Panasonic TX32PD30 Review

Overall Rating

Looks great, great sound and the best picture on the market.

Expensive, Wide mode (auto) tends to jump from 16:9 to other formats with a noticeable jolt. MOST IMPORTANT - develops a loud magntic resonance that is depandant on braightness and contrast - Ruins the enjoyment yet Panasonic say its normal......

A great TV. I read a review on here that said the guy had had three units, the first two developing annoying buzzing/resonance. He said the third was so far OK, but had a devil of a time getting Panasonic to agree the fault existed. Five other reviews said it was just a great TV.

Well, the picture is second to none, and the sound is excellent too with a good balance between bass and treble and no annoying inbalance between music and speech that you get on cheaper sets.

4 Scart sockets allow for so many inputs and extra connections on the front allow for easy camara hook up.

The remote is well designed and easy to use.

The set looks stunning, clean lines, nice stand and the screen is perfectly flat and with a clean surround. In all my research and looking since I still find it difficult to find a better picture within £1000 of this TV.

But it was all let down by this fault identified in the first review I chose to ignore.

After 6 months we noticed a buzzing, and thought it was the sound playing up - a speaker perhaps. However, using a seperate amp with the sound off we still got this magnetic buzzing, like a big magnet affecting the metal components around it.
The service guy at first couldn't find anything, but by his second visit a week later he could easily hear the fault. He tried the speakers, using tape on the casing, sealing the components with some special plastic spray, but to no avail. He did identify that it got worse with high brightness and/or high contrast.

He took the TV in twice, for 6 weeks each time and could't find any reason for the fault. Finally the repair company talked to Panasonic who said it was a feature of large TV sets, they ignored the fact that at times it meant you could not hear the TV programmes over the buzz. The TV was now over a year old but they refused to replace it as this buzz was "normal"! No way, we are not talking a slight electric hum here, but a mega magnetic resonance.

Luckily I bought it from a reputable dealer (John Lewis, who incidently offered a free 5 year warrantee) who listened sympathetically and changed it immediately. Thank you JL.

I wouldn't say don't buy this set, I might just have had a bad set, though that first review got me thinking. But if you get this buzz, stand no nonsense from Panasonic and insist on a replacement. My replacement is the TX32PD50C, the PD30 no longer stocked by JL. Apart from the case I can't tell the difference...I'll let you know if it develops the same buzz!