I'm debating between this set and the Samsung 4071f LCD set. I watch alot of sports and play alot of video games. I actually have the 4071 now but I'm debating returning it due to stutter. Is this set good for video games and sports? And like 10kfists asked, what is burn in like? I know it says it has pixel shifter, but does it work?

I wouldn't game too much the first 200 hours or so but after that I think you would be fine (barring 12hr sessions or something :P). I've seen a lot of peeps on here gaming on these models with no problems.

mx, I was going to get the 4071 but after comparing to the panny plasmas it was an easy choice for me. Richer, fuller colors, no motion blur during football, and a decent amount cheaper than the 71 series as well.

I wouldn't game too much the first 200 hours or so but after that I think you would be fine (barring 12hr sessions or something :P). I've seen a lot of peeps on here gaming on these models with no problems.

Why wait, what's the actual purpose behind it? Serious question, not trying to sound sarcastic or anything.

Why wait, what's the actual purpose behind it? Serious question, not trying to sound sarcastic or anything.

The first few hundred hours are when the display is most likely to show severe IR/Burn-in. So just as a precaution a lot of peeps like to avoid black bars, UI's, crawls, etc. for a few.

But...others seem to do fine right out of the box so really it's a personal thing I guess. I'd rather be safe than sorry with mine though :P

Doesn't the pixel shifting ensure that it will not get IR or burn in?

Kuklinsk
Subject: Mounts

So I'm no expert, but I will answer your questions based on my experience. On the back of the pz77u, you will find four circular, black covers... each is about a inch in diameter. If you remove these you will expose the four bolt hole used to mount a TV mount bracket to the back of the TV. In case you're wondering, you use 8mm bolts in these holes and mine were 40mm in length (they came with my mounting kit). This is the mounting kit I bought:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082801&p_id=3397&seq=1&format=2

I like that I can pull it out from the wall and somewhat swivel and tilt it... however, even pushed all the way in, the actual panel floats about 5 inches from the wall.. I'm ok with this, but it you want you panel to seem attached flush to the wall, you want a low profile or flush mounting kit.

As far as the mounting kit getting in the way of the cables or wall... YES, this is a possibility for sure. For mine the component and svideo stuff was fine, but the mounting kit introduced a bar right in front of the HDMI cables, so that one wouldn't fit. There is an easy fix for this:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041907&p_id=3733&seq=1&format=2

That piece solved all my problems. I would recommend buying two of those no matter what mounting kit you got just in case.. Other than that, mounting was easy and has a pleasing result.

Douglas99
Subject: Break-in DVD
Sounds like I'm a little late to answer, sorry... I can't check every day. But for the future, I don't think there is a defacto "THE" Break-in DVD... I do know a lot of ppl on these forums use this though:

http://www.eaprogramming.com/

Really, you can use any DVD as long as it follows a few rules.

1) The aspect ratio of the content on the DVD needs to FILL THE SCREEN COMPLETELY. So use 16:9 widescreen content, or adjust the panel's aspect till the screen is full.

2) The DVD should not have any static logos at all.. The Break in dvd mentioned above, does sit on a static color screen for a few seconds before moving to the next color. It's ok if the content has temporarily static elements, you just don't want a logo or title screen sitting for more than a few minutes to an hour.

3) Finally, you need to be able to repeat the title over and over... Really, the only goal here is to fill the panel's display with non-static content for a period of time... Any DVD movie that fills the screen, and can repeat over and over will do fine.

The link to that break-in DVD is an easy way to meet these requirements, but it's kinda boring... it just cycles colors... I use it at night, but in the day I usually just play full screen content that has no logos.

jp4LSU
Subject: widescreen

Unfortunately, widescreen format is not a single aspect standard. There are many different aspect ratios for widescreen, including 1.85:1, 1.78:1. 1.66:1, as well as the lesser used 1.75:1 and 2:1. Your panny is 16:9, which is the same as 1.78:1. To further confuse the matter, PC manufacturors sometimes make their screens 16:10... Because of this, if you watch a movie that has a wider widescreen aspect ratio that 16:9, you will get horizontal letterbox bars above and below the image... If you ever pay attention at a high end movie theater, you will notice that different movies sometimes will have a different aspect ratio sometimes, theaters handle this easily with electronic curtains that they can move to make the screen whatever aspect they want....

