1. IPS LCD Panel
2. Viera Image viewer for Photo viewing
3. VieraLink for One remote control

Customer Review :

Serious audio problem

I've owned this TV for about 2 months -- purchased from a local Video Only. It has a flaw in its HDMI firmware, which causes the audio to become severely garbled after about an hour of viewing. Panasonic acknowledges the problem, but to date, they have not been able to fix it. I downloaded and tried to install the updated firmware from their website, but the install failed. They then sent me an SD card, which also failed to load. My computer had no problem reading the card and copying the firmware update. They then informed me that 30 customers had seen the bogus card read error. Today they sent me a second card, which my TV was also unable to read. The file date on the firmware, which my computer can read perfectly, is two months older than the previous version. Clearly, Panasonic has serious customer support problems.

I received a message from Panasonic customer support on 07/06/2010 telling me that the "card read error" I was receiving meant that I had already installed the firmware update. The agent went on to say that, since I had installed the update, I no longer had the audio problem. I still have the audio problem and after calling the rep a dozen or more times, he has never answered his phone or returned my call.

On 07/14/2010 Panasonic sent me a third SD card, which also did not load. Upon calling back, they told me that this is a known problem with the firmware and my case got escalated to engineering. I was told this same thing two weeks ago and two card sets ago. I have attempted to load FIVE different update files -- two from their websites and three on cards they sent me -- with no success. The problem remains unfixed after ten weeks!

On 07/18/2010 Panasonic sent me an email, telling me that the card should be readable, and asking me to send them the error code I received if it didn't load. I already sent this info over two weeks ago. So, despite the fact that the last CSR I spoke with said the problem was escalated to engineering, I'm still being told that there's no problem with the firmware on the SD card. Insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting a different result. By that criterion Panasonic's Customer Support folks are crazy as loons.

I will update this review when and if Panasonic fixes this problem.

Rating :

Very Satisfied

I bought this TV to watch the world soccer matches in South Africa and it didn't disappoint. It arrived the day before the matches, as promised, and is very clear and easy to view. I highly recommend it, and Amazon.com.

Rating :

1. IPS LCD Panel
2. Viera Image viewer for Photo viewing
3. VieraLink for One remote control

Customer Review :

Great HD TV at Bargain price

Bought this Panasonic Viera TCL32C22 at PC Richards, a NY/NJ area appliance shop. Floor price was $399, but I paid $349.

Let me start off by saying I own a video production company, so I sit in front of televisions all day. When HD TV's first hit the market, I was unimpressed with the image quality. At close scrutiny, most HD TV's that I've seen have horrible artifacting, due to the MPEG-2 compression used to transmit signals.

After hooking it up to my FIOS HD box using an HDMI cable, the first channel I put on was YES network, because I know that NY Yankees games are broadcast in high definition. I was extremely impressed with the image clarity and the color. There was no visible artifacting, even when sitting a few inches from the screen. I surfed through the high-def channels and found varying degrees of images. Some channels just stretch the picture and slap an "HD" logo on it, so you really need to look at a high-def broadcast to judge it.

My next step was to connect a DVD player using a set of Analog component cables. I choose two DVD's: the BBC "Planet Earth" series because of the wonderful photography it includes, and the Hollywood movie "There will be Blood," for both the photography and sound.

"Planet Earth" displayed in widescreen mode on the DVD/TV combination without me setting anything. From ten feet, the pictures were gorgeous. The color was rich and vibrant. At screen-side, black blockiness was apparent; but when I sat a few feet away the MPEG-2 artifacting disappeared.

I loaded "There will be Blood" into the DVD player. The picture looked great and the sound was fantastic.

For a more detailed review, visit my blog: [...]

UPDATE JULY 22, 2010
Had an intermittent problem, wasn't sure if it was the Blue Ray player, the FIOS box or the Panasonic monitor, but finally figured it out. Sometimes, after the monitor has been on at least a few hours, the audio goes nuts. I can't even describe what it sounds like, the dialogue drops to about 10% of the sound, with a distorted, over-modulated audio echo of the same dialogue (or whatever else is playing) taking about 90% of the soundtrack. That means you can probably make out the dialogue if you listened really carefully, but who wants to watch a program under those conditions?

