Looking for feedback ONLY from people that OWN the PANASONIC 600U.
The object is to get REVIEWS, OPINIONS, PROS, and CONS. This will give the other people that are thinking of buying one some actual feedback.

PLEASE NO SIGHTINGS, or TWEAKS or FAQ etc. These things are already covered in other threads.

600U has already been spotted and some people now have them so hopefully we can get some good input.

I would have thought someone would at least have some first impressions by now.

Mine is coming on Thursday. I will hopefully have some impressions within a week or so.

My 600U arrived on Friday. I originally ordered the 500U directly from Panasonic back in the fall, so I was one of the first to be offered a chance to buy the 600U.

I'm still breaking it in, but my first impressions are VERY positive. PQ is great even with the settings turned down during the break-in period. I've been watching a lot of Discovery HD since it has no logos and I've been thrilled with the picture.

I had some trouble with the initial setup because the Component 1 input didn't appear to be working. I called customer support, but I could tell the guy I talked to had never taken a call for the 600U and was looking through the same documentation I had in front of me. I'm hoping that there is an option in the service menu somewhere to enable that port. Component 2 worked fine and since I'm using my receiver for component video switching, that's fine with me right now. If anyone knows how to enable/disable the component inputs, I'd appreciate the pointer.

Since I'm only half way through the break-in period, I don't have a lot of detailed opinions to offer yet. I'd be happy to field any questions, though.

Here's my setup

Motorola 6412 III HD DVR (component out - toslink out)
Panasonic Progressive Scan DVD Player (component out - toslink out)
Panasonic AVR (HT-3xx I think - about 3 years old)
Belkin PureAV PF31

Once you get past the break in I would be very interested to know if you see any difference in PQ between the 500U and 600U.

Unfortunately, I never received the 500U. They stopped shipping right before I was scheduled to get mine, and since all the B&M's I've been to only carried the 50U series, I haven't been able to compare. Since each series is supposed to have the same panel and only differ by options and appearance, I should be able to compare it to the 50Us I saw. So far my 600U blows the 50Us I've seen away. This is most likely due to the quality of the source material, however. Since I don't have the ability to do a truly controlled test, you'll have to rely on my completely subjective opinion.

Bottom line, after 7+ months of anticipation, I have not been the least bit disappointed.

I've had my 50" 600U for about a week. At this time I only have a progressive Sony DV DVD player hooked up to component and Radio Shack's top end HDTV indoor antenna that lets me see a few HD and digital TV channels.

I ran the break-in DVD for a few days 24/7 (when I wasn't watching anything) just to play safe.

I haven't got to the last nth in picture tweaking but after using my dated DVE calibration DVD, I generally find that color and tint at 0 are most accurate. Standard mode seems best. Picture is at +20 and Brightness pleasing at +10. Sharpness way down or I see noise. Color Temp at Normal or Warm. Black level at Dark. These will probably change but suit DVDs for the most part.

The HD I've seen is impressive. Hard to find fault there but the jury is out until I get the DISH HD receiver installed.

Some say the new Panasonics have taken a step backward in build quality and PQ. Build quality is a notch down. Especially the remote feels cheaper and is quite weak in communicating with the TV. I think thats inexcusable for any TV, regardless of price but is a sore spot on an item of this ticket.

Several learned members of the forums have judged PQ not as smooth as the previous 500U series. Even Consumer Reports noted picture noise that can't be remedied with any of the settings. I do see something of the like in DVD but not in HD.....yet. I remember being very impressed with the 50U / 500U series in stores. But didn't have the opportunity for a side by side with the 60 / 600Us. Nevertheless, the 60U's I saw were the Belle of the Ball compared to other brands like LG, Samsung, Phillips, Vizo, Maxent, and so on.

The only serious competition comes from NEC and Pioneer at this point. The new Pioneers, such as the 5070 are due about now. Supposedly, price has come down to the Panny point and the've gone a new generation that on paper holds much promise. No one's actually seen or evaluated one. People may hand it the crown or comment that it was better last year.

So, I have 30 days since I bought the set to decide if its a keeper. Ummmm, now its 3 weeks. :rolleyes:

Once you get past the break in I would be very interested to know if you see any difference in PQ between the 500U and 600U.

Please send a 600u so I can evaluate :D

Please send a 600u so I can evaluate :D
All kidding aside, it would be good if someone could do a serious and controlled comparison. I'm still waiting for a professional review, even on a 60U.

Panasonic claims its their best PQ yet though I do agree they cut a few corners in build quality to get the price down. Lord knows materials aren't getting cheaper year after year.

That brightness and contrast ratios are improved plus 29B colors vs. the 8, makes me wonder if early impressions aren't taking in the new dynamic ranges without eliminating all of the sizzel. Just going to Standard mode may not be enough when in the store. I may need to pick up the AVI disc. Like most in the forums, I want a natural picture over a hot rodded one.

I may need to pick up the AVI disc. Like most in the forums, I want a natural picture over a hot rodded one.

Why not as you have one of the first 600u's. Run AVIA on it and post some screenshots please.
It's your AVS duty, after all. :)

Why not as you have one of the first 600u's. Run AVIA on it and post some screenshots please.
It's your AVS duty, after all. :)
Point taken. I just wish there was a disc that really addressed flat panel TVs instead of "kind of" like the VE and AVIA. VE is particulary frustrating with all the CRT stuff and lame navigation. :confused:

Posting screenshots are of limited value given the prevailing online resolution.

But good point. I will continue to post observations as they come up. Since AVIA is the only other game in town, I may resort to that. :)

There's a lot of expectation on the new Pioneers and many people on the forums give Pioneer the nod I'm starting to see. No complaints on black levels with Panasonic though. :D

Point taken. I just wish there was a disc that really addressed flat panel TVs instead of "kind of" like the VE and AVIA. VE is particulary frustrating with all the CRT stuff and lame navigation. :confused:

Posting screenshots are of limited value given the prevailing online resolution.

But good point. I will continue to post observations as they come up. Since AVIA is the only other game in town, I may resort to that. :)

There's a lot of expectation on the new Pioneers and many people on the forums give Pioneer the nod I'm starting to see. No complaints on black levels with Panasonic though. :D

Under the resolution patterns, try the 'Resolution 200' pattern and post it at both 720p and 1080i..
Screenshots do show more than you think. ;) (HInt: Plazman..hehe)

Thanks! :)

I picked up my 42PX600U today! It looks fantastic. My current break-in settings are:
Picture = 0
Brightness = 0
Color = -6
Tint = +3
Does anyone think I should go lower for my break in settings (negative numbers)?

I still need to find a reasonable DVD player. I don't want to go over $150-200, so its between the OPPO 971 or 970, Panasonic S97, S52, or the Sony NS75. Any opinions (I know there is a sub forum for DVD players)

The local off air HDTV looks great, even with all my settings turned down for the break in period. Until I get a DVD player (I currently dont have one at all), it will be a few weeks before I reach the 100hr break in since I travel during the week. My intial impressions are great. I almost bought the 60U, but I am happy with paying a bit more for the 600U.

Is anyone using a CableCARD with their 600U?

There's a lot of expectation on the new Pioneers and many people on the forums give Pioneer the nod I'm starting to see. :D

This is where it stops making sense to me. How do you give the nod to a product that hasn't been released yet? There isn't even a demo that you can use to confirm this.

The attitude (of some not many) seems to be, it's better because it's a pioneer, so shut-up. It may well be the case. But I'd like to verify after the product is released, not assume what it is before.

If I am called a panny fan-boy for just saying that (verify rather than assume) then I have no further argument to make :confused:

If I am called a panny fan-boy for just saying that (verify rather than assume) then I have no further argument to make :confused:

Yeah....and they say we are the troublemakers....LOL. ;)

I just got my 600U and have a question about break in settings. Can I just set it to cinema mode and forget about it, or do I need to lower the numbers even more?

This is where it stops making sense to me. How do you give the nod to a product that hasn't been released yet? There isn't even a demo that you can use to confirm this.

The attitude (of some not many) seems to be, it's better because it's a pioneer, so shut-up. It may well be the case. But I'd like to verify after the product is released, not assume what it is before.

If I am called a panny fan-boy for just saying that (verify rather than assume) then I have no further argument to make :confused:
Verify rather than assume? How about this from another thread:

I can tell you one thing, people were expecting pioneer to go upscale with their new display - if anything, they're going downscale!

I'd guess the new pioneers are going to be more similar to Samsungs, rather than Fujitsu's (JMHO). I didn't think Howe was even referring to the new Pioneers when he said many people give Pioneers the nod. (Yes, I know he referred to them earlier in the sentence.)

Anyway, I came here to see reviews on the 600U.

Verify rather than assume? How about this from another thread:

I didn't think Howe was even referring to the new Pioneers when he said many people give Pioneers the nod. (Yes, I know he referred to them earlier in the sentence.)

Anyway, I came here to see reviews on the 600U.
This was referring to a thread where someone was trying to decide between the Panasonic 58" vs. the soon to be released 60" new generation Pioneer. Most were saying it was a no-brainer, go for the Pioneer if the price was close. Then, in general, a lot of posters piped in about the superiority of Pioneer over Panasonic and how Panasonic was losing it with the new generation. For the record, I am not convinced, per se, against what is currently available from Pioneer. However, the new Pioneers appear to be a major change this generation based on the specs and published details. So, the jury is out since there is none in the showrooms yet. Sorry if my post wasn't clear enough. :o

I just got my 600U and have a question about break in settings. Can I just set it to cinema mode and forget about it, or do I need to lower the numbers even more?
How about a review first. ;) Set it the way you like it so you can give us feedback and then you can tone it down for 100 hours - all we want is feedback from real life use. Hold the settings hostage to a feedback first folks. ;)

Question for any one of you folks that have taken delivery on the 600 --- I was in line for one of the 500U's thru an employee partner program last Dec. and I happened to see one at Tweeter - I did not like the gloss black finish on the 500 comparing it to the 50U - seemed to create an annoying reflection - was a mute point anyway since my order was cancalled --- I've received notice that they are again available and notice a change of style -- hopefully they have also changed the gloss finish - can one of you please confirm - also if it is still a gloss frame, does it have an annoying effect. ---

thx - c

My 600U has about a half inch of black glass that you could call "glossy" around the edge of the picture, but it helps to create a smooth, eye pleasing border for the picture. The black glass is then surrounded by a more matte black border all the way around. I think this outer border gives a different effect depending on your angle. With the TV off and from an angled view, the outer border appears more glossy and blends perfectly with the glass. From straight on, especially when the TV is on, it appears more matte and frames the screen well. I think the two types of black create a good transition from the screen to the edge and frame the image much better than if the screen went right to the matte black border. From an aesthetic point of view, I think the 600U looks great on OR off.

This weekend I put together a rather unique setup. I took the 600U off the stand and, using the mounting plate that forms the top part of the stand, I mounted the TV directly to the top of my mantle in the living room. This created a beautiful look because the bottom is now flush with the mantle. I'll try to remember to take some pics tonight and post them tomorrow.

The World Cup games look amazing, as do the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Both have bright, vivid, sharp colors and the 600U represents them extremely well without looking cartoonish. I still have my settings rather low as I'm only around the 125 hour mark, and am expecting my Avia disk soon.

Its not glossy. I got mine this weekend, but I am out of town for the week, but I dont remember any weird reflections this past weekend when I was watching it. It looks great by the way...even with the break in settings.

Thanks for the info - I'm looking forward to receiving mu 600U - I'll be ref: avs as this is my first experience with a plasma tv

My 600U arrived on Friday. I originally ordered the 500U directly from Panasonic back in the fall, so I was one of the first to be offered a chance to buy the 600U.

I'm still breaking it in, but my first impressions are VERY positive. PQ is great even with the settings turned down during the break-in period. I've been watching a lot of Discovery HD since it has no logos and I've been thrilled with the picture.

I had some trouble with the initial setup because the Component 1 input didn't appear to be working. I called customer support, but I could tell the guy I talked to had never taken a call for the 600U and was looking through the same documentation I had in front of me. I'm hoping that there is an option in the service menu somewhere to enable that port. Component 2 worked fine and since I'm using my receiver for component video switching, that's fine with me right now. If anyone knows how to enable/disable the component inputs, I'd appreciate the pointer.

Since I'm only half way through the break-in period, I don't have a lot of detailed opinions to offer yet. I'd be happy to field any questions, though.

