hi..

i am leaning more towards this 50" panasonic dlp as my next TV.

while reading the plasma forum threads, there seem to be lot of concern
about horizontal/vertical viewing angles..
especially for the sammy DLPs.

How does the Panny DLPs perform wrt to horizontal/vertical viewing anlges.

My most preferrred watching position in sitting/laying down on the floor.
So these angle issues kind of concern me.

thx in adv for ur help,

note:
i already searched this thread for "vertical" but could not find any
post related to viewing angles.

Originally posted by terfmop
I did it. I finally ordered a new (and first HDTV) PT-50DL54 tonight. I noticed a post earlier from Topp Robertson that went into alot of detail with regards to calibrating the set....will his information essentially be the same as what I would get if I purchased DVE or Avia?

Maybe this is a dumb question, but I was looking at DVI/HDMI cable prices on ebay and some descriptions said a "DVI to HDMI" cable others said "HDMI to DVI" cable...are these the same types of cables, or is there a specific type that I will need? If it matters, I will be going with a DISH network HD receiver.

Any recomendations on stands?

Thanks,
Adam

I experimented with Topp's settings. I found the settings made fleshtones too red for my taste on my Particular set.

I found the most natural flesh tones can be found with the "Cinema" setting, however it's overall a bit too dark for me.

Comparison:

Topp Mine
Color 25 25
Tint 27 40
Brightness 24 30
Picture 60 45-50
Sharpness 0 0
Temp. Warm Standard

"Tint 27 40"

I did the exact same thing. Found that reds were too pink/purple.

I use:

Vivid on bright sulight day outside. Curtains+blinds are not enough. Or the curtains are open. Not very often.

Normal on late afternoons and evenings.

Cinema for lights out. Most of time this is were I set it.

----------------------------

Was going to save it for another post ...

Some of the drawbacks to DLP 2+ (pt50dl54) that I have notices are:

Flicker Rainbows on dark high contrast scenes.

Oil slick rainbows on high contrast fine detail herringbone, crosshatch, stripes and checks. I was actually able to pause it and was not a generated wheel artifact. This could be from my cable box or original source. I am curious whether others have seen it. It also flickers heavily on these scenes. This could quite possibly be an artifact from de-interlacing 1080i.

The softness. When objects are in motion they lose detail. This is probably post processing to reduce motion aritfacts. Seems to be a Panny drawback as I haven't noticed it in other sets. But I also haven't noticed any mosquito noise on my Panny.

Fan noise. I seem to be noticing it more and more as time goes on. Especially when the rest of the world is quiet.

===========

Keep in mind. Many, if not all these drawbacks can be found on other sets with the same technology. This is a fine RPTV and I am a happy owner :-)

GoSpurs99, RudyMeister, RelDudeGOP,

Thanks, also, for your replies.

What's a "Home Theater" Compusa? We have a vanilla CompUSA locally, but I don't recall seeing TVs there. Maybe I will check it out along with Sears.

only a certain amount of compusa stores don't carry tv's. there's not many of them. the rest are called internally, home theater stores

Originally posted by BleednEdge
jsterritt, zeeeter,
All I have locally is Best Buy, Circuit City, Good Guys, Sears, and 1 boutique electronics shop. Finding the Mits is not a problem, but as far as I know, none of them carry the Panny DLPs.

Does anyone here know whether the large chains are planning on carrying Panasonic? TIA.

I've been wondering the same thing. I decided that I like the Toshiba the best of all the sets that I've seen, however I haven't seen the Panasonic and it's nowhere to be found. From my readings on this forum, the Panasonic is very similar to the Toshiba in PQ but the colors are more accurate. Plus the Panasonic has 2 VGA inputs, an extra component input, and a memory card slot that the non-HMX Toshiba. I live in Cincinnati and my local dealers are HH Gregg, Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, Alamo Electronics, Sound Waves, and Morris Home Furnishings(in Dayton). No one carries the carries the Panasonic. I have a CompUsa but they do not have any rear projection sets. My guess is since the Panasonic DLP isn't being sold in stores in larger chain stores like CC & BB is because they have limited stock. What's really frustrating is that the 50" version has shown up in stores for over a month and a half and no one in my area knows anything of it. And to add to the frustration I want the 60" version and it doesn't have a release date. The Toshiba 62HMX84 may show up in stores by next weekend and if it does I just may skip the Panasonic. I really would like to take a look at this set but I've been holding out for over a couple of months and at the rate Panasonic going the 60" version may show up by Christmas. And if I recall the Panasonic was supposed to be out before the Toshiba and Mitsubishi DLPs (in June).

well we at compusa have it on demo and i checked our hub store and have many in stock ready to ship

Originally posted by iamtarun
hi..

i am leaning more towards this 50" panasonic dlp as my next TV.

while reading the plasma forum threads, there seem to be lot of concern
about horizontal/vertical viewing angles..
especially for the sammy DLPs.

How does the Panny DLPs perform wrt to horizontal/vertical viewing anlges.

My most preferrred watching position in sitting/laying down on the floor.
So these angle issues kind of concern me.

thx in adv for ur help,

note:
i already searched this thread for "vertical" but could not find any
post related to viewing angles.
The horizontal viewing angle is great. I can watch the TV from my kitchen and that's a serious angle. It still looks good, just loses a little brightness and the such. Vertical is a different story. As long as your stand isn't too high, you should be able to watch it laying down on the floor. I believe mine is about 17" or 18" high and I can do it. It's about at the limit, though, to where it starts losing brightness. Your best bet would be to get down on the floor in the store and judge for yourself. The vertical is kind of iffy and it also depends how far back you will be laying too.

Ed

I made my decision and went with the 50dl54. I have had it a week now and am overall satisfied. I received a fair deal from a B&M store, and I have an extended service plan that I am told covers 2 bulb changes. That last item, however, I need to try and have documented in writing, and that hasn't happened yet.

For me, this is about as good of a DLP as you can get for the money. The form factor could be better, but I'm getting used to it. I considered both the HLP5063 and the Mitsu 52725 as alternatives. But...I liked the HD2+ and couldn't justify the expense of the Mitsu (or the Sam HLP5085).

I currently do not have a hi-def reciever (hopefully by the end of the weekend) so I have no true hi-def sources to view. I also am just getting a Denon 3910 worked into my system, so I have done some DVD viewing through HDMI with that.

Settings: My settings are similar to what "Topp" posted earlier. Very similar. I primarily use DVE for setting adjustment. The only major differences are with the brightness. For my setup, the brightness varies from input to input, but is generally in the range of 20 to 35. I am still not completely sure how to best set contrast with a DLP set, but mine is currently near the top of its range (like Topps posted settings). I don't see any clipping or blurring on video black to video white test patterns, so I'm not sure why it would need to be lower. Any advice for setting contrast would be appreciated...

Observations:
-I am apparently not prone to rainbows...I thought I saw one once and thought (that was it?). That is the only time I even noticed anything during the whole week. This is a relief...
-Blacks...they look very good to me. Blacks look very black and shadow detail seems good. I haven't noticed any "sparkly" dithering artifacts in dark scenes like I have heard described on some sets.
-False contours/clay faces/color banding...I see these at times. My new DVD setup with HDMI to the tv is giving obvious color banding in Finding Nemo (some of the blue water scenes). This artifact in this DVD has been described in various places on this forum. I am unsure if it is the TV or the DVD...seems like it could be either right now. Since I am replacing both at once, I am not sure which is the source. I will have to investigate. So far this is my biggest concern/disappointment with this setup. I am hopeful this can be calibrated out (or at least minimized) by adjustments to the DVD player.
-Colors...look very good to me.
-Overscan...I have less than 5% overscan on the top and bottom, and maybe just over 5% on the sides. The position top to bottom is pretty good, the side to side position is shifted a bit to the left. No sign of tilt or skew.
-Remote...I don't know about anyone else, but I think this is a nice remote. Logical and straightforward. I like that the input can be selected directly using a number, scrolling using a "cursor" or by multiple presses of the video source button. Plus, I switched out a 10 year old Panasonic TV and all the remote codes are the same. I didn't have to reprogram my "universal" remote.

Quirks/compalints:
- I wish settings were memorized per input, not per "Cinema, standard, vivid" picture settings. I'd like to calibrate each input separately and have those in memory.
- Not a big deal to most, but the over-the-air "standard" NTSC tuner in this tv is not very good. My VCR actually is much better. This will all be irrelevant when the digital receiver arrives.
- One more HDMI connectiong would have been really nice. I will likely be buying a switch in the next year or so.

Overall I am happy with the purchase. I watched just a bit of the new SW trilogy last night and it looked very, very nice. The black "space" backgrounds looked very deep, and the ships almost popped out of the screen.

Good luck to those who have made the plunge and to those still trying to decide...
Ben

Originally posted by kjoe
Back to PC input. Ed, you mentioned that the 1200x672 resolution PQ "looked the same" as the full 1280x720. So I assume you mean that is excellent PQ with razor sharp text, ala 1:1 mapping? Also if you do try this new resolution through HDMI I would be interested if a) it works and b) PQ relative to the DVI-component dongle.

-dave
I tried the 1200x675 res on HDMI last night. It didn't work too well. The picture looked great and as good as the 1280x720, but the whole desktop wash shifted to the left. So, I had about an inch of black bar on the right side and the start menu was cut off by that much on the left side. The top and bottom were okay though. Not sure what was up with that, but I didn't really play with it anymore.

Ed

Originally posted by FaSSt2001
The vertical is kind of iffy and it also depends how far back you will be laying too.

Ed

Thx Fasst2001.

Do u mean, the further back I lay down, it will be better?

I will try it for myself at a local store.

Any body has info on what all local stores in Bay area, california, carries
this unit?

Originally posted by iamtarun
Thx Fasst2001.

Do u mean, the further back I lay down, it will be better?

I will try it for myself at a local store.

Any body has info on what all local stores in Bay area, california, carries
this unit?
Yeah, the further you go, the better it will be. That decreases the angle at which you are viewing the TV.

Ed

Originally posted by FaSSt2001
I tried the 1200x675 res on HDMI last night. It didn't work too well. The picture looked great and as good as the 1280x720, but the whole desktop wash shifted to the left. So, I had about an inch of black bar on the right side and the start menu was cut off by that much on the left side. The top and bottom were okay though. Not sure what was up with that, but I didn't really play with it anymore.

Ed

Thanks for the update. I have neither this TV nor Powerstrip yet so I can't help much but I did notice in one of the online guides on Powerstrip a screen where you basically push some blue arrow buttons to move the image in the desired direction and it automatically adjusts the timing settings to accomplish the movement you want. If the only problem you have is a one inch shift to the left maybe this would work.

On the other hand, maybe you would actually like to sit back and enjoy your new TV as opposed to continually futzing with it!

-dave

Hows everyone's fan noise? I seem to hear a distinct hum when my TV is on from the fan - have to turn the TV above 13 in order for it to start to drown out? I went to a dealer the other day and had my ear right next to the fan but couldn't really hear it - perhaps it was in part to the other sounds in the room?

Anyone?

I can hear my fan as well once in a while when the ambient noise or TV volume is low. I could not hear it at the TV store.

This is an inherent side effect of a RPTV with a lamp. The noise is better than the Mitsubishi WD-52525 DLP I had.

I can't hear my fan at all. I put my ear right up to it a couple times and can barely hear it then.

Ed

I didn't hear it all when I used the TV speakers. When I switched to my HT 5.1, I could hear it. It think it has to do with the direction the sound is coming from. Since the TV speakers and fan come from the same direction it may have been cancelling out the sound. Where as my 5.1 comes from different direction and "unusual" sounds tend to stand out.

Of course once I am immersed in the program, I don't notice it at all.

I've seen quite alot of talk about the picture settings and picture alignment for the set itself. Seeing as this will be my first HD set, I thought I'd ask about the HD receiver too. Beyond what callibrations I make on the set, are there any calibrations that are also helpful to the receiver? I plan to get either a DISH 811 or 921.

Adam

Originally posted by jv59
I think somebody reported earlier that panny can do 1280 x 720 natively via dvi/hdmi input. It is not an issue.
With vga input it can only does 800 x 600. Also 1064 x 768 is scaled down to 800 x 600 with scrolling. This sucks! I know sammy dlp can do 1280 x 720 via VGA input.

I am still waiting for my set to arrive this week.
I am also planning to connect my HTPC via hdmi/dvi. However it is a tough choice what to connect to single "precious" hdmi input - HDTV receiver or HTPC.
I might get ATI DVI-component dongle once I get my HDTV cable service.

jv59

please use test patterns from this tool to validate results for 1280x720 native resolution, overscan, and possible color banding when displaying gradients

http://www.mooneyass.com/testpatterns/Phillips%20Pattern%20Gen.zip

My Panny DLP is scheduled to be delivered next Tueday from a local electronics store. I would like to be able to check how many hours the set might have on it. Once into the service menu is there a place to see this? Thanks.

My Panny DLP will be delivered next Wednesday! Thanks to all you guys for posting all this info, it was really helpful. My FS had the Toshiba and the Panny side by side and it took me about 10 minutes to decide on the Panny. It's hard to explain as I'm not very technical but the Panny picture seemed to have more depth than the Toshiba. Also, both tv's had the same HD feed and while the Panny picture was a tad softer it also seemed to have more definition. And i don't know if that was "rainbow effects" that I saw on the Toshiba but the contours of moving objects (it was an airplane circling) had noticeable jagged edges. Or maybe it was just all personal preference. :)

I also bought the LG DV7832NXC DVD player because my 2 current players are not progressive scan. I'm curious to see the results of upconversion on that player when using component.

Only thing is the stand was backorder but I'm not convinced that I want to shell out $799 CDN for it, however nice it looks...

One question. The guy wanted to sell me a $320 CDN Monster Powerbar telling me that an ordinary one won't do, that DLP sets are very sensible to current fluctuations, that that powerbar had a special filter, and blah blah blah... My guess is this was just typical salesman hogwash. :) What do you guys think?

Originally posted by SeattleDesi
please use test patterns from this tool to validate results for 1280x720 native resolution, overscan, and possible color banding when displaying gradients

http://www.mooneyass.com/testpatterns/Phillips%20Pattern%20Gen.zip

SeatleDesi,

My set arrived today. It is an awesome set.
My HTPC is ready, however my hdmi/dvi cable has not arrived yet.

Thanks for for the testpatterns link.

jv59

Just thought I would update:

I am getting my set exchanged for a new unit due to the image being skewed.

Panasonic recommended this change, and the dealer I purchased from (after the service tech confirmed there is NO way to alter the skew/tilt/rotation of the screen in the service menu) is being very accomodating, I should be receiving the new set next week.

