Panasonic TU-CT20A

Terrible – Panasonic TU-CT20A - I purchased the TU-CT20A after telephoning Panasonic and discussing issues with a sales person. We had a very large (and heavy - 85kg) 82cm H.D. Flat Screen TV in 2003 ($3,500 - not a Plasma, a tube TV) and the Panasonic salesman sold me the TU-CT20A as the best unit for our TV - sold direct with shipping cost just over $400. I thought I was buying a High Definition box, but because its been in the cupboard since we moved (remember, it wouldn't tune any chanels after we moved) I thought I'd try it again. It was 4-weeks ago that I noticed it was in fact a Standard Definition. Never again will I purchase anything Panasonic - I think I'll stay with PALSONIC. More trustworthy ............ Stephen None, it doesn't work anymore since I moved interstate. The price was far fetched when I purchased it from Pnasonic. It used be excellent, until we moved, it wouldn't tune anything and still won't. All the lights come on and it goes through the motion of tuning, then a reponse appears 'no stations available in your area'. But my $60 Teac works like a dream, so Its hard to believe there's no stations 'in my area'.

Terrible – For the price I paid $299 - not good. If you are thinking about buying this, see whether you can get it on approval for a few days or obtain one second-hand or better still look for something else! To sum up this STB has done nothing to enhance Panasonic's (formerly) excellent reputation. I was certainly expecting better. Very good picture but this doesn't outweigh the bad points. Tends to loose picture for a couple of seconds or so every 60 or so minutes - displays 'No Service'. At first I thought it was a transmitter problem but it's been going on for the past 6 months so that would be unlikely. Also as one of the other reviewers noted, it is very susceptable to power supply noise transients eg switching on/off lights, fridges etc. This can be reduced somewhat by using an external antenna (I've got an internal antenna) but I thought digital TV was meant to be immune to interference - that was one of the things all the sales people and other so-called technical people were carrying on about.

Obviously I misunderstood - but that aside, I understand that a 'new-generation' chip which Philips and perhaps others will release shortly will overcome such problems...we'll wait and see!

Terrible – I am definitely NOT recomend this product. In fact, I will have it listed as NOT TO BUY. I belong to a private club and we have a monthy newsletter that makes recomendation on products to members. Recently we have several enquires for set-top boxes. The TU-CT20A was on my final list. I have read your reviews here and also reviews from a few other sites.

OK – For the price its fine, only paid $250 for it. It works fine if set up properly. It was subject to a lot of interference in the rental property we had before this one (washing machine, microwave etc.), but now we own our own home we could set it up as it should be and it's fine for the bit of digital viewing we do here. Sleek style, takes up very little room set up vertically beside the TV. Works efficiently. Do get the "No service" sign occasionally, but not sure if that is the set top box or the transmission. Changing channels back and forth often solves the problem.

Good – I think that the Panasonic TU-CT20A Digital Set Top Box is a very good, inexpensive introduction to the world of Digital Television, and I really appreciate the stereo sound now available for my well-rounded viewing pleasure. The Panasonic TU-CT20A Digital Set Top Box is a relatively cheap piece of electronic equipment. I got it for $279, although to my chagrine, I later found a better price of $259 for the same equipment.

This was an online sale, with $15 haulage, extra.

It is easy to install, using the enclosed instructions, and it looks smart, on edge, supported by a neat plasic bracket. The instructions don't exactly mention the AV-in socket/Video mode, so a plodder like myself took far longer to get it working than would be considered decent.

The remote control is made specifically for the Panasonic range of televisions, therefore, certain buttons, such as teletext and video on/off, do not work.