Here's my setup

Motorola 6412 III HD DVR (component out - toslink out)
Panasonic Progressive Scan DVD Player (component out - toslink out)
Panasonic AVR (HT-3xx I think - about 3 years old)
Belkin PureAV PF31


:eek:

wow, thats insane to me, to wait more than half a year on a waiting list

no offense to you but i just dont have the patience for that.. i only wait months for price drops, but i am extremely stingy with my money. I do understand that people here have steady income and once they set their eyes on a TV they are not really worried about the price... but man, half a year! after a month i would put my money elsewhere no doubt

there are my useless 2 cents for the day
:p

How about a review first. ;) Set it the way you like it so you can give us feedback and then you can tone it down for 100 hours - all we want is feedback from real life use. Hold the settings hostage to a feedback first folks. ;)

are you insane!?!?! we need pictures too :D

I am should come close to the 100hr mark on my 600 later this weekend. I borrowed Avia from a friend of mine, but what tests on the disc DON'T apply to Plasma's? I was reading another thread here and someone said the Blooming test only applies to CRT. I dont wanna spend time calibrating or running a test pattern than doesnt apply to me.

...Panasonic claims its their best PQ yet though I do agree they cut a few corners in build quality to get the price down. Lord knows materials aren't getting cheaper year after year.
After researching the EPP price and why it didn't change from last year (actually went up a little), supposedly the panel cost just as much to make as last years model. Although they may have cut corners in certain areas and may have improved on others, the price cut of $500 isn't due to lower manufacturing costs but more of a corporate strategy to retain and/or improve upon market share at the cost of profit.

OK my review of the 600U (pics to follow this aftrenoon).

What: Panasonic 50 inch 600U

Replaced: Sony 34 Wide CRT HD Wega

Periphs: HD Tivo box via HDMI from direct TV, Prog Scan Sony HTIB DVD/Surround sound via component, PS2 slim via component, OTA HD will be hooked up this week when I get my indoor antenna.

Vendor:Panny Direct

Mount: Chief Pro Tilt ordered from Shentech

Breakin settings: Standard and Everything 0.

SD - I am really suprised at how this set handles SD. I was expecting the worse because well SD never looked that great on my SONY. Even with the settings dialed back SD is more than exceptable from a distance of about 12 feet or so. SD does look a bit noisy from close range but I think that has more to do with the panel size than the panels ability. Of course SD does vary per channel. I wasnt expecting much but I am pleasantly suprised. I also feel the noise is being reduced over time (panel is breaking in) or my eye is getting used to it I cannot tell. SD looks on par with my sisters 60u, better than my SONY CRT and better than my buddies 61 inch samsung DLP (by a large amount).

HD - The limited HD programming that DTV provides looks crystal clear (even in its compressed form) . Especially live programs such as World Cup or NHRA Drag racing. The colors are extremely crisp and bright even with the settings tuned down. HD moves are extremely clear. I am not a videophile by any means but I bought the SONY 3 years ago and it was tops for PQ and I must say the Panny has it beat hands down which really suprises me. Its hard to compare HD between my set and my sisters 60U since they have TW cable but honestly I see little differnce in the PQ.

OTA HD - Review not yet available

PS2 - Wanted to try Grand Turismo in 1080i but havent yet gotten a chance to.

PC - Havent tried this yet either, I built a MAME (multiple arcade machine emulator) on one of my old PCS and I cannot wait to check out 2 on 2 50 inch NBA Jams this weekend. It currently runs to a 27 inch jvc so I am interested to see how it looks. This PC inputs was another selling feature of the 600U for me.

DVD - WOW!And I mean WOW. The wife and I have been rewatching the star wars series and the visuals on this panel even with my SONY HTIB prog scan DVD have been simply outstanding. A ps3 is in my future (fall 06) so no HD-DVD for me at this time. What gets me the most is the colors, an unbelievable amount of colors in some of the episode I and II scenes have literlally left me sitting there mouth open. Not sure of the differrence in the amount of colors in my CRT to this but its definately noticeable. We wtahc ALOT of movies and I could not be happier with the performance of the 600u.

Remote - Meh hasnt changed much from last year and honestly I programmed by Tivo remote to do vloume, power, input, mute so it wont see much action until football season and the PIP functions.

PIP - Very easy to use, alot of choices (side by side, 2 4:3 images or 2 16:9 images or one of each) bigger, smaller, flip sides etc its all there. This was a huge selling point for me and will get alot of use this September for NFL viewing.

What else can I say I had my heart set on the Panny 500U when I saw it last fall, I am very pleased I waited the 8 months. At this price point I still think Panny is king. I hope to have the pics up this afternoon I tried to take them last night with our crappy camera and was get getting flash glare (our family room is very dark).

Great review Dagg, thanks! My 50-inch 600U is being delivered this Saturday and I am SO EXCITED!!! King Kong will be the first DVD that night. I'll post my impressions as well after delivery.

how is the remote control? same as the 60U? on the 60U, you have to aim directly at the TV to get it to work.

how is the remote control? same as the 60U? on the 60U, you have to aim directly at the TV to get it to work.

Unfortunately, you do have to aim it a little bit. A little bothering but you can live through it once you see the stuning pictures in HD.

Question for any one of you folks that have taken delivery on the 600 --- I was in line for one of the 500U's thru an employee partner program last Dec. and I happened to see one at Tweeter - I did not like the gloss black finish on the 500 comparing it to the 50U - seemed to create an annoying reflection - was a mute point anyway since my order was cancalled --- I've received notice that they are again available and notice a change of style -- hopefully they have also changed the gloss finish - can one of you please confirm - also if it is still a gloss frame, does it have an annoying effect. ---

thx - c

Don't worry, no gloss at all, it's matte black finish. See attchments, sorry the pics are so poorly taken and doesn't do much justice. Just believe me once it's in your home, you'll love it! :D

Mine is going back... I see rainbows everywhere. I keep seeing yellow "flashes" out of the corner of my eye when watching TV. I threw on a B&W source and it was everywhere.

I guess I am just one of those lucky few who see rainbows on plasmas! Hurrah! :mad:

Besides that, the TV itself is great. The picture is really nice and the build quality is excellent. The 3D sound from the speakers is very respectable and offers a really nice surround feel when you don't feel like bringing the house down with your home theater system.

Wish me luck with my replacement... a 60" XBR SXRD.

I picked up my 42PX600U today! It looks fantastic. My current I still need to find a reasonable DVD player. I don't want to go over $150-200, so its between the OPPO 971 or 970, Panasonic S97, S52, or the Sony NS75. Any opinions (I know there is a sub forum for DVD players)

OPPO971 has a underscan problem, leaves a half inch bar at the bottom on my 600U while playing Match Point, Spider Man(Super Bit) (All 16:9 Material) in 720p or 1080i, no underscan in 480p(of course). People are talking about newer firmware might solve this problem but no offical words from OPPO. Remote control is very stiff.
The picture quality is very good.

Don't run the breakin disc on Oppo 971 in 720p or 1080i.

Finally pics as promised, the camera sucks and we tore our fireplace cover off but its a work in progress
http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/2945/dsc008980sj.jpg

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/9563/dsc008978un.jpg

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/3765/dsc009003mb.jpg

http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/483/dsc009015sk.jpg

Mine is going back... I see rainbows everywhere. I keep seeing yellow "flashes" out of the corner of my eye when watching TV. I threw on a B&W source and it was everywhere.

I guess I am just one of those lucky few who see rainbows on plasmas! Hurrah! :mad:

Besides that, the TV itself is great. The picture is really nice and the build quality is excellent. The 3D sound from the speakers is very respectable and offers a really nice surround feel when you don't feel like bringing the house down with your home theater system.

Wish me luck with my replacement... a 60" XBR SXRD.
That's amazing. Over the last few months there appears to be an increase of members reporting RBE on plasma sets and I don't recall it being reported previous. Wonder if they're doing something to the panels to replicate this effect that is part of the advancements - I guess Sin City is out of the question. ;)

Wish you well in your next HT adventure. :)

How noticeable is the red light in the lower left corner,either during the day or at night?
Is it very distracting?

Look at superdome's 1585 pic above and you can see the light

Don't worry, no gloss at all, it's matte black finish. See attchments, sorry the pics are so poorly taken and doesn't do much justice. Just believe me once it's in your home, you'll love it! :D

Nice pics :-)

BTW, just curious, but where do you plan on fitting your center channel speaker?

Looking for exact break-in settings for the TH-50PX600U. I've found a few for brightness, color, tint, etc...but, there are a LOT more settings than this that effect picture. ie; Picture, Pic Mode, Normal, Color temp, etc...

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thx.

Nice pics :-)

BTW, just curious, but where do you plan on fitting your center channel speaker?

Right now, it's at the worst position it can be: under the AV receiver. :p You can see the center speaker's gray edge in the first pic. I'll switch it's position with the DVD players after everything are settled. It's definitely not optimal but I don't have golden ears so it's still sounds good to me :D

Superdome: Could you measure the distance from the bottom of the stand to the edge of the glass on your 600? I would like to know just how high a center channel speaker placed in front of the stand could be without interfering with the picture. Big thank you!

Looking for feedback ONLY from people that OWN the PANASONIC 600U.
The object is to get REVIEWS, OPINIONS, PROS, and CONS. This will give the other people that are thinking of buying one some actual feedback.

PLEASE NO SIGHTINGS, or TWEAKS or FAQ etc. These things are already covered in other threads.

600U has already been spotted and some people now have them so hopefully we can get some good input.So far this thread is two pages long and only one post has a real review in it!

So far this thread is two pages long and only one post has a real review in it!

I am getting a set delivered tomorrow (at least here in Florida - Sound Advice has inventory and can deliver quickly - next day in my case). "Cable guy" will install a Comcast cable card on Monday. I will try to write a review once I have things up and running (and I'll be able to answer the question above about the cable card - I have had a cable card on the Sony mentioned below since January - so I'd be glad to try and answer any questions about cable cards in general now).

You will get the review faster if you can answer one (I hope) simple set-up question for me ;) . My only peripherals are a relatively new (but relatively low end) progressive scan DVD player with component video/digital audio outputs - and a relatively old receiver with no component inputs/outputs - but digital audio capabilities (I plan to wait for a while to see how the hi-def DVD battle shakes out before I buy a higher end DVD player and a new receiver). The receiver is also hooked up to a 5.1 speaker system (3 new smaller front Def Tech speakers made for TV setups - 2 older rears - and an older subwoofer). (I also have a 400 CD player but that won't have anything to do with the TV.)

What is the best way to hook up the DVD player? I read the manuals - and it seems like the best way is to run the component video out from the DVD directly to the TV - and then run the digital audio into the receiver. I usually find that whatever looks good on paper never works :( . If there are multiple suggestions - I'll try them all! I don't care if I have to push a few buttons to switch from watching TV to DVD - or vice versa.

Also - I have never written a review of a piece of audio/video equipment. What is typically included in such a review - or what would you like to see? If nothing else - I figure writing a somewhat "professional" review will give me a good checklist of things I should be evaluating myself - from soup to nuts.

I really can't do a "head to head" comparison of similar sets. My old set which I got rid of 6 months ago when our cabinets were installed was a decade old 32" Sony XBR. Since then - I have had a 26" Sony hi-def LCD XBR where the new TV will go (and I'll be moving it to another room when I get the new set). I guess I could compare the Sony and the Panasonic - but I'm not sure it's reasonable to compare a 26" LCD with a 50" plasma. If the comparison makes sense - I'd be glad to try it. Robyn

You asked for it. I have been reading reviews about Cablecard and I got two contrasting (like that never happens) views:
1. Cablecard is not as useful and you shouldn't shell out money for that feature
vs.
Using cablecard improves SD reception on the TV as it's the TV doing direct digital reception

Also, do you think TV Guide feature is as usable as Cable boxes Menu system? As, with Cablecard, you don't get the interactive menu (that I am so used to ).

Superdome: Could you measure the distance from the bottom of the stand to the edge of the glass on your 600? I would like to know just how high a center channel speaker placed in front of the stand could be without interfering with the picture. Big thank you!
The edge of the glass on 600U to the top of the center speaker is 19 inch and to the bottom of the stand is about 29 inch. Is plasma sensitive to the magnetic field of speakers?

No, a plasma shouldn't be affected by a speaker magnet - there is no electron gun to be warped by the speaker magnetic field. In any case, every center channel speaker I have ever seen has been shielded to prevent issues with CRTs.

You asked for it. I have been reading reviews about Cablecard and I got two contrasting (like that never happens) views:
1. Cablecard is not as useful and you shouldn't shell out money for that feature
vs.
Using cablecard improves SD reception on the TV as it's the TV doing direct digital reception

Also, do you think TV Guide feature is as usable as Cable boxes Menu system? As, with Cablecard, you don't get the interactive menu (that I am so used to ).Read this: CableCARDs - A Primer (http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/CableCARDprimer.php) and you'll be sold on CableCARD technology. It's a plain fact, your TV will render a better picture with a CableCARD versus an STB, which is something CATV providers don't like to acknowledge.