One little quirk I noticed today... I fired up my Xbox (using Monster component cable) and I lost all red colour. The dashboard and a game I tried were both distinctly lacking red. I reset the Xbox and nothing changed. I cycled the power of the TV (let it cool down, then turned it back on) and all was fine.

For all discussing the fan noise, it is audible, but typically only in low volumes. I don't hear it when watching NFL or DVDs.

We're really happy with the set. I still don't have a HD satellite receiver, but upscaled DVDs look great (the space shuttle intro for DVE looks so damn close to 3d...) And Xbox games are just mint. X-Men Legends and Burnout 3 are just so crisp.

EDIT: I just realized X-Men Legends is 720p... No wonder it looks totally fricken amazing.

Originally posted by FaSSt2001
I tried the 1200x675 res on HDMI last night. It didn't work too well. The picture looked great and as good as the 1280x720, but the whole desktop wash shifted to the left. So, I had about an inch of black bar on the right side and the start menu was cut off by that much on the left side. The top and bottom were okay though. Not sure what was up with that, but I didn't really play with it anymore.

Ed

FaSST2001,

Been a lurker here for awhile and finally reg'd.
I tried 1200x676 on HDMI and got it centered, but games gets messed up on the screen mode changes. It's much nicer than component, but don't want to invest more time since some games don't support all the resolutions. Using a Shuttle SB75G2 and 9800 Pro as a dedicated HTPC. Been playing Doom3 on my main PC on a 21", but this should really kick @$$.

So far, I'm very pleased with the Panny. Did a side by side with the Mits 52525 and couldn't justify the cost of the 52725. Like many others, waiting for the Sammy 941, Sony 975, or Panny S97. I almost broke down and bought the Denon 1910.

Originally posted by Panny50




Today I went back to M* HiFi and had the sale person put an SD picture feed from the Samsung Direct TV tuner on all of the display sets in the store (an SD college football game); the picture was as BAD on all the sets; even the Plasma and the LCD projection sets….. CRT sets handled the SD picture fairly well. So I guess if I want good HD, I have to put up with bad SD…… The sales person agreed to hook up a pre-scalar between the Samsung tuner and an HD set to see if this improved the SD picture. The sales person said he would set this up in the next week or so and let me know if it helped…..if it does it may be worth the $$$$.



I noticed this in the local F*r*y*s as well on the panny 40 dlp. SD football game tooked terrible. But if I stand 15 ft away, the picture was better.

Is there a different viewing distance for SD content on HDTV?

Originally posted by Sting808
FaSST2001,

Been a lurker here for awhile and finally reg'd.
I tried 1200x676 on HDMI and got it centered, but games gets messed up on the screen mode changes. It's much nicer than component, but don't want to invest more time since some games don't support all the resolutions. Using a Shuttle SB75G2 and 9800 Pro as a dedicated HTPC. Been playing Doom3 on my main PC on a 21", but this should really kick @$$.

Oh yeah, I didn't even think about games. I haven't played Doom 3 or any other games yet at this resolution. Thanks for that info!

Ed

my tv arrived yesterday. hooked up the arcam dvd player and put in the 2 towers and damn...those fight scenes looked nuts.

My reordered Panny DLP from amazon shipped and to be delivered next week (hopefully monday).

I hate DLP with all my guts. But for some reason this unit is great. No Rainbows no matter how much I shake my head.

World Class display.

Question. I live in a 2 story condo which is all open space and has a lot of windows so in daytime it's very bright and I can't control (well not much) the amount of light coming in. So how did you guys find daytime viewing on the Panny?

i thought it looked great in daylight

1 thing: the stock "vivid" picture setting blows. cinema looks much better

did any of u have headaches/eye strains while watching panny DLP?

That seems to be one of the complaints against DLPs in the following thread

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=4390597#post4390597

I just received my Panasonic DLP PT-50DL54 and here are some thoughts on the unit.

First of all, I think there were some posts about where to find this TV in the Atlanta area. The only place that I have seen it is HiFi Buys in Roswell. Other HiFi Buy stores in Atlanta do not have it and CC BB are not going to carry it.

I have my TV hooked up with Comcast HDTV and have done the Avia calibration.

First the bad points:
1. I have noticed rainbows occasionally, it is not a big deal.
2. Fan noise is audible at low volume.

Now the good points:
1. The PQ is absoultely stunning on hi-def. I have never seen such a beautiful picture It makes you forget about 1 and 2 above.

The set is very attractive and the remote is well designed.

All in all, I am very happy. However, I am puzzled at the limited release of this TV. Why are there not more stores that carry it?

Tweeter now has it on showroom floor in Charlote NC ( at least 2 of their locations ), though I did give each store a hard time because they had placed it right by the front door in horrible lighitng. IN fairness, though, one store has the 60 inch Sony XBR even closer to the front door where the glare totally washes out the glass screen, and directly in front of the door under heavy lighting is the Mits 52525 and trust me, unless you stand off to the side at about 100 degree angle, you can't even see through the glare. Made the sales guy pitch at how more natural the Mits colors were a little touogh to swallow! I was a little surprised that this particular Tweeter would have done this sinc ein the past they had taken more care to display their sets better. To answer your question about more stores and Panny, it may simply be that there are no so MANY DLP sets out there that stores are making decisions which line to carry ( Tweeter no longer carries Toshiba )

Originally posted by CINERAMAX
I hate DLP with all my guts. But for some reason this unit is great. No Rainbows no matter how much I shake my head.

World Class display.

Yup. The only time I've noticed rainbows has been on the honeycomb grids of the GMC trucks during their adverts - otherwise nothing. I've even tried all the tricks, and yes - VERY rapid eye movements cna do it, but that never occurs in normal watching.

Originally posted by zeeeter
Yup. The only time I've noticed rainbows has been on the honeycomb grids of the GMC trucks during their adverts - otherwise nothing. I've even tried all the tricks, and yes - VERY rapid eye movements cna do it, but that never occurs in normal watching.

I am beginning to think these are two different rainbows. The pattern one is the one I call "oilslick", because it covers an area. The other I call "prism", because it is like a slice of bright light, usually after looking away and then bringing my eyes back to the screen. The "oilslick" can be paused and lasts as long as the pattern is on the screen. It doesn't move, but it does flicker. The "prism" is just a brief flash and last less than a second.

Something interesting about the Panny tv stand. Future Shop, where I bought my tv didn't have the stand in stock. Regardless, I didn't really want to pay $750 CDN for a tv stand. Today I go to a furniture store (which also carries electronics) to look at a leather couch and I stop by the tv section. They had the Panny on display but it wasn't on the Panny stand. I ask the salesman about the stand and he said they didn't have them in stock but expected them this week. So I ask him to check the price. He said $350!!! Thinking it was a misprice, I wasn't sure if I should say something or shut up and buy one on the spot. So I let out a: "Wow, this is a great price!". He said: "You're probably thinking about the $750 "original" Panny stand huh". I said "yes, what do you mean by "original"?" He said that Panasonic don't make stands, they are made by another company (sorry forgot the name) for them. He said that because the stands are too expensive and won't sell at their store, they have a contract with the same company to make a REPLICA of the stand. It can't be 100% the same because of legal concerns, so it might have a slightly different color and a couple of other minor differences but it's basically the same stand. I'm going to go check one out this week.

Here is an example of an oilslick rainbow:

http://s87674682.onlinehome.us/oilslick.jpg

This is SMALL portion of a paused (PVR) screen in SD.

I have seen these in HD as well.

Again, it is very rare and depends upon patterns in the source image.

EDIT: Anyone know who this is a picture of :rolleyes:

we've had it on demo the past couple days and today when we were showing HD football on it people's jaws just dropped at this panny. they could see the difference

Back to the same old question-when will the 60" be out?

Originally posted by Jaspo
Here is an example of an oilslick rainbow:

http://s87674682.onlinehome.us/oilslick.jpg

This is SMALL portion of a paused (PVR) screen in SD.

I have seen these in HD as well.

Again, it is very rare and depends upon patterns in the source image.

EDIT: Anyone know who this is a picture of :rolleyes:

It's not a DLP rainbow. You can't take snap shots of DLP rainbows, its a brain thing. So it's something else.

Originally posted by ay221
It's not a DLP rainbow. You can't take snap shots of DLP rainbows, its a brain thing. So it's something else.

i was just thinking about the same thing.

if the rainbows happen only because of rapid movement of eyes..
how can we take a screenshot of that?


not sure..if we can simulate the rapid movement of eye in a handycam
and record the rainbows. [ just thinking out loud !!]

Originally posted by pjr
Back to the same old question-when will the 60" be out?

I bought the 50" two weeks ago, but I'm trading it in for the 60". Mine is supposed to be here on Wednesday, (I'm in Vancouver). Sears in Canada also had the 60" in their flyer this weekend, and their website says that they have them in stock. I also went to A & B Sound today, and the guy looked it up on the computer and said that several of the stores in the area had the 60's in.

So I'm not sure about the States, but they seem to be showing up in Canada right now.

Originally posted by iamtarun
did any of u have headaches/eye strains while watching panny DLP?

That seems to be one of the complaints against DLPs in the following thread



I have had the set for about 1.5 weeks now and you know what? I have had headaches and eye strain.

I am not sure if it's because:

1) I am new to DLP technology. Previously had a 19" CRT.
2) I am sitting too close. I sit 7.5 ft away
3) I don't have perfect vision. It might be time to visit Mr. Optometrist

Anyone else get headaches and/or eye strain?

Ad Hoc Survey - What's the longest anyone on this thread has watched the set continuously?

Originally posted by WatsonNew
I have had the set for about 1.5 weeks now and you know what? I have had headaches and eye strain.

I am not sure if it's because:

1) I am new to DLP technology. Previously had a 19" CRT.
2) I am sitting too close. I sit 7.5 ft away
3) I don't have perfect vision. It might be time to visit Mr. Optometrist

Anyone else get headaches and/or eye strain?

Ad Hoc Survey - What's the longest anyone on this thread has watched the set continuously?

hi watson,

does it depend on how long u watch it?
did u calibrate ur display using avia or dve?

i am not seeing lot of people complaining about this.
one possible reason could be that their calibration is different .

thx,

It isn't DLP rainbow. That is why I refer to it as an oilslick. I also recognized that it might be the source. But I have noticed it in HD as well. Another poster I believe saw the same thing.

The DLP rainbow is very quick slice of a rainbow ... more like a prism (think Dark Side of The Moon). Yes it has been simulated with camera work. There is a link somewhere among the many threads that points to a video someone took to produce the DLP rainbow with a video camera. I have never seen anything like that video on the Panny. Whether it be the 8 segment color wheel or the camera used to take the video. It was bad. The Panny is much better.

Originally posted by eXcentris
Question. I live in a 2 story condo which is all open space and has a lot of windows so in daytime it's very bright and I can't control (well not much) the amount of light coming in. So how did you guys find daytime viewing on the Panny?

It still looks good. My entire backyard wall with windows face the Panasonic. The wall is about 16 feet from the front of the DLP screen. The wall has 3 sliding glass doors and 3 60"x60" windows. There is no light control and I can still see the picture just fine. The picture does look more contrasty, ie better if there is light control though.

I would like to upgrade and get the 60 inch, but I only have two weeks left in my return policy. The 60 inch is not even listed in the computer system.

I am happy with the picture....I do get a little fatigued watching the picture...I'm wondering if it is too bright. I used the settings listed in some of the previous posts.

Originally posted by Arbitter529
It still looks good. My entire backyard wall with windows face the Panasonic. The wall is about 16 feet from the front of the DLP screen. The wall has 3 sliding glass doors and 3 60"x60" windows. There is no light control and I can still see the picture just fine. The picture does look more contrasty, ie better if there is light control though.

I would like to upgrade and get the 60 inch, but I only have two weeks left in my return policy. The 60 inch is not even listed in the computer system.

I am happy with the picture....I do get a little fatigued watching the picture...I'm wondering if it is too bright. I used the settings listed in some of the previous posts.

I also used the Avia settings posted earlier. I read an article that indicated the eye strain and fatigue might go away after a few days. Although I had the set for 1.5 weeks, I haven't had much time to watch it so maybe it's just a matter of my eyes not being used to the oscillating mirrors. I will try to watch it some more in the coming days as well as get my vision checked. Hope the eye strain and fatigue do go away because this *is* a nice set.

I read that watching a bright TV in a dark room can cause eye strain. The reason being that, when you look at the TV and then look at the room, the pupils of the eye open and close in response to the brightness of what you are looking at. Frequent extreme openings and closings of the pupil can produce eye strain. One solution is to have a bit of light in the room and, maybe, turn down the TV brightness a bit. This reduces the variation in pupil size. I wonder if this is the problem rather than something unique to the DLP system. Keep in mind that DLP can produce a very bright screen.

It's best to have some back lighting for your eyes. Below is a pointer to an article on the subject. I use the CinemaQuest's lamps and they make a better viewing environment.

http://www.electronichouse.com/?NodeId=1785

we at compusa have the 50" ready for delivery but there is no sight of the 60". It may never be carried at our company it looks like right now.

Jaspo,
I guess the "oilslick rainbow" you see might be a moire pattern, caused by a high detail, very fine pattern of lines. This is the same effect you see if you were to look through two screen doors, the screens seem to for a pattern of circles, even though no pattern exists. This effect is seen in digital photography, and there's tons of discussions on whys and hows, by people smarter than me.

I've been looking at the Panny DLP locally, and have not noticed this, but wouldn't be suprised to see it either. I doubt that its DLP specific, only that DLPs (digital sets in general) can produce enough detail to make it apparent.

I have seen a similar effect on standard CRTs, for instance when a talking head wears a pinstripe or herringbone shirt.

Does that sound right?

Originally posted by spindoctor
Jaspo,
I guess the "oilslick rainbow" you see might be a moire pattern, caused by a high detail, very fine pattern of lines. This is the same effect you see if you were to look through two screen doors, the screens seem to for a pattern of circles, even though no pattern exists. This effect is seen in digital photography, and there's tons of discussions on whys and hows, by people smarter than me.

I've been looking at the Panny DLP locally, and have not noticed this, but wouldn't be suprised to see it either. I doubt that its DLP specific, only that DLPs (digital sets in general) can produce enough detail to make it apparent.

I have seen a similar effect on standard CRTs, for instance when a talking head wears a pinstripe or herringbone shirt.

Does that sound right?

Ha Spin - I was about to post the same info. To my eye the "in and out of phase" look that I get does look like a moire-related pattern. It could be that the boundaries between high and low contrast sections of screen on a finely repeated pattern are causing the different colors to be slightly off resulting in the rainbow-slick effect that I mentioned. It happens infrequently that I don't care to do anything about it.