10K fists
Subject: Gaming on pz77u

Short answer, game away. I've played xbox 360 over the last few weeks on the 77u regularly. Now, I did put my plasma through a break-in process first (which many say is unnecessary).. And I've naturally limited my sessions to around 3 hours max (I just don't have the time to do more). Some of my games do have static elements and I've seen absolutely no Image Retention (IR). So I think gaming in a normal fashion is fine. I've also read others who have gamed for 8 hours and didn't go through a break-in process and they still had no problems... On or two ppl have mentioned seeing a slight IR in some extreme cases. But for every report of seeing some IR, it has always gone away after normal usage... (playing the break-in dvd above would be a good way to get rid of IR if it did happen... All that said, this is still a plasma TV... yes it is a modern plasma TV that has all kinds of kick ass features decided to minimize any burn in, but I'd still personally limit my gaming to 4-8 hours, and if I went past 3 hours, I'd be careful with games that had a HUD.... but I don't think you will have any problems...

mx711yam
Subject: Pixel Shifting

Pixel Shifting does help mitigate the risk of IR or burn in, but I think to say it "ensures" it doesn't happen is a little strong. Like I said in another post, this panel has many great features that really mitigates the risk of IR, and these technologies work to an extent.. but it doesn't hurt to take some precautions... despite, I've read a few ppl report very slight IR in very extreme situations.. in all cases, the IR disappeared quickly with normal use, but I personally like to play it safe... Nonetheless, I happily game on this machine for hours at a time... I've even hooked my macbook pro to it for couple hour periods.. I admit though, I'm particularly scared of leaving the macbook pro, with it's static desktop, on for very long... I usually will only use the macbook if I want to show pictures quicker than the built in SD reader, or if I'm using it for movies and other media...

But true, actual burn in is a non-issue now, only IR, correct?

Corey,

You seem very knowledgeable about this set. Can I use this for hours at a time to play my PS3? Or will I always have to worry about IR? I love my 71 series samsung LCD I just don't like the stutter problem and I know the plasma won't have a stutter problem.

Thanks in advance.

But true, actual burn in is a non-issue now, only IR, correct?

I wouldn't call it a complete non-issue. But unless you're leaving static images up on the screen for a really long time (hours and hours), there's not much of a need to worry.

SSpectre covered both of your answers well.. I wouldn't call burn in and ABSOLUTE non-issue, but it is pretty unlikely with all the modern features built into this plasma. What I can say confidently is that I've used this set (after my burn in period) to play games that had a static hud for 3+ hours at a time. I had not IR of the static HUD. I have also used this set to watch ESPN, and other channels with a static logo for even more that 5 hours, again no IR. Some ppl on this thread have claimed to play games for 8 hours and have no trouble.... So while I'm not going to say burn-in is impossible with this panel, I will say it's pretty unlikely.. even if you're a game.. but it doesn't hurt to try to limit your time spent playing a game with a big static hud... and by limit, I don't mean only play a few hours... I mean avoid playing an 8 hour marathon session.

Finally, the one thing to note is, even if burn-in is a none issue with this set, a few people have seen minimal IR in extreme situations, for a short period of time... To my understanding, burn-in means it won't go away... IR is temporary.. in all the cases I've read about, the IR disappears very quickly after normal usage...

I guess all I'm trying to say in my long winded fashion is that although I'm not going to say burn-in is impossible with this set, I've used mine to gaming enough without problems that I'm comfortable to make this set my primary console display. I don't anticipate any issues... mostly considering I've now put around 300hrs on my set with no IR what so ever.

Oh, and to mx771yam, specifically about PS3... sure... PS3, xbox 360... whatever.. the issue isn't which console, it's whether or not the games you play have any sort of static images in their HUD.... and even if they do, this set's IR protection seems to work enough to make this static elements a non-issue even when up four 3+ hours in my experience (or 8+ if you read other's posts).

sheesh, please excuse the grammatical issues in my posts.. I'm apparently not paying much attention to what I type.

I'm getting my 2nd replacement television for my 42PZZU for stuck/dead pixels.

Every time they deliver my set, the delivery person tells me to wait a couple hours for the tv to "warm up" before I turn it on. Is there any validity to that statement? I want to turn it on so that I don't keep wasting my time with exchanges.

Also, I'm beginning to believe that dead/stuck pixels are the norm with the PZZU with all the posts complaining about dead/stuck pixels.

I'm getting my 2nd replacement television for my 42PZZU for stuck/dead pixels.

Every time they deliver my set, the delivery person tells me to wait a couple hours for the tv to "warm up" before I turn it on. Is there any validity to that statement? I want to turn it on so that I don't keep wasting my time with exchanges.