One thing I am very interested in with regard to the PX600 ... does it have the "floating blacks" issue?

Tom I have seen nothing of the floating blacks thus far and its someting I have been looking for obsessively.

Dagg21,

Are you watching anything with either pillar boxes or window boxes... like 2:35 movies?

Asthetics and inputs aside, what are the differences in the 60's and 600's. PQ and processing the same?

One thing I am very interested in with regard to the PX600 ... does it have the "floating blacks" issue?

The PX60s definately have it. If the 600s use the same galss and electronics, then they would have the issue also.

floating blacks?

I got my TV today - and I set everything up (except for the cablecard - which will arrive on Monday). No problems. Haven't had much time to fiddle with it - but DVDs look terrific - and SD is much better than I expected (especially since everyone - including my salesman - said it would be awful). Audio is fine. I will post a picture after the cablecard is installed and I have everything positioned where I want it (l've left some extra space for the cable guy to work). Robyn

You asked for it. I have been reading reviews about Cablecard and I got two contrasting (like that never happens) views:
1. Cablecard is not as useful and you shouldn't shell out money for that feature
vs.
Using cablecard improves SD reception on the TV as it's the TV doing direct digital reception

Also, do you think TV Guide feature is as usable as Cable boxes Menu system? As, with Cablecard, you don't get the interactive menu (that I am so used to ).

I took a look at the TV Guide feature. It is a PITA - like most guides on TV. Takes forever to see everything. I'd much rather look at the guide from the Sunday newspaper if I am looking for something to watch (which takes about 15 seconds - as opposed to 3 or 4 minutes). And - for the most part - when I sit down to watch TV - it's to watch something specific (either a TV show or a DVD). If you usually spend your evening in front of the TV looking for *anything* to watch - I reckon I'm not the best person to answer your question. Robyn

Tom I have seen nothing of the floating blacks thus far and its someting I have been looking for obsessively.

Why would you look for something "obsessively"? IMO - a TV is a very WYSIWYG thing. If you have to kill yourself to find something - perhaps it doesn't matter? When I was playing with the new set this afternoon - I put on Apocalypse Now - a very excellent movie in terms of video definition - especially considering how old it is. I can assure you that when I was looking at Martin Sheen 98% naked - I wouldn't have noticed "floating blacks" if they punched me in the nose. So perhaps you need some content which will hold your attention better ;) . Robyn

"WYSIWYG" ? ? ?

My 50" 600U comes tomorrow!! Tweeter delivery called today and said the truck should be there between 7:30 and 9 a.m. FINALLY!! Now I just have to wait for Comcast to hook up the cable on the 21st. (with CableCARD)

WYSIWYG = What you see is what you get. Robyn

Why would you look for something "obsessively"? IMO - a TV is a very WYSIWYG thing. If you have to kill yourself to find something - perhaps it doesn't matter? When I was playing with the new set this afternoon - I put on Apocalypse Now - a very excellent movie in terms of video definition - especially considering how old it is. I can assure you that when I was looking at Martin Sheen 98% naked - I wouldn't have noticed "floating blacks" if they punched me in the nose. So perhaps you need some content which will hold your attention better ;) . Robyn
I don't think I'd want to see Martin Sheen 98% naked. No problem looking for floating blacks for me in that example. Now if it was Reese Witherspoon......... :D

I took a look at the TV Guide feature. It is a PITA - like most guides on TV. Takes forever to see everything. I'd much rather look at the guide from the Sunday newspaper if I am looking for something to watch (which takes about 15 seconds - as opposed to 3 or 4 minutes). And - for the most part - when I sit down to watch TV - it's to watch something specific (either a TV show or a DVD). If you usually spend your evening in front of the TV looking for *anything* to watch - I reckon I'm not the best person to answer your question. Robyn

If you have been looking in the Sunday newspaper for listings, you may find the free online TV Guide at TitanTV (http://ww2.titantv.com/) to be even more convenient, helpful, flexible, comprehensive and easy to use. After registering, make sure you click on "VIEW FULL GUIDE" and customize the listings for your specific satellite & cable service, OTA locals, HD, Digital & Analog stations. Once you save your customized view and bookmark the Full Guide, it is only a click away. The guide is self refreshing and the color coding for the different types of programming like Action, Drama, News, comedy, sitcoms, comedy, sports, documentary, etc make it easy to digest very quickly.

... IMO - a TV is a very WYSIWYG thing ... So perhaps you need some content which will hold your attention better ;) . Robyn


WSIWYG -- brought a smile to me face as that term first came into prominance in another life time when we did programing/word processing using key board codes to see the Bold, Underlined, etc. and then have it on screen.
Interesting analogy :D I guess the retort is just having watched the '99 Rene Russell/Pierce Brosnan remake last night of the Steve McQueen/Faye Dunnaway The Thomas Crown Affair . You are absolutely correct, WYSIWYG definitely is in the eye of the beholder. And what these new plasmas do --WOW.

..Mark

Waiting impatiently for 600u to arrive and am reading all the threads I can find on the subject.. Thanks to all who are posting their observations and setup details!!! Were the "Break in DVD" and the "dated DVE calibration DVD" Included with the set or is this something that we will need to purchase? Thanks, BAENOW

If you have been looking in the Sunday newspaper for listings, you may find the free online TV Guide at TitanTV (http://ww2.titantv.com/) to be even more convenient, helpful, flexible, comprehensive and easy to use. After registering, make sure you click on "VIEW FULL GUIDE" and customize the listings for your specific satellite & cable service, OTA locals, HD, Digital & Analog stations. Once you save your customized view and bookmark the Full Guide, it is only a click away. The guide is self refreshing and the color coding for the different types of programming like Action, Drama, News, comedy, sitcoms, comedy, sports, documentary, etc make it easy to digest very quickly.

I MADE A VERY BIG MISTAKE.

I confused the TV Guide in the TV with the Comcast TV guide. I found and set up the TV Guide in the TV today - and it is really quite good (from what little I can see now - it takes a while for the TV to download everything). It is also interactive. No programs listed yet for the hi-def channels - but perhaps that's because the downloading isn't complete - or because I won't get hi-def until I get my cablecard on Monday. Anyway - this is a nice feature. Robyn

Buying a tilt mount for 600U for wall mounting serves no purpose. The extra deep bottom doesn't allow the TV to tilt the full 15 degrees...looks to be only allowing for about 3-4 degrees of tilting down.

GOT IT ! ! !
The door bell jolted me awake at 7:24 Saturday morning and it was the delivery guys from Tweeter, obviously amused to have rousted me that early. In addition to my new 50" 600U, they were bringing a stand, Denon S-301 HTIB, and an HDMI cable.
Honestly, my first thought when they rounded the corner with the 600U (which they took out of the box in the driveway) was "oh ****, that thing is HUGE, should I have bought the 42 instead?"
My living room is just over 11 feet across and depending where on the couch I sit, viewing distance is between 8 and 10 feet. BOTTOM LINE: I could not be any happier with my decision to get this plasma!! The Denon is absolutely amazing. I knew(thought) the 600U was going to be awesome, which it is, but the sound of the Denon totally blew me away. Anyway, as for the 600U, the first movie was King Kong 2005 and it was an unbelievable experience for my wife and I. Quite literally, neither of us had EVER had such an incredible experience in any movie theater before. WOW! I had no idea it would be THAT GOOD.
Upon delivery, I immediately changed the factory setting to Standard and dialed down the others down to zero. Not as bright, but still a very good picture that probably exceeded the quality of sets I have had in the past.
The look of the unit is stunning, even when off. Yes, the Pioneers and Samsungs are very attractive with their all black finishes. However, for my taste and particularly with the furniture and items in my house, I much prefer the Panasonic's black and silver finish.
I recently moved and actually cannot find the digital camera but I will definitely post photos as soon as I can.
HELP!
One problem, though! No internet access in the new place yet so I cannot download and burn the break-in DVD myself. I did do it at work last week and it seemed to work on my work laptop, but it will not play in the Denon. Could some kind person here PLEASE mail me a copy of the break-in DVD? I would greatly appreciate it! I will gladly reimburse for postage, of course. Please email me at wpartridge@orbitz.com
THANK YOU!!!
Oh, someone asked about the red light in the lower left corner – don’t give it a second thought because you won’t even notice it.

My bet is that you have a mismatch between the DVD format you created and what the Denon will accept. Does the Denon manual say whether it will read DVD-R and/or DVD+R?

I'll check when I get home this evening. Thanks for the idea.

What site did you download the break-in DVD from?

check the master break in thread in this forum. there is a link in there to the DVD or VCD image that you can burn yourself. As for the Avia or DVD Essentials, you need to buy those

Any owner of 42PX600U. Can you confirm if there is a 'Menu' button on the set or not? I know 42PX60U did not have it, but 50PX600U does. I want to confirm if 42PX600U has it or not.

I guess the term obsessively is a bit over board ;) , quite simply I am aware of it from last years model and do look for it. My sony had floating blacks and was one of the reasons I upgraded.

Two negatives so far:

1. Cannot use PiP with HDMI connection.

2. Doesnt save the H-fill aspect on OTA HD channels after power goes off.

On a side note the 20 buck Zenith indoor HD antenna works great in my area.

Dagg

I guess the term obsessively is a bit over board ;) , quite simply I am aware of it from last years model and do look for it. My sony had floating blacks and was one of the reasons I upgraded.

Two negatives so far:

1. Cannot use PiP with HDMI connection.

2. Doesnt save the H-fill aspect on OTA HD channels after power goes off.

On a side note the 20 buck Zenith indoor HD antenna works great in my area.

Dagg

Yeah my biggest complaint is your #1....I even called Panasonic to confirm that, thinking I was doing something wrong. 1 cable is so much nicer than 4.

I guess I can live with it until Football season where I use the PiP alot. The good thing is I can just leave the HDMI in and swap my component from my DVD player to my Satellite box on Sundays.

GOT IT ! ! !
The door bell jolted me awake at 7:24 Saturday morning and it was the delivery guys from Tweeter, obviously amused to have rousted me that early. In addition to my new 50" 600U, they were bringing a stand, Denon S-301 HTIB, and an HDMI cable.
Honestly, my first thought when they rounded the corner with the 600U (which they took out of the box in the driveway) was "oh ****, that thing is HUGE, should I have bought the 42 instead?"
My living room is just over 11 feet across and depending where on the couch I sit, viewing distance is between 8 and 10 feet. BOTTOM LINE: I could not be any happier with my decision to get this plasma!! The Denon is absolutely amazing. I knew(thought) the 600U was going to be awesome, which it is, but the sound of the Denon totally blew me away. Anyway, as for the 600U, the first movie was King Kong 2005 and it was an unbelievable experience for my wife and I. Quite literally, neither of us had EVER had such an incredible experience in any movie theater before. WOW! I had no idea it would be THAT GOOD.
Upon delivery, I immediately changed the factory setting to Standard and dialed down the others down to zero. Not as bright, but still a very good picture that probably exceeded the quality of sets I have had in the past.
The look of the unit is stunning, even when off. Yes, the Pioneers and Samsungs are very attractive with their all black finishes. However, for my taste and particularly with the furniture and items in my house, I much prefer the Panasonic's black and silver finish.
I recently moved and actually cannot find the digital camera but I will definitely post photos as soon as I can.
HELP!
One problem, though! No internet access in the new place yet so I cannot download and burn the break-in DVD myself. I did do it at work last week and it seemed to work on my work laptop, but it will not play in the Denon. Could some kind person here PLEASE mail me a copy of the break-in DVD? I would greatly appreciate it! I will gladly reimburse for postage, of course. Please email me at wpartridge@orbitz.com
THANK YOU!!!
Oh, someone asked about the red light in the lower left corner – don’t give it a second thought because you won’t even notice it.

What's up with them pulling the thing out of the box before they bring it inside the house? Magnolia did the same thing to mine, and I about bit my fingers off. There was plenty of room in my living room to take it out of the box inside. Guess I'm just anal, but when you spend that kind of money you don't want anything to ruin it. They didn't drop it so I have nothing to complain about, but was just curious as to who else delivery companies have done this to.

Mine was curbside delivery so he wheeled it into my connected garage on pallet double strapped and in the box. I unboxed it myself in the living room.

besides tweeter/panny direct has anyone taken delivery from any of the online dealers?
ive been on order at TVA for MONTHS now and they told me they "SHOULD" be getting them NEXT month!!!! heck, TVA hasnt even shipped any 60u's they say!!!!
im starting to doubt why i ever went with TVA, i'll pay the few hundred bucks extra just to get to watch the world cup.

besides tweeter/panny direct has anyone taken delivery from any of the online dealers?
ive been on order at TVA for MONTHS now and they told me they "SHOULD" be getting them NEXT month!!!! heck, TVA hasnt even shipped any 60u's they say!!!!
im starting to doubt why i ever went with TVA, i'll pay the few hundred bucks extra just to get to watch the world cup.


dude, do you have a Magnolia anywhere near you? They seem to be getting a nice flow into their warehouses, plus they match prices...

anyone got their settings yet? I'm clocking about 170 hrs on this thing and I'm ready to do some tweaking.