As for viewing times, I have watched for pretty much four straight hours at a time (Notre Dame on the weekend) without any headaches. I am prone to eyestrain - an example if I use a CRT that has the wrong refresh rate I will be ill inside 5 minutes - but I have had no ill effects from watching my DLP. I have a reasonable bright room though, and use cinema most of the time.

A tad off topic but people keep mentionning Avia and DVI for basic calibration of their set. I've never used these so are they equivalent or is one better than the other?

I just got this TV from Fry's - I had the LC14 before. I like this set much better but I have a few questions.

On the LC14 I was able to hit the RECALL button and it would display what resolution/mode the TV was currently running on (ie. 480i, 720p, 1080i, etc).

That does not seem to work on this TV - is there any way to see what mode this TV is running at?

Thanks!

I agree it is a pattern conflict. But everyone should see this since I was able to photograph it ;-P

Now the question I was trying NOT to ask ... Is it source material or do other sets (ie Kirk) display oilslicks when similar patterns are displayed.

If other sets display the rainbow, then one could conclude it is either a technology or source artifact.

If no other sets display the oilslick, then it is most likely a Panny issue.

Kind of a difficult question to resolve.

My gut tells me it is a source issue. Otherwise generated moire test patterns would show signs of this as well.

I got the panny from A***zon after the good tip. I attempted to purchase the matching tv stand from Datavision (avoid them like the plague). They claim in stock and now say it's discontinued. Does any one know any dealer/mailorder in New England area that carries the matching Panasonic TY-50DL54K stand. I haven't really enjoyed my set...I have Comcast HDTV on order as well as component video cables for my DVD player. I am planning on using from time to time as a computer display. What is the best cabling option for the highest resolution. I have ATI All-In-Wonder 9600XT.

J&R

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=3992363

They are a NY storefront. I have purchased from them before with good results.

Yes. I have ordered from them before. I was hoping to get it cheaper....


What the heck... I ordered it.

ARRRGHHH Tilt?

The picture on my 4:3 content changed dimensions. The black bars on the sides are wider at the top of the screen. I was watching the Panny and actually saw the bars get wider near the top. The television is still within the 30 day money back guarantee from Magnolia and I also purchased an extended warranty.

I read the tilt (trapezoid shape) is not adjustable in the service menu.

I am debating to get one of the 62" Mitsubishis.

My Panny is being delivered tomorrow. I'm putting it in my rec room in the basement. I'm concerned that a bug may climb into the set. I read somewhere where someone put a screen over the openings. Also, I was planning on putting it on a UPS.

Does anyone have any thoughts on either subject?

OK-

brand new owner of the panny 50. got it from magnolia here in san jose. one thing for sure, the component feed of hdtv in the store does not do the set justice when u get it hom and use the hdmi (i have a hdtivo)- the picture is amazing (i do have a discerning eys since i'm coming from 8 inch sony crt projector)

played with it all weekend- SD not bad, not great- Seems best with hdmi cable with hdtivo set at 480p, but still playing with it compared to other cables/output for SD.

Life was good till sunday when i noticed a strange line on the screen- most noticeable on the grey screen tivo shows when u land on a non authorized channel- a steady "ripple" that starts on the screen on the bottom right corner about 2 inches from bottom, and goes up the screen on a slight curve to almost the top of the screen still on the right side-,

tested it with all inputs (hdmi, component, Hdtive and dvd player), and the line does not go away- it is not on the screen- it is definitely in the image- it is not straight- less noticeable when content displayed, but still there....seems very strange....

I will try to take a picture of it, but curious if anyone else may have seen anything like it??

thanks

Just got the Panny DLP yesterday. PQ is great. I still need to tweek it but I was suprised how good the SD on Directv looked.

Anyone have discrete codes for this set? The discrete video inputes from remotecentral.com do not work.

Cam

mentioned it before but i was ignore. what the hell is with the VIVID setting? looks horrible. the store i originally saw it in had VIVID on. the dealer thought the tv sucked until he realized the stock CINEMA setting was much better

If you are a DISH network customer, then......

I am going to have DISH network hooked up this weekend. I will be using the 811 receiver. Does anyone have any advice on the setup of the 811 output? How is the PQ from the 811 in 720p, 1080i, on your 50dl54?

I placed my panny on a APC UPS. The bulb is $450 (list price), but supposedly hard to get. Why risk blowing the bulb due to line conditions or power outage/surge?

TCP,

Can you share you settings for SD signal? I somehow can't turn on the 3D filter in the Viedo submenu? Any suggestions? Curious to know what filters you have on/off?

An apparent solution for only having 1 hdmi input but with STB and DVD.....

Just in case anyone is interested, I came across a Zenith DVD player (DVB318) that upconverts to 1080i through the component output. I thought this would be a perfect fit since my new set will only have one HDMI input. It will surely outperform my current 480i player. I found it for much lower than MSRP $249

Originally posted by wabbit
I placed my panny on a APC UPS. The bulb is $450 (list price), but supposedly hard to get. Why risk blowing the bulb due to line conditions or power outage/surge?

Where did you get that price?
If you go to Panasonic's website, the part shows $299.

Panasonic Part's Website (http://www.pasc.panasonic.com/epartr/)

Under Search by Model, type PT50DL54 and select Part Number

Select the PT50DL54J. In the first section is the Lamp.

Sorry, I was looking at the Panasonic Canada website because they had a picture. Perhaps, it was listed in canadien dollars. I like your price better.

Originally posted by terfmop
An apparent solution for only having 1 hdmi input but with STB and DVD.....

Just in case anyone is interested, I came across a Zenith DVD player (DVB318) that upconverts to 1080i through the component output. I thought this would be a perfect fit since my new set will only have one HDMI input. It will surely outperform my current 480i player. I found it for much lower than MSRP $249

Yup that's what I did. Bought the LG player (Canadian equivalent) and plan to use DVD on component and STB on HDMI when my tv arrives tomorrow. :)

Well, my TV was just delivered. The picture looked great, but I didn't have time to play with it much. I'll try the picture setting posted earlier later tonight. I noticed the fan sounded a little loud, but my room has a tile floor, so I'm sure thats why.

I purchased a Philips 642 DVD player to go along with it. It has a progressive On/Off setting. I tried both, but didn't notice a difference in the picture. Should I have it on or off?

The attached picture is the Panny on the Ikea Ivar TV Stand. The nice thing about the Ivar is it's stainable.

Here's the pic:

ummm dave, that little TV stand of your has those little wheels that make me nervous for ya :)

Originally posted by RudyMeister
ummm dave, that little TV stand of your has those little wheels that make me nervous for ya :)

They aren't as small as they seem. The stand is rated for 132lbs.

Originally posted by scott brown
mentioned it before but i was ignore. what the hell is with the VIVID setting? looks horrible. the store i originally saw it in had VIVID on. the dealer thought the tv sucked until he realized the stock CINEMA setting was much better

The VIVID is useful if your room is very bright during viewing, sun light etc. I use the standard setting.
CaboMan

vivd looks MUCH more pixelated/grainy than the other 2 for me

handydave: forget progressive scan. You need to get an upscaler DVD player that increases the resolution of the DVD. I have the Zennith DVB318. It upscales using the component connection so my HDMI port is free. You might visit the DVD forum here on AVS now that you have your TV and discover the new world of connecting the DVD player. There really is some remarkable improvement in technologies over progressive scan. Here is the link:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&forumid=18

BTW, I like your TV stand. Did you make it?

I have a 60" model and am curious as to what is acceptable fan noise. When watching TV programming I have to turn the volume on average up to about 12 -15 to drown out the fan. I've got PANASONIC (Canada) investigating but would like to see some field data. I've compared another TV at Best Buy and found the fan noise to be almost whisper quiet as was indicated by the sales rep.

If it was not for the noise from the fan, I could easily leave the volume at 8 and hear comfortably.

I've heard people mention how the fan noise is slight or not noticeable, but could I get an idea on how loud is too loud.

I would appreciate it if posters could indicate how loud the volume has to be when watching TV programming to drown out the fan noise.

kculp. Thanks for the info.

The stand is an Ikea Ivar which I stained to match my bar.

Ikea Ivar Link (http://www.ikea-usa.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=12&langId=-1&catalogId=10101&productId=32419)

Originally posted by wabbit
I placed my panny on a APC UPS. The bulb is $450 (list price), but supposedly hard to get. Why risk blowing the bulb due to line conditions or power outage/surge?

What rating (VA) do you have on the UPS? and how many other devices do you hook up to it? Is wattage an important rating on the UPS or is VA more critical?

My HT receiver is rated 330 VA but I don't see a VA rating on the TV. If the total VA does not exceed the VA rating of the UPS am I OK with plugging all those devices?

I have APC Back-UPS ES 725 Broadband which is 725VA. I purchased it mainly because Microcenter has it for cheap. Here is an excerpt from a website:

What size UPS works best for your systems?
How do you ensure that your UPS will grow with you?
Follow these simple steps to configure what size UPS your systems need:


List all equipment to be protected by the UPS. (Remember to include all monitors, terminals, external hard drives, hubs, modems, routers and any other critical equipment.)
List the amps and volts. These figures can be found on a plate on the back of the equipment. Mulitply amps by volts to determine VoltAmps (VA). Some devices may list their power requirements in watts (W). To convert watts to VA, multiply watts by 1.4.
Multiply the VA by the number of pieces of equipment (Quantity) to get VA Subtotals.
Add the VA Subtotals to get a Total.
Multiply the Total by 1.2 to get the Grand Total.*
Use the Grand Total figure to select a UPS. When choosing a UPS be sure that the total VA requirement of supported equipment does not exceed the UPS VA rating.

*Step 5 is for future expansion. If you do not intend to add any more equipment to the UPS, skip step 5 and copy the total figure into the Grand Total box. You may want to oversize the UPS to take into consideration any future expansion needs. Choose a UPS with a VA capacity at least as large as your system's total requirement.

My 2 cents...

The higher the VA, the longer the UPS can provide backup power, but this time is reduced when more equipment is plugged into the UPS. You usually only need to plug-in only the equipment that you want to keep powered. All other equipment can be protected by a quality surge protector. If the power goes out, do you really need your receiver on? I only have the TV and HD Cablebox plugged into it. DVD player, VCR, playstation, etc can go on a surge strip. If you ever used a presentation projector, you know how easily the high intensity bulbs blow. My desire for a UPS was to ensure that I can shutdown the TV properly in the event of blackout and the added conditioning for brownouts/surges to protect the bulb. Ideally, I think a UPS with AVP - automatic voltage protection is best.

I thought the 60 inch DLP was going to weigh 121 lbs according to TVA, but upon lookin at the panasonic.ca sight, its only a 105 lbs. Good news for me, I like light sets to carry downstairs.

http://www.panasonic.ca/English/audiovideo/television/projection/specs3.asp

The panny has just one HDMI input. Does anyone know of a switchbox that can be attached so that one can switch between two HDMI sources? I want to use a set top box and a DVD player, both with HDMI outputs.

Matrix on XBOX Component video.

Here is more

Here is one.

The panny has just one HDMI input. Does anyone know of a switchbox that can be attached so that one can switch between two HDMI sources? I want to use a set top box and a DVD player, both with HDMI outputs.

This is what i order to solve having only 1 hdmi input. if you are willing to hold out i'd bet the come out with a 4X1 hdmi switch shortly

Gefen ex-tend-it HDMI Switcher, model EXT-HDMI-241.

This high quality device provides electronic switching, so that two HDMI sources can be connected to a single HDMI input. You can easily switch your HDTV display between two HDMI sources. It is the perfect solution for connecting DVD players, satellite receivers, HDTV set top boxes, or any HDMI enabled source equipment to a single input.
It comes with an IR remote control, and it has discrete codes so that it can easily be controlled by universal remote controls/macros
MSRP i beleive is $250

Hello ,
As i just made my first post I'd like to say Thank You to all of you that helped me decide on the panny 50dl54. I look foward to this forum and the wealth of imformation the entire avs site holds

One DDMI Input

Hi Skullnrose, thanks for the lead. I went to the Gefen site and they do in fact list a 4x1 switcher, the EXT-HDMI-441, for $349. But they describe it as appropriate for 2 sources, not 4 sources. I wonder whether Gefen made a mistake in describing it as appropriate for just two sources. They give the 4x1 the same description as the 2x1 that you described.

If anyone is interested, this is the UPS I purchased.

Belkin at Staples Link (http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Browse/sku.asp?PageType=1&Sku=486251&bcFlag=True&bcSCatId=3&bcSCatName=Technology&bcCatId=75&bcCatName=Power+Protection&bcDeptId=1916&bcDeptName=Battery+Backup%2FUPS&bcClassId=141931&bcClassName=UPS+Backup+Systems)

If the link doesn't work, go to Staples.com (http://www.staples.com) and search for item #486251.

This unit is 800VA, has Automatic Voltage Regulation, and is only $59.99 with a $10 Mail-in-rebate. Free free shipping as well.

Originally posted by san jose joe
OK-

brand new owner of the panny 50. got it from magnolia here in san jose. one thing for sure, the component feed of hdtv in the store does not do the set justice when u get it hom and use the hdmi (i have a hdtivo)- the picture is amazing (i do have a discerning eys since i'm coming from 8 inch sony crt projector)

played with it all weekend- SD not bad, not great- Seems best with hdmi cable with hdtivo set at 480p, but still playing with it compared to other cables/output for SD.

Life was good till sunday when i noticed a strange line on the screen- most noticeable on the grey screen tivo shows when u land on a non authorized channel- a steady "ripple" that starts on the screen on the bottom right corner about 2 inches from bottom, and goes up the screen on a slight curve to almost the top of the screen still on the right side-,

tested it with all inputs (hdmi, component, Hdtive and dvd player), and the line does not go away- it is not on the screen- it is definitely in the image- it is not straight- less noticeable when content displayed, but still there....seems very strange....

I will try to take a picture of it, but curious if anyone else may have seen anything like it??

thanks


ok- here is the phot of the problem- pls focus on the right side of the screen- i have tested this on all inputs for the tv, and the issue remains

Originally posted by Ciao
I have a 60" model and am curious as to what is acceptable fan noise. When watching TV programming I have to turn the volume on average up to about 12 -15 to drown out the fan. I've got PANASONIC (Canada) investigating but would like to see some field data. I've compared another TV at Best Buy and found the fan noise to be almost whisper quiet as was indicated by the sales rep.

If it was not for the noise from the fan, I could easily leave the volume at 8 and hear comfortably.

I've heard people mention how the fan noise is slight or not noticeable, but could I get an idea on how loud is too loud.

I would appreciate it if posters could indicate how loud the volume has to be when watching TV programming to drown out the fan noise.

