blue ray player does have wireless, but I plugged in the ethernet cable anyways since I had it setup. I tested Netflix and other apps through the blueray player as well but I probably won’t use those features since I have them on the TV. The sound is a bit low when I play movies, but I don’t think that is due to the TV. I am thinking of getting a soundbar to enhance the audio.

Overall, I love this TV! I probably shouldn’t have put such and nice setup in my bedroom. Way to easy to lay around too much!

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