Using Cinema and Picture at +12 and everything else set to 0. I've had it set like this from day 1. Still inside my 30 day "tryout" period...if it breaks from watching it "normally" than I don't need this set.

I know I've seen it here before, but I can't find (did a search just now!) how to check hours. Can someone please advise? Thanks.

EDIT: Called Panasonic and they won't tell me how to do it, only that it's in the "service menu". Is there any way for a normal person to check the hours used?? :confused:

I know I've seen it here before, but I can't find (did a search just now!) how to check hours. Can someone please advise? Thanks.

EDIT: Called Panasonic and they won't tell me how to do it, only that it's in the "service menu". Is there any way for a normal person to check the hours used?? :confused:

http://www.bruzzi.ws/plasma-faq/showthread.php?t=81

http://www.bruzzi.ws/plasma-faq/showthread.php?t=81
THANK YOU DJSETO!!!
Hex 0041 = 65 hours since delivery Saturday. Getting there . . . :D

besides tweeter/panny direct has anyone taken delivery from any of the online dealers?
ive been on order at TVA for MONTHS now and they told me they "SHOULD" be getting them NEXT month!!!! heck, TVA hasnt even shipped any 60u's they say!!!!
im starting to doubt why i ever went with TVA, i'll pay the few hundred bucks extra just to get to watch the world cup.

I Purchased my 50PX600U from LCDTVS on 6/13, I took delivery of it on 6/21 (I live in NC and it was shipped from WA). The shipping was fast and free and even though it only included curb side delivery, the nice man helped me take the box up a flight of stairs into my living room. I would recommend LCDTVS to anyone who is looking to buy from someone who has this in stock and will ship fast for a good price (I think the price has even come down since I paid for mine). I Love the TV, running the break in video every night for a couple of weeks. :)

By the way, I also had an order with TVA since February for this TV and also saw where they never even had the 60U's in stock so I cancelled my order with them as soon as the 600U was available at Panny Direct. I set a google alert for 50PX600U and got a hit on several sites, but none said "in stock" until I got a hit on LCDTVS. I called them and they assured me they had in stock (before Panny Direct had them in stock, and Panny charged tax and shipping). So I cancelled my order with Panny and now I have my 600U, Hurray!

I've had my 600U since Friday, and am totally happy with the PQ and the sound is the best I have heard on a tv w/o additional speakers. Very theatre-like. For the past year I have been wanting the Fujitsu, mainly for the quality I read was in it, but also the simple styling and the silver bezel. But it was out of my price range. But when I saw and read about this model of Panasonic, it seemed to be every bit an equal, even to the look of the bezel. I am very satisfied with it. I'm technologically challenged, so I can't really speak to any of the tehnical parts, but I like the PIP and the idea that I can hook up the computer to it when I learn how to do that.

I'm also very glad about the TV Guide, but I can't get it to work. I know it takes a day or so, but it's been since Friday and it seems to be stuck on the same spot. When I check on the Screen Setup Progress status, it always says the same thing,' STEP ONE Search for time is checked off with a green checkmark; the other three steps say STATUS In Progress. I don't know what's happening, or not happening and why it's not progressing past this point. Has anyone else had this problem with setting up their TV guide, and were you able to fix it?

I would really appreciate any help with this, San

I received notice that my 600U will be picked for delivery within the next 5 business days - I'm looking to purchase a suitable mounting bracket to install above fireplace - The Peerless ST660(tilt) and the peerless SF660(flat) look both inexpensive and have favorable reviews - anyone suggestions are appreciated --- also currently running wiring through the wall - should I run Component - HDMI - S Video - --- All of the above? - Also considering Bose 3-2-1 GS series II home entertainment system, does anyone have experience with this system or alternative suggestions - my room is not conducive to the use of rear channel speakers

Thx in advance

The audio questions are better asked in the Audio forums - but, I am a confirmed Bose hater - IMHO all hype and marketing with really cr@ppy sound in the average home. You might try the Yamaha YSP-1, not my cup of tea, but most people who have it seem to like it.

Here's an interesting review from the Plasma TV Buying Guide site of the Panasonic 50" 60U. The reviewer details his ISF calibration and offers his settings. I tried these on my 600U with good results. :D

http://www.*******************.com/plasmatvreviews/panasonic-th50px60u-review.html

After looking at their settings....what is the point of Sharpness? Apparently it's beyond useless since they have it set to -14. I immediately set mine to 0 out of the box, that alone tells me that it only hurts PQ.

Also, are these settings recommended inside 100 hours of use?

Good article Howe!...thanks

Here's an interesting review from the Plasma TV Buying Guide site of the Panasonic 50" 60U. The reviewer details his ISF calibration and offers his settings. I tried these on my 600U with good results. :D

http://www.*******************.com/plasmatvreviews/panasonic-th50px60u-review.html

Picture +22? Seems kinda high, no?

Picture +22? Seems kinda high, no?My 500U is set to +24. Actually all of their settings are very close to mine. As long as you keep the sharpness down (-15 in Standard mode for me) the picture looks absolutely great and I've had NO issues with image retention in 9 months of ownership.

That suggested setup for the 60U was hurting my eyes on the 600U.

That suggested setup for the 60U was hurting my eyes on the 600U.
I hope you had some ambient light in the room and not just the TV. I find those settings better than anything I could come up with.

Picture +22? Seems kinda high, no?This seems way too high for me. My 50PX50U (with a much lower contrast ratio) picture setting is +12. However, speculation leads me to believe a 42" panel may require a higher picture setting to achieve the same effect as a 50" panel.

The HD tuner on this TV sucks. See my other thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=694609

I love my 600U, but I am very disapointed in Panasonic for putting such a weak tuner in it.

The HD tuner on this TV sucks. See my other thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=694609

I love my 600U, but I am very disapointed in Panasonic for putting such a weak tuner in it.
Perhaps a better antenna would help. Try the Radio Shack indoor/outdoor or the outdoor model. I get dood results from the former.

I've tried about every antenna out there. I live less than 2 miles from the broadcast antenna as I live in the heart of Atlanta. Also, every person with a Pansonic TV in my condo complex is having similar problems, but people with other brand TV's are not. There is also the issue of the Best Buy store that is in the city where not one single Panasonic TV can tune an off air HD signal, but the other brands can. Something isn't right about this, but its not the antenna.

I hooked a 20 year old antenna to a px60 with 300 ohm unshielded cable.Whats left of the antenna,some of it has fallen off over the years,is even pointing in the wrong direction.I was able to scan and hold onto all my local digitals.Transmitter distance ranged from about 10 to 40 miles.

If you haven't yet, try this:
http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx

My Panasonic 42PX600U finally arrived.
I've posted one picture here and more could be found in the following link:

http://photos.yahoo.com/amarmistry2000

I love the TV. It matches very well with my HK receiver, DVD Player and which are also black and silver, and silver speakers. I am so glad I did not buy 60U and waited for 600U. Additional $$ are as much worth for the looks as theadditional bells and whistles.

I have been playing lot of animation movies since they have lot of bright colors to break the TV in. Do I really need to down load breaj-in DVD and run it?

My Panasonic 42PX600U finally arrived.
I've posted one picture here and more could be found in the following link:

http://photos.yahoo.com/amarmistry2000

I love the TV. It matches very well with my HK receiver, DVD Player and which are also black and silver, and silver speakers. I am so glad I did not buy 60U and waited for 600U. Additional $$ are as much worth for the looks as theadditional bells and whistles.

I have been playing lot of animation movies since they have lot of bright colors to break the TV in. Do I really need to down load breaj-in DVD and run it?


Looks good! Take that silly sticker off of it :D

djseto I bought a 20$ zenith antenna (buy.com) for OTA HD and I live 8-10 miles from my local broadcast stations the picture looks fantastic.

The HD tuner on this TV sucks. See my other thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=694609

I love my 600U, but I am very disapointed in Panasonic for putting such a weak tuner in it.

UPDATE:

After accessing the Panasonic service menu to view the Signal to Noise Ratio and comparing that to the FCC Spec. for DTV (http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/curves.html), it seems that engineers in my building have some work to do as they are below FCC Requirments for DTV in terms of a good SNR. I will update this as I get more detail, but I was wrong..maybe the tuner isnt crappy, but I still dont get why best buy has that issue with all their Panny TV's in their store..unless of course they have faulting wiring as well...

I had my 42px600u delivered June 23 and I have been loving it since. I turned the set to Cinema which reduced the Picture setting drastically. It took a bit to get used to that but I am now. When I go to reset it after 100 hours or so, I'm sure I'll be blown away again.

I do not use a cable box, rather the Comcast pipe goes directly into the tv. I get my analog channels, a smattering of HD cahnnels, and a good number of SD digital channels. I am very pleased with the picture quality in all cases. There are a few channels that are not clear but that's more of a Comcast issue than a set issue.

The remote range could be better but it learned to operate an ancient dvd player I have (a 6- or 7-year old Sharp). That was impressive.

I wish it didn't take such a long pause to display a channel after you click on the remote. And I don't know why it "registers" certain channels as being available although tehre is nothing on. I need to go back and verify those channels so I don't spend all night clicking through black screens.

All in all, it's a great set (about 40 hours or so of viewing--haven't done an official check since I know I'm not that close), especially for the money. I got a great price via an EPP site. Even my wife, who doesn't give a rat's rear about electronics, loves the set.

I had my 42px600u delivered June 23 and I have been loving it since. I turned the set to Cinema which reduced the Picture setting drastically. It took a bit to get used to that but I am now. When I go to reset it after 100 hours or so, I'm sure I'll be blown away again.

I do not use a cable box, rather the Comcast pipe goes directly into the tv. I get my analog channels, a smattering of HD channels, and a good number of SD digital channels. I am very pleased with the picture quality in all cases. There are a few channels that are not clear but that's more of a Comcast issue than a set issue.

The remote range could be better but it learned to operate an ancient dvd player I have (a 6- or 7-year old Sharp). That was impressive.

I wish it didn't take such a long pause to display a channel after you click on the remote. And I don't know why it "registers" certain channels as being available although there is nothing on. I need to go back and verify those channels so I don't spend all night clicking through black screens.

All in all, it's a great set (about 40 hours or so of viewing--haven't done an official check since I know I'm not that close), especially for the money. I got a great price via an EPP site. Even my wife, who doesn't give a rat's rear about electronics, loves the set.

Does the 600U have a fan in it?

I wish it didn't take such a long pause to display a channel after you click on the remote.

does this mean "surfing" through channels is slow? I'm considering the Panny 58" 600U and Pio 6070HD. Either way, I will be using cablecard and would like anyone else's feedback on how slow it is to change channels.

Thanks.

Does the 600U have a fan in it?
Yes it does, but it is as silent a fan as I has ever heard.

does this mean "surfing" through channels is slow? I'm considering the Panny 58" 600U and Pio 6070HD. Either way, I will be using cablecard and would like anyone else's feedback on how slow it is to change channels.

Thanks.Not slow at all with my 50PX50U.

Not slow at all with my 50PX50U.

how are you feeding it? direct cable coax? antenna? cablecard? I will be using cablecard so that is what I'm really looking for.

I've never used cablecard before. I'm currently using a digital cable box and don't want it to be any slower than that.

I'm a Time Warner Digital Cable Subscriber and have an SA PowerKEY CableCARD installed in my 50PX50U. I also use an SA8300HD-DVR connected to a component input with this same TV. Channel switching is pretty much the same with either device/input connection. You can anticipate your TV will render a better picture with a CableCARD (e.g. CableCARDS - A Primer (http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/CableCARDprimer.php)).

There is a 1-2 second lag whenSwitching channels by using the # buttons.
OR almost instantly when using the channel ^ v keys.

There is a 1-2 second lag whenSwitching channels by using the # buttons.
OR almost instantly when using the channel ^ v keys.
Use the number buttons and then press 'OK' and the channels change faster. If you just use the numbers, it has a delay incase you want to enter an additional number or the " - " to tune HD channels

Yes it does, but it is as silent a fan as I has ever heard.

Actually, the 600U has 3 fans and they're so darn quiet I had to use a flashlight to check to make sure they were turning!!! They generate very little airflow but I know they're spinning- this is normal isn't it??? Will someone else please confirm???