At first, I thought it was my DVD player. I recently bought the Panasonic Viera Blue Ray player (which, incidentally, is not 100% remote control compatible) and found I still occasionally had the problem watching a DVD. The problem also occurs watching Netflix videos streaming via the Blue Ray player.

Turning the monitor off, then back on, clears the problem. Only, you have to make sure you turn off the monitor using the FIOS remote control, because the monitor remote also turns off the Blue Ray player (resetting the blue ray disc to the top menu).

Haven't decided yet if the problem is bad enough to get me to return the TV. I haven't got the box, and I'm sensing a lot of hassles from the dealer . . .

Rating :

Great Bed Room TV

I was looking for a larger TV for the bed room and decided on the 32 inch Panasonic because of the good picture quality and reliability I have experienced from another Panasonic TV I purchased for my living room a couple of years ago. The new Panasonic was purchased at Best Buy for $410 and is a new model replacement for a similar Consumer Report's review that was rated as a CR Recommendation. The TV was easy to set up and the picture quality is great. This is the perfect size for a bed room or guest room TV. The 720p is fine for a 32 inch TV and 1080p is not necessary for a set of this size or smaller.

Rating :

Easy to Set-Up, Beautiful Picture, Reasonable Price

I am not an expert on LCD televisions, just someone in need of a new TV. It will ultimately be used in the bedroom, but for now it is in the family room. Although it is not a huge room, it opens to the kitchen and the ceiling is vaulted. For months I studied reviews of different models on the internet hoping to at least discover which manufacturers had the most service problems to avoid that aggravation, along with which brand had the best rated picture quality. I also visited showrooms to see what looked best to my eye.

After my research I narrowed my search to a 720p TV because although 1080p of course creates a higher quality picture, it isn't as critical on a 32 inch TV or smaller. Since new televisions usually appear in March, my plan was to buy a discontinued model and take advantage of clearance pricing. Unfortunately I waited too long and the two choices I'd focused on were both no longer available. This TV met my needs, the price was right and Panasonic was one of the two brands I'd settled on.

Light weight and easy to handle, out of the box all that was necessary was putting the stand together with a few screws and then attaching it with a few more to the television. I already had a composite video/audio cable which is good because Panasonic doesn't include one. The cable consists of three male plugs on each end -- one red, one white and one yellow. The red and white are for right and left audio and the yellow is video. There are ports on the back of the cable box and the TV with the same colors so it was easy to connect - video out on the cable box and video in on the TV. An extra step I took, in order to get my local stations' HD programs, was to hook up a basic inside antenna by screwing the antenna cable into the same named jack on the back of the TV. That gave me two advantages - I can see the HD content in full HD without increasing the cost of my basic cable plan - and if the cable goes out I can still watch TV.

I put the batteries(included) into the remote control and turned the TV on. The first screen asked for language preference (English, Spanish or French), next the option to select viewing mode - home use or store demonstration. Then the adjust picture screen came up and I left it at the default "vivid" (choices are vivid, standard, cinema, game or custom.) The darkness of your room will dictate what looks best, and the defaults are easy to change by clicking on the remote -- menu, tools, re-set to defaults. Then it goes to auto channel set-up, but if you are using a cable box you select "not used." If using an antenna, select "antenna" and then select "start" to scan the channels. Next is an option to label each of the inputs for - antenna, DVD player, cable box, etc. Then a screen appears to adjust the clock for the year, month, day hour and minute. The completion message is then displayed and you're done.

The TV can be hooked-up to a PC so it can be used as a monitor. I missed an episode of 24 during the Olympics. The network website permits viewing of the current season's episodes so I simply connected the HDMI cable from my laptop PC into the television's HDMI port on the back. That allowed me to watch the missed episode on TV rather than my small laptop screen.