I too have this question. I have the 50" unit. I can clearly hear the fan from the far side of the room, with the volume set low. I'm getting ready to place a service call, but wanted to be sure my expectations are correct. I don't want to make the service folks jump through hoops to end up with the same noise level.

Panasonic DLP owners - can you hear your fan from across the room?

Sears coupon

My wife has put me on a tight budget to buy my Panny 50 inch DLP. I've read about coupons that Sears offers. where can I find those? are they offered regularly?

thank you

optimist2

PS: I think right now that's one of the few options of getting a discount on this set. I'm not thrilled about the online vendors because i'd like to have the freedom of returning it or exchanging without any hassles (peace of mind).

Originally posted by Mike in Mass
I too have this question. I have the 50" unit. I can clearly hear the fan from the far side of the room, with the volume set low. I'm getting ready to place a service call, but wanted to be sure my expectations are correct. I don't want to make the service folks jump through hoops to end up with the same noise level.

Panasonic DLP owners - can you hear your fan from across the room?

I can only hear the noise when tv is on mute from my sitting position. If I increase the volume to an audible level, than I can not hear the fan noise. During normal viewing at night time even at very low volume I cannot hear the fan noise.

jv59

yes my concern as well - I sit about 8.5 feet from mine and I can hear it upto about 13 on my volume - if I use my surrounds then I tend to hear it more - posted this earlier but some felt it was fine - let me know what you get for responses - love the tv aside from that

I sit 12' from my TV and can hear the fan noise. Volume level must be set at about 12 - 15 to drown it out.

So far I had a Panasonic 3rd party come in and tell me noise is above average. Panasonic tells me they'll need to bring in TV and compare it to a new one they have! Heck, how do I know that TV has "normal" fan noise. What is the standard? There must be a dB rating! The Panasonic tech tells me that TV is OK as it is new. Well, so is mine! What is wrong with these people?

The fan noise is louder than my ceiling fan!

Could others who do not have an issue with fan noise indicate how far they are sitting and what volume they need to drown out the fan noise while watching TV programming.

I found that spraying the vent full of that expansive foam helped the sound levels. The screen has gone a bit dark for the last few days, but at least it's nice and quiet! Oh and there WAS that smell of burning briefly. :rolleyes:

Seriously - no problems on mine - I can barely hear it even when the set is muted while sat 8'-9' away.

I just had to mention that this thread made me re-think my HDTV purchase. I was very focused on a Panny plasma but was always concerned with the price. The HD2 and HD3 sets I reviewed were outclassed in terms of PQ (black levels, video noise, etc). This thread made me reconsider my pre-conceived notions on DLP.

WOW! The Panny DLP with the HD2+ blew me away! I had the chance to critically view the Panny Plasma (HD), a Mit xx725 and the Panny DLP side-by-side. I tend to be quite critical and, to my eyes, the Panny DLP had the best picture of all 3. The differences were most notable watching Matrix Revolutions on the progressive scan DVD signal (component; DVD player connected directly to the display). The Mit showed significant video noise in the background just into Chapter 2 where Nero is against a green wall. The Panny plasma was better but not free of artifacts. The Panny DLP was virtually noise-free where under normal viewing you'd never notice.

Anyway, you folks made me a DLP convert (and are about to save me serious $$$'s)! I just wish Panasonic would spend a bit more on style.

I sit about 7.5 ft away and don't hear the fan unless I am up close hooking up a new device (obvious I guess).

Good news, my Panny arrived and the huge box is now sitting in my living room. Bad news, I'll have to wait until saturday to install it because I need friends to come and help me remove my 250 pound Wega from where it currently sits so the Panny can take it's place.

handyman, my Wega 36" is currently sitting on the IKEA Ivar stand. However, I found it to be much too low for my taste (13" I think) so what I did is I bought some matching wood and built a base 5" high and sit the Ivar stand on top of it which gave me an 18" stand. I stained the whole thing so it looks like one piece of furniture and the 5" border at the bottom gives it a neat look. Panny 50" is bigger of course so it must "sit" higher but 13" for a stand still seems low imho.

Originally posted by Ciao
I have a 60" model and am curious as to what is acceptable fan noise. When watching TV programming I have to turn the volume on average up to about 12 -15 to drown out the fan. I've got PANASONIC (Canada) investigating but would like to see some field data. I've compared another TV at Best Buy and found the fan noise to be almost whisper quiet as was indicated by the sales rep.

If it was not for the noise from the fan, I could easily leave the volume at 8 and hear comfortably.

I've heard people mention how the fan noise is slight or not noticeable, but could I get an idea on how loud is too loud.

I would appreciate it if posters could indicate how loud the volume has to be when watching TV programming to drown out the fan noise.

Did 60" Panasonic DLP released already?
I've been looking all over the place and this is first reprot that the 60" is out.
Could you tell me where it is available?

The 60" is available in Toronto (Mississauga). Try the smaller Video stores. The chains order them in the 100's and it takes longer for them to arrive there.

I picked my up about 10 days ago.

discrete codes--

I have a work around for a discrete code for on and off on the panny DLP used with a pronto.

I found 2 sets of discrete codes for panny TVs at remotecentral.com. Both of the "off" codes worked but neither of the "on" codes worked. However while testing the "on" codes I noticed that 1 of the "on" codes did turn on the tv when it was in stand-by shut-down. When you initially turn off the DLP an orange indicator light comes on and then starts flashing for a 30 seconds or so. If the "on" discrete code is used while the orange light is lit it will turn the TV back on. The "on" code that does this is the second or longer one listed at remotecentral.com.

On my Proto Pro, for "on" I learn the regular TV remote "on" then a .5 second pause then the discrete code for "on". For "off" I use the "off" code at remotecentral.

This is helpful to me because my Sat receiver does not have discrete codes and therefore if every thing is "on" except the Sat receiver I can just hit the "on" button again.

Reading this over I now accept the fact that I am a neo AVS geek.

Has anyone found the STB code for the Samsung SIR-TS360? Nothing is listed in the Panny manual for the Samsung HDTV box, and after spending 30 minutes trying using the "manual" method - nothing seemed to work.

Also, does anyone have any experiences regarding plugging in their DVD via component into the Samsung box? The Samsung box will upconvert the signal to 720P and feed directly to the TV. Just curious what people have experienced (better DVD quality?).

Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for their input. I am a newbie here but I'm 99% convinced I'll be jumping on the Panny DLP bandwagon pretty soon.

1. I currently have DirecTV (not HD) so I am concerned how the picture will look without HD input for now. I haven't sprung for the $999 TIVO/HD receiver upgrade yet.

2. What are the best cables to use for this type of setup?

THANK YOU!!!!

Originally posted by GoSpurs99
Sears is carrying them in Watertown, NY.

If they are here, in the wasteland of America, I'm sure your local Sears should have them.
Could you by chance call and get a Sears part number for it.

I just checked here in the Midwest and no Sears stores have it or even list it as available.


BB is the only place that carries it here but they don't price match so they are worthless. ;)

I've noticed when watching a dvd that doesn't fill the entire screen I get a line of unusual color at the top of the picture. I attached a picture of Gladiator. Notice how the very top of the orange is more of a green color. Is this normal?

Thanks...

I just received the 60" today. PQ is amazing however, as others have mentioned, the fan noise is somewhat noticeable below the 12-13 volume bar from about 16'. As of now, I'm waiting for the original stand to arrive so perhaps the sound is reverberating off the floor and will be dampened when the TV will be placed on the stand. I see this as the only flaw with the set so far, any corrective measures would be appreciated!

DemonSVT,

I stopped by a few weeks ago and was told they would have them in in two weeks.

Today I was told (different person), they don't even have them in their system:(

Sorry about that, I'm really disappointed.

This wasteland apparently doesn't have it!

Could someone list the powerstrip settings using the AVI component dongle. I would like to use this full screen but dont want to mess up my tv.

Which would you choose?

Panny LCD for [MSRP Only] (employee discount)
Samsung DLP for [MSRP Only] (employee discount)
Panny DLP for [MSRP Only](online merchant)

Man, I wish my wife's employer carried the Panny DLP...it would make my decision so easy.

Originally posted by CarolinaCat
Which would you choose?


Man, I wish my wife's employer carried the Panny DLP...it would make my decision so easy.

Umm... you are asking this question on the main Panny DLP thread so the answers you will receive will most likely be biased.

:D

we have all 3 at our compusa and get the panny dlp
beats the other 2 hands down and that [MSRP Only] is fairly close to our cost so its a good deal

I just got the PT50DL54 and It gives me great picture on SD but I dont understand that wen It comes to dark or fuzzy picture, I get color spot in the picture, like red in the faces or orange arms, dark green shadow and these area are surrounded by a kind of double line, realy looks ugly, and a second after, i get a cristal clear picture. It does that on both SVideo and components input from my cable provider or straight from a DVD. Is this normal, I hope no, otherwise I should have keep my old crt . As anyone notice this ? Is it typical to DLP or digital TV.

Thank you.

:confused:

Originally posted by CarolinaCat
Which would you choose?


Man, I wish my wife's employer carried the Panny DLP...it would make my decision so easy.

I'd think real hard about the Samsung, but in the end I would spend the extra $$ for the Panny DLP to get the 3D effect and additional contrast ratio. If you don't consider those important, the Sammy's a great deal at your price.

My set came today...still waiting on my stand, my DISH network to be installed, my DVI/HDMI cable , and my Avia cd. So, I've only been able to watch my set via analog cable through my Tivo's S-video cable, and my 480i DVD player via S-Video. I know the set will do more, but it is still WAY better than what I had previously, a 27" Toshiba CS. I guess it's like driving a brand new BMW through bumper-to-bumper traffic. I am still pleased though. Dish man comes this Sat.

Originally posted by heeljeff
I've noticed when watching a dvd that doesn't fill the entire screen I get a line of unusual color at the top of the picture. I attached a picture of Gladiator. Notice how the very top of the orange is more of a green color. Is this normal?

Thanks...

Have you tried changing cables or from HDMI to component or vice versa? My Penny DLP showing only black bar top and bottom on Matrix widescreen version no funny colors.

Help:

Why can't I turn on 3D Y/C filter? Do most of you have N/R on?

Thanks,

Originally posted by Omega2002
I just received the 60" today. PQ is amazing however, as others have mentioned, the fan noise is somewhat noticeable below the 12-13 volume bar from about 16'. As of now, I'm waiting for the original stand to arrive so perhaps the sound is reverberating off the floor and will be dampened when the TV will be placed on the stand. I see this as the only flaw with the set so far, any corrective measures would be appreciated! Omega2002, Are you from Canada? I have been waiting for the 60" for quite some time! Have heard from some online stores that it will be here within a month, and then was told that the 60" is disontinued from Bernies TV in Connecticut?. Thanks

Originally posted by rotty2
Omega2002, Are you from Canada? I have been waiting for the 60" for quite some time! Have heard from some online stores that it will be here within a month, and then was told that the 60" is disontinued from Bernies TV in Connecticut?. Thanks

Yes, I got it from BB. Some stores don't have stock yet, however they are able to order the set from Panasonic directly once you plunk down a deposit. When I was shopping around, some stores said that the 60" will not be available until mid october and didn't even want to bother checking with Panasonic, however it appears that they were released earlier than indicated.

I don't see this TV listed on the BB website? This is the company with the yellow tag (ie competitor to CC) correct?

Originally posted by CarolinaCat
I don't see this TV listed on the BB website? This is the company with the yellow tag (ie competitor to CC) correct? I believe it is Best Buy in Canada. Sears in Canada is also carrying it. I just called Panasonic and they had no clue on availability in the USA. The person I spoke with said it was released in July, and that was her last update on it. I finally decided on a set and now can't find a 60" to buy:mad:

That's interesting news.... I've been told by our Panasonic rep that the 60" DLP has been cancelled for now in the US. Has anyone heard anything differently?

that could be the truth as at compusa where i work we're a major supplier of panasonic and carry almost every model, dlp's included and the 60" isn't in our system anywhere

Another Newbie here. After weeks of research and all the help here I'm ready to buy this TV. However i have a few questions before I get started.

Unfortunately, my building cannot receive HD at the moment. They're looking into it but it may take awhile. Right now all I have is Direct Tv with S-video out. What can I do to make my SD pic the best?

Also, because I've blown my budget for this tv, I currently don't have a progressive scan DVD player. I have an Xbox, will that be an improvement with the HD component video cables or just stick with the TV's progressive scan doubler? Christmas can't come fast enough so any relatively affordable DVD suggestions, specifically for this TV and it's outputs would also help a lot.

I know it seems like a let down to have this beatiful TV and not take advantage of all it can do but that's my situation at the moment. Hopefully we'll move soon and I can upgrade but any help you can give would be great.

I wasn't planning to go DLP but after seing one of these and doing a little research here and on my own this PT-50DL54 50-inch Widescreen DLP looks so far to be the one for me.

I have phoned up Panasonic Canada and asked them straigth up, what am I getting for my money and this is what they sent me for specs.

Also had no idea what 'rainbow effect' is nor have I seen it but I have found this explaination

The DLP 'rainbow effect' is an artifact unique to single-chip DLP projectors. The artifact appears as a rainbow or multi-color shimmer briefly noticeable when changing focus from one part of the projector screen to another. It appears as a secondary image that appears at the viewer's peripheral vision and is generally noticeable when shifting focus from a high contrast area or bright object. For a quick video sample of the effect

In the spec sheet I have included a link to a 5meg video which shows the rainbow effect on a samsung product .

Thanks for the link. I thought it was funny and informative at the same time.....some guy shaking the crap out of his video camera in his living room.

I sure hope Best Buy near me in the US gets the 50" DLP sometime soon!!!!! Anyone have any insight to Best Buy's plans???

I am thinking about upgrading from 42" gwIII. TV too small now. To this 50". My question is this.

Does this tv have seperate inputs for brightness/contrast for each input. So if I switch between xbox and tv both on component.

Will the brightness/contrast be different for tv and xbox without changing the picture mode?

Sad to hear they're not going to be selling the 60" in the US. If that's the case, can anyone recommend a similarly sized HD2+ set that won't break the bank?

Sorry this is a off-topic, but I think given some of the traffic on this topic, it might be the place I can get the best information.

Hitachi sold a 62" HD2+ set for same price as the Pany.

I wonder if the 60 inch has ts been cancelled for just a couple of months or longer than that. And I wonder what the reason is; A supply problem, a problem with the set itself, or too many dlps out there that stores don't want to carry it.

I just saw it at fry's and it looks really good. I couldn't see any rainbows myself.

The guy said since it uses newer technology it doesn't suffer from rainbows like previous dlp.