Another thing that amazes me about this set is that I always read about how hot plasmas run and I can't feel anything in the back of this baby that even feels warm after running it all night long!!!

I can think of only one current problem that annoys me about the 600U so far (well, other than the PIP not working with HDMI). I seem to have to really crank up the volume when I play DVDs from an upscaling Sony DVD Player. Both the STB and the DVD Player are connected via HDMI and on normal HD cable TV I usually have the volume around 6-7 but with DVDs usually need to crank the sound up to about 20-22 for about the same sound level. This is just using the TV speakers and no external sound system.

Any reason for this?

Thanks!

i really want to buy one but at all best buy stores, the signlals are bad on 37" and 42" models

Use the number buttons and then press 'OK' and the channels change faster. If you just use the numbers, it has a delay incase you want to enter an additional number or the " - " to tune HD channels


Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check that out later.

i really want to buy one but at all best buy stores, the signlals are bad on 37" and 42" models

The 600U is phenomenal....you can't base your purchase on Best Buy's feed. You can pretty much guarantee that it will be #1 on Consumer Reports, just like the 500U was last year. True HD can't be seen on anything less than 50"....

Hi guys, I am sure I have seen it here but cant find it via search. I also checked bruzzi's but it doesnt list the size, just photos.

Can someone who has 50" 600U pls tell me the length and width of the stand. Thanks a ton.

Hi guys, I am sure I have seen it here but cant find it via search. I also checked bruzzi's but it doesnt list the size, just photos.

Can someone who has 50" 600U pls tell me the length and width of the stand. Thanks a ton.


A few weeks ago, in trying to plan for the arrival of my 50px600u and see what would fit where, I called Panny and the answer(s) I got were:

49.9 (L) x 5.5 (W) x 31.6 (H) --Plasma without the stand
49.9 (L) x 5.5 (W) x 34.3 (H) --Plasma with the stand
35 (L) x 15.7 (w)x 3" (H) -- the stand itself

Hope it helps. My configurations/purchase of a platform to place the stand with the Plasma on was based on their verbal statements. Mine arrives the begining of next week. :cool:

..Mark

Thanks!

I am considering Panasonic 50" 600u too.

I am wondering how much free space should i have above the TV.

My Entertainment center has following space for TV

36 inches of Height and
16 inches of depth
and about 70 inches of Width.

I am concerned about the Height. Panasonic 50" 600u has about 34.1 inches in
height. That leaves me about 1.9 inches above the TV.

Would it be enough ? or Should I be concerned and think about 40" 600 ?

I read that you should have atleast 3-4 inches of free space all around the
HDTV. Sony recommended 11 inches free space for it SXRD TVs.

So, What is the ideal amount of space that one should have above the TV.

Thanks for the help.

--- Longspeak

Hi

There is a separate surge thread, but I would like to know what other Panasonic users use.

Can ppl please post what surge protector they use, if any.

Also if you may, between Belkin PF 40, PF 60 and Monster 3500, which surge protector would you recommend for Plasma (Panasonic 600U)? I know there is quite a range in there but I am viewing it as a one time buy. Also how concerned should I be that none of these regulate voltage. I believe they cut off voltage when the voltage is dangerously high or low.

Thanks!

Hi guys, I am sure I have seen it here but cant find it via search. I also checked bruzzi's but it doesnt list the size, just photos.

Can someone who has 50" 600U pls tell me the length and width of the stand. Thanks a ton.

Look at the cut sheet on the Panasonic web site, it has these details.
cut sheet (http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=97563&modelNo=TH-50PX600U&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702&surfModel=TH-50PX600U&catGroupId=24973&surfCategory=Plasma%20TVs&displayTab=R)

does this mean "surfing" through channels is slow? I'm considering the Panny 58" 600U and Pio 6070HD. Either way, I will be using cablecard and would like anyone else's feedback on how slow it is to change channels.

Thanks.

Sorry about the delay in responding. Kinda like the set! Yes, when you use the ^ or v buttons on the remote, it takes about a second or so for the picture to come on. A minor inconvenience.

Another item we just noticed is the PIP. It appears you can PIP the tv tuner once and the other picture is one of the inputs (i.e., you can't see two separate tv channels but one tv channel and say video 1). Or I need to spend more time trying to figure it out.

You can watch two different TV channels with PIP, you just have to have another tuner and it can't be hooked up through the HDMI inputs. Example, VCR hookup to composite input or STB through component, etc. My current setup has CableCard and STB, altough since I didn't know about HDMI not working as a second source until after I hung it on the wall, I haven't messed around with switching out the HDMI cable for component cables yet.

You can watch two different TV channels with PIP, you just have to have another tuner and it can't be hooked up through the HDMI inputs. Example, VCR hookup to composite input or STB through component, etc. My current setup has CableCard and STB, altough since I didn't know about HDMI not working as a second source until after I hung it on the wall, I haven't messed around with switching out the HDMI cable for component cables yet.
I've been using the channel guide (which displays the current channel in the upper lefthand corner) to do my channel surfing instead of PIP. Much quicker than plowing thru channels one-by-one...

Does anybody have their computer hooked up (dvi to vga or vga to vga) on any size of the 600u running at NATIVE resolution?

Could you post a pic of your desktop so we can see if there is overscan or not?

Thanks

Jim

Is anyone using a CABLEVISION CABLECARD with their 600U,

I'm trying to get some feedback.



Thanks

Would you guys kindly tell me the technical delta feature(s) btw the 600 and 60 model? I'd help me to make the decision on which model to purchase. TIA.

Buying a tilt mount for 600U for wall mounting serves no purpose. The extra deep bottom doesn't allow the TV to tilt the full 15 degrees...looks to be only allowing for about 3-4 degrees of tilting down.

Man,

Is this true? This may effect my buying decision as I was going to hang this over our mantle. If so I guess I'll go with the 5070 from Pioneer. Not so sure it isn't a better TV anyway.

Originally Posted by bbonds
Buying a tilt mount for 600U for wall mounting serves no purpose. The extra deep bottom doesn't allow the TV to tilt the full 15 degrees...looks to be only allowing for about 3-4 degrees of tilting down.

Man,

Is this true? This may effect my buying decision as I was going to hang this over our mantle. If so I guess I'll go with the 5070 from Pioneer. Not so sure it isn't a better TV [QUOTE]anyway.

Depends on the mount. My 50PX600 is hanging from a Chief Fusion PLP Series Pull-N-Tilt mount. It allows the panel to be tilted ~15 degrees from the top (your application) or from the bottom for cable access. Did have to add acouple of hardware store bushings to the adapter plate because of the bulge though. No big deal.

Man,

Is this true? This may effect my buying decision as I was going to hang this over our mantle. If so I guess I'll go with the 5070 from Pioneer. Not so sure it isn't a better TV anyway.

I have a 58PX600U that will be installed tomorrow with a tilt mount and I'll let you know how much it tilts. I got the mount thrown in for free because the store original promised me that I'd have the tv in April. (It helps that I'm friendly with the owner.)

I have a 58PX600U that will be installed tomorrow with a tilt mount and I'll let you know how much it tilts. I got the mount thrown in for free because the store original promised me that I'd have the tv in April. (It helps that I'm friendly with the owner.)

UPDATE: The installer ended up convinving me to switch my tilt mount for a low profile flat mount. He convinced me that I do not need the TV to tilt where it is, and I would not be happy with the thicker tilt mount because you see the side of the TV when you enter the room. As I paid nothing for the mount and its replacement, any price difference was irrelevant. Funny thing is they ended up having to use the spacers to get the TV to sit flat because the bottom is so much thicker then the end of the unit. He swore to me that it still sits closer to the walll than the tilt mount would have.

My guess is that the fat bottom would limit the amount you could tilt the TV, but you might be able to get more tilt if you used spacers.

hxxp://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=652809&page=134&pp=30

Post 4006 shows the bulge on the 600U at the bottom (this isn't my setup).

Anyone have any recommended settings for a Panasonic 42PX600U when primary watching is SD? A good friend of mine is having trouble dialing his set in and I thought I would ask before I head over there and play. The video source is the Scientific Atlanta 8300 Cable box.

Anyone have any recommended settings for a Panasonic 42PX600U when primary watching is SD? A good friend of mine is having trouble dialing his set in and I thought I would ask before I head over there and play. The video source is the Scientific Atlanta 8300 Cable box.


good luck Chris. sd cable is all over the place. get back to us with what you come up with. thanks for the mack warrantee. david

how are you feeding it? direct cable coax? antenna? cablecard? I will be using cablecard so that is what I'm really looking for.

I've never used cablecard before. I'm currently using a digital cable box and don't want it to be any slower than that.I have a 500U and use a split cable feed to both the built-in tuner and a Motorola DVR-STB. With either one. it's only slow when switching between SD and HD channels, otherwise it's as fast as any TV.

On this set can you adjust aspect control with 720p and 1080i?

Had my 50PX600U for almost 2 months. Got it from Tweeter and picked it up myself in my wife's Lexus RX300 (REAL tight fit!). I have used the settings recommended by PLASMATVBYINGGUIDE:

picture: +22
Brightness: +8
Color: -1
Tint -4
Sharpness: -14
Color Temp: warm
Enh Blk level: off

This supposedly gets as close to 6500K. Overall, I'm ecstatic with the TV. SD cable sucks but that's TimeWarner, not Panasonic. DVD is outstanding via 480i/480p/1080i. Even VHS is watchable! I use the zoom setting for 4x3 - I don't like the bars down the side and, while picture quality suffers a little, that big picture is something else.

Bought a Panasonic EH75V DVD/VHS/HDD recorder and a SA-XR57 receiver ($750) for the integrated remote feature (HDAVI). The HDAVI feature is pretty worthless - you still need all 3 remotes for everyday use!

Anybody know if you can use the TY-ST08K stand with the 600U???

Keith, NC

I have used the settings recommended by PLASMATVBYINGGUIDE:

picture: +22
Brightness: +8
Color: -1
Tint -4
Sharpness: -14
Color Temp: warm
Enh Blk level: off


im using the same settings at the moment - but using these settings on my 42 looks AWFUL. i take it this is just for break in? i just got my 42" 600U setup this week and am dying to let this thing do its magic. the breakin dvd is taking me forever! i just dont have the time and hate to leave the dvd running while i am not home. this tv is making me paranoid (my first plasma purchase). i feel like i have a child now or something, im constantly worried about it

im using the same settings at the moment - but using these settings on my 42 looks AWFUL. i take it this is just for break in? i just got my 42" 600U setup this week and am dying to let this thing do its magic. the breakin dvd is taking me forever! i just dont have the time and hate to leave the dvd running while i am not home. this tv is making me paranoid (my first plasma purchase). i feel like i have a child now or something, im constantly worried about it

The above given settings (done with picture mode = Standard) were for everyday watching and had nothing to do with break-in. Using my AVIA DVD for calibration purposes, I came up with nearly the same settings as presented here. I had some minor changes (i.e., Brightness = 4, Color = -3) but otherwise almost identical. All I can say is that the picture is awesome.

Does anyone else here have a problem with a crappy picture on ESPN HD??? I've been overall impressed with the 50PX600U that I have and it is stunning on Discovery HD or DVDs, etc., but the main reason I bought it was football!! Now that Monday Night Football is on ESPN the picture just doesn't seem very good. A lot of artifacts with the motion. I have seen football on other channels on this plasma in HD and they seemed to appear so much better!!

By the way, I have Cox HD Cable as my input through an STB.

Is it just ESPN HD that sucks or do I have a problem????

Does anyone else here have a problem with a crappy picture on ESPN HD??? I've been overall impressed with the 50PX600U that I have and it is stunning on Discovery HD or DVDs, etc., but the main reason I bought it was football!! Now that Monday Night Football is on ESPN the picture just doesn't seem very good. A lot of artifacts with the motion. I have seen football on other channels on this plasma in HD and they seemed to appear so much better!!

By the way, I have Cox HD Cable as my input through an STB.

Is it just ESPN HD that sucks or do I have a problem????

This week Monday (8/28 Packers vs. Bengals) was the first in which ESPN put their HD equipment on the field. I watched the HD broadcast Monday and it was stunning. (local ABC affiliate carried the broadcast; I have TWC, but no STB)

I took the plunge and ordered my 600U from costoco yesterday.....can anyone tell me what 2.1 home theatre system they recommend or have paired wtih their 600U and like it?

thanks!

can't wait till it comes!