Also, I'm beginning to believe that dead/stuck pixels are the norm with the PZZU with all the posts complaining about dead/stuck pixels.I'm not familiar with "42PZZU"...do you mean 42PZ77U? I have one with no dead pixels or other issues...maybe your store got a bad batch of panels? As far as letting it warm up...yes that is a good idea if it has travelled cross country in sub zero temps, but I assume you are getting this from a local store? If so then the delivery dude just doesn't want to load the thing back in the truck.:p

How many stuck pixels do you think is bad? I have two 42pz77u displays that I've had for a bout 2 weeks. The last time I checked, one had 5 dead pixels... one red, one blue and 3 green. The other display had one stuck pixel. I'm not too concerned because the only time I see them is if I have the burn in disk playing mid tone colors and my head is less then 2' from the screen. Just curious.

Hmmm... the TV can "warm up" without being turned on??? weird... I guess I did hear some sort of buzz when I first plugged the power cable in (even though the tv was off), but my gut says this sounds like BS...

anyway, I don't have any dead pixels now. But when I first started running the eaprogramming burn-in DVD, a few hours into it I noticed one tiny white pixel when it was displaying a red screen. It was right before I went to work, so even though you could barely notice it, it bugged me all day. However, when I got home, I couldn't find it anymore.. even on a pure colored screen, looking in the general area I know I saw it. Anyways, it appears I had a "stuck pixel". It is absolutely gone now and has never reappeared in the past 250 hours of display time... are your missing pixels black on a different colored BGRD (possibly dead) or white or some other color on a different color BGRD (Stuck)... If its not black it's may not be dead and if you give it a bit of time it may resolve itself...

I also had 2 stuck pixels on my 50pz77. Running the break in disk overnight unstuck both, and the set is pixel perfect now after about 500 hours. I recommend exercising those lazy pixels to exorcise them.

How many stuck pixels do you think is bad? I have two 42pz77u displays that I've had for a bout 2 weeks. The last time I checked, one had 5 dead pixels... one red, one blue and 3 green. The other display had one stuck pixel. I'm not too concerned because the only time I see them is if I have the burn in disk playing mid tone colors and my head is less then 2' from the screen. Just curious.

In my opinion, ONE dead/stuck pixel is too many. If I ever wanted to sell my tv and if the potential buyer were to notice the dead pixel, the perceived value of the television immediately decreases. Granted, from a distance, the pixel is not noticeable but the potential buyer is going to use that to his advantage in the negotiations. Thus, to me, the existence any dead pixels is intolerable especially when the majority* of plasma owners do not have this issue.

*majority is unsubstantiated other than from personal experience and this forum. But I've heard statistics thrown around with the general consensus that dead pixels are not that commonplace.

I also had 2 stuck pixels on my 50pz77. Running the break in disk overnight unstuck both, and the set is pixel perfect now after about 500 hours. I recommend exercising those lazy pixels to exorcise them.

This is definitely something I've tried, but to no avail. My return policy says that I can't wait for that random moment when the pixel returns to its senses. Of course I'll keep trying until they deliver the next one.

I'm getting my 2nd replacement television for my 42PZZU for stuck/dead pixels.

Every time they deliver my set, the delivery person tells me to wait a couple hours for the tv to "warm up" before I turn it on. Is there any validity to that statement? I want to turn it on so that I don't keep wasting my time with exchanges.

Also, I'm beginning to believe that dead/stuck pixels are the norm with the PZZU with all the posts complaining about dead/stuck pixels.


Well I think he is telling you to let it warm up because its cold out where you live ......... im betting it is ..so the tv is cold .......way below room temperature.

Warming it up to room temperature is a good idea after delivery, otherwise condensation can and will form on the internal circuit boards. :eek:

I've got the 50" no stuck pixels here...

I'm thinking about buying the 50PZ77u from best buy by 12/29. They have it for $2,400, but with 10% + off coupons it'smore like $2,160. Plus BB is offering 3 years no interest on all Panny tvs until 12/29, so it's becoming very attractive. I'm going to move my
TH-42PX50U (which I love) to the basement

Couple comments/questions:

1) I've always heard to wait until your new TV has reached room temperature before turning it on especially in cold weather areas.

2) What is the break in disk and do we have a concensus on wether or not it's necessary? I think I saw one post that said a panny tech says all their tvs have 100 hours before they hit the store, so it shouldn't be necessary, right?

3) How does the standard def programming look? I will be using it with the Sony STR-DA5200ES which has a pretty good up converter.

