Panasonic's PT-50LCX64 is a stunning 50-inch HDTV that will admirably serve as the center of a home theater/multimedia system, with a slim LCD projection screen and twin tuners for split-screen and picture-in-picture viewing. The silver cabinet is very compact, with a narrow base and speakers on either side of the wide-format screen.

All video content is subjected to line doubling to create progressive scan images, and vertical and horizontal edges are very sharp. A 3-D Y/C digital comb filter keeps dot crawl and hanging dots to a minimum, while the color temperature can be set to warm or cool. The picture format can be adjusted to fit the screen, with a choice of four widescreen modes. Four built-in speakers produce a total of 30 watts of audio output, with simulated surround sound and adjustments for bass, treble, balance, and sound mode.

Among the galaxy of convenience features are customized channel labeling, a full-screen freeze, video input setting memory, and parental controls that can limit access by channel, program, or input. The PT-50LCX64 will serve as a very large computer monitor, and the picture-in-picture features are especially handy for monitoring a TV show while surfing the internet or playing computer games. Digital photos can be viewed via the memory card slots, which accommodate SD and PC cards.

Audio/video, S-video, and PC audio/video inputs are located on the side of the cabinet for easy access when connecting a camcorder, video game console, or computer. The rear panel vastly increases the connectivity options, with two S-video inputs, two audio/video inputs, three component video inputs, one VGA (PC) input, an HDMI interface, and two RF inputs. Audio outputs are also available for connecting external speakers. The universal remote control is an illuminated model with a disc controller for ease of navigation through on-screen menus. It has buttons for each of the video inputs, so there is no need to advance through a series of input options to find the correct one.

Warranty
1 year parts and labor