Had my 50PX600U for almost 2 months. Got it from Tweeter and picked it up myself in my wife's Lexus RX300 (REAL tight fit!). I have used the settings recommended by PLASMATVBYINGGUIDE:

picture: +22
Brightness: +8
Color: -1
Tint -4
Sharpness: -14
Color Temp: warm
Enh Blk level: off
those settings seem kind of high for initial use. i've got about 50hrs on mine now, and i'm using these settings for the interim...with good results, in my view:

picture: +5
Brightness: +6
Color: -4
Tint -6
Sharpness: -20
Color Temp: normal
Blk level: light

I took the plunge and ordered my 600U from costoco yesterday.....can anyone tell me what 2.1 home theatre system they recommend or have paired wtih their 600U and like it?

thanks!

can't wait till it comes!
The denon s-301 and S-101 are nice but can be a little hard to get. IMHO the S-301 is the premier 2.1 system out there right now, has a very nice upscaling DVD player etc..

Thanks for the info Bvader. I forgot to mention that I ordered a Oppo dvd player to go with the 600U. Could I just hook up a 2.1 computer speaker set to the 600U or should I get something else?

Also, what is your opinion of buying a power conditioner? I will have it on a surge protector. Is a power conditioner worth it?

thanks!

Would you guys kindly tell me the technical delta feature(s) btw the 600 and 60 model? I'd help me to make the decision on which model to purchase. TIA.

Great question. Icould not care less about PIP and a lot of "extras." I want great picture quality, for a reasonable price. Is the 60 comparable in P.Q. to the 600, whistles and bells aside???

Great question. Icould not care less about PIP and a lot of "extras." I want great picture quality, for a reasonable price. Is the 60 comparable in P.Q. to the 600, whistles and bells aside???

600U is higher priced because of the bells and whistles. PQ is essentially the same.

Could anyone lend their views on gaming on this set? Specifically, an Xbox 360?

In addition, if in the future, I were to get the HD-DVD drive for the 360, the picture quality would be great, being 1080 scaled down to 720p right? I may go by a Magnolia Best Buy and see if they could hook up the Toshiba player to this TV to check it out.

I have a customer who wishes to buy the 42" 600u. I havent had time to see it yet, I will. Dont worry. But can you all please tell me what the ( in the field ) opinions are so far. Motion blur, black levels, bang for the buck the whole can of worms. Please be honest and tell me what you really think.. LoL


Stash

Sticky..owning a Panny plasma I can say..buy a Panasonic plasma or a Pioneer plasma..period. Not to debate which is better; just to say, there is nothing in plasmas out there any better than these 2..in a total plasma package. Buy from a good dealer or Costco!

Can a 600u owner give me some details on sound quality of the speakers?

I'm about to purchase a 42" 600u, but I have no home theatre speakers right now. I would prefer to wait about 1 year to purchase good audio setup until after I move out of my current house to a bigger, more longterm residence. That way I can save up more $$ for a nicer setup meant for a bigger home/tv room.

Will I be happy living with just the 600u speakers for 1 year??
Or:
Will it be silly to waste my first HD experience with sub-par sound??

TV will reside in a small-ish room, viewing distance 8-10ft.



My other purchase option is a Panny 42" 9UK, wich comes with no speakers - which means I MUST purchase home theatre setup now, with limited budget.

thanks in advance for comments.

Hey all,
I'm a new Plasma owner as of 3 days ago and am loving my 600U so far. I'm glad I found this forum as I've been getting lot of tips and suggestions I never would have thought about with this thing :)

So far I'm extremley impressed with the PQ, especially when watching DVD's. I am getting a CableCard installed on Friday through Charter and am looking forward to seeing the HD picture. Have any of you guys had experience with Charter and the cablecard? Does it work well with the TV Guide in the set?

In response to Cyrally's question: I think the speakers in this unit are above average, but by no means a permenant replacement for a home theatre system. The speakers have nice bass response and with the 3D Sound built into the unit give a pretty good simulation of surround sound, but it seems like you really have to have the volume up to hear the effects. This is what plasmatvbuyinguide had to say about them:

"The two speaker two subwoofer audio system totals 31 Watts of power and are more than adequate for home viewing. This is an 11-watt upgrade over the PX60U series. With the beefier sound system, you notice discernable channel separation and a better soundstage than you might expect from TV speakers, and enough bass response to procide some punch. Panasonic offers a Virtual Surround option for the TH-42PX600U and its performance is robust for such a in-built system. While many home theater aficionados will want to use their own surround sound speaker system, the included speakers will impress the average consumer."

I think if cost was an issue you would defitnitley be happy with the sound for awhile until you can afford some speakers. Hope this helps.

First Post :)
Ordered the 600U last night... should have it in 5-7days :).
Thanks for all the great info on this site.

Can a 600u owner give me some details on sound quality of the speakers?

I have to say that I am a bit disappointed in the speakers. At lower volume levels the sound is a bit mushy, particularly with speech. I find myself switching on the Yamaha Sound Projector just to watch the news.

Hello,

I need to get this TV picked up from Tweeter somehow.

Should this fit in my VW Passat?

thanks

Do you like the Yamaha Sound projector? I want to get somethinkg similar or a 2.1 system for my 600U. Any suggestions?

I received my 50px600u a couple of weeks ago and have been comparing it to my 42px500u that I've had for about a year. As far as picture is concerned, they are both great, obviously the larger screen has its advantages.

There are some noticable pros and cons between the generations.

Pro 600u vs 500u
TV guide function is much improved. I run a cable card (through Cox - no problems as of yet) in the 50 and the TV guide actually works and has functionality. It automatically lists programs chronologically vs. the 500u that lists them by most watched channel. I use a cable box with the 500u.

2 HDMI inputs

HD aspect ratio - Ability to change the aspect ratio when watching HD programming

Sound - Love it or hate it, the 600u is much better than the 500u

Cons 600u vs 500u
Build quality - Although it is not noticable in the pic quality, the build quality seems to be cheaper. I preferred the piano black finish on the 500u and the 600u's plastic just appears cheap to me, rather ordinary.

Remote - The remote is definately cheaper with decals as labels and no backlighting on most of the buttons. I use the 500u remote for my 600u since the other one is on cable box. The 600u remote looks and feels like a $10 remote.

Stand - It does not swivel like the 500u stands. Unfortunately, my 500u is on the wall and I don't need the stand and the 600u is in a built in niche so I need the stand. Too bad they're not the same size or I would swap them.

Final analysis. I am very happy with the 600u despite its flaws. After all, pic quality is priority #1. I think the reason Panasonic was able to drop the price was due to saving in material costs. Thank god, they did not make cuts on the panel.

[QUOTE=dce3a]Do you like the Yamaha Sound projector?

I like the YSP very much. The sound quality is amazing. I wanted a very minimalist setup (extreme WAF ). I have a 50PX600u mounted on the wall with the YSP1000 mounted directly beneath it. If the room geometry is right the system works very well. If the room is oddly shaped or if you can't center your system on the room, the surround effects suffer. You must add a subwoofer. There a couple of threads on the YSPs in the speaker forum.

[QUOTE=dce3a]Do you like the Yamaha Sound projector?

I like the YSP very much. The sound quality is amazing. I wanted a very minimalist setup (extreme WAF ). I have a 50PX600u mounted on the wall with the YSP1000 mounted directly beneath it. If the room geometry is right the system works very well. If the room is oddly shaped or if you can't center your system on the room, the surround effects suffer. You must add a subwoofer. There a couple of threads on the YSPs in the speaker forum.

Thanks Yakatak for the info. I too want a minimalist setup for my 600U...I will take a look at the sound bar. I also read a good review of the Sharp SD-SP10 but is not for sale anywhere. Have you heard of that one? I have also looked at the Niro.

Stand - It does not swivel like the 500u stands. Unfortunately, my 500u is on the wall and I don't need the stand and the 600u is in a built in niche so I need the stand. Too bad they're not the same size or I would swap them.




Does anyone know if there is a Panny or some after market stand made for the 50PX600U that does swivel??? This really is the only thing I don't like about this plasma.

Anyone know where I can find a .pdf of the 600U service manual? David

Can't you buy that from Panasonic?

Does anyone know if there is a Panny or some after market stand made for the 50PX600U that does swivel??? This really is the only thing I don't like about this plasma.The 50" 500U didn't swivel either, just the 42". I don't think there's a swivel stand for the 50" size.

Can't you buy that from Panasonic?


Probably, if I knew the Part number.

Hey, you guys probably know..on Panasonic web site there is a 600u, a 60u and a 6u. What is a 6u?..what does it not have from the 60u?

does anyone know how much is the early bird special price on the extended warranty directly from panasonic? you know, the card that comes with the TV that you have to mail it in. Wonder if its worth it to go with the maker or a warranty company like Mack, etc.

Hey, you guys probably know..on Panasonic web site there is a 600u, a 60u and a 6u. What is a 6u?..what does it not have from the 60u?
I think the 6U is manufactured specifically for the "warehouses" (Sam's Costco, etc.)

Anyone know where I can find a .pdf of the 600U service manual? David

Download it from the Panasonic website:

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/TH42PX600U.pdf

Keith

Can someone tell me how SD looks on this set?

I expected to be impressed with the hd picture of the 600u. I was pleasantly surprised how nice sd looks. Sure, if you look at the screen up close it has some noise but at 7 or 8 feet it looks fine. This with directv.

I returned a samsung HP-S5073 for a 50px600u due to some loud buzzing noise, anyway, the s5073 is noticeably sharper in HD than the 50px600u, but the 50px600u has better shadow details. hope this personal opinion is helpful for someone.

rich

I purchased my 42" 600U a week ago. I set everything up and went to power on the plasma and no picture. I heard the fans turn on for a second, then shut off. No picture just the red light next to the power button flashing. Tried turning the power off and on multiple times with the same results. The red light flashes 12 times and pauses then repeats flashing 12 times, over and over. So of coarse I had to walk away for a little while before I put my hand through the tv because I was livid. I have been reviewing plasma tv's, lcd tv's and dlp tv's for months...finally decided on the 42" 600U.....drove to ABT and pulled the trigger on it and $1500 worth of audio equipment...so of course was excited to bring this thing home and get it up and running.

After I cooled down I decided to move the power to a different outlet because maybe, for whatever reason, the tv was not getting enough power or too much power (I'm not an electrician so bare with me), once I switched outlets the tv powered up fine. Lets just say for the time being I was relieved.

The picture quality on this puppy was amazing! I thought the sd programing was very good from comcast and HD was incredible. I then tweaked this thig via ******************* and was even more impressed. All I have to say is don't judge the quality of the tv from what is displayed at the store!!! There is a huge difference when you hook the thing up right in you own home. I am very impressed with this tv! But...............

I was getting ready to watch the Bears vs. Lions game Sunday, turned the tv on once again, and WAM!!!! Same issue as above with no picture and red light flashing. So I think it's safe to say this is not an issue with the power in my house. I have tried multiple circuits using a surge protector and still get the same problem. I contacted ABT and they offered to try and fix or replace the tv. Of course I told them I want a replacement and they have it scheduled for this tuesday to swap out this tv.

Has anyone heard of this issue before? This doesn't sound like a known issue with this tv as I do not see anyone else having this issue so I am hoping I just got a bad apple.

All in all though, when this tv was working, it rocked!

I just bought the 50xp600u this past weekend. Man am I totally jazzed with this set. It's very frustrating to keep it toned down for the break in. Especially with my lady, she wants it all right now. I got a great deal on the set, lowest price I've seen anywhere and at the last place you'd imagine, BB. In any case, onto the thoughts I have on it.

First, SD looks like crapola, as expected on a set like this and my sitting at 10feet away. I expected it, I see it, I will live with it until everything is HD.

Next, I am in SoCal, so OTA HDTV is not too shabby to receive. I watched football in HD this weekend, and I was very happy.

I sprung for a Radio Shack outdoor antenna, one of the largest they offer, as well as the tripod and a 5foot pole. Mounted that thing in the dark on Saturday night around 9pm (neighbors thought I was nuts!). It was worth the purchase. I originally hooked up the set with the indoor antenna and signal quality was poor. The rooftop antenna picks up 90% signal levels (according to the set's meter) on EVERY channel. No problems with HD resolution whatsoever. Sucks to have everything turned down for the breakin. I did, however, turn it all up for a little while, just to 'see what she can do' type of thing. AND I ALMOST CRIED!!!! TV will never be the same for us again. I could actually see the blades of grass on the field. My girl said she could tell what kind of shoes the ladies were wearing on some of the HD commercials! Yep, HD is the way, Panasonic's plasma is the vehicle.

I was so worried about buyers remorse. I spent about 1.5 hrs in the first store, decided on a set (the new xbr3), then found out they didn't have any. I took that as an omen, so I left. We stopped into another store and they had the xbr3, but the price was higher and they wouldn't match. I looked around some more. I saw the Panasonic set at a discounted price. Way lower than my research had garnered me. I am very picky and meticulous, so I was extraordinarily concerned about such a low price. I thought refurb or reman set. Nope, brand new. Latest firmware as well. We pulled the trigger a half hour later. Got home, ripped the old stuff apart and put this new cadillac in.

