Panasonic PT-50LC14 50" Widescreen HD-Ready Television

Product Description

PT-50LC14 combines the brilliant, high-resolution picture quality of liquid crystal display technology with the capability to convey multiple digital media formats. Slim, sleek, and remarkably lightweight for displays of their size, this fully integrated, 16: 9 widescreen television is ready to display big-screen entertainment from blockbuster movies to the most visually demanding computer games.The model features SD Memory Card and PCMCIA card slots for viewing still picture images on the TV screen. The Photo Viewer feature allows the consumer to capture still photos from a digital camera, recorded onto an SD Memory Card, that can than easily be viewed as a slide show or in photo-album format.PT-50LC14 has PC display capability (VGA, SVGA, and XGA), and can also be used as large-screen computer monitor for other multimedia applications.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127879 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: PT-50LC14
• Number of items: 1
• Display size: 50

Features

• 50-inch, slim-body LCD projection TV with widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio; 55.7 x 35.3 x 15.3 inches (W x H x D)
• 1,280 x 720 native resolution; HD-ready with support for 480i, 480p, 720p, and full 1080i resolution
• Progressive Scan Doubling enhances standard interlaced signals and renders them in seamless, flicker-free 480p
• PCMCIA/SD Memory Card lets you view digital photo slideshows right on your big-screen TV
• 2-tuner picture-in-picture, 13 video inputs, including 1 HDMI digital-video input and 4 component-video inputs

Customer Reviews

PT-50LC13 50 - Prior Model - My Bulb Life - 2 years 8 months - Not 5 years ---- Optical Engine < class="custReviewStars" name="pngImage" alt="5" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/associates/network/star50_tpng.png" width="56" height="11">
Update 11/19/07 - Good thing I purchased the 5 year extended warranty. I just had the optical engine replaced. Several weeks ago I noticed a red dot on the screen, which could have caused a red tint on the total screen picture if not replaced.

It took the warranty company over 2 weeks to approve the replacement part. Apparently the part is costly, and a decision had to be made between part replacement and a new TV - YIKES.

So far so good. The part resolved the red dot problem...., but my rating is now a 3-.

Update 8/19/06 -Please see my review of 12/21/03 for the PT-50LC13. I gave the prior model rave reviews and noted some set up tips. Unfortunately, the Amazon system will not provide a means to change the stars. I would now rate as a 3 plus, not five stars. I have had this TV since 12/12/03 and on 8/13/06 had the bulb blow. The good news is that Panasonic has extended the bulb warranty until 5/31/07. I was told by Panasonic I was one of the lucky ones, to have my bulb last Two years and Eight months - about 50% of its advertised life. Note - Once the new bulb is replaced, there is a step needed to reset the bulb life timer. Funny thing is that I was told there is no way to view the actual elapsed time. Apparently, the timer purpose is only to display a message when the bulb is near its expected 10,000 hour life usage. I never received such a message - I only heard the bulb pop.

Panasonic Service - 1 888 843-9788. My peak hold time was ten minutes.

I was provided a case number and was told to fax a copy of my paid receipt to Panasonic - My bulb was delivered on August 17, 2006 - I can not complain about two day delivery. I was fortunate to have talked to someone that knew what they were doing and made the process painless. Note- I did call back to discuss a few other issues and the representative was less than helpful - You win some; you lose some.

For people that have already had problems, the warranty is extended to 11/30/07. I expect this is because of the class action law suit for the 2003 and 2004 models. In fact, Panasonic had already sent me (many months ago) paperwork regarding the class action suit and noted that if I had three bulbs blow, I was entitled to a different technology TV or a monetary certificate towards a different Panasonic TV.

Also, in the past, I did replace both cooling fans under warranty because I thought they were getting loud. Overall, I am very pleased with this set except for the bulb and estimate only 4000 +/- hours on this TV.

NOTE: People please make sure you allow the cooling process to complete when shutting off the TV> Do not plug the TV into a cable TV box outlet that will shut down the power, eliminating the cooling process. Also, make sure the TV is plugged into a good surge protector for protection. Lastly, the TV should be in a cool area, not next to a heat source. __ Panasonic does ask if you have a surge protector..

NOTE: I talked to a service technician and he told me not to keep the TV Picture setting on Dynamic (the brightest setting), and I may get a longer bulb life. He suggested Normal, but I prefer Cinema.

Hope this helps. j.