Let me see… I had been using an Akai 29” CRT TV for the past 10+ years, so much or rather so long in fact that I do not even remember the model or the make of the Akai. The Akai worked perfectly well all these years without any problems whatsoever and handled everything thrown at it too, not that the Standard Definition world or content has anything very much varied or extraordinary, but still by all standards the Akai performed admirably. My only reason for going in with an Akai was that I wanted a 29” TV (the larger the better my motto as a kid) and in those days only Akai was available in 29” with BPL having a 25” CRT model. Now I am beginning to wonder where have all these wonderful brands gone. No more Akai, no more BPL, no more Dyanora (my very first TV when I was a kid), though the brand I have liked and used the most Onida is still pretty much around and in fact even at the time of writing this there are 2 Onida TVs at home with one in my parents’ bedroom and the other in the living room/hall for the guests. Coming back to the Akai, I made a decision to upgrade and to let the old warhorse go since it was catching up on age and I wanted to enter the world of High Definition with a Plasma or an LCD TV. While on the hunt for a new Plasma/LCD TV, I chanced upon a Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 29” CRT TV that was going at 14K with a HTIB thrown in and without the HTIB the asking price was 11K. The picture quality on the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 was absolutely gorgeous and really stood out compared to all the other brands/models on display. That was what got me interested in a CRT TV in the first place. On further investigation/negotiation I learnt my old warhorse Akai would fetch me 2K under exchange no questions asked and hence the final quoted price for the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 29” CRT TV was 9K. This settled it for me since I thought 9K was too good a price for a 29” CRT TV and that too for something that delivered excellent Picture Quality (PQ). In fact the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 is so much value for money (VFM) that a friend who visited me ended up buying the very same model because of what he saw and is now very happy with the Picture Quality and the performance of the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3. In fact the only con of the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 that I have been able to come up with after using it for about a month now is that its very, very heavy. I could all by myself carry my old Akai 29” CRT TV albeit not for very long periods of time or distance, but I can hardly even budge the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 and it does weigh in at 43 kg.
Set Up And Connectivity: Setting up and connecting the TV is as easy as a pie seeing that it does have limited connectivity options in these days of High Definition Plasma and LCD TVs. For a CRT TV though the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 does come with pretty good connectivity options in the form of Composite Video Input and Component Video Inputs, but no USB or HDMI inputs. There is only one Component Video Input option meaning you can connect only one device via the Component Video cable and I have gone with my Philips DVD player for the same. Connecting DTH is another option, but only the Set Top Box (STB) of BigTV from Reliance and Sun DTH come with a Component Video out. Others like the Tata Sky, Airtel DTH, Dish TV, etc. are still limited to standard RCA cables as of now and High Definition is not even being talked of in India just yet. Anyway for the world of High Definition you will need to move up to Plasma and LCD TVs with Full HD pixilation as anything less will not make any sense whatsoever, but that is still a long way away at least in the Indian context. The same goes for High Definition even in the DVD world and media with Blu-Ray still prohibitively expensive with a Blu Ray player from Sony costing as much as an entry level LCD TV i.e. 60K. There is an entry level model, the BDP-S300, but even that is priced at 30K and in fact the PS3 is a far better bet at 24K considering you will get all the HDD of 60 GB and also a state of the art gaming machine, but the Blu-Ray playing capabilities of PS3 leave a lot to be desired. Finally, a Blu-Ray disc itself costs about Rs. 1200 still out of the reach of many except the hardcore audiophile/videophile techie willing to part with his left arm for the latest in technology. This only means CRT TV is not done just yet and the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 made perfect sense for me for the following reasons especially as a backup TV and one for the living room/hall for when the guests drop in, yet a TV that will afford the viewer 29” of crisp, crystal clear, sharp images of the finest quality.
In terms of performance, the Tau series from Panasonic really rivals the Sony Trinitron and Wega series in terms of Picture Quality at least in the CRT world. High Definition is another ballgame but even in that the Panasonic TH-42PV8 is an outright winner. The Picture Quality (PQ) in the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 is absolutely stunning to say the least, it delivers crisp, clear, razor sharp images from a Standard Definition DVD via the Component Video cable and that too without any upscaling DVD player which is anyways a no go for the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 since it is a CRT TV limited to Standard Definition. The audio of course is pretty good at 400 watts via 2 speakers, but once again of no use to me since I output all audio via my Onkyo Home Theater. Surround sound in DTS, Dolby is limited to only DVDs since TV signals only carry analog and DTH only carries 2 channel stereo audio in India as of now. I am not even sure the concept of High Definition in video and surround sound in 5.1 even exists for the Indian Television industry/fraternity so caught up in their Saas-Bahu serials. Thankfully, Discovery Travel and Living is available to rescue me from the same and then my collection of DVDs and DivX rips in 5.1 are an excellent accompaniment any day. To sum it up, the Panasonic Tau FX 29FX20CDS3 delivers great resolution, great picture quality, great colors, and crisp, sharp images that are stunning and breathtakingly beautiful to say the least and at an asking price of Rs. 9000 is an absolute steal and to my mind a great addition before CRT TVs altogether disappear in the world of High Definition, which is very much on the anvil with Sony stopping production/manufacturing of CRT TVs and going only with LCD TVs and others set to follow suit.
hi rajiv
Would like to know, when did u buy the set?
also let me know ur location and the dealer from where set was purchased.
regrds,
mukesh
Hi Mukesh,
I am from Hyderabad and I purchased the set from Reliance Digital in Banjara Hills, Road No. 12. In fact the TV is going for about 14K or 15K with a microwave thrown in free as part of the deal right now. Without the microwave it should be around 11K or so. I am sure it will be available in all cities so just call the local Panasonic dealer or check the Panasonic India website for further details. The link to the TV is http://panasonic.co.in/web/pid/4839.