I must tell you that if you are on the fence on this set, get off it already. It's amazing. In this current market, things are changing rapidly, so if you're waiting for a product that gets no negative marks, you'll be waiting forever. This set has it's issues like mentioned before. The remote is not what you'd expect. The set isn't built to be an eyecatcher either. The speakers are great if you don't have a system already. I do, so after playing with them a little while and thinking they were good, I turned them off and input the optical into my HT. Yep, love it.

Again, if you're waiting for a tv to get nothing but glowing reviews, but don't have 10k to spend, wait no more. You WON'T be sorry on this set.


EDIT: To the poster above mine, I would recommend a power conditioner. You may have some issues with your home wiring or power company's supply lines. Too much noise can cause an issue where the set detects a surge and internal UL-rated circuitry might be shutting it off. Effectively a surge protection device or circuit breaker. Most household appliances are okay with dirty power, but these sets are more sensitive from what I can tell. A good conditioner isn't cheap, but it gives good insurance over replacing an expensive tv.

Mike in HD;...By the way, on the Panny SD should definitely not look like 'crapola'. SD should look good to very good depending on the source.

Newest Firmware? Is there an easy way to tell what firmware is running on this TV? Also, if it is not the newest, where can you download the newest and how do you put it on the tv?

Thanks!

I guess the term obsessively is a bit over board ;) , quite simply I am aware of it from last years model and do look for it. My sony had floating blacks and was one of the reasons I upgraded.

Two negatives so far:

1. Cannot use PiP with HDMI connection.

2. Doesnt save the H-fill aspect on OTA HD channels after power goes off.

On a side note the 20 buck Zenith indoor HD antenna works great in my area.

Dagg

So, for #1, is this limitation that BOTH PiP sources can't be HDMI or *either* source cannot be HDMI?

I'd like to watch 2 football games at once, one off the antenna and one off my HDTiVo (via HDMI). Is that a no-go?

BoB

Mike in HD;...By the way, on the Panny SD should definitely not look like 'crapola'. SD should look good to very good depending on the source.

it's more of a relative thing. I tweaked the settings to get a good picture out of it, but with it still being in the 'break in' phase, I keep the settings way down, so it really looks like crapola for now. Once the set's broken in (gawd that sounds awful), I'll put the settings up and it'll be better. I just upgraded my DVR to the SA 8300HD, and added the HD tier to my service. WOW! I don't even have to watch SD anymore.

hey guys, very helpful thread. someone asked about gaming on the 600U but didn't get a reply. i'm a heavy gamer and i wanna know if anyone else can let us know their experience with gaming on the 600U? specifically with the 360 or PC

Download it from the Panasonic website:

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/TH42PX600U.pdf

Keith
Thank you sktn77a, for your effort on my behalf, but I'm looking for a "Service Manual". I'm even willing to pay for one. David

So, for #1, is this limitation that BOTH PiP sources can't be HDMI or *either* source cannot be HDMI?

Can't use HDMI for either picture. I hooked up my cable box via HDMI & component and can't tell the difference. I use the component from the cable box plus the built in tuner when I want to use PIP.

does anyone know how much is the early bird special price on the extended warranty directly from panasonic? you know, the card that comes with the TV that you have to mail it in. Wonder if its worth it to go with the maker or a warranty company like Mack, etc.

I just bought one on the 600U and it was about $350 for protection through 2011 (which is 3 extra years on the display and 4 extra years on everything else). Robyn

Can a 600u owner give me some details on sound quality of the speakers?

I'm about to purchase a 42" 600u, but I have no home theatre speakers right now. I would prefer to wait about 1 year to purchase good audio setup until after I move out of my current house to a bigger, more longterm residence. That way I can save up more $$ for a nicer setup meant for a bigger home/tv room.

Will I be happy living with just the 600u speakers for 1 year??
Or:
Will it be silly to waste my first HD experience with sub-par sound??

TV will reside in a small-ish room, viewing distance 8-10ft.



My other purchase option is a Panny 42" 9UK, wich comes with no speakers - which means I MUST purchase home theatre setup now, with limited budget.

thanks in advance for comments.

I've had a 5.1 system for almost 20 years. I think that TV speakers - no matter what set you're looking at - are ok for CNN - maybe the Food Network - maybe sports events - but definitely not for DVDs. I don't think you have to spend huge dollars to get a good 5.1 system. Still - with all the serious problems people all over the world have - I think living with TV speakers that aren't fabulous isn't something I'd spend a lot of time complaining about ;) . Robyn

Hello,

I need to get this TV picked up from Tweeter somehow.

Should this fit in my VW Passat?

thanks

Doubt it - standing upright - and you're not supposed to lay these things on their sides. Why don't you get it delivered (Sound Advice - part of Tweeter - only charged me $50 for delivery and basic setup). Robyn

Hey all,
I'm a new Plasma owner as of 3 days ago and am loving my 600U so far. I'm glad I found this forum as I've been getting lot of tips and suggestions I never would have thought about with this thing :)

So far I'm extremley impressed with the PQ, especially when watching DVD's. I am getting a CableCard installed on Friday through Charter and am looking forward to seeing the HD picture. Have any of you guys had experience with Charter and the cablecard? Does it work well with the TV Guide in the set?

In response to Cyrally's question: I think the speakers in this unit are above average, but by no means a permenant replacement for a home theatre system. The speakers have nice bass response and with the 3D Sound built into the unit give a pretty good simulation of surround sound, but it seems like you really have to have the volume up to hear the effects. This is what plasmatvbuyinguide had to say about them:

"The two speaker two subwoofer audio system totals 31 Watts of power and are more than adequate for home viewing. This is an 11-watt upgrade over the PX60U series. With the beefier sound system, you notice discernable channel separation and a better soundstage than you might expect from TV speakers, and enough bass response to procide some punch. Panasonic offers a Virtual Surround option for the TH-42PX600U and its performance is robust for such a in-built system. While many home theater aficionados will want to use their own surround sound speaker system, the included speakers will impress the average consumer."

I think if cost was an issue you would defitnitley be happy with the sound for awhile until you can afford some speakers. Hope this helps.

I have a cablecard from Comcast. Works fine. Lost TVGOS for a while - but got it back. I started a thread here about losing it - and getting it back. You should check out the thread if you have any problems. Robyn

hey guys, very helpful thread. someone asked about gaming on the 600U but didn't get a reply. i'm a heavy gamer and i wanna know if anyone else can let us know their experience with gaming on the 600U? specifically with the 360 or PC



I've got the 58" connected to the VGA port @ 1360 X 768. BF2 is Fan Dam Tastic!! There is no pixel lag, etc. I also tried the HDMI port but didn't like the scaling and overscan issues. I will try it again as the NVIDIA drivers get more mature.

As far as burn in goes it's a total myth at this point. I have gamed for 4 hours at a time at default settings with no burn in what so ever. Do NOT believe the wives tales and hocus pocus burn in regiments you read on these forums. They probably applied to plasmas built 3-4 years ago (Maybe the new NEC\Pio's?) but not to the new Panny's. Just use your head and don't leave it on a still frame for 4-5 days straight..

Enjoy!!

Do you like the Yamaha Sound projector? I want to get somethinkg similar or a 2.1 system for my 600U. Any suggestions?

I listened to it in a showroom and thought it was inferior compared to even the most basic 5.1 system.

What is a 2.1 system? Right - left - and subwoofer? That would be inadequate in my opinion. At a minimum - you need a center channel for most dialogue. And 2 rears. I have a very minimalist house - and have found that manufacturers are now designing speakers which not only sound good - they look good. If you want to hide the rears (they're usually a design problem) - you can use in-walls - or in-ceiling. As for the subwoofer - you just have to live with it. Think of it as an artistic black box ;) . FWIW - my favorite DVD for testing surround audio setups is Apocalyse Now (the helicopter sequence at the beginning of the DVD). Robyn

robyn,

I don't know that you gave the yamaha a fair shake. It's actually fairly impressive when it's set up properly for the room. I doubt they took the time to do it right at the store. According to people who have them, the configuration is pretty elaborate and time consuming. It's a nice deal for an apartment where you have limited space, and need some degree of portability.

On this set can you adjust aspect control with 720p and 1080i?

I would like to know this as well.
I know that on the Sony KDL-46S2000 you cannot change a 4:3 HD program to Full or Wide yet on the Sony KDL-46XBR2 you can.

Can anyone answer this?

I've not had any problems changing aspect on any source at all. I use HDMI for my HD DVR box, component for DVDs, and the antenna input from the roof, Svideo for the vcr. All of them will cycle the aspect changes that Panasonic gives (Full, Just, Zoom, 4:3, etc.).

Still in the break in on this set (50x600u), but so far I'm very happy with HDMI and OTA quality. I need a new DVD player, but with the one I have, it still looks amazing!

is there a way to disable the tuner? seems like all other inputs can be set to off except the TV tuner.

I am confused about posts I have read on progressive scan and upconverting DVD players. I have ordered a Panasonic 42PX600U. If the 600U converts the DVD source to its native 720P, why would I need a DVD player that does upconverting?

I have another question about the HDMI connection. If I go HDMI from the DVD player to the 600U, is there an audio out from the 600U for input to my AV receiver?

robyn,

I don't know that you gave the yamaha a fair shake. It's actually fairly impressive when it's set up properly for the room. I doubt they took the time to do it right at the store. According to people who have them, the configuration is pretty elaborate and time consuming. It's a nice deal for an apartment where you have limited space, and need some degree of portability.

I'd assume that the showroom (not a Best Buy/Circuit City type of place) would have set the thing up properly - but who knows? I don't have an apartment - but I don't have huge speakers either (except for the subwoofer - which isn't huge - but just about all subwoofers are kind of clunky).

Anyway - my rule of thumb is if it doesn't sound/look good in the showroom - don't buy it. And I guess a corollary would be that if it doesn't sound/look good in the showroom - but you're still really interested - get the salesperson to try to get the thing working best it can work. Robyn

I'd assume that the showroom (not a Best Buy/Circuit City type of place) would have set the thing up properly - but who knows? I don't have an apartment - but I don't have huge speakers either (except for the subwoofer - which isn't huge - but just about all subwoofers are kind of clunky).

Anyway - my rule of thumb is if it doesn't sound/look good in the showroom - don't buy it. And I guess a corollary would be that if it doesn't sound/look good in the showroom - but you're still really interested - get the salesperson to try to get the thing working best it can work. Robyn

I think your assumption is a bad one. I have not heard of many places actually taking the time to calibrate their sets. I feel you have to take the time to do the research or spend the time adjusting the set yourself.

For instance if I was the owner of a showroom that made a considerable profit off of set X but a very small profit off of set Y, I would spend the time to calibrate set X but not set Y. Now if I am a consumer using your "rule of thumb", I have fallen directly into the hands of the dealership. In your case you would of bought set X even though these forums, several reviewers, and the manufactorers proven record would have supported your purchase of set Y.

I purchased the 600u even though the showroom clearly showed the 60u with a picture worse than the ones around it. I made this purchase due to research, reviews, and proven track record. Not off the whims of a salesperson on a sales floor. My 600u came from Panasonic direct without even taking it for a test drive. I could not be happier with my purchase. The picture quality is better than I imagined.

This goes back to that same old saying, Do not judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, Do Not judge a TV by how the salesperson has it set-up.

I am confused about posts I have read on progressive scan and upconverting DVD players. I have ordered a Panasonic 42PX600U. If the 600U converts the DVD source to its native 720P, why would I need a DVD player that does upconverting?

I have another question about the HDMI connection. If I go HDMI from the DVD player to the 600U, is there an audio out from the 600U for input to my AV receiver?

I could be wrong, but the best set up would be Digital out of the DVD player into the amp. I don't think there is a digital audio out on the 600 series. The less items a signal passes through the better.

it is allie

I could be wrong, but the best set up would be Digital out of the DVD player into the amp. I don't think there is a digital audio out on the 600 series. The less items a signal passes through the better.

There is fiber out on the 600u from HDMI. I've not noticed a bit of difference between running directly from dvd player to receiver or from tv. The tv is closer in proximity to the receiver, so I can use the 'once useless' 2ft optical cable I have.

There is fiber out on the 600u from HDMI. I've not noticed a bit of difference between running directly from dvd player to receiver or from tv. The tv is closer in proximity to the receiver, so I can use the 'once useless' 2ft optical cable I have.