4) Finally, I've heard that it is hard to discern the benfits of 1080P on 42" and up sets. Does this hold any water?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Vickroy, I'll try to answer your questions:

1. It would be a good idea to let the set normalize to room temp if it has been exposed to extreme cold for a long period of time. You might hear "24 hours" but that is defintely overkill...and hour or two in a warm room is all it will need...especially if it just travelled across town and not across the country.

2. This is debateable and you will find some that swear by it and those who call it hogwash. My feeling is that sets made 3 years or more ago probably needed break-in procedures, but current gen panels are fine with simply using some common sense for the first 100 hours. (no torch mode, no paused movies, keep everything full screen)

3. Obviously it won't look as good as hi-def no matter how you tweak the picture controls...but video processing is getting better and most SD channels look anywhere from pretty good to pretty crappy and anywhere inbetween.

4. I used to believe this was true (and it may be) but I swear that text and other details appear to be sharper on my TH-42PZ77U than they are on my LG 720p set. Of course that could be due to a number of different factors not related to the resolution...and it is true that the difference fades as you get farther away. Some people see the "screen door effect" with 720p panels that they don't with 1080p...but I don't notice it on either.

How many stuck pixels do you think is bad? I have two 42pz77u displays that I've had for a bout 2 weeks. The last time I checked, one had 5 dead pixels... one red, one blue and 3 green. The other display had one stuck pixel. I'm not too concerned because the only time I see them is if I have the burn in disk playing mid tone colors and my head is less then 2' from the screen. Just curious.

I have 3 stuck/flickering/dead pixels on my 42pz77u. I only could see them while paying the burn-in disk and I was looking for them with my face 2 feet from the set.

My opinion is that while I would rather have a "perfect" set, I think most panels have a bad pixel or two and the viewer never notices this. During normal viewing there is no possible way I would see these pixels, it's only that I was searching for them on a solid field of color that I found them.

To me it is simply not worth the effort to box this beast back up to exchange it, only to find that the new panel also has a dead pixel.

Don't sweat it.

I have 3 stuck/flickering/dead pixels on my 42pz77u. I only could see them while paying the burn-in disk and I was looking for them with my face 2 feet from the set.

My opinion is that while I would rather have a "perfect" set, I think most panels have a bad pixel or two and the viewer never notices this. During normal viewing there is no possible way I would see these pixels, it's only that I was searching for them on a solid field of color that I found them.

To me it is simply not worth the effort to box this beast back up to exchange it, only to find that the new panel also has a dead pixel.

Don't sweat it.I agree with you..if you can't see it without actively looking for it then don't sweat it. I believe that a certain amount of dead pixels is inherent to the manufacturing process of plasma and lcd's. In fact many lcd makers consider a certain number of dead pixels to be "within tolerances". I have 3 desktop lcd's and 2 of them have dead pixels but are otherwise perfect...since I don't notice the dead pixels without looking for them...I decided to save myself the trouble and the risk of possibly getting one that has other issues. I've heard of people going through 4-5 (or more) monitors/tv's trying to get one without any dead pixels...I have neither the time or patience for that.

I have compared the 50pz77u side by side with the sony 46xbr4 lcd.

in favour of the panny:

-no blurring of motion in low contrast or dark areas of the screen.
-excellent off-axis viewing
-better colour reproduction across the dynamic range, dark scenes are excellent.
-it is less expensive and larger
-better blacks, especially in a dark room.
-little or no flicker/judder compared to the sony with motion enhancement off
-low quality SD material looks better on the panny

in favour of the sony:

-bright scenes have more pop, especially scenes with alot of white.
-better anti-reflective screen. The panny is good for a plasma, but it still tends to reflect light diffusely alot more than lcd panels do...this can sometimes affect black levels.
-computer connection is a snap with no overscan
-more control over colour decoding.
-sometimes I like the anti-judder motion enhancement on the sony (although its rare).

Its a pretty tight competition...but the blur on the sony is the real potential deal breaker.
My sony 52w3000 is going back today in favor of the Panny pz77u. Even though it's the best picture I've ever seen, I can't get past the motion blur. The Sony would be great for talk shows and .jpeg's but I watch a lot of sports. Even the motion in regular shows is an issue. I have a bright room but I'd rather deal with the glare issue than the motion issue.

I'm thinking about buying the 50PZ77u from best buy by 12/29. They have it for $2,400, but with 10% + off coupons it'smore like $2,160. Plus BB is offering 3 years no interest on all Panny tvs until 12/29, so it's becoming very attractive. I'm going to move my
TH-42PX50U (which I love) to the basement

Couple comments/questions:

1) I've always heard to wait until your new TV has reached room temperature before turning it on especially in cold weather areas.

