This TV hooked up to my PC's HDMI port without problems, and produces a crystal-clear, sharp picture. For people complaining about 'halos' around screen fonts etc., turn down the 'sharpness' setting in the picture settings. If you have overscan issues and the edges of the screen appear cut off, switch to 'HDMI2' mode in the settings and your screen will display properly. Panasonic VIERA TC-L32U3 32-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV
This tv is awesome!! ..I waited for the new "alpha panel" ( as stated by cnet and is used on higher end tvs) rather than panasonics old lcd panel; and it is worth the wait!! The colors are NOT washed out as one reviewer stated and are very good..The screen is a BIT slightly draker but that brings out the color better in my opinion ... They even improved on the angle viewing so its not faded looking from the sides...My friend brought one to. I think the last reviewer got a bad one.. There are good reviews on this unit from cnet and best buy and even the first person on this page said so minus pc hookup thou...Way to go panasonic!!!
I use this in my studio as a video editing monitor and have no complaints except that it does not include a S Video port. S Video is a now well past supporting, but while transferring older material it would be useful FOR ME. I transfer using composite, which is ok for the short while I need it. Obviously it looks great and matches color very well. This outputs full 1080, which I needed and shows me the under-scanning I need to prove to me that I have a full frame. I recommend it for any TV and monitor use. It is very light and a breeze to wall mount.
Gaming:
BAD NEWS: First let me say that if you are looking to be a MLG pro and have the absolutely 0 input lag, you shouldn't buy this TV. Most TV's above 32 inches will have some kind of input lag. I would advise you to buy a 23" monitor for around ~$200 if you are looking for no delay at all. This TV is no different in that if you play competitively, you will notice a difference. I have tried HDMI, Compnent, and VGA...all play almost no affect with VGA "feeling" the least laggy. If you are looking to play any FPS competitively, I suggest buying a PC monitor as lag will be non-existent. The "Game Mode" is lame. It turns off all the post-processing options (you can turn off manually), but for some reason it seems to lag more than just leaving it on standard.
GOOD NEWS: This TV does not have as much input lag as other brands I have had in the past (Insignia, Sony, LG). If you are a casual gamer who plays fps/sports/adventure games than this TV may be right for you as the input lag is not noticeable to the average player.
Movies:
BAD NEWS: There is only a digital Audio Optical Out. I was hoping for RCA Audio out so I could connect it to my 2.1 speakers that only have RCA and 3.5mm input. (This is more of a personal Bad News than a Con of the TV)
GOOD NEWS: The TV works fine and looks beautiful. Movies/Sports are crisp and they sound descent out of the TV speakers.
PC:
BAD NEWS: I wouldn't use is as a dedicated monitor for gaming for the exact reason stated above. It feels slow, but maybe I was just to close to the screen.
GOOD NEWS: If you are going to use this as a secondary monitor to watch movies on or do off screen work (Monitor Stocks, watch streams, etc...) it works great. If you want to hook up a wireless mouse and keyboard and watch some netflix or browse youtube, it works great.
CONCLUSION:
The TV is a great TV for $400. It doesn't have as much delay as some of the other units I sampled and feels pretty solid for my gaming experience. The reason I gave it 4 stars is because it isn't input lag free (ERRR game mode blows) and it also didn't have RCA out. The complaints are small, but I feel they warranted a star down. I would recommend this TV to a average gamer who is looking for something that is a bit bigger in size and also allows for games to be played enjoyably.
Games Tested:
Halo Reach (Xbox)
Black Ops (Xbox/PS3/PC)
Killzone 3 (PS3)
NCAA 12' (Xbox)
MVC3 (Xbox/PS3)
HoN (PC)
BF:BC2 (PC)
Movies Tested:
Back to the Future (Blu-Ray)
40 Yr Old Virgin (DVD)
Any Questions, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer them.
The TV-and-DVD-watching quality on mine was pretty good, as was the sound. But I had to send mine back because, despite this being marketed as good for connecting to a PC, I could not get a sharp image. I tried all possible settings. Note that I did get the screen sized correctly, but the TV just couldn't produce clear text or photos from a PC. Both text and icons were squiggly, and I could not get rid of the halo effect (around text) unless darkening the TV too low. Pics were not any better unless I stood way back.
