12 February, 2012

Panasonic TH-L32C30S 32" LCD TV

When looking for a TV recently, I found out TVs now can roughly be divided into 3 categories. In increasing price/performance:
  1. LCD
  2. LED
  3. 3D

In the end I bought the Panasonic TH-L32C30S 32" C-series Viera LCD TV for $399. Originally I was looking for a full HD (1080p) TV, but I got this (720p) in the end because there were no 1080p TVs in my budget, and I didn't have space for a 40" TV. To get the full benefit of a 1080p TV at 32" you also have to sit pretty close to the TV.

Specifications
  • 1366x768 resolution
  • Inputs: 1 component, 2 composite, 3 HDMI, VGA, 2 USB, SD card
  • On SD and USB, it supports formats avi (divx, xvid, mpeg4), mp4, mov and several others
  • 99W power consumption, 0.25W standby

Hardware
  • The TV is only 9kg! The whole package is 12kg.
  • I think the TV is very well designed. I'm not very updated with TVs so I don't know how standard these features are. There is a set of inputs on the side for ad-hoc connections. There is a set of buttons on the other side to control the TV without the remote. You can use these buttons to turn on the TV without the remote.
  • I am most impressed with the HDMI input on the side - you can use audio from the HDMI, or if you're connecting it to an old computer like I am or using DVI to HDMI, there won't be any audio in the HDMI stream. You can tell the TV to use analog (red and white) audio input!
  • The LCD panel is IPS, like the iPhone 4 and iPad. This gives very good viewing angles. I think for computer monitors you can only get the smallest IPS ones for $399.

  • The USB port can charge iPhones! (phone displayed "charging". Did not wait to see if battery level went up)

Software
  • TV can store audio volume and colour adjustments for each channel
  • TV can black out the screen to save power, leaving only audio
  • In Game mode, it can remind you how long you've spent playing
  • You can rearrange and name channels
  • Rename inputs (e.g. HDMI1 to DVD)
  • The menus are intuitive and easy to use, but I can't remember the difference between "menu" and "option" on the remote.

In short, it seems like a fully-featured TV. Did I mention the C-series is Panasonic's entry level?

Power measurements:

  • Off - 2 W (if you turn it off using the remote, it uses 11 W for a while, then drops to 2 W)

TV (analog for now)

  • Audio off - 73 W
  • Audio and screen off - 34 W
  • Audio and screen off, charging iPhone - 37 W

4 comments:

  1. Help! Can show me how to connect it? I plugged in all red white yellow but auto scan says no channels detected! Pls help! Thx!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Red white yellow is composite. It will show up under AV. What are you connecting on the other end? For channels to show up under auto scan you have to connect the antenna (ANT, single connector like the red white yellow ones but I don't know what colour it is).

      Delete
  2. Hey thanks for the quick reply. But can you describe what the cable to be connected to the antenna (ANT) looks like? Is it called an RF cable? Did it come with your Panasonic tv? Mine don't seem to have :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No you have to buy it yourself but it's pretty cheap, about $10. The part that connects to your TV looks like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_aerial_plug and the website has a picture of the TV socket and label (looks like a T) as well. If your building has a roof antenna or cable and a wall socket, it should look like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UHF_connector which is similar, with a threaded plug. If you don't have a wall socket, you need an external antenna, but those I used weren't very good.

      Delete