2) What is the break in disk and do we have a concensus on wether or not it's necessary? I think I saw one post that said a panny tech says all their tvs have 100 hours before they hit the store, so it shouldn't be necessary, right?

3) How does the standard def programming look? I will be using it with the Sony STR-DA5200ES which has a pretty good up converter.

4) Finally, I've heard that it is hard to discern the benfits of 1080P on 42" and up sets. Does this hold any water?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Just got my 5077U set up yesterday (Yamaha RX-V1800 AVR, Polk x4 RTI4s/CSI3/PSW303).

First thing I watched was Pirates/Black Pearl thru a 'legacy' Sony DVD that only supports SD/DVD/480i via component and digital optical.

I set the AVR to "pass thru" the SD DVD but it did transcode it to 480i over HDMI to the 5077U. I wanted to see how well the Panny did the upconversion to 1080p.

Well, I was pretty darn impressed! I thought the PQ was really quite good for SD content. Even SD cable was not as horrible as I was led to believe.

And all the poo-pooing of the 77U antiglare effect - not an issue imho.

I've yet to begin all the 'tweaking' for display calibration and audio fine tuning (and trying to figure out what all the settings are and how to get to them) - but right out of the box the 77U image is really pretty darn good.

I have to wait until xmas to see Blu-Ray DVD via the PS3 (that's a present for the kids), but then we'll pop in a couple of movies and give that a whirl.

We've got quite a few SD DVDs and I'm totally happy with the setup to watch those - so don't fret about PQ - you'll be happy.

Erik

I have a quick question.

When I connected my laptop to panny, the highest resolution shows 1024x724 or something similar. I used a s-video cable. Did I do something wrong? How to get 1920x1080? Thank you.

ps i used a toshiba lappy.

s-video can't carry high resolution formats. You need an HDMI/DVI connection. Some video cards may also not support all the possible resolutions supported by the display.

are these on sale anywhere?

after hours and hours of searching ive decided on a 42PZ77

now comes the hours and hours of searching for the best deal

:(

by the way

does this set accept 1080p over component?

by the way

does this set accept 1080p over component?

Nope.

Well, at least I couldn't get it to with my Xbox 360. Everytime I selected 1080p, the screen would go black and then kick me back to the display selection blade with 1080i selected.

I picked up my TH-42PZ77U Thursday and then had the AT&T U-Verse installed yesterday and man does it look great. I know some people have been complaining about the screen not looking sharp but it looks awesome to me.

Before AT&T came out, I loaded up an episode of Top Gear recorded on my DVR from TWC and it looked amazing and it was in standard definition and with all of the TV's settings at 0.

I know that I have read in many different threads that you should put the set top box in pass through mode and then have the TV set the resolution, if I understand it correctly. However, the U-Verse box does not have a pass through on the menu with the settings, it just has two SD settings, regular and stretched and then either 720p or 1080i. I tried it on both HD settings and could not really tell a difference so I guess I will have to do some more investigating.

I took the Panny out of vivid mode, put all of the settings at 0 and have had the Discovery HD channel playing since yesterday afternoon. Even with the settings like this, the HD channels look fantastic and even the SD looks better with U-Verse than it did with TWC on some of the other televisions I have seen.

I will leave it on Discovery HD most of this weekend except for the Cowboys game tonight on the NFL network, and I guess I will surf around the U-Verse forums to find out about the pass through setting on their box.

I picked up my TH-42PZ77U Thursday and then had the AT&T U-Verse installed yesterday and man does it look great. I know some people have been complaining about the screen not looking sharp but it looks awesome to me.

Before AT&T came out, I loaded up an episode of Top Gear recorded on my DVR from TWC and it looked amazing and it was in standard definition and with all of the TV's settings at 0.

I know that I have read in many different threads that you should put the set top box in pass through mode and then have the TV set the resolution, if I understand it correctly. However, the U-Verse box does not have a pass through on the menu with the settings, it just has two SD settings, regular and stretched and then either 720p or 1080i. I tried it on both HD settings and could not really tell a difference so I guess I will have to do some more investigating.

I took the Panny out of vivid mode, put all of the settings at 0 and have had the Discovery HD channel playing since yesterday afternoon. Even with the settings like this, the HD channels look fantastic and even the SD looks better with U-Verse than it did with TWC on some of the other televisions I have seen.

I will leave it on Discovery HD most of this weekend except for the Cowboys game tonight on the NFL network, and I guess I will surf around the U-Verse forums to find out about the pass through setting on their box.

renesis27, when you find more information/the answer on this, can you please let me know via posting on this thread? I'm curious as well.