Is this true? Do any of you notice rainbows on this dlp?

Also, I coudn't notice any glare since it was dark, but is this panel anti-glare like samsungs?

Abarsami,

I was watching the debates last night and while yawning I saw rainbows. But so far I haven't seen rainbows while watching the TV normally.

I got my 50" Panny DLP setup last Tuesday and now waiting on Dish HD to be setup on Monday. I am still working on following

- The ATI 9800 Pro DVi-HDMI resolution resets to 640x480 after PC reboot
- over sacn issue with 1280x720 resolution
- Needs to get Panny DVD player that works with DLP TV remote
- The Target TV stand appears to be too high and now looking for new one fortunatily this one only costs 129 that if I don't return back to Target
- Picked up Microsoft wireless keyboard & mouse for $40 @ microcenter and works great with my PC
- Picked up GE 24K gold plated component video RGB wire for $13 @ Target

DVDs and games are great on XBOX with advanced HDTV kit by microsoft (picked up several months ago @BB for $20). I need to get 720p xbox games. Is there one 720p xbox game out there?

I find 4MP still digital camera pictures with bit of dark shadows when playing with chepo dvd player. I havent tried the SD or PCMCIA slot yet.

Originally posted by handydave
Abarsami,

I was watching the debates last night and while yawning I saw rainbows. But so far I haven't seen rainbows while watching the TV normally.

That's funny. Maybe I should try yawning next time I go check it out.

Amazon.com has a good price, maybe I'll just order it from there.

What is the warranty offered by panasonic on this tv, how many years? Is it in house?

To ask again, does it have independent inputs for brightness/contrast without changing picture mode?

This is really important to me.

Originally posted by abarsami
To ask again, does it have independent inputs for brightness/contrast without changing picture mode?

This is really important to me.

I don't have this set but I think I know the answer (and I would like this confirmed too). I believe the "memory" is based on picture setting not input selection. This means you can muck with VIVID, CINEMA, and the other one (STANDARD or something like that) and the TV will remember these settings. But there is no memory associated with the input port selected. So I guess you could dedicate VIVID to component 1 and CINEMA to compnent 2 etc.. and sort of accomplish what you want.

Memory based on input port is much preferable I agree. Too bad. This is one of the areas where the Samsungs win out. In general I think the Samsungs are much more "adjustable" and certainly have a much prettier U/I. Panasonic's U/I looks kind of old and tired.

Anyway perhaps an owner could confirm my answer.

I am very interested in purchasing but was wondering if anyone can comment on the viewing angle. I have a niche above my fireplace where the Panny DLP would fit nicely, but am not sure if that will be to high.

The guy at fry's said it is independent per inputs but I don't trust him. So if anybody that has this tv could chime in. Thx

Originally posted by omega3
I am very interested in purchasing but was wondering if anyone can comment on the viewing angle. I have a niche above my fireplace where the Panny DLP would fit nicely, but am not sure if that will be to high.

I can watch my Panny DLP with comfort at between 30~35 degree in angle. I could not do that with my old CRT. I would think it's no-no for above fireplace if the distance is less than 10' or you may hurt your neck and probably not enjoy as much.

The picture settings are not saved per input. They are only saved per pic mode. This is also a little bit of a drawback.

As for putting the TV above a fireplace, I think that would ve way to high. The vertical viewing angle is better than a CRT, but it's still not great. My TV is on about a 18" stand and I can lay on the floor and watch it, but it's at the point where it starts to lose brightness.

Ed

Are the picture modes similar to each other...

For example I would want 1 for xbox, 1 for dvd, 1 for direct tv viewing.

What modes do you guys use for dvd, tv, etc...

Originally posted by av1191
I just got the PT50DL54 and It gives me great picture on SD but I dont understand that wen It comes to dark or fuzzy picture, I get color spot in the picture, like red in the faces or orange arms, dark green shadow and these area are surrounded by a kind of double line, realy looks ugly, and a second after, i get a cristal clear picture.

I get the shadow line on the right side of high contrast objects. It is almost like a deliberate outline of a object. In HD, it is very thin and often noticeable on smaller objects. In SD it is very noticeable and distracting. I think the thickness of the outline is proportional to the resolution. 480p very noticeable and 720p much less visible.

I am just wondering if it is an artifact deliberately introduced to increase edge definition.

I also have noticed substantial "color banding" in gradient solid images. I have found this in both DVD and HDTV. But I don't think I have witnessed it on the XBOX. This leads me to believe that it is just a symptom of MPEG compression.

Anyone else coroborate these?

It is important that we discover what is expected in the DL54, defective in the DL54 and normal for the technology. This will help people determine what needs service or adjustment.

I received my Panasonic PT50DL54 five days ago. The picture quality is really impressive. I also bought the Zenith DVB318 and my upconvereted DVDs look great, esp. Star Wars- the best looking DVD so far.

This is my second HDTV. I originally bought a 32" Sony CRT (KV32HS420) but afer reading this thread I looked at the Panasonic and decided that A) I really wanted widescreen and B) 32" was a bit on the small side.

That said, my only complaint about this tv is the amount of noise generated by the fan. The volume of the tv needs to be set at 14 or higher in order to drown out the noise from the fan. part of the problem is that the tv is in a small bedroom and the noise from the fan is echoing off of the side walls and corners of the room, but even with that in mind the fan is still pretty loud. I am inclined to think that I don't have a bad unit and that this is just the nature of the fans that panasonic put in these tvs. for comparison sake i checked out a samsung dlp today and put my ear next to the vent holes- it seemed much quieter (but in a noisy store it was probably pretty hard to really tell if it was actually quieter) I will contact panasonic about this on monday. Perhaps a different model fan or a larger fan that turns at slower revolutions would be a fix. there was a previous post about this issue but if anyone else is bothered by this problem please post.

Originally posted by roblim
I received my Panasonic PT50DL54 five days ago. The picture quality is really impressive. I also bought the Zenith DVB318 and my upconvereted DVDs look great, esp. Star Wars- the best looking DVD so far.

This is my second HDTV. I originally bought a 32" Sony CRT (KV32HS420) but afer reading this thread I looked at the Panasonic and decided that A) I really wanted widescreen and B) 32" was a bit on the small side.

That said, my only complaint about this tv is the amount of noise generated by the fan. The volume of the tv needs to be set at 14 or higher in order to drown out the noise from the fan. part of the problem is that the tv is in a small bedroom and the noise from the fan is echoing off of the side walls and corners of the room, but even with that in mind the fan is still pretty loud. I am inclined to think that I don't have a bad unit and that this is just the nature of the fans that panasonic put in these tvs. for comparison sake i checked out a samsung dlp today and put my ear next to the vent holes- it seemed much quieter (but in a noisy store it was probably pretty hard to really tell if it was actually quieter) I will contact panasonic about this on monday. Perhaps a different model fan or a larger fan that turns at slower revolutions would be a fix. there was a previous post about this issue but if anyone else is bothered by this problem please post.

My 60" panny is in a room 16'x 18' with carpeted floors. The fan noise is loud. When you contact Panasonic, ask them if they have a spec. (in dB) for the fan noise. Don't be surprised if tech support doesn't have an answer. If they do, please post.

Here's my setup...

Originally posted by Ciao
My 60" panny is in a room 16'x 18' with carpeted floors. The fan noise is loud. When you contact Panasonic, ask them if they have a spec. (in dB) for the fan noise. Don't be surprised if tech support doesn't have an answer. If they do, please post.

Here's my setup...

Ciao, where did you get the racks that are on either side of the TV?

Thanks.

Those racks were from IKEA (about 7 years ago). They still make a similar one but no longer under the NIKALUS (?) name.

There's been a lot of discussion on fan noise on the Panny 50 DLP. I have my setup in a 30x20 foot carpeted room and have not noticed fan noise..... If I really listen I am aware of a lower frequency hum but I have to listen for it in a quiet room... just for laughs I brought out my analog Radio Shack Sound Level Meter (Cat # 33-2050) and measured the sound level at the fan outlet (almost touching the plastic grate where the hot air exits). Settings on the meter were “C” weighting and slow response.
Ambient reading with fan off ….. 52 to 56 dB
Meter reading with fan on…… 90 dB

90dB seems like a high number but remember the microphone is nearly touching the plastic case at the fan…. If I move the meter about a foot away the reading drops to about 60 dB.

If anyone else has a sound meter they can post their readings so that a range of fan noise can be determined……

Fan Noise

"There's been a lot of discussion on fan noise on the Panny 50 DLP. I have my setup in a 30x20 foot carpeted room and have not noticed fan noise....."

How far away do you normally sit?

I went to fry's for another look and noticed sometimes a green hue on faces. Not sure but there was like a shadowy green color outline sometimes. Wierd. Could this be because of there feed?

Originally posted by Panny50
There's been a lot of discussion on fan noise on the Panny 50 DLP. I have my setup in a 30x20 foot carpeted room and have not noticed fan noise..... If I really listen I am aware of a lower frequency hum but I have to listen for it in a quiet room... just for laughs I brought out my analog Radio Shack Sound Level Meter (Cat # 33-2050) and measured the sound level at the fan outlet (almost touching the plastic grate where the hot air exits). Settings on the meter were “C” weighting and slow response.
Ambient reading with fan off ….. 52 to 56 dB
Meter reading with fan on…… 90 dB

90dB seems like a high number but remember the microphone is nearly touching the plastic case at the fan…. If I move the meter about a foot away the reading drops to about 60 dB.

If anyone else has a sound meter they can post their readings so that a range of fan noise can be determined……

Could you tell me how far you are sitting from your set and what the dB readings are with the fan on and off (ie. TV on with volume set at mute and TV off).

I finally got my TV and I promised to post a photo of it installed. I'm very pleased with the set! I don't have a issue with the fan. I have a PC in the same room and it's twice as loud as the TV.

Red Dwarf,

Not sure about PQ but the content is outstanding:)

Really, how are the blacks? Especially in movies such as SW or The Matrix?

Thanks for posting!!!

Are you able to compare PQ to the Mits or Sammy?

Curious question for all the Panny DLP owners.. when the TV is sitting on it's stand, how high is the bottom edge of the black bezel from the top of the stand? I am leaning toward mounting my center channel speaker below the set rather than above, but aesthetically do not want to block the black bezel from view. My center channel is approximately 7 inches high ( but 30 inches wide ). I would also like to know where the IR sensor is on the set ( ie if behind the screen or if located below in the stand, etc.. wanting to make sure the center channel does not block this ). Thanks in advance!

Originally posted by jdavis37
Curious question for all the Panny DLP owners.. when the TV is sitting on it's stand, how high is the bottom edge of the black bezel from the top of the stand? I am leaning toward mounting my center channel speaker below the set rather than above, but aesthetically do not want to block the black bezel from view. My center channel is approximately 7 inches high ( but 30 inches wide ). I would also like to know where the IR sensor is on the set ( ie if behind the screen or if located below in the stand, etc.. wanting to make sure the center channel does not block this ). Thanks in advance!
The bottom base of the TV is exactly 6" high and from the bottom edge of the black bezel to the bottom of the base is exactly 7". The IR sensor is on the top of the base (as well as the SD card slot), so you're center would block the sensor.

Ed

In response to this email inquiry to Sears:

When is Sears in the US going to get these awesome TVs being sold by Sears in Canada?

http://www6.sears.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&categoryId=10115&langId=-1&rrc=1&productId=157842956&pe=11

I received the following reply:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Sears.

We regret that there is insufficient supply to offer this model in the US at this time. If additional inventory becomes available, it may be added later this fall. We appreciate your consideration of Sears for this purchase and will forward your interest in this model on to our buying team.

Look for Great Ideas throughout the store and find Sears exclusive innovations from great brands like Sony, Kenmore, NordicTrack, Craftsman and Reebok to help you create the good life.

Shop sears.com now to pick up great products for the season.
http://www.sears.com/sr/entry.jsp?eid=1&sid=S0016300040000600081

Bill T.
Sears Customer Care
webcenter@sears.com
1-800-349-4358

Red Dwarf

What Stand are you using? Very nice looking setup

FaSS:

Thx for the reply. Helps to make plans, or at the very least to prevent an annoying situation from catching me off guard. Your answer though i smost helpful and appreciated.. now, time to figure out a good solution lol

Originally posted by Panny50
There's been a lot of discussion on fan noise on the Panny 50 DLP. I have my setup in a 30x20 foot carpeted room and have not noticed fan noise..... If I really listen I am aware of a lower frequency hum but I have to listen for it in a quiet room... just for laughs I brought out my analog Radio Shack Sound Level Meter (Cat # 33-2050) and measured the sound level at the fan outlet (almost touching the plastic grate where the hot air exits). Settings on the meter were “C” weighting and slow response.
Ambient reading with fan off ….. 52 to 56 dB
Meter reading with fan on…… 90 dB

90dB seems like a high number but remember the microphone is nearly touching the plastic case at the fan…. If I move the meter about a foot away the reading drops to about 60 dB.

If anyone else has a sound meter they can post their readings so that a range of fan noise can be determined……

I also have a Radio Shack meter, my model is 33-2055.

"C" weighting and slow response:
Seated ~10 feet from TV on but muted, below 50dB.
Seated ~10 feet from TV on volume at 12 ~60dB.
Meter right next to plastic hot air grate TV muted 85dB.

I too can hear the fan make a low hum on mute, but you need to listen for it. The fan on my PC seems much louder.

Hope this helps....

Originally posted by skullnrose
Red Dwarf

What Stand are you using? Very nice looking setup

I posted the details on page 25 of this thread. But I'll repeat myself :D

Costco has a stand . 58" wide and rated to hold 300 lbs. Item # 814520 and costs $224.99. It's a deal!

I mentionned this in an earlier post but let me address the stand issue again. B&M stores here such as Future Shop do not carry the Panasonic stand (too expensive) but carry a "replica" which is made by the same company that makes the stand for Panasonic. It sells here for $350 CDN and fits the 50" and 60" Panasonic DLP's and the 50" LCD which all have the exact same dimensions for the base. I'm puzzled as to why this woudn't be available in the US, especially at Best Buy which owns Future Shop.

I installed my Panny yesterday and so far I'm impressed! Haven't done any DVE calibration yet but have used settings recommended in this thread. Don't have HD yet but frankly, from what I had read here, I thought the PQ on SD would be much worse. It varies from channel to channel but it's certainly watchable. I thought it looked worse on stretch modes but I prefer using 4:3 mode anyway. Split screen is great for watching 2 football games at the same time. :) I used the LG DVD player upconverted to 1080i hooked up via component and watched Nemo, Alien 4, and X-Men 2 on DVD and the picture was amazing. The only thing I noticed is some slight grain/shimmering in scenes with a lot of white (is that what "white crush" is?) especially in X-Men 2 in scenes with a snowy environment. haven't tried playing Xbox games yet.

