Panasonic PT-61LCX65 61-Inch Widescreen HD-Ready LCD Projection TV

Product Description

The Panasonic PT-61LCX65 is more than just a TV. While it's a superb center of your home-theater, it offers more possibilities to extend your home and self from entertainment to education and virtually anything you can imagine. With its built-in ATSC tuner you can enjoy HDTV. Sports, movies, and original network programming are all available in high definition from many local broadcasters. Receive and view local over-the-air broadcasts on this LCD projection TV in stunning HDTV clarity using the built-in HDTV tuner (an optional HDTV antenna is required). With its 1280x720 WXGA resolution, this TV can also double as a PC monitor. The PC inputs on this LCD projection TV makes it ideal for use as a large multimedia monitor. Connect a PC and experience web surfing, gaming, and even DVD playback using a large, crisp, high-resolution display. An SD memory slot lets you insert an SD memory-card from your digital-camera to deliver a slide show of all recorded images. CableCARD slots can accept a small card that allows you to receive standard definition and high definition digital broadcasts with no bulky set-top cable box. Contact your cable company to find out if they offer this service in your area. The high pixel count of this LCD projection TV provides fine detail for outstanding HDTV reproduction. More pixels also translate into less stair-stepping artifacts; curved and diagonal edges look smooth and natural. 480p/720p/1080i Compatibility Audio Output - 30 Watts (8 ohms, 70Hz - 16kHz, 10% THD) with Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Surround Sound through two 2-way speakers A/V Input Jacks 2 Rear, 1 Front / S-Video Inputs 2 Rear, 1 Front / Component Video Inputs 3 / RGB PC Inputs (D sub15) 1 front / SD Memory Card Slot (Photo Viewer) / UHF/VHF Inputs / HDMI HDCP Interface / CableCARD Slot / A/V Output Jacks (Program Out) 1 Unit Dimensions (H x W x D) 40.51'' x 56.06'' x 18.43'' / Weight 101.4 lbs

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116961 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Panasonic
• Model: PT-61LCX65
• Dimensions: 56.10" h x 40.50" w x 18.40" l, 112.00 pounds
• Display size: 61

Features

• 61-inch, slim-body LCD projection TV with widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio; 56.1 x 40.5 x 18.44 inches (W x H x D)
• 1,280 x 720 native resolution; built-in ATSC tuner for free, high-definition 720p and 1080i reception
• DCR (Digital Cable Ready) with CableCARD clot for plug-and-play digital cable (where available)
• SD Card lets you view digital photo slideshows right on your big-screen TV (supports 8 MB to 1 GB cards)
• 12 total video inputs include 1 HDMI digital-video input and 3 HD/SD component-video inputs

Customer Reviews

Stunning HD Picture for a great price
Strengths: Life like HD Picture and good sd picutre, sleek design, easy to use remote, sd card reader

Weaknesses: No built-in TV guide, could use a second HDMI and co-ax inputs

Summary: I have been looking to purchase a big screen HDTV for the past year. After some initial research last year, decided to waited another year to let the LCD technology mature and HDMI technology become common on TVs.
This past 4 months, I looked at Sony 3LCD TVs and Toshiba DLP TVs very closely. Sony has good picture but did not have picture-in-picture in this years models and styling looked decades old. Toshiba's 1080P TV was very good with a ton of inputs and comparable pricing but somehow I did not feel comfortable with the Toshiba brand. My research indicated that almost all major brands have good picutre quality so the deciding factor came down to other features like inputs, pip and brandname. The picture quality in Best Buy and circuit city did not look close to what I get at home with a progressive scan DVD. For some reason, the stores want to sell Sonys more than anything else so they hookup Sony with best input and cables and leave Panasonic with ordinary cables making it look inferior.

I have been a Sony or Panasonic brand customer so I decided to buy a Panasonic. For some reason, Panasonic does not have many LCD projection models and this was the only newer one in the 55+inch range. I was very impressed with the features ( sleek design, pip, inputs, sd card reader ) and price.


I am an avid internet shopper but for reason did not feel comfortable making such a huge purchase online but the price difference between bricks and mortar shops to internet shops like Amazon compelled me to take a chance. The TV was delivered in perfect condition and they even set it up in the room of my choice. The TV design looked much better at home ( up close ) than in stores. It weighs a lot less than my old 27inch tube TV.


HD Picture:

I hooked a $20 HD antenna to the TV and boy, was I impressed with the picutre quality? Local HD channels looked lifelike. I just could not believe my eyes. This is using a co-axial cable and NOT HDMI. I am glad I did not fork over a fortunate for a Plasma TV because the HD picture quality is just as good as that of a plasma TV.

DVD Picture:

Make sure you get a Progressive Scan DVD player to enjoy good quality movies. The quality won't be as good as HD but it is very good. I used component video cables to connect my DVD player. I could see significant difference in picture quality between a regular DVD player with composite cables and a progressive scan DVD player with component cables.

SD Picture:

SD picture ( Dish network ) quality is more than satisfactory. It is not as good as my old tube TV but that is expected and I am very happy with the quality. There is even a significant difference in picture when connected using S-Video or composite cables. I just wish there was an additional co-axial cable input so that I can hook both the antenna and the dish receiver using co-ax cables.

For now, I have not decided whether to upgrade to HD receiver from dish or wait because I heard that the output from dish network HD receiver is something like 480p and there are not a lot of HD channels available outside of local channels.


I am sitting about 10-15 feet from the TV. I do not notice a lot of grainy pixels from less than 10 feet also although it is not wise to sit that close. HD picture look great from any distance.


The remote is very easy to use. The SD card reader is handy although I noticed that it is better to view your picture on a laptop than on a TV. It is just painfully slow on a TV when compared to a computer. The SD card reader can be useful when you don't have a computer(laptop) handy.


I have not used the PC input yet. I don't intend to use a 61 inch screen as a my PC input anyways.


The TV does not look big in my family room as I suspected. The TV is much smaller than a 60inch Sony model and looks 100times better. It is a great upgrade for me and the details I could notice on this TV are stunning. As I said before, I love the HD picture on this TV. I watched a Pistons game the other day in HD and it was better than being in the stadium :) The detail on the big screen was just awesome. I watched the SuperBowl on ABC in HD with digital audio connected to my Bose surround system and it was simply a superb experience. HD picture is just as good as on a Plasma TV.

Overall, this is a great TV. I am glad I purchased this over Sony.

BIG Great TV for the good price
bright & crisp picture quality, greate design, good quality sound, good contrast ratio, 3lcd technology gives true colors, easy to select inputs, 4 comonent, 4 composite, 1 hdmi gives more flexibility to have more devices. sd photo card reader is excellent, pc input gives more flexibility to connet your computer. hdtv inbuild tuner, cablecard ready what not, it has everythin you need with great price, this product canbe compared with the most expensive tv's, this tv can sit any place in your home, you can watch the tv in any lighting conditions. i am really liking this tv since last one week, i recommend this tv. only thing i did not like is Stand, it is simply $599.