Thanks!

PS - Cowboy's win wasn't pretty, but I'll take it! TO's out until maybe the first playoff game :(

I know that I have read in many different threads that you should put the set top box in pass through mode

I have the 8300HDC from my cable company Blue Ridge in the pocono's PA, i do not see an option on the box to set it in any kind of pass through mode, whether in the quick settings or the next tear of settings after hitting settings again, is it possible that the cable company disabled this feature in these boxes?

renesis27, when you find more information/the answer on this, can you please let me know via posting on this thread? I'm curious as well.

Thanks!

PS - Cowboy's win wasn't pretty, but I'll take it! TO's out until maybe the first playoff game :(


I found out there is no pass thru mode on the U-Verse STB so I guess I will just leave it at 1080i as it looks great so far.

The 42 inch PZ-77 was recommended to me at a Best Buy.

Is this set ok for gaming?

Not light gaming ... hardcore regular 4 - 5 hour gaming sessions on the weekend, and 1 - 2 hours on weeknights.

edit: read through about 10 pages and saw the answer. Thanks guys.

Is it possible to connect a PC or Laptop with some AVI movies on it and play them on the plasma TV? I'm talking about a TH50PZ77. If yes, what do I need?

How is the pixel shifting adjusted on the PZ77U? I remember at the store the sales person showed some different modes of pixel shifting but cant remember whether he went to a service menu to get to it.

I picked up at "42 inch TH-42PZ77 today at an incredible price.

Guess I'm joining the club! I don't have it set up yet but I'll update with my initial impressions later.

OK folks here we go:

Initial first impressions ...

First off let me state that the HDTV I've been using for the past 6 years is a 27 inch 4:3 aspect Samsung 1080i HDTV -- TXM2796HF 27" DynaFla™ HDTV Monitor High Definition Monitor with 1080i Input: http://www.samsung.com/ca/products/tv/archivedtv/txm2796hfxxac.asp?page=Features

It's still a great set which has now been retired to the bedroom replacing the 14 inch piece of garbage we had in there.

Although I loved my Samsung at the time (particularly because the 4:3 aspect ratio worked really well for non HD programming), the time had finally come for a BIG change.

Enter in the Panasonic TH-42PZ77.

You know guys, I never really did truly understand what I was missing. I had 1080i on the Samsung and despite the black letter bars when watching or playing 16:9 stuff I was ok with that. The Panny really opened my eyes.

Everything is so much more clearer, vibrant, and beautiful. I really do feel kinda stupid I didn't take the plunge a long time ago. My PS3 games now look incredible ... to the point I'm playing stuff again and appreciating things I never appreciated before. I'll admit I'm kinda feeling bummed out my 360 doesn't have an HDMI slot.

These forums proved invaluable for picking out my set. Originally I planned on grabbing an LCD, probaly a Sharp Aquos, or Samsung. There was what seemed to be a good deal on a 46 inch Sharp Aquos ... but thanks to AVS I realized retailer was selling discontinued 62 series model TV's which have banding problems.

I ended up getting a really crazy deal (by Canadian standards) on the Panasonic as it's Boxing Day here (our version of Black Friday). I found this thread in particular to be extremely helpful, as was the "buyer's remorse" and "tweak" thread. Really it seemed the only major problem for some with this TV (lack of pop due to anti glare coating) would be a benefit to me as I have alot natural light that floods the room during the day. And honestly after what I've been gaming on, this TV is more than enough "pop" and "WOW" for me.

Panasonic Canada breaks in these sets at the factory so that's one less thing I had to worry about as well which is nice. Set up was a snap, I had the thing up and running within a half hour.

1080P on this TV is amazing. Absolutely incredible. My jaw was dropping to the floor when going over the Uncharted demo, and Folklore demo. I can't wait to get some CoD4, Warhawk and Unreal Tournament in tonight. Then it's Pirates of the Caribean: At World's End. Good Times.

Would I recommend the set? I consider myself just to be an average shmoe, and my HD experience is limited, but currently I'm going go with a hearty "hell yes" for any on the fence. If you research this set out you'll find the pro's far outweigh the negatives particularly if you are on a tight budget and looking for the best "bang for buck" value.