Overall I'm happy. :)

Coudn't find a button on the remote to quickly switch from current to previous channel viewed. Is there one?

I am a newbie. I just got the new Panasonic DLP and was wanting to know what is a good DVD player. I currently have a Denon 2200.

Guys....
question here about the fan noise. Is it very audible? are you guys really looking to hear it? is it very distracting while watching?

Originally posted by RudyMeister
Guys....
question here about the fan noise. Is it very audible? are you guys really looking to hear it? is it very distracting while watching?

No and no! It's not silent but IMHO no big deal. Go to a store and check it out.

MCA.. the Denon 2200 is a very nice player. Unless you encounter problems after setting it up via component inputs, enjoy. HD - DVD is due out in 2005, so I would not upgrade a mid level DVD player at this point unless you really think it is not delivering the quality picture you want.

There is a dvd player section on the AVS forums if you want to do a search on the dvi capable players for ideas. Denon has a very inexpensive player dvd-1910 which can be had in the mid $200 range and the 2910 which is in the $700 range. But there are many dvd players which offer dvi ( upscaling) output which may give a better picture for your eyes. I'd still stay with what you have until next year to see if the HD dvd players do indeed come out! Good luck!

Originally posted by Red Dwarf
No and no! It's not silent but IMHO no big deal. Go to a store and check it out.

Agreed.

Due to the sound levels in typical stores, you might not hear it at all there. Still, it's not a big deal. I don't notice it unless I put the mute on.

Originally posted by RudyMeister
Guys....
question here about the fan noise. Is it very audible? are you guys really looking to hear it? is it very distracting while watching?

For my particular case, a subcontracted TV repair tech. came and indicated on the service report that my fan noise "appears higher noise than norm". I'm hoping that I've got a problematic fan and that when I get a new set (rather than replaced) the noise is acceptable.

I'm not looking to hear it. When watching dramas with HT setting and full sound, it is very noticeable and in fact irritating.

Has anyone had any problems with the faces on ppl looking somewhat posterized? I don't know how else to describe it, but when there is a close-up of someones face, it kinda looks posterized or splotchy. Especially when there is a shadow on the persons face.

FaSS,

One more question regarding the IR sensor on the Panny... I read the owner's manual today looking for info ( alas, none ), but did notice a small area to the left of the SD/PCMCIA card slot. I was curious if that was close to where it is physically.

I ordered mine today btw and am looking forward to seeing HD football on a big screen soon :) And the sensor isnt that big of deal as I can always build a shelf to go over the top of the TV though I think the sound of my HT system will do better having the CC in the lower position ( I can lift the TV up with a small shelf about 1 1/2 inches if the IR sensor in the base is near the top ). Thx again!

Has anybody had any problems with their HDMI input? I have an absence of the red coloring when using my DVI/HDMI cable from my Dish network 811 receiver to my Panasonic. However, when I switch to component, the red coloring returns. Hopefully this is just a bad cable problem.

As for the fan, I had the tv on with no sound and neither I, nor a friend of mine could even hear the fan unless we had our ears 6 inches from the back of the tv. I'd say that if fan noise is a problem for you that your set has a problem and/or that you were born with dog ears. :)

So I finally foound this TV up here for a really good price..

Luckily this same store has a couch and a table set which I really like as well..

So I'm going to be making a rather large purchase this upcoming Wednesday. Anyhow, I was looking at a DVD player as well as my old school JVC really won't cut it. It's over 4 yrs old.

Is anyone using the LG-DV7832 in their Panny setup? I'm staying away from the Samsungs because I've heard a few horror stories.

Are there any HDMI DVD players out yet? I'm planning on hooking up my HDTV cable box (Rogers Canada) via HDMI (most likely only supports DVI), but will probably require a HDMI -> DVI converter Im guessing?

XBOX will obviously got through component.

As well, would you peolpe recommend a pretty decent powerbar? Although i hear MONSTER is over-rated, what cables would you guys recommend for:

a) HDTV Cable Box -> Panny
b) XBOX Components -> Panny

there's just such a damn large variety of cables I have no idea what to pick?

Thanks in advance!

vizual, I bought the LG player along with the Panasonic and installed the whole thing yesterday. I posted my initial thoughts above on this page. I bought the player for it's upconversion capability over component as I plan to use the HDMI connection on HD tv.

If other here have the Panny/LG (Zenith) combo I'd like to hear your thoughts as well.

As far as cables go, I always go to my favorite HT store and have the cables made. Not only can I have them cut at the exact length I want but it's always cheaper and just as good as buying Monster cables.

Originally posted by eXcentris
vizual, I bought the LG player along with the Panasonic and installed the whole thing yesterday. I posted my initial thoughts above on this page. I bought the player for it's upconversion capability over component as I plan to use the HDMI connection on HD tv.

If other here have the Panny/LG (Zenith) combo I'd like to hear your thoughts as well.

As far as cables go, I always go to my favorite HT store and have the cables made. Not only can I have them cut at the exact length I want but it's always cheaper and just as good as buying Monster cables.

Ah. Nice! Ok, I feel pretty good then :)

I guess it's get the LG or wait for the Samsung 941...

Let me know how the XBOX games work-out. I'm dieing to play FIFA 2005 on my Panny when it gets released, not to mention watching EPL Soccer on Saturday mornings in HDTV..oh yes.

Originally posted by vizual


Are there any HDMI DVD players out yet? I'm planning on hooking up my HDTV cable box (Rogers Canada) via HDMI (most likely only supports DVI), but will probably require a HDMI -> DVI converter Im guessing?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, Toshiba has DVD-VHS combo with one HDMI input @ BB.

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=SD-V592

Here is just DVD with HDMI

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/dvd/product.asp?model=SD-5970

You are welcome.

Where are they playing EPL soccer in HD?

Originally posted by Clear Image
Fan Noise

"There's been a lot of discussion on fan noise on the Panny 50 DLP. I have my setup in a 30x20 foot carpeted room and have not noticed fan noise....."

How far away do you normally sit?

About 7'-10' no problem with fan noise.

Fan Noise

_____________________________
"There's been a lot of discussion on fan noise on the Panny 50 DLP. I have my setup in a 30x20 foot carpeted room and have not noticed fan noise..... If I really listen I am aware of a lower frequency hum but I have to listen for it in a quiet room... just for laughs I brought out my analog Radio Shack Sound Level Meter (Cat # 33-2050) and measured the sound level at the fan outlet (almost touching the plastic grate where the hot air exits). Settings on the meter were “C” weighting and slow response.
Ambient reading with fan off ….. 52 to 56 dB
Meter reading with fan on…… 90 dB

90dB seems like a high number but remember the microphone is nearly touching the plastic case at the fan…. If I move the meter about a foot away the reading drops to about 60 dB.

If anyone else has a sound meter they can post their readings so that a range of fan noise can be determined……"
__________________________________________

Measured my 50-inch Panny fan noise with Radio Shack analog meter, cat. no. 42-3019. With meter almost touching plastic vent, I measured 84-92 dB as I moved the meter around the vent. This is roughly consistent with previous measurements but it does allow that my fan is 2-5 dB louder than previously reported measurements. TV is in bedroom, 11x12 feet, 9-10 foot ceiling. Wood floor and furniture. TV 1/2 inch from wall behind it. Only sound absorbing thing in room is the queen size bed. With TV on mute, fan noise is loud enough to be clearly heard everywhere in room and I must use volume setting around 15-17 to mask the noise. Noise is annoying on very low volume settings.

Hi eXcentris,
__________________
"As for the fan, I had the tv on with no sound and neither I, nor a friend of mine could even hear the fan unless we had our ears 6 inches from the back of the tv. I'd say that if fan noise is a problem for you that your set has a problem and/or that you were born with dog ears."
___________________

Was this test made in a quiet room?

Jagman the Tosh DVD-VHS with DMI you recommended seems nice. Is there a similar model but with a hard drive as well?

And how's the PQ on these units? they all upconvert to 720p right?

Originally posted by Clear Image
Hi eXcentris,
__________________
"As for the fan, I had the tv on with no sound and neither I, nor a friend of mine could even hear the fan unless we had our ears 6 inches from the back of the tv. I'd say that if fan noise is a problem for you that your set has a problem and/or that you were born with dog ears."
___________________

Was this test made in a quiet room?

Hello, this was in my living-room. Condo, all open space with cathedral (14 foot) ceilings and carpetting. There was no other noise in the room and tv was sitting directly on the carpet about a foot from the wall. It's now on a stand about 4 inches from the wall and I still can't hear the fan unless I'm about a foot away from the back of the tv.

Maybe I'm just deaf. :)

Originally posted by eXcentris
As for the fan, I had the tv on with no sound and neither I, nor a friend of mine could even hear the fan unless we had our ears 6 inches from the back of the tv. I'd say that if fan noise is a problem for you that your set has a problem and/or that you were born with dog ears. :)
I totally agree with this. I can't hear my fan at all unless I'm that close to the TV as well. I listened on mute with nothing else on and hear nothing. My room is 15x20 with 20 ft ceilings and carpet. Like he said, either there are a lot of problematic fans and we got lucky or you guys have some super sonic hearing.:D

Ed

Originally posted by jdavis37
FaSS,

One more question regarding the IR sensor on the Panny... I read the owner's manual today looking for info ( alas, none ), but did notice a small area to the left of the SD/PCMCIA card slot. I was curious if that was close to where it is physically.

Yes, the IR sensor is just to the left of the SD card slot.

Ed

Ed,

Thx :) My Panny SHOULD be here next week assuming all goes well. I'm excited about the opportunity to own this thing. After seeing it in 2 different Tweeter stores I decided for the money it was a great set. I wanted 60 inches etc etc ect but I also wanted to be able to afford other things besides just TV viewing! If the on line deal works out, it will be a great all around compromise. And your input on the IR sensor has been helpful, so thanks. I think I can simply make a small stand for under the TV to raise it a couple inches and al is well. Since I am custom building my video stand ( and construction has not begun yet), this height canbe factored in!! Thx again :)

Originally posted by jdavis37
Ed,

Thx :) My Panny SHOULD be here next week assuming all goes well. I'm excited about the opportunity to own this thing. After seeing it in 2 different Tweeter stores I decided for the money it was a great set. I wanted 60 inches etc etc ect but I also wanted to be able to afford other things besides just TV viewing! If the on line deal works out, it will be a great all around compromise. And your input on the IR sensor has been helpful, so thanks. I think I can simply make a small stand for under the TV to raise it a couple inches and al is well. Since I am custom building my video stand ( and construction has not begun yet), this height canbe factored in!! Thx again :)
No problem. I'm sure you'll greatly enjoy the TV. I do.:D Be sure to post pics of your setup when it's finished.

Ed

Silly question of the week. :) How do you post pics? Is there a free pic hosting site out there I can use? Do you post pics directly in threads using {img} {/img} tags of just the link?

why do i have grey bars on the top and bottom of HD channels? connected via hdmi

i was under the impression that the HD feeds were full screen

I've had a PT60DL54 for about 10 days now and the fan noise seems to vary. Does anyone know if there is more than 1 fan speed (according to temp etc.) ?

Quick question:

What cables come with this unit if any and are they good quality?

Thanks

I've been reading this thread and want to confirm a few things I have read this panny when hooking up a PC.

Are these true?

- In order to get the TV to run 1280x720 resolution - you HAVE to use HDMI connection.

- There is no way to see what resolution this TV is currently displaying (ie. 480p, 720p, 1080i)


Other questions -

I have my PC hooked up via RGB and have the resolution at 800x600 since its RGB currently.. is there a way to get the TV to stretch that image so it fills up the entire screen?

Where is a good place to get a DVI -> HDMI converter? Will this let me do 1280x720 or does it HAVE to be true HDMI?

Thanks.

Originally posted by scott brown
why do i have grey bars on the top and bottom of HD channels? connected via hdmi

i was under the impression that the HD feeds were full screen

You need to read the whole thread lazybones:

Greybars for newbies :) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=332900)

I can only say that coz I asked the same question about 10 pages back!

Originally posted by gunner2377
Quick question:

What cables come with this unit if any and are they good quality?

Thanks

No cables come with the unit. And they are excellent quality!

Originally posted by zeeeter
You need to read the whole thread lazybones:

Greybars for newbies :) (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=332900)

I can only say that coz I asked the same question about 10 pages back!


it actually had nothing to do with that thread and everything to do with the idiotic cable guy

i'm at work and my roommate is home. he was there when the cable guy came with the HD box. they hooked up the dvi > hdmi but the cable guy was too much of an idiot to actually tune in to the HDMI input. he coudln't figure out why there were grey bars on the top of every HD channel.

well once he left, my roomate was playing around with the tv and noticed it was still on coax in. so he switched to hdmi in and now it's perfect

how can cable guys not even know to switch to the input they're feeding?

Originally posted by thai21

Are these true?

- In order to get the TV to run 1280x720 resolution - you HAVE to use HDMI connection.

- There is no way to see what resolution this TV is currently displaying (ie. 480p, 720p, 1080i)


Other questions -

I have my PC hooked up via RGB and have the resolution at 800x600 since its RGB currently.. is there a way to get the TV to stretch that image so it fills up the entire screen?

Where is a good place to get a DVI -> HDMI converter? Will this let me do 1280x720 or does it HAVE to be true HDMI?

Thanks.
1. No, you can run 1280x720 through HDMI or component. You can't run 1280x720 throuhg the VGA inputs.

2. I have not found any way to do this. The only way I know is when I switch to a channel with a different resolution than the one I was watching, it says on the bottom of the TV what the feed is.

3. There is no way to stretch the picture from the VGA inputs. It will only display 800x600 through those.

4. Look for the seller STSI.com on Ebay. I bought my DVI-HDMI cable from them and it works great. They're only about $25 shipped and they seem to be very high quality. FYI, HDMI is the same as DVI except it also carries digital audio and is a smaller connector.

Ed

I have had my panny for over a week. Here are my impressions:

I have my cable box connected via DVI/HDMI

HD
HD broadcasts looks spectacular, 3d like, Very sharp, clean, image looks natural. Fleshtones color looks real. Simlpy Awesome. I have seen occasional slight color banding, however from 10-12 feet it is not very apparent and does not bother me. I am not sure if that is in the source.
NFL game this sunday was jaw dropping.

I previusoly compared this set in showroom with the same split signal to other DLP & LCD rear projection sets, this set looked the best with more natural image and brilliant colors. It showed least amount of color banding and video noise. Also, it looked the best with shadow level details. I have comparison in two different showroom. I didnt have access to remote control for any of the TV. So I dont know the settings of any of the set. I know not a very good comparison, but still it was good enough to convince me.

