Comments on: Panasonic PT-56LCZ70 Review – 56-inch Rear Projection HDTV http://www.youreviewelectronics.com/reviews/panasonic-pt56lcz70-review/ HDTV and Electronics Reviews - Guides to LCD, Plasma, Projection and other Technologies Sun, 22 Jan 2012 04:31:03 +0000 hourly 1 By: Macossay http://www.youreviewelectronics.com/reviews/panasonic-pt56lcz70-review/#comment-5516 Macossay Tue, 03 May 2011 19:28:12 +0000 http://www.youreviewelectronics.com/reviews/panasonic-pt56lcz70-review/#comment-5516 SHORT LAMP LIFE! BEWARE! These HDTVs were introduced in 2007, and Panasonic claimed their LIFI bulb would last 15000 to 20000 hours. They warrantied the FIRST replacement bulb for 5 years. Unfortunately, the claims of long life turned out to be fraudulent. The LIFI bulbs, which cost about $200, only last about 1500 hours (about a year for most users). Worse, the bulb was not designed to be replaceable and thus the entire set has to be torn down to get at it. Panasonic was apparently hoping they'd fix the short bulb life problem, but they never did and they pulled the technology from the market. So you buy the set and it runs for a year and then (if you live within 50 miles of a service center) a technician will come out and put in a new bulb and you'll get another year of use, and then you're stuck. Each bulb after that costs $875 installed. Even if you're capable of tearing down and rebuilding a TV yourself, it's still $200 for the bare bulb, which has to be ordered from Panasonic. Really, it's not worth it. SHORT LAMP LIFE! BEWARE! These HDTVs were introduced in 2007, and Panasonic claimed their LIFI bulb would last 15000 to 20000 hours. They warrantied the FIRST replacement bulb for 5 years. Unfortunately, the claims of long life turned out to be fraudulent. The LIFI bulbs, which cost about $200, only last about 1500 hours (about a year for most users). Worse, the bulb was not designed to be replaceable and thus the entire set has to be torn down to get at it. Panasonic was apparently hoping they’d fix the short bulb life problem, but they never did and they pulled the technology from the market.

So you buy the set and it runs for a year and then (if you live within 50 miles of a service center) a technician will come out and put in a new bulb and you’ll get another year of use, and then you’re stuck. Each bulb after that costs $875 installed. Even if you’re capable of tearing down and rebuilding a TV yourself, it’s still $200 for the bare bulb, which has to be ordered from Panasonic.

Really, it’s not worth it.

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