Ok, I am entering this a little late in the game, but here goes. I bought the TH-42PZ77U model in late November. About 2 weeks ago, while watching a hockey game, I noticed a faint line slightly darker than the ice visible when the camera moved left to right. It caught my attention and now whenever I see a bright background, it pops out to me. Tonight, I turned the TV on without turning on the DirecTV box just to get a close look at the screen and I see also the very faint outline of the TV menu box(enough that I can read Video 1, HDMI1, Compontent1, etc...). I'm reading about image retention and think It may be the more serious burn in since it is not going away. In reading some of the postings, I realized I did not follow plasma break in procedures. I have not used any type of break in DVD. I had the contrast ratings set to between 15 and 20. I only watch the TV for 3 hours max at a time. Basically, I watched this TV just like I watched the Sony Tube TV I replaced. I have contacted Panasonic and they are sending a person to at least take a look. Is there any hope to "wash out" these burned in images? I know I look stupid for not knowing all of the break in stuff, but I'm just sick to think that this investment I made just last month can not be fixed at all...Any suggestions are appreciated.

Ok, I am entering this a little late in the game, but here goes. I bought the TH-42PZ77U model in late November. About 2 weeks ago, while watching a hockey game, I noticed a faint line slightly darker than the ice visible when the camera moved left to right. It caught my attention and now whenever I see a bright background, it pops out to me. Tonight, I turned the TV on without turning on the DirecTV box just to get a close look at the screen and I see also the very faint outline of the TV menu box(enough that I can read Video 1, HDMI1, Compontent1, etc...). I'm reading about image retention and think It may be the more serious burn in since it is not going away. In reading some of the postings, I realized I did not follow plasma break in procedures. I have not used any type of break in DVD. I had the contrast ratings set to between 15 and 20. I only watch the TV for 3 hours max at a time. Basically, I watched this TV just like I watched the Sony Tube TV I replaced. I have contacted Panasonic and they are sending a person to at least take a look. Is there any hope to "wash out" these burned in images? I know I look stupid for not knowing all of the break in stuff, but I'm just sick to think that this investment I made just last month can not be fixed at all...Any suggestions are appreciated.

I don't see how the menu could be burned in because I assume you would not have left the side menu on long enough to do any damage. It would have to have been on a long time to do that.

I've only had mine since last Thursday but I will turn it on without the U-Verse box tonight and see if I notice anything.

hi i just bought the TH42PZ77, i am watching movies with it and i cant seem to find the correct aspect ratio. on "Full" or "Just" they are to flat, the only one that seems to look right is "zoom" anyone else have this problem? thanks


also i read things on here about a burn in disc? i did not get one of these. can anyone explane it for me. thanks

Hooked up pc (dvi-hdmi adapter) and it underscans....will not fit full screen on HDMI port 2 (other doesnt for for pc setup). This also is happening when watching standard cable tv. When I had the 4665 I never experienced this problem.

HDMI port 2 works but when I try hook up the pc it wont. PS3 works on both HDMI ports.


Im confused

Ok, I am entering this a little late in the game, but here goes. I bought the TH-42PZ77U model in late November. About 2 weeks ago, while watching a hockey game, I noticed a faint line slightly darker than the ice visible when the camera moved left to right. It caught my attention and now whenever I see a bright background, it pops out to me. Tonight, I turned the TV on without turning on the DirecTV box just to get a close look at the screen and I see also the very faint outline of the TV menu box(enough that I can read Video 1, HDMI1, Compontent1, etc...). I'm reading about image retention and think It may be the more serious burn in since it is not going away. In reading some of the postings, I realized I did not follow plasma break in procedures. I have not used any type of break in DVD. I had the contrast ratings set to between 15 and 20. I only watch the TV for 3 hours max at a time. Basically, I watched this TV just like I watched the Sony Tube TV I replaced. I have contacted Panasonic and they are sending a person to at least take a look. Is there any hope to "wash out" these burned in images? I know I look stupid for not knowing all of the break in stuff, but I'm just sick to think that this investment I made just last month can not be fixed at all...Any suggestions are appreciated.

Download the break in DVD and run it until the IR is gone. I've have had mine for three weeks and if there has been any IR it has gone away in a matter of minutes. I got about a minute of retention from black bars once...nothing to worry about. Just use the Break in DVD to scrub it. You'll be fine.

I know that I have read in many different threads that you should put the set top box in pass through mode

I have the 8300HDC from my cable company Blue Ridge in the pocono's PA, i do not see an option on the box to set it in any kind of pass through mode, whether in the quick settings or the next tear of settings after hitting settings again, is it possible that the cable company disabled this feature in these boxes?

Getting passthrough on the 8300HDC is possible, but you have to to do 2 things:

1) run the HD setup on the box first! Turn off the box, leave the TV on. Then press the GUIDE and INFO buttons on the front panel of the box simultaneously. Follow the on-screen setup instructions to select 16x9 aspect ratio, and all the resolution modes that your TV supports.

