Excellent!, October 25, 2008
Standard Definition channels looks great via DirectTV. I have yet upgraded my TIVO DirectTV box to HD, but the SD pictures actually look very good. SD picture cannot be compared to HD picture, but this TV does display SD picture very well.
DVD picture from the XBOX 360 via HDMI looks great.
1080P games looks excellent. ...read full review
Standard Definition channels looks great via DirectTV. I have yet upgraded my TIVO DirectTV box to HD, but the SD pictures actually look very good. SD picture cannot be compared to HD picture, but this TV does display SD picture very well.
DVD picture from the XBOX 360 via HDMI looks great.
1080P games looks excellent. No lag issue.
Connected a laptop via VGS to the TV to watch some online movies and they look great! What a surprise.
Opinions about complains I have seem online.
1. Reflection on the screen
I have this TV in my bed room and I mainly use it at night with minimal lighting. If reflection really annoys you, you may want to consider LZ85 or other bands that use matte screen. IMHO, picture on glossy screen produces much better picture that matte screen. I compared LZ800, LZ85 and a few other bands matte screens side by side in a retail store to draw the conclusion.
2. Fan noise
Not noticable unless I stick my ear next to the TV (like an inch apart from the TV).
3. Color Text not sharp
Not using the TV as a monitor to read color text. Therefore, not a concern.
4. Backlight Bleeding
Fortunately, not experiencing it.
The online price for this TV is an excellent buy because of the quality, and craftmanship. I am very impressed with Panasonic whom can focus on Plasma for 2008 line up, but still manage to produce an extremely high quality LCD. This model definitely is comparable or even better than Sony XBR 6/7 or Samsung 6/7 series. A big plus with Panansonic is her web site provides all specific details about the TV.
Good luck searching and recommend you look at the TV in person before making your final decision. minimize
Panasonic 37 inch TC-37LZ800 LCD TV - Great Buy !, February 11, 2009
Panasonic Viera TC-37LZ800 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Let me break down my assessment in two parts - Amazon (delivery) performance and TV performance.
The TC-37LZ800 TV is top rated in Consumer Reports and for whatever reason is nearly impossible to come by in a brick & mortar retail outlet. The Amazon price was great and...read full review
Panasonic Viera TC-37LZ800 37-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
Let me break down my assessment in two parts - Amazon (delivery) performance and TV performance.
The TC-37LZ800 TV is top rated in Consumer Reports and for whatever reason is nearly impossible to come by in a brick & mortar retail outlet. The Amazon price was great and significantly lower than many well heeled competitors, so I placed the order with Amazon over the phone as I wanted some assurance that this was not a gray market or refurbished TV. As the largest on-line purchase I've ever made, I had much anxiety when placing the order, due not only the cost, but also the thought of my large fragile electronic TV purchase getting banged around in transit from some remote warehouse to my home, and delivered bruised and broken. I placed a lot of faith in many successful past orders with Amazon that they would have their act together - and they did. My brand new authentic Panasonic TV arrived in pristine condition by pleasant and professional transport personnel. Slight disappointments however, were the shipment duration and the on-line tracking. Amazon apparently uses CEVA for transport of such items and as luck would have it the TV was shipped in the dead of northeast winters from one of their fulfillment centers in Pennsylvania, about 2,300 miles from my house (Phoenix, AZ). While the Amazon rep was pleasant and professional, I was led to believe I'd have it in about a week, but after order placement the written delivery commitment became 12 calendar days. The TV was delivered one day early, in 11 calendar days - but I didn't get to use it for the SuperBowl - bah. Just seems like logistics could've been better arranged from a better weather and closer location on the west side of the U.S. Also, for whatever reason, CEVA customer tracking doesn't appear to have the detail and reliability of FedEx or UPS, where the delivery trail is so well logged, you almost know when the delivery truck is rolling down your street. However, to CEVA's credit, they did call a day in advance to arrange delivery, and they also showed up at the FRONT end of their 4 hour delivery window !. Once the TV was delivered it was all worthwhile, as the TV was in great condition, not even a gash on the box.
As an engineer, I tend to be a very discerning consumer, and I'll have to say the TC-37LZ800 is a superb TV. The 37 inch LCD is a perfect size for my master bedroom, and I have it hooked to a HD cable box. The glossy lacquer piano black finish makes for a fine piece of furniture, and the TV picture is superb, both in standard def. and especially in hi-def. mode. The LCD image is one of the best I've seen, and the color intensity and image crispness pretty closely matches that of a plasma screen (one of my other TV's is a Panasonic Hi-Def. plasma, also a great TV). While reasonably easy to use and set-up, the remote could use some user friendly refinement as the button for changing the input sources should be labeled as such and not "TV/Video", and the sleep timer should have it's own button and not be buried a couple menus deep. The raw screen is glossier than most, but I haven't found that to be problem in my application (probably depends on your room light placement and viewing angle). The audio is quite respectable with no complaints, though in the future I do plan to hook it into a compact home theater system. Overall, the 37LZ800 does live up to it's high Consumer Reports ratings, and I'd highly recommend it.
Generally, aside from some delivery anxiety, it was a very good experience and I'll probably do it again in the future, especially if the prices remain great.
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Nice LCD at Higher $$ Spectrum , To Bad for Dead Pixel, February 12, 2009
Purchased this tv thru one of Amazon's resellers and received what I believe to be an open box or return versus new as offered. Unit had a blue colored dead pixel in the center of tv. Once noticed this spot the size of a pencil eraser stands out and your eyes become fixated on it all the time. Unfortunately reseller made it hard to...read full review
Purchased this tv thru one of Amazon's resellers and received what I believe to be an open box or return versus new as offered. Unit had a blue colored dead pixel in the center of tv. Once noticed this spot the size of a pencil eraser stands out and your eyes become fixated on it all the time. Unfortunately reseller made it hard to return/replace but doing so versus repair as unit much to new. Did call Panasonic and more than happy to walk thru a reset and testing unit and offering an in home service call to repair as desired within warranty. minimize
Crisp and Clear, February 1, 2009
The Panasonic Viera 37 inch flat screen television was the highest rated 37 inch flat screen in Consumer Reports. It lives up to its high ratings. The picture is as clear and crisp when viewing from the side as it is straight on. We love it.
Fabulous LCD TV, December 23, 2008
This is my second LCD TV. The first one is a Sony. As good as the Sony is this Panasonic is better. The color rendtion and contrast is perfect. With the 120hz screen refresh rate blur from fast motion is non existent.There is nothing that I do not like about this television.