Black level - Extremely good. Black looks black. Can't complain.

Shadow level detail: Really very good. No complain.

DVD
Looks good via component out. I have watched LOTR 1, Kill bill 2, Monster Inc. and some more. Even not so good quality dvd looks good on it.

SD Picture
Surprisingly looks good to excellent. I think that is mosltly due to the good signal I get from my cable company.

Cons:
- Fan NOISE! See following paragraph of this post.
- Only one HDMI input.
- VGA input can only do 800 x 600 (This is lame.)

Initially, for couple of days I did not notice the fan noise much and it did not bother me at all from my viewing position, which is 10-12 feet. However, after a week, I tend to notice it more and more. Now I can hear the noise from my sitting position easily at low volumes, which can be irritating. The noise seems to buzz in my head. So far I have managed to put up with the noise. Lets it does not get any worse.

When on mute, I can easily hear the noise 20 feet away. I have a cathedral ceiling and the living room is carpeted. Any suggestion to reduce the noise?

- Also, I noticed on a poor quality SD channel some sort of a trailing image, especially when facial expression changes on the screen. It is watchable when looking at a close up of face, just observe the person's cheek. Is this a DLP trait or happens in LCD projection also ? I think one person in this thread reported this.


Overall I am very happy.

I am looking forward to any tweek. Please feel free to share your settings. I am using the settings suggested elsewhere in this thread.

Thanks for reading,
jv59

I hoped that I won't get flamed with this question....

You have HD cable box setup. Have anybody enabled PIP? If so, did you just splice the cable so that one goes to RF and the other end to HD cable box out to HDMI?

I have the Panny 50" DLP, having a hard time trying to connect my new HD Directv Sat Dish. All 3 satellites need to be aligned, but I can only get 1 or 2 at best. Anyone have this problem? I didn't find anything under the DIRETV AVS forum.
thanks,
CABOMAN

Originally posted by RAE
I've had a PT60DL54 for about 10 days now ...

May I ask, where did you get your PT-60DL54? I have been looking throughout the US and cannot find any.

Online Vendors?

Are they trustworthy for a large item like this? Any personal experience with specific vendors would be appreciated.

Originally posted by eXcentris
vizual, I bought the LG player along with the Panasonic and installed the whole thing yesterday. I posted my initial thoughts above on this page. I bought the player for it's upconversion capability over component as I plan to use the HDMI connection on HD tv.

If other here have the Panny/LG (Zenith) combo I'd like to hear your thoughts as well.

As far as cables go, I always go to my favorite HT store and have the cables made. Not only can I have them cut at the exact length I want but it's always cheaper and just as good as buying Monster cables.

Vizual/eXcentris - I had the LG7832/Panny combo and returned the LG after a week. The upconversion over component was great, but the DVI-HDMI connection consistently caused the LG to freezup - see similar threads in the DVD Players forum. Because the component upconversion "may" be affected by the latest firmware from Zenith/LG, I decided to play it safe, return the player, and wait for the Panny S-97...

Ciao!

Norikel

Originally posted by gunner2377
Online Vendors?

Are they trustworthy for a large item like this? Any personal experience with specific vendors would be appreciated.

Bought mine from Plasma H*use. Smooth transaction in spite of a scary review history. I had a good recommendation so I wasn't worried by the reviews. Price was right too.

Originally posted by wabbit
I hoped that I won't get flamed with this question....

You have HD cable box setup. Have anybody enabled PIP? If so, did you just splice the cable so that one goes to RF and the other end to HD cable box out to HDMI?
I use the split screen sometimes. I have a splitter and just send one cable to the back of the TV and another to the cable box. It would really be nice to have a cable box with two tuners though, so you could actually watch the scrambled digital channels on the split.

Ed

Got the 60" here in Canada for $4700 cad. There was a good supply of them up here last wk.

Thanks for the reply, Fastt2001/Ed.

For gunner2377, I got mine from Amazon (not Vann). Ordered on Tuesday...received on Friday. I would definitely google about any vendor and read the comments about the vendor. I read one vendor after the fact and the comments were true...see one of my older posts in this thread.

Thanks Wabbit,

I'll check them out a little closer. The customer reviews I've read so far on most vendors are up and down but mostly positive. Just a little gun shy on an online purchase with warranties/returns but the price is too good to pass up. Glad to hear they can handle an order like this with little to no problems.

Originally posted by norikel
Vizual/eXcentris - I had the LG7832/Panny combo and returned the LG after a week. The upconversion over component was great, but the DVI-HDMI connection consistently caused the LG to freezup - see similar threads in the DVD Players forum. Because the component upconversion "may" be affected by the latest firmware from Zenith/LG, I decided to play it safe, return the player, and wait for the Panny S-97...



Yup, I'm aware of that. Since the TV only has one HDMI input, I'm going to use it for HD. So, I knew about the LG freeze up problem over DVI/HDMI, but it wasn't an issue for me since I specifically bought the LG for it's upconversion capability over component. I don't care about firmware upgrades since the player does what I want it to do and having a region-free player is a must for me.

Originally posted by FaSSt2001
I use the split screen sometimes. I have a splitter and just send one cable to the back of the TV and another to the cable box. It would really be nice to have a cable box with two tuners though, so you could actually watch the scrambled digital channels on the split.

Ed

Not sure I understand. Are you saying that you can't use the split screen option with HD cable box unless you do what you have described?

TV = 2 tuners = cable plugged in tv = split-screen
HD box = 1 tuner = cable plugged in HD box = no split-screen

Correct?

Originally posted by eXcentris
Not sure I understand. Are you saying that you can't use the split screen option with HD cable box unless you do what you have described?

TV = 2 tuners = cable plugged in tv = split-screen
HD box = 1 tuner = cable plugged in HD box = no split-screen

Correct?
No, you can use split screen with the HD cable box as long as it's not using the HDMI input. If you want to watch two cable channels split screen, you have to have your cable box connected to your TV (component, S-Video, etc) and then another cable from a splitter straight to the back of the TV. You just can't watch, say, HBO and Cinemax at the same time. The TV will tune whatever unscrambled cable channels there are for the split, but having a two tuner cable box would allow you to watch anything on both screens.

Ed

Originally posted by Bill Briare
Where are they playing EPL soccer in HD?

Sportsnet Canada HD every Saturday morning :) 3 games

Originally posted by norikel
Panny S-97...

Ciao!

Norikel

When is the S-97 due?

I dont' awnt to wait aother 6 months till it's available in Canada :)

Originally posted by RAE
Got the 60" here in Canada for $4700 cad. There was a good supply of them up here last wk.

Where was that?! I found the 50 for 4k somewhere and I thought that was a deal considering Futureshop sells it for 45.

Originally posted by eXcentris
Yup, I'm aware of that. Since the TV only has one HDMI input, I'm going to use it for HD. So, I knew about the LG freeze up problem over DVI/HDMI, but it wasn't an issue for me since I specifically bought the LG for it's upconversion capability over component. I don't care about firmware upgrades since the player does what I want it to do and having a region-free player is a must for me.

The LG is region-free?! Does this I mean I can finally order my Ali G In Da House DVD and watch it freely in HD?! SWEEET :)

Originally posted by FaSSt2001
No, you can use split screen with the HD cable box as long as it's not using the HDMI input. If you want to watch two cable channels split screen, you have to have your cable box connected to your TV (component, S-Video, etc) and then another cable from a splitter straight to the back of the TV. You just can't watch, say, HBO and Cinemax at the same time. The TV will tune whatever unscrambled cable channels there are for the split, but having a two tuner cable box would allow you to watch anything on both screens.

Ed

Got it thanks. But there goes my idea of using HDMI for HD... :(

Originally posted by vizual
The LG is region-free?! Does this I mean I can finally order my Ali G In Da House DVD and watch it freely in HD?! SWEEET :)

It isn't out of the box, you need a region free hack. Easy and painless. See 1st page of Zenith FAQ thread on DVD forum. The Zenith is the US equivalent to the LG in Canada.

Can't wait to see the EPL on HD, I watch it every saturday morning! :)

FaSS,

Thx again. The cabinet is entering it's final design stages, at least pre CAD program design stages. I'm striving for a Salamander appearance only using better wood and components, triple 20 look., with improvements and built in cable management. Natural cherry finish. Hopefully wil be able to complete this in next couple/few months and until then am leaning toward the old college days concrete block/wood shelf look, and just hope the tv off sets it good enough!

The Panny definitely caught my eye in stores and at the Amazon price I simply could not resist! Can't wait :) Will add photo of the cabinet after it is complete!

Originally posted by vizual
Where was that?! I found the 50 for 4k somewhere and I thought that was a deal considering Futureshop sells it for 45.

Got mine in Saskatoon at Audio Warehouse. A&B Sound says they will sell for less. Had to go with an aftermarket stand , took the total to $5000. The stand is made by Techcraft. I can e-mail you a pic if you like.

Just got my set last week and what can i say? Its picture is unbelievable. Football is ridiculous-everyone cant believe their eyes.

One problem.
I have a small jagged black box at the bottom of the screen about 6 inches wide and 1 inch tall. I think it has to be something that got loose during shipping and is blocking the projector...

Has anyone heard of this problem?

Also, I can't get DVI-HDMI from Commycast HD DVR SA box to work. Is there an add'l menu selection to make to activate HDMI?

THanks in advance

Originally posted by jdavis37
FaSS,

Thx again. The cabinet is entering it's final design stages, at least pre CAD program design stages. I'm striving for a Salamander appearance only using better wood and components, triple 20 look., with improvements and built in cable management. Natural cherry finish. Hopefully wil be able to complete this in next couple/few months and until then am leaning toward the old college days concrete block/wood shelf look, and just hope the tv off sets it good enough!

The Panny definitely caught my eye in stores and at the Amazon price I simply could not resist! Can't wait :) Will add photo of the cabinet after it is complete!

I would definately be interested to know some more info on your design and ideas. I went ahead and PM you.

Fan Noise

Hi all. I just sent this email to Panasonic Canada:

______________________________________
"I've had a PT-50DL54J for 2 days. Serial no. MX42530293. Not yet registered. I have a noise problem from the fan or color wheel--or both. Using a Radio Shack analog SPL meter, set on C weighting slow response, with the microphone 1/8 inch from the plastic fan vent, I measured 84-94 dB as I moved the mic slowly across the vent. 94dB! The noise is annoying at my listening position and I must set the volume at 15-17 to mask it. The noise has a slight motorcycle quality (quick da-da-da's). When I turn off the TV, the motorcyling noise stops first (the color wheel?) and then the remaining noise stops a bit later (fan?). At a forum regarding this TV, several owners complained of excessive noise. Several other owners said the TV is very quiet and they must put their head 6-12 inches from the vent to hear the noise. Do you have a quality control problem on this noise issue and what can you do to reduce the noise on my TV? Do you want to repair or replace the TV?"
_______________________________________

I'll let you know what happens.
___________

Originally posted by RAE
Got the 60" here in Canada for $4700 cad. There was a good supply of them up here last wk.


holy..... i just went to Ken Cranes this week to ask about 60 and the guy said he should be able to put an order after the 15th for 4500 usd.

store is in pasadena Cali. i will be really happy when the unit actually becomes available, but i wish i can get it from canada


you so lucky RAE

anyone have a better place, price in us ??

I had a Panasonic tech come out last night to check out the fan noise issue. After listening to the "noise" for a few minutes, he said based on his experience with rear proj TV it was at a normal level. He said that the Hitachi sets are twice as loud (I guess i should feel better about this) He did not use a sound meter since he did not have specifications on the sound level from Panasonic. Said he will file a report for Panasonic on the issue and if there is a recall/fix for the problem due to customer complaints etc. he will notify me to correct the problem.

At this point I'm not sure if this in fact is normal or a defect without any specs this comes down to a personal preference.

I'm torn between returning this TV and perhaps getting another one that is worse or with the same problem.

Anyone have experience with returning/exchanging a set to BestBuy? Do they do a straight swap or do i have to bring in current TV and wait for another one to be delivered at a later date. Are there any restocking charges?

BTW this is regarding the 60".

Thanks.

Originally posted by Clear Image
Fan Noise

Hi all. I just sent this email to Panasonic Canada:

______________________________________
"I've had a PT-50DL54J for 2 days. Serial no. MX42530293. Not yet registered. I have a noise problem from the fan or color wheel--or both. Using a Radio Shack analog SPL meter, set on C weighting slow response, with the microphone 1/8 inch from the plastic fan vent, I measured 84-94 dB as I moved the mic slowly across the vent. 94dB! The noise is annoying at my listening position and I must set the volume at 15-17 to mask it. The noise has a slight motorcycle quality (quick da-da-da's). When I turn off the TV, the motorcyling noise stops first (the color wheel?) and then the remaining noise stops a bit later (fan?). At a forum regarding this TV, several owners complained of excessive noise. Several other owners said the TV is very quiet and they must put their head 6-12 inches from the vent to hear the noise. Do you have a quality control problem on this noise issue and what can you do to reduce the noise on my TV? Do you want to repair or replace the TV?"
_______________________________________

I'll let you know what happens.
___________

Folks...this is why I was asking all earlier if you guys are really trying to listen for it? or is this a real issue?

Some says yes and others do not seem to be bothered by it.


Originally posted by Omega2002
I had a Panasonic tech come out last night to check out the fan noise issue. After listening to the "noise" for a few minutes, he said based on his experience with rear proj TV it was at a normal level. He said that the Hitachi sets are twice as loud (I guess i should feel better about this) He did not use a sound meter since he did not have specifications on the sound level from Panasonic. Said he will file a report for Panasonic on the issue and if there is a recall/fix for the problem due to customer complaints etc. he will notify me to correct the problem.

At this point I'm not sure if this in fact is normal or a defect without any specs this comes down to a personal preference.

I'm torn between returning this TV and perhaps getting another one that is worse or with the same problem.

Anyone have experience with returning/exchanging a set to BestBuy? Do they do a straight swap or do i have to bring in current TV and wait for another one to be delivered at a later date. Are there any restocking charges?

BTW this is regarding the 60".

Thanks.

Best Buy Canada is 30 days for TV's so if you got a problem, or don't like it, replace it or get your money back. I suggest you get going on it. After this you will have to deal with manufacturer.

Using a Radio Shack analog SPL meter, set on C weighting slow response, with the microphone 1/8 inch from the plastic fan vent, I measured 84-94 dB as I moved the mic slowly across the vent. 94dB!
___________

All who are measuring SPL right at the fan vent...beware!