2) Turn on the box, and select the "Set: Picture Format" setting. This can also be a bit confusing. If you're using component video to the TV, you will see "Passthrough" as one of the choices. If using HDMI, this will be called "Auto DVI/HDMI". Select this option and you should be all set.

Enjoy!

I am veiwing HD programs off of Ant. I want the 5.1 sound out of the opt to my reciever but I get no sound. The only sound is out of the tv. Is there a setting on the tv for using the optical out?

Another side topic here.

How many PZ77 owners here let the Panny upconvert SD DVDs?

I've got an older Sony SD DVD connected to my Yamaha RX-V1800 AVR via component. I've set the AVR to transcode the analog component to HDMI and out to the HDTV, but the AVR is set to "pass thru" the 480i over HDMI - it is not upconverting.

I'm watching various SD DVDs on the Panny and it looks pretty d@#$ good!

Has anyone done their own A/B testing with an upconverting DVD player to see which unit does the better job (the upconverting DVD or the HDTV)?

Same question for HD TV?

How many have their STBs set to upconvert SD (480i) signals or do you pass them thru to the PZ77 and let that do the conversion?

Just wondering if there is a consensus....

Thanks,
Erik

Quick question guys ... do I really need to run that "break in" DVD? I'd heard that Canadian versions of this set are already broken in at the factory ...

Have enjoyed the 42PZ77 for about 3 weeks. Very Happy with image from cable and DVD HD sources. Looking at A/V Receivers to complete a home theater sound system. Read a review on the Denon AVR 888 indicating excellent upconversion to HDMI results. Since then have read that the TV upconverts everything to native resolution, so external upconversion is of no benefit? Anyone have first hand experience and/or opinion regarding upconversion?

Secondly, heard that Denon has HDMI compatiblility problems with Panasonic Plasma sets and does not transmit sound via HDMI. Again, anyone with first hand experience?

Thanks,

Have enjoyed the 42PZ77 for about 3 weeks. Very Happy with image from cable and DVD HD sources. Looking at A/V Receivers to complete a home theater sound system. Read a review on the Denon AVR 888 indicating excellent upconversion to HDMI results. Since then have read that the TV upconverts everything to native resolution, so external upconversion is of no benefit? Anyone have first hand experience and/or opinion regarding upconversion?

Secondly, heard that Denon has HDMI compatiblility problems with Panasonic Plasma sets and does not transmit sound via HDMI. Again, anyone with first hand experience?

Thanks,

If you like the Denons, you might want to look at the Onkyo's. They make some great receivers that perform on par with the Denons and don't have HDMI compatibility issues with plasmas.

I have had my 50' PZ77U for about 4 months now and I love the set. Couldn't be happier with the choice I made and for the price I got it for. I just wanted to throw some caution to some of the new owners about the VS. channel. I was watching a hockey game the other night and left the station on to hear the commentary afterwards...when I shut the TV off the red logo was clearly still in the upright corner. I turned the tv back on and watched some Discovery or Nat Geo for a bit....it went away. If you do watch the VS. station you may want to switch to another channel for a little bit before shutting the TV off...just my .02

My Monoprice 5x1 switch (older version) not working... is it because my switch is not the newer, HDMI v1.3 certified one? So this TV has HDMI v1.3a then? TIA!

Quick question. I've had my 42 1080p PZ77U for about two weeks now. When I look at the screen with the TV turned off from the side, the light reflects off it in a weird way, almost making it look rippled or bent, when looking straight on it looks perfect. Any thoughts, has anyone else seen this on their unit. Went to best buy looked at the floor model, turned it off and it was perfect from all angles. :confused:

Quick question. I've had my 42 1080p PZ77U for about two weeks now. When I look at the screen with the TV turned off from the side, the light reflects off it in a weird way, almost making it look rippled or bent, when looking straight on it looks perfect. Any thoughts, has anyone else seen this on their unit. Went to best buy looked at the floor model, turned it off and it was perfect from all angles. :confused:


Yes and i nearly returned my unit for it ....what is was our Christmas tree lights and the antiglare with the set OFF... it looked like there were markings all over the set...however they were just shadows all it is nothing to worry about.

Yes! I'm going off the tree lights. Are you sure it's a non-issue...

I have my mac mini displaying without issues using an HDMI input, but since it originates from DVI, I get no audio through the TV's speakers. Is there some way to do this?

Okay I'm probably getting my 50PZ77U this weekend, but I