But do you get DD 5.1 sound from the HDMI input relayed via the TV optical out? That question has come up in other threads, and I thought the answer was No, it's stereo only. I'm too lazy to re-arrange the cables to do this test - have you?

But do you get DD 5.1 sound from the HDMI input relayed via the TV optical out? That question has come up in other threads, and I thought the answer was No, it's stereo only. I'm too lazy to re-arrange the cables to do this test - have you?

Absolutely! I'm using my STB for dig cable, and on all programming with 5.1, I receive a 5.1 signal from the optical out of the tv. The TV has to be set for hdmi audio out to be digital, of course.

Absolutely! I'm using my STB for dig cable, and on all programming with 5.1, I receive a 5.1 signal from the optical out of the tv. The TV has to be set for hdmi audio out to be digital, of course.

You mean the TV has to be set for HDMI audio input to be digital? And then it passes the DD 5.1 digital signal through to your external receiver via the optical output?

You mean the TV has to be set for HDMI audio input to be digital? And then it passes the DD 5.1 digital signal through to your external receiver via the optical output?

Sort of. In the 'Audio' menu, then 'Other adjust' there is an option for HDMI to be output via analog or digital or auto. When set to auto or digital, I get DD5.1 via the fiber optical out.

Sort of. In the 'Audio' menu, then 'Other adjust' there is an option for HDMI to be output via analog or digital or auto. When set to auto or digital, I get DD5.1 via the fiber optical out.

That's what I thought you meant. That setting actually refers to the audio input, whether it's via the HDMI connector (digital) or the separate stereo input jacks (analog), as you would select if you used a DVI-to-HDMI cable, or auto-sensing.

That's what I thought you meant. That setting actually refers to the audio input, whether it's via the HDMI connector (digital) or the separate stereo input jacks (analog), as you would select if you used a DVI-to-HDMI cable, or auto-sensing.

Actually, I think you're mistaken. I just reconfigured a few times to test what you said. When the setting is set to analog, I get sound output from the TV via the analog output jacks. When set to digital, I get sound output from the fiber optic cable output. I get no sound whatsoever for HDMI if I use the input stereo connectors. That wouldn't make sense anyhow, as the HDMI is meant to carry both audio and video. With a DVI/HDMI adapter or cable, you would use the separate audio output from the DVI source to get sound to the receiver.
No matter, I'm getting the full DD5.1 signal (DTS when it's offered as well) from the optical output, so I'm all good. Dunno what everyone was talking about with stereo audio or whatnot, when DD5.1 is sent over the HDMI, it's passed through and out the optical.

London Drugs, a Canadian retialer, advertises Panasonic Plasmas (TX-50PX60 and larger) as 1080p:

"...9th generation high definition panel with 1080p digital processing, digital re-mastering, c3 image enhancement, advanced 3D colour and contrast management system..."


Can anybody enlighten me if this is:
1. misprint?
2. misadvertising?
3. some advanced version of these TV sets?

Thanks

London Drugs, a Canadian retialer, advertises Panasonic Plasmas (TX-50PX60 and larger) as 1080p:

"...9th generation high definition panel with 1080p digital processing, digital re-mastering, c3 image enhancement, advanced 3D colour and contrast management system..."


Can anybody enlighten me if this is:
1. misprint?
2. misadvertising?
3. some advanced version of these TV sets?

Thanks

I think this was covered somewhere in a previous post, but it basically means that the Panny is able to accept a 1080p input from HD DVD or BluRay. Of course what you actually view will be scaled back to the res of the panel. Hope that helps.

Thanks!
It is quite a jungle out there and a novice like myself is a bit lost :)

I am confused about posts I have read on progressive scan and upconverting DVD players. I have ordered a Panasonic 42PX600U. If the 600U converts the DVD source to its native 720P, why would I need a DVD player that does upconverting?

I have another question about the HDMI connection. If I go HDMI from the DVD player to the 600U, is there an audio out from the 600U for input to my AV receiver?

Upconverting DVD player can do better job than TV internal processor. Using HDMI/DVI interface also eliminates extra digital-analog-digital conversion that never improves image quality ;)

Great thread. I did my research, went to Magnolia, and the 600u set on display had a distinctly yellowish cast to the whites. The entire picture was yellowish compared with other brands alongside. Is that just bad adjustments, or does this model have a yellow cast that can not be adjusted away? The salesman said it was built with a yellow cast, but I've never heard that mentioned in any reviews of the set.

Does anyone know if the TH-50PX600U model actually has built-in Faroudja De-interlace chip/processor? Or does it have "other name" chip which makes it has a very good picture?

I'm asking this question is because I'm still not sure if I should get the upconvert DVD player or/and the upconvert with HDMI receiver.

Thanks,
Govee

i have the 65" 600U and all I can say is it's worth the money. Best of everything.

One problem I've seen is the HDMI cable doesnt keep up with the channel changing in HD. If you scan through channels too fast you get a "geen screen" untill you turn on and off the TV?

Does anyone know if the TH-50PX600U model actually has built-in Faroudja De-interlace chip/processor? Or does it have "other name" chip which makes it has a very good picture?

I'm asking this question is because I'm still not sure if I should get the upconvert DVD player or/and the upconvert with HDMI receiver.

Thanks,
Govee

I would like to know this as well. What would be the best standard def. DVD player to mate with this set. I'm not ready to buy a "Betamax" Hi-Def DVD player until the format war is over.

I have absolutely no idea what the "best" DVD player is to buy while we wait for the hi-def format war to end - but I bought the Sony HDMI 5 DVD changer to go with the TV. Looks very very nice (especially for the $125 I bought it for). I also bought a Sony HDMI "up-convert" receiver - which works very well too. Robyn

I've had my 50px600U for about 2 weeks and just love it. No cable HD package yet or cablecard yet. Am I the only poor sap that have connected my coax cable to the F connector?

Thanks

I recently purchased Panny TH-42PX600U. I'm not going to babble on about how great this TV is. There are the obvious - I love it and so on. However, the reason for posting this is that there are few 'quirks' I have noticed. I'm not sure if this is something that is corrected with Firmware updates or hardware related issues or what, but it's raised my brow enough to question the performance.


Questions:
1) I had one experience in which we powered on the unit and the red power light appeared. The screen displayed no images and it produced no sounds. You could tell that the screen appeared to "power up" as it did slightly lighten in color but nothing else. I didn't notice that the power lights or anything else was flashing. We turned it off and on a couple of times and it always did the same thing. I removed the AC power for about 30 seconds and then plugged it back in. This corrected the issue and functionality was completely restored. Any ideas on the cause for this?

2) Last night while watching TV, I noticed that a couple of the digital stations (8-1, 8-2, etc) were not working. When trying to view them it would report "Channel not available". Other digital channels were fine, so I figured it may have been a problem with the broadcast. Then after 15 minutes or so, I changed the channels and found that all of the digital channels stopped working! The non-digitals were still fine, but I couldn't get anything on the digital ones. I had to unplug the AC power again to restore this. It doesn't seem that this should be happening. It also doesn't seem as though this is a matter of signal strength since power cycling the TV corrects the issue.

3) I also tried to view how many hours have been used on the computer (counting my break-in hours) and the information doesn't seem to add up. I found that you access the menu by holding {Vol-} on the TV and then pressing {Recall} three times on the remote. This works and gets the menu. I then use {2} to select the OPTION menu and then use {3} to select through the menus. I don't find anything that says "HOURS" or "TIME". I did see "CLOCK" which had 6B below it. However, this would be binary for 107. Considering I purchased the TV on Saturday and I gathered this information on Wednesday, I find it hard to believe I already have 107 hours on it. Granted it's possible. However, if someone else has another place to check I'd appreciate it.

I still have three weeks left that I can return this unit if I so choose. I can also purchase the 5 year extended warranty anytime in the next three weeks as well. I am definitely considering this. However, before I do so - I'd like to know if there is anything specific that I should make sure that the warranty covers?


By the way - myboat245x - I am using standard basic cable from Comcast and connecting to the Coax with no cable box and no cable card.

pdxone -- re: extended warranty, you should check out TapeWorks ($120 for 3 years, search the forum for links and discussion). In-home service, kicks in after Panasonic's warranty ends, generally seems like a good deal. It only covers manufacturer defects though, and not misfortunes like burn-in, accidental damage, or power surges (considered an "act of God"). You have 30 days from the purchase date of the TV.

I haven't looked into my 600U's service menu yet, but from what I've read it's supposed to display "TIME" and "COUNT," which is the # of times the plasma has been powered on. Any chance you misread the latter for "CLOCK"? Although that still wouldn't make any sense, I can't imagine you've turned your TV on and off 107 times in the 5 days you've owned it. (BTW the readout is in hexademical, not binary -- which would look like "010110") I would just keep an eye on it and make sure it increments as expected -- i.e. make sure the count doesn't go up even when it's off, make sure it goes up by 2 after you've watched a 2-hour movie, etc.

I recently purchased Panny TH-42PX600U. I'm not going to babble on about how great this TV is. There are the obvious - I love it and so on. However, the reason for posting this is that there are few 'quirks' I have noticed. I'm not sure if this is something that is corrected with Firmware updates or hardware related issues or what, but it's raised my brow enough to question the performance.


Questions:
1) I had one experience in which we powered on the unit and the red power light appeared. The screen displayed no images and it produced no sounds. You could tell that the screen appeared to "power up" as it did slightly lighten in color but nothing else. I didn't notice that the power lights or anything else was flashing. We turned it off and on a couple of times and it always did the same thing. I removed the AC power for about 30 seconds and then plugged it back in. This corrected the issue and functionality was completely restored. Any ideas on the cause for this?

2) Last night while watching TV, I noticed that a couple of the digital stations (8-1, 8-2, etc) were not working. When trying to view them it would report "Channel not available". Other digital channels were fine, so I figured it may have been a problem with the broadcast. Then after 15 minutes or so, I changed the channels and found that all of the digital channels stopped working! The non-digitals were still fine, but I couldn't get anything on the digital ones. I had to unplug the AC power again to restore this. It doesn't seem that this should be happening. It also doesn't seem as though this is a matter of signal strength since power cycling the TV corrects the issue.

3) I also tried to view how many hours have been used on the computer (counting my break-in hours) and the information doesn't seem to add up. I found that you access the menu by holding {Vol-} on the TV and then pressing {Recall} three times on the remote. This works and gets the menu. I then use {2} to select the OPTION menu and then use {3} to select through the menus. I don't find anything that says "HOURS" or "TIME". I did see "CLOCK" which had 6B below it. However, this would be binary for 107. Considering I purchased the TV on Saturday and I gathered this information on Wednesday, I find it hard to believe I already have 107 hours on it. Granted it's possible. However, if someone else has another place to check I'd appreciate it.

I still have three weeks left that I can return this unit if I so choose. I can also purchase the 5 year extended warranty anytime in the next three weeks as well. I am definitely considering this. However, before I do so - I'd like to know if there is anything specific that I should make sure that the warranty covers?


By the way - myboat245x - I am using standard basic cable from Comcast and connecting to the Coax with no cable box and no cable card.

I had the same problem with my original 50" I am not using a cable box. I wonder if anyone else has this problem??? I lost all but 2 hd chanels. I origionally had 10. I even lost the local chanels like FOX and NBC :(

Hi


Anyone looking to buy a tv stay away from panasonic.
Why?
A product with a 2% fail rate is better than the other guys!!!

The fail rate is freaking huge / 2% is a lie based upon the fact that the TV does not fail immediately / It gets you out of warranty - then it fails.

Dont be fooled by Panasonic employees or people who bought the TV yesterday ( they are liars or are still pre-fail owners)

Why listen to you?
OK don't listen to me. Listen to the posters on Consumers Report ( they are not happy at all ) CR told us the tv was a great buy (it is if you keep the tv for as long as it took CR to do an evaluation) Keep the TV and at appound the one year mark + or - and it will blank out on you.
On line it is known as the " Blinking light of death " . Panasonic is aware of the problem but as a business move they have no need to stand by a product that falls beyond the warranty ( if you buy the Tv and expect it to work for a second year you need to contact the head of customer satisfaction Helen Waite . Thats right any problems and panasonic will tell you to go to Helen Waite!)

If you were smart enough to read online reviews ask yourself why does everyone have the same problem everywhere you go.
Also for the pro panasonic people who are faux customers - run a test for yourself - go to the panasonic site and complain about your plasma TV and see if anyone responds . They will not.

Burned Vince:mad:

you felt the need to resurrect a 4 year old thread for this? not enough panasonic threads on page 1? btw, I've owned several panasonic products throughout the years and all have proven reliable.

If this was true Panasonic would no longer be in buisness.I wouldn't waist my time reading anything from Consumer Report,you can't believe everthing you read on the internet,how many of these claims at the CR website are real?