The speakers are one-way 10 watt speakers and are typical of built-in television speakers. Note that there is no analog audio output or headphone jack. There is an optical digital audio output jack. I did not hook-up a receiver and separate speakers to improve the audio, at least not yet, but if superior sound is a concern, you will probably want to explore the possibilities.

The picture is absolutely fabulous and amazingly enough even when viewed at a severe angle, there is no quality degradation. My only complaint is that the volume doesn't change significantly as you increase it. The TV has an adequate maximum volume setting, but if the setting is at 30 and you want it a little louder you might have to go to 60 before you notice an increase in sound. The increments seem too small.

The TV has a shiny "piano" black case which some people feel is a maintenance problem, but fingerprints and dust wipe up beautifully with a microfiber cloth, and I like the appearance.

The set comes with a twelve month warranty, but I bought an extended warranty for an extra two years from square trade since this is a new model and as such has no history. I have been using the set for two weeks and so far it is completely trouble free, and I am very pleased with the purchase, but I will update the review if I experience any problems.


Rating :

not as sharp

I was given a gift card by RTG because i had purchased a bed room set. I paid 418 at BrandSmartUSA for the panasonic TV. I use for my Bed room. I don't like the sharpness of the TV, because i watch soccer and it looks blurry sometimes. I thought it was because the movement of the players, but when i change channels to the news local channel, i can clearly see some blur, you can see this if move close enough and pay attention to details, but you won't notice it if you stay further back

Rating :

1. Universal Dock for iPod
2. Viera Image viewer for Photo viewing
3. IPS LCD Panel

Customer Review :

IPS or TN panel?

I dont have this tv, but according to the Panasonic web site, this 22' unit has a TN panel, not an IPS as advertised here.

Rating :

An Outstanding Performer

Mention LCD TVs and most consumers are not very likely to think of the Panasonic brand. You'll here the usual casual mention of household brands like Sony, Samsung and occasionally Sharp. This is a shame. Maybe even a sin. Although I'll be the first to admit that these household brands are capable of producing good products, the bulk of their current products are actually very average performers yet they sell like hotcakes due to effective marketing and consumers buying out of brand loyalty.

A year-and-a-half ago I purchased a Samsung LN22A650 22-inch HDTV for my wife and gave that unit a good review. Like virtually all LCDs even now, including the widely touted Sony and Samsung sets that claim 178 degree viewing angle capability, that set suffered from color, tint and contrast shifts every time you view the picture away from the dead center seating position. And I haven't even covered the details of screen uniformity problems or even black level. Make no mistake, no LCD or even LED-backlit LCD will ever rival any plasma in these respects.

So I was shocked to find the new Panasonic TC-L22X2 22-inch perform so well. Like some Sony and Samsung models, this one claims a useful viewing angle of 178 degrees. And like those models, this one does suffer from shifts in contrast. Unlike the other brands, though, contrast doesn't drop anywhere near as drastically. Also, black levels stay quite dark across a 15 degree horizontal viewing angle. Beyond that, reflections off the screen take over despite the fact that the screen consists of a matte finish. Vertical viewing angles like the other brands are only good when viewed from dead center.

But I find the basic black level very impressive for an LCD set. It easily rivals the black levels of any of the LED-backlit LCDs I've seen and even approaches the black levels of Panasonic's own plasma models, including the G10 I have. This is no small achievement for any LCD TV. The Samsung LN22A650 I bought a year-and-a-half ago has inferior black level (much brighter).

The other edge the TC-L22X2 has over the same size LN22A650 is that the internal backlighting is far less visible and I think this definitely contributes to the deeper blacks.

On top of all this the overall picture is a lot crisper and detailed even with the sharpness control turned almost all the way down. If you want to see blades of grass in a landscape picture, this is an LCD to marvel at. Of course, it's a 22-inch set so you'd naturally sit quite close to it. I use it as a computer monitor.

In a nutshell, if the picture of this Panasonic 22-inch LCD model is similar to the brand's larger screen LCD models, then Panasonic not only makes class-leading plasmas but cutting-edge LCDs as well.