Sound waves are pressure waves, which means they move air. A microphone will pick up "air flow" just as easy as a sound wave and will think it is a sound. If you have ever used a microphone, have you tried blowing directly into it? It makes a loud noise even though obviously someone "blowing" is not a loud sound. ~94 dB is a pretty high level and probably is due to this sort of air movement effect. For reference, if you calibrate your surround system, this is done around 75 dB typically...and 20 dB louder than that is quite a racket. I wouldn't rely on measurements where air flow is obviously moving over the SPL meter microphone. Measurements taken from the listening/viewing position would be a much better reference.

This isn't to say some of you may not be experiencing loud fans, but just a note to be careful how you quantify the level of the sound.

BTW...my 50dl54 has fan noise I hear from ~9 ft away (viewing position) when everything else is silent. But, it is rarely audible during actual tv watching with the volume at a comfortable level. I also have an HD Tivo that has a fan that is almost as loud. I can say that if you have never had home theatre equipment with a fan it can take a little getting used to. I had an older Tivo that had a fan that bothered me for a few weeks until I got used to it.

Ben

I took delivery of my new 50DL54 set last week. I am really overall pleased. The picture quality is awesome to my eyes and movies on it are just stunning. I am still trying to get the XBox HD cables, but for now with the composite cables, the picture is still really good. SD TV is not bad at all. My preference is to view it in 4:3 mode and not all stretched out. So those are the positives.

THe negatives are however, slightly troubling. First, and it has been commented upon in this forum quite a bit, is the damn fan noise. Its really driving me batty. I bought from Tweeter and a call to their Rapid Response folks has started the process or resolving it. They immediately ordered me a replacement fan and I am waiting for them to get it in and then come out to install it. The other problem I have is that there looks to be a smudge on the inside of the screen. Its really only noticeable to me when in 4:3 mode. The smudge is the size of a dime on the lower right side of the left bar. They assured me they would look at the issue when they come out to take care of the fan.

Maybe there will be no resolution to the fan noise, if so, fine, I can live with the annoyance I think. I have 30 days to return it if it drives me nuts. It does seem louder then it should though.

Overall, this set is kick ass.

Can anyone tell me they have their settings on( or off) with regard to the 'natural tones' video N/R', etc... I still have some issues, especially in SD with a somewhat 'posterized look" to people's faces and what I'd call an oily-halo around lights. Maybe it is something in my settings.

Does anyone have the email address for panasonic's customer care? i was unable to use the on line form and all i saw on the website was a telepone number.

for those wondering just how loud the noise is---in my case the noise is a bit louder than the fan noise generated by my xbox. putting my hand against the vent i feel a lot of hot air being forced out, so the good thing is that the fan is doing its job.

All of my settings are turned on but I also only watch SD in 4:3 mode.

I just got HDTV from Charter. They installed the HDTV box through the component in (3 video 2 audio). The cable guy stated it is outputing at 1080i. I have read that some cable companies will plug into the HDMI input. Is the picture I am getting really HDTV? It does look better, but I am not blown away at this point.

On my Denon 2200 should I have it go out of the S-cable or through the component in?

Can't turn on 3D Y/C filter? Why? Please help..

try HDNet its true HD.It should blow you away

Originally posted by roblim
for those wondering just how loud the noise is---in my case the noise is a bit louder than the fan noise generated by my xbox. putting my hand against the vent i feel a lot of hot air being forced out, so the good thing is that the fan is doing its job.

If it's only slightly louder than the sound of an xbox fan, then with regards to the TV fan, either your xbox has malfunctioned and shuold have it's fan looked at or you guys have ears like animals.

I can't hear my xbox fan when it's on. Sure I can hear the drive churn but certainly not the fan.

(don't have the 50DL54 yet. Will post about the fan after I pick it up tommorow or thursday.) hehe

Hi RudyMeister,
______________________________________________
"Folks...this is why I was asking all earlier if you guys are really trying to listen for it? or is this a real issue?

Some says yes and others do not seem to be bothered by it."
______________________________________________

I'm not trying to listen for the noise. It intrudes on me unless the TV volume is set high enough. Room acoustics will have a lot to do with how lound a given fan noise level will be when it reaches the listening position. I am unfortunate in that my room (a bedroom) has a hard wood floor and has nothing in it that absorbs sound except the bed. The room is 11x12 feet and I watch the TV about 9 feet away. To minimize room acoustics on the measurement of fan noise, I measured the noise right at the vent. Another post indicated that this measurement method may produce too large a figure due to the rush of air. This is reasonable. However, measurement at the vent may be OK to compare Pannys to determine whether they produce the same noise. I tried to listen to Panny noise at a dealer, a reasonably quiet shop. There was a rug on the floor and acoustic tiles on the ceiling. The Panny was 2-3 from the wall behind it. (My Panny is against the wall.) I could not hear the fan noise at the shop from about 3 feet away. I don't know whether this was because of the different room acoustics, the fact that my bedroom is dead quiet, or whether my fan is defective. I couldn't measure the noise level at the shop because the TV was on a stand that prevented me from putting my meter next to the fan vent.

I currently have a 42" sony and find it small for 4:3 games/sd. I'm trying to decide if I should go 50" - this panny dlp or 46" - samsung. My viewing is 8 to 8.5 feet. What do you guys think? My 42" gwIII sd picture is very good. How much worse will sd be on panny compared to gwIII?

I saw the Toshiba 52" dlp and this tv side by side and noticed the Toshiba had a lot more grainy noise in the picture. The panny does a really good job in this regard.

I've owned this set for 2 weeks now and overall I am very happy.

Fan Noise: The set is in our in TV room (or as I like to call it, the Media Room). Heavy carpet, overstuffed leather furniture. The fan can be clearly heard from 12' away during normal TV viewing. I have a technician coming out next week. I have the Rad Shack SPL meter and will try to take some measurements. It doesn't take away from any viewing enjoyment, but it is a bother.

Picture Quality: This set really shines. Standard def channels look quite good. Of course it depends on the source material. I have DirecTV and most channels are clear and sharp. A few do look crappy. Hi-Def and DVDs are great. Star Wars looked incredible! Black level is good (blacks actually look black not dark gray). This set has an 7 or 8 segment color wheel that seems to really improve things.

Right now I am using component connections for both the DVD and the DirecTV feed.

I'm happy to answer any questions if I can!

Mike

I think you are all making a big deal regarding the fan noise, yes it make noise. get use to it. Its not going to go away. Enjoy all of the great features and forget about the only one negative issue. Just my 2 cents.
Caboman

Originally posted by caboman
I think you are all making a big deal regarding the fan noise, yes it make noise. get use to it. Its not going to go away. Enjoy all of the great features and forget about the only one negative issue. Just my 2 cents.
Caboman

. . .maybe, but when you look at the issue of noisy fans on personal computers, the difference comes down to whether you bought a $5 - 90 db fan or a $20 - 30 db fan.

On a $3500 MSRP television, you'd think that a $20 fan would have been a better option, and a retrofit might just do the trick. If that is the only problem people are finding, what a deal this TV is (and I think it is a steal for the PQ). If Panasonic step up, admit a problem and fix the concerns (unlike Sony with their GWIIIs where they replaced the bulb and the driver but even today refute that there was a problem) then Panasonic deserve some kudos. Lets see what they do.

Is the fan noise louder or equal to the fan noise produced by your computer without the case cover on? :) that's my test.

On my set, the fan noise is louder than my PC (with cover on). But, it has to do a lot more cooling. I can imagine how how that bulb must get...

Received my PT-50dl54 today set it up and made all connections in record time. Not to see the picture(because i already know it's stunning) but to hear the fan noise. well i'm happy to post I received the "quiet fan model" if I stick my head behind the TV (not a recommended viewing angel i might add) the fan can be heard but sitting on the couch 9 to 10 feet away I have to get up and walk toward the TV to hear it. As soon as I turn the volume up even to a minimal listening level I can't hear the fan at all even while standing directly in front of the TV.The room has 9 foot ceilings,carpet and the TV sits about 8-12 inches off the wall.

Currently comcast in my area of NJ doesn't have the DVI feed working so component is being used for now.I should have my Denon DVD-2910 in a day or so to test the HDMI input.I'll use AVIA to adjust the settings. I'd love to see what others have come up with using AVIA or DVE..Also if you do post your setting mention what picture mode your in(vivid,cinema,standard).

On the HDMI output from my cable box I have a couple of output options, including 720 and 1080, both with a variety of options regarding what to do with 4:3.

I've currently got it set to 1080i output, with preserve 4:3 formatting in 480P format. I can have the same settings only with 720, with this set, should I set it to 1080 or 720, does it "scale back" 1080 to 720 in the TV unit anyways, so I would be better off outputting 720 initially.

Or am I just confused?

Hello All,

An update to my previous post on page 22 of this thread. I am going to break this into five consecutive posts so I can link to the ISF reports and images of the set on my web site.

I ordered the service manual for this set from Panasonic parts department for $8.47 plus $3.00 shipping; a bargain. I received mine 6 days after I ordered it. The receipt says that the part number was MTNC040846C1. I went back and worked on dangerfish’s set with the service manual.

My favorite page is 22, a warning about disposing of the screen. If you place it in direct sunlight it can act as a magnifying glass and start a fire!

On page 24 there are pictures and instructions on how to do a mechanical focus adjustment and a mechanical tilt adjustment. These look to be easily performed with locking knobs and screws that are behind the front cover/optical cover. The set I worked on had excellent focus and no tilt or skew error at all so I did not experiment with these adjustments. There is no service menu adjustment for tilt or focus, mechanical only.

End of part 1

The “Electronic Adjustments” start on page 25.

13.1 I adjusted HPOS from 18 to 26 and VPOS from 23 to 27 on this set to center the grid pattern from my signal generator. The result was a centered display and an exact 5% overscan horizontally and vertically. There are no adjustments for horizontal or vertical size so it appears this set has a built in automatic permanent overscan of 5%. Not uncommon, but remember that a 5% overscan means you lose 19% of the source image.

13.3 The instructions for Color adjustment are useless. A couple of examples:

This adjustment requires that the servicer use its skills in observing what a colorbar pattern should looks like.

1. Adjust “B-Y_G” so blue look natural and rest of the colors become in balance.

I base my calibrations on objective measurements with test equipment, not subjective measurements like this. The set I calibrated had a very accurate color decoder. The blue decoder adjusted easily with the color and tint controls in the user menus, the red decoder was perfect, and the green decoder had a very small error. I experimented with the color controls in the service menu using the SMPTE color bars and RGB filters. I ran these controls up and down while observing the color bars with red and green filters and could not detect any change. Normally, I would expect these controls to have some affect on the color bars. I didn’t have time to experiment further. The error in the green decoder was very small, at the limit of perception. I just wanted to see if I could get it perfect like the red decoder.

End of Part 2

13.6 White Balance adjustment. This set does not have the normal RGB Cut and RGB Drive controls to adjust white balance. There is only the WB parameter which is 00 by factory default. The manual says O1 is “reddish”. This set had tracked at 9300K with WB at 00. I changed WB to 01 and the color temperature dropped to 6600K. I ran the gray scale from 10 IRE to 100 IRE and the set tracked very nicely at around 6600K. The Delta XY Error averaged about 15 which is a little higher than I like. I can normally get these under 10 and sometimes under 5 with RGB Cut and RGB Drive controls. That is why the plus signs didn’t make it into to box on the first page of the ISF calibration report. I consider these very minor issues. The set has accurate gray scale tracking very close to the 6500K standard with WB at 01. Nobody is going to be able to see this very small error with out a precision reference or color analyzer. By the way, changing WB to 01 does not make whites look “reddish” as the manual says. It will still display whites at all color temperatures from “reddish” to “blueish”. Now it accurately tracks those white color temperatures instead of pushing them up by 2800K (9300 – 6500).

End of Part 3

Section 14 describes how to enter and exit Service Mode. It mentions a handy shortcut to get the set into service mode: Press “VOL” (-) on TV and “Recall” button on remote control simultaneously for at least 3 seconds. It works.

That was all the useful information I got out of the service manual.

To sum up, this set performs very well and makes a very accurate image. For the do-it-yourself person, I would recommend using DVE or equivalent to set the Picture, Brightness, Color and Tint controls. Set Sharpness to 0, Set Color Temp to Warm and set Picture Mode to Cinema. Use a 720p input signal vs. 1080i if possible. Get into the Service menu and set HPOS and VPOS to center the screen and set WB to 01. That should give you the most accurate display possible short of a professional calibration.

End of Part 4

Originally posted by zeeeter
. . .maybe, but when you look at the issue of noisy fans on personal computers, the difference comes down to whether you bought a $5 - 90 db fan or a $20 - 30 db fan.

On a $3500 MSRP television, you'd think that a $20 fan would have been a better option, and a retrofit might just do the trick. If that is the only problem people are finding, what a deal this TV is (and I think it is a steal for the PQ). If Panasonic step up, admit a problem and fix the concerns (unlike Sony with their GWIIIs where they replaced the bulb and the driver but even today refute that there was a problem) then Panasonic deserve some kudos. Lets see what they do.

If it's as simple as replacing a $20 fan, heck! I'll pay/replace it myself. no bother calling Panasonic.

Originally posted by zeeeter
On the HDMI output from my cable box I have a couple of output options, including 720 and 1080, both with a variety of options regarding what to do with 4:3.

I've currently got it set to 1080i output, with preserve 4:3 formatting in 480P format. I can have the same settings only with 720, with this set, should I set it to 1080 or 720, does it "scale back" 1080 to 720 in the TV unit anyways, so I would be better off outputting 720 initially.

Or am I just confused?

Really there are two options (depends on your STB and how well it scales vs the TV.)

Option 1) Set the STB to "Passthru" the signal and let the TV do the conversion.

Option 2) Set the STB to 720p and send everything to the TV in it's native resolution.

BTW, of course this has been argued ad nauseum, but 720p is an up convert from 1080i. It takes more processing power and higher quality components to display 720p than 1080i. 1080p would be the next step up.

Here are the before and after calibration color temp and color error graphs:

ISF Report (http://www.idigscience.com/images/ISF.pdf)

Here are the luminosity curves for Picture Mode set to Normal and Cinema. Cinema gives a much better curve.

Picture Mode set to Normal (http://www.idigscience.com/images/Normal.pdf)

Picture Mode set to Cinema (http://www.idigscience.com/images/Cinema.pdf)

Here are pictures of the Sharpness test pattern from my signal generator at 1080i and at 720p. Notice that the 720p image correctly resolves the smallest vertical bars, but in the 1080i image they fade to gray. Much better detail at 720p. The HDMI input was used for these images.

720p

http://www.idigscience.com/images/720p.jpg

1080i

http://www.idigscience.com/images/1080i.jpg

End of Part 5

Cheers! :)