I called Panasonic, getting through very quickly to a friendly rep. Unfortunately, I didn't get straight info from her. She admitted that none of the HDMI ports would work right for a PC, but she did say I could use the VGA for the full 1080p resolution, because the "VGA port is tuned for a PC." Nope, at least not with my EVGA nVidia GTX 460, using a DVI to VGA converter. The highest the set would take on VGA was 768, which of course looked horrible.
Note that I have a two year old, 46" Samsung that works with my nVidia card and any laptop we've hooked to it, using HDMI port #2.
With so many people into streaming and wanting bigger monitors with good sound, Panasonic could have had a big hit with this. By now, hooking up a PC to a 1080p TV should be standard and hassle free, especially in a $500, 32" set.
Wanted, if possible, to get a display device to be both a HD television and a great monitor. This would satisfy the want to have both in a small study. I am an avid photographer using very high resolutions with high end Nikon cameras. Also do HD video (1080p & AVCHD) as well. Needed to get a display to handle editing for both. Definitely wanted a monitor with an IPS panel to assist with very good color, better viewing angles, etc. Looked at the LG's (hit or miss IPS panel in some of the 32"), Samsung's (not an ISP panel), etc., as well. Went to several local AV stores in the local area and was able to see many of the models I was interested in. Hands down this Panasonic was the standout of the 32 inchers! Made the purchase several days later and connected everything up yesterday. All connections were as simple as could be. On HDMI1, I connected the Comcast HD cable box. Excellent picture right at the start (after going into the picture menu and turning the C.A.T.S to the "OFF" position). Color, sharpness, brightness, contrast, etc., were fantastic. At this time, have no reason to adjust this input.
Now, for the computer part. Powered down all devices, then connected my HP HPE 390t with the 1.8GB nVidia Geforce GTX 260 video card with an HDMI out to the HDMI2 input on the Panasonic. Powered both TV and HP computer back up. WOW...as the computer began to load, the color, fidelity, etc of the windows blue intro screen was fantastic as was the HDTV portion when I first turned on the cable. After logging in, my screen background photo (photo of wife and I in front of a glacier and mountain in Alaska) just blew me away. No other monitor I have had (and its been several) since 2008 (date of our trip and photo), was able to display it so well. NOW comes the important part. This TC-L32U3 DOES handel the PC very, very well, but a few minor adjustments needed to be made: 1)the computer displayed the background larger than the TV screen size. NO problem. Went into Windows 7 control panel and made sure the video card was set at 1920 X 1080, the refresh rate at 60Hz, and color depth at 32 bit. ALL was good there. Next went into the TV's menu and did the following: using the TV's remote, I entered the picture mode; scrooled down to "Aspect adjustments" and hit enter; left the "Screen format" at "Full", but adjusted the "HD size" to "Size 2". Pure Magic!!! The PC now displayed the correct resolution beautifully!!! NO issues. 2.)At the advice of another reviewer, I did knock down the sharpness alittle, but not sure I needed to it, because I saw NO issue with being able to read the text, being already sharp and clear. Just keep in mind that this is not a high end monitor only, but on this 32", it is very good. 3.)I also adjusted TV's "Black level" to "Dark" (just my preference).
I now use these minor changes on both HDMI1 and HDMI2 inputs. I also kept the pictue in "Standard" mode, which I have hardly ever done on many past TVs. Always had to adjust them to get more vibrant color, etc. Not with this set. The "Standard" was exceptional right out of the box (again, you have to turn the C.A.T.S to off, so your room lighting is not the changing the brightness on you). Have NO intention of calibrating at this time (I do have a calibrater stored some where).
On page 38 of the owners/operation manual, Panasonic puts in the disclaimer, "use with a PC is not assumed". That is probably true in some respects. You apparently have to have compatible equipment. If you try this display, you will not be disappointed. But the PC's video card must be compatible. Excellent display on both my HD cable and PC inputs. - Viera - Panasonic - Lcd Tv'
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