Features:
- 27-inch diagonal, color TV with built-in DVD and CD player
- Simulated surround sound and 1-bit audio digital-to-analog converter
- 3-line digital comb filter
- Front and rear audio-video inputs
- Lighted universal remote
Description:
With the CT-27DC50, you get all you need to start enjoying the exciting world of DVD in one compact piece. A built-in DVD-video player and 27-inch-diagonal screen with a PanaBlack picture tube make a wonderful team and a solid display of Panasonic's video engineering prowess. This combination is perfect for anyone looking to conserve space or sidestep the hassle of hooking up separate components. The picture is very good (if a little oversaturated) right out of the box, and between the separate DVD and TV setup modes, Panasonic provides ample means for adjustments and fine tuning of the image. Couch potatoes, in particular, will love this set. You can use the remote to do everything from switching between TV and DVD to adjusting the volume and tone controls, to turning off the set's speakers so you can listen through your stereo or home theater speakers. A headphone jack is convenient for private listening, though the quality is poor--hissy even with the volume at its lowest. Panasonic did make trade-offs in quality and design to accomplish the mating of components represented here, most tragically in the placement of the optical digital-audio output jack. The base of the output is flush with a lip on the unit's back panel, making it impossible to hook up any but the thinnest optical cables, ruling out the use of quality brands like Monster Cable and Acoustic Research. So, if you want to enjoy Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1-channel surround sound, take this into consideration. While we were impressed with the quality of the analog audio outputs when routed through a hi-fi system, we don't recommend using the DVD player as a CD player for the simple reason that the screen must be on when a disc is playing, and the lives of picture tubes, however long, are finite. (Some may find the high-pitched whine of the tube's flyback transformer intrusive, but this is inherent in all CRT sets.) If you do decide to play CDs, you should know that the CT-27DC50 will play standard CDs, CD-RW discs (rewritable), but not CD-Rs (write-once). Even if you don't have a home theater system, you can still thrill to high-quality audio courtesy of the virtual surround-sound feature. It simulates the surround-sound effect using the unit's slightly above-average stereo speakers and works with all Dolby Digital-encoded discs. Getting back to what this combi-set does best, the manufacturer's PanaBlack picture tube technology goes a long way toward eliminating the glare of ambient light. The glass in PanaBlack picture tubes is darker than that of conventional tubes, assuring high contrast and accurate color reproduction. Contrast can be heightened--again via the remote!--using the set's black-level adjust. The three-line digital comb filter accurately separates the color from the black-and-white information. Working with three lines of picture information also helps remove dot crawl and hanging dots, both horizontally and vertically. The set is equipped with a built-in stereo decoder that can receive both TV stereo and Separate Audio Program (SAP) broadcasts where available. Furthermore, front- and back-panel AV inputs add serious flexibility to the system, letting you keep a VCR or DIRECTV system plugged in at the back while still having the option of plugging a camcorder in at the front. We're delighted with the lighted remote, which is small and shows in red the command being applied when a button is depressed. One potentially confusing aspect of the remote is that buttons double up on commands, and getting the hang of selecting either "TV" or "DVD" before pressing the buttons took a while. All things considered, the ease of setup, the quality picture and sound, the convenient inputs--these things, for most people, anyway, will outweigh the CT-27DC50's minor drawbacks. --Michael Mikesell Pros:
- Sleek, compact design
- Backlit remote control
- Front-panel menu operation
- Good sound from analog outputs
- Plays CD-RWs
- Fixed or variable audio output
- Bass and treble adjustment from remote control
Cons:
- Digital-audio output will only accommodate the flimsiest of cables due to space mismanagement
- TV screen must be on in order to use the DVD player as a CD player
- Does not play CD-Rs
- Poor-quality headphone jack
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