Rating :

1. 31.5-inch LCD HDTV panel with full 1080p HD resolution
2. Motion Focus Technology reduces motion blur and improves resolution
3. Wide 178-degree viewing angle ensures clear images even when viewed off-angle
4. SD card slot and Viera Image Viewer make photo sharing easy
5. Four HD inputs: three HDMI, one component

Customer Review :

I need advice about this item!

This is my first experience with not only an HD TV but with a screen having the ratio this one has. When I have a DVD with a wide-screen presentation, especially an opera or foreign film, subtitles are a must. Now subtitles appear in two ways in a wide screen DVD format: (1) all the words are within the picture itself or (2) all or some of the words are in the black area below the picture.

When I choose the 4:3 screen size on this Panasonic HD TV, the subtitles are just fine now matter where they are. But when I fill the screen with the picture, where the picture goes from top to bottom, any subtitles under the picture disappear completely.

I am told by my dealer that this is a problem with all flat, widescreen TVs now, because they were designed with no thought of DVD subtitles at all.

So the advice I need is this: is there any way to get a compromise setting to show the full screen with subtitles; or is this simply a defect in this model--or in all other HD TV sets?

I thank in advance anyone who could help me.

Rating :

Very Pleased

I was very pleased when my new Panasonic tv was delivered. I had paid a low 379 dollars for it and there were no shipping charges. I like the appearance of the tv. It is shiny and sleek looking. The picture quality is excellent even without HD. The remote is very responsive and easy to use. The sound is fine. I don't have the problem with it that some have stated in their reviews. I would highly recommend a purchase of this tv.

Rating :

Very nice flat screen

I will admit to not being a pro but I did do my research when buying this product. After seeing positive reviews in Consumer Reports and Amazon I decided to take the plunge. Two big fears in buying a flat screen have not been an issue with this product. Volume and audio quality has not been an issue. Again I am not a crazy audiophile but I notice no tinniness or other signs of crappy sound. The viewing angle was also important us as we have the TV in a room with a wraparound couch. No problems here either, you can see the screen clearly as along as you can see the screen.

Rating :

Incredible deal, Amazon!!

I purchased this as an Amazon Gold Box deal for $380 shipped back in February. At that price, I figured there had to be a catch. Four months later, I still can't believe what a great TV this has been! I can certainly understand peoples' complaints about the speakers not projecting well, but I have my TV hooked up to a 25-year-old stereo receiver via headphone-to-RCA cable and so don't even notice. I guess the lack of analog/ RCA audio output is a little annoying, but the headphone jack works perfectly fine. I also have my computer connected via DVI-to-HDMI cable, which allows me to display almost the full 1920x1080 resolution. I also have a Philips DVP3962 1080i upconverting DVD player connected via HDMI, and all of my standard definition movies look great. The glossy, black finish does catch dust pretty easily, but I suppose that's not exactly unique to this TV. Clear QAM would have been a nice feature as well, but for the price and quality, I really cannot complain!

Rating :

Best 32" LCD for the money

My only regret is not buying 2 of them while they were still in production. This is a great set, picture, features, design. Its light and bright and has all the inputs you need. I dont understand Panasonic, they have such a winner on their hands here, they should have produced this series much longer, the current model does not compare, this is the real deal.

Rating :

More reviews...

Customer Review :

Great TV (and, no lag time)

4.5 stars. This is a great TV, awesome picture which is still easy to see in my bright living room (indirect sunlight). I wanted to mention for video gamers, that this unit has no noticeable delay lag. (I returned an otherwise great LG LED tv because it had a ~0.10s lag, which was a deal-breaker for rhythm games and super-quick-reflex games.)

Minus half a star because it doesn't have internet connectivity (though to be fair, neither has any other TV I've had over the last 40 yrs :-), and personally I would've preferred a USB slot than a SD card slot (I have card readers, and USB could be used to power a wii sensor bar).

Rating :