50" PAN PT50LC13 and other general TV size input requested

[Lex]

Considering this set. It's a 50" LCD HDTV monitor. I guess I have a couple of questions about whether it's the right move. Price is right at 3K. Wonder about going from a 60" to a 50" widescreen, whether my normal TV viewing will be handicapped to bad. I guess widescreen movies take on new meaning though. But larger than the 60" 4:3 set? I'm not sure.

http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/images/models/pt-50lc13.jpg

Specification
Panasonic 50" Widescreen LCD HDTV Monitor
Warranty:Months
Labor/Parts 12/12
Item Height in Inches 35.3
Item Width in Inches 55.7
Item Depth in Inches 15.3
Weight 82.8 lbs
Screen Size 50 Inch
Cabinet Color Silver
Display Type LCD HDTV Monitor
Widescreen TV YES
Comb Filter 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter
3:2 Film Correction YES
Convergence Type Manual
First Surface Mirror YES
Built-In Screen Shield YES
Type of Audio BBE High Definition Sound Enhancement with Surround Sound
Auto Volume Correction YES
Remote Type Universal
# A/V Inputs (Front/Rear) 1 / 3
# S-Video Inputs (Front/Rear) 1 / 2
# HD Component Video Inputs (Front/Rear) 0 / 2
# Standard Component Inputs (Front/Rear) 0 / 2
# RF Jacks 2
PC Compatible YES
Built-in Satellite Receiver NO
Variable Audio Output Jacks NO
Picture-in-Picture (PIP) YES (2-Tuner Split-Screen)
Menu Languages English, Spanish, French
Channel Labels NO
NOTE Requires optional high-definition receiver to receive digital/high definition broadcasts.
Other Features Stand sold separately

[Kevin P]

Hang on while I fire up my Acme Super Ultra Oxygen Free Low Fat Optical Reference Series Video Aspect Ratio Computation System (roughly 100 lines of Visual Basic code ;) )...

Ok, a 50" 16:9 screen is 43.6" W x 24.5" H
and a 60" 4:3 screen is 48" W x 36" H

What this means is:

A 4:3 image on the 50" Panny is equivalent to a 40" 4:3 set.
A 16:9 image on your Pioneer Elite 60" is equivalent to a 55" 16:9 set.

If you watch primarily widescreen material (16:9 or wider), you're losing 5" of diagonal, and 4.4 inches of width going to the 50" widescreen.

If you watch primarily 4:3 material, you'd be losing 20" diagonal and 15" of width.

Think about what you watch the most, and base your decision on that. Or look at bigger 16:9 sets. BTW, that Panny LCD is pretty nice, I set one up at a customer's house a while back. Only problem was no discrete input selection (that I was able to find), but I was able to code workarounds on a Pronto.

KJP




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[Andrew Pratt]

Doug I went from a 50" 4:3 to the 32" Wega for my 4:3 material and while it was shockingly small at first you quickly adjust to the smaller screen...and in my case it was much smaller. I think you'd be happy with 4:3 material on widescreen set since 40" is still pretty big.

That said I think you know what I would suggest you get instead of a $$ RPTV;)




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[Lex]

I typed a reply here once, but lost it due to operator error. ;)

Kevin, awesome answer. You da man on aspect ratio/screen size analysis! :)

Andrew, I do know where your coming from. But the idea is, an FP screen could drop down over this fairly narrow HDTV monitor. I'd say it's 3 to 4 times tops thicker than plasma sets. Fairly narrow! At 85 pounds pretty easy to move around with one helper. I dang sure like that.

Well, I'm evaluating this set right now. More later...

Lex

[Andrew Pratt]

Keep us posted Doug!




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[Lex]

Well, I enjoyed the set with a progressive Sony DVD 5 disc changer. But the image had a dark spot toward the bottom, so I boxed it all up and returned it yesterday. It was really a little small for my room anyway, so I am not moving on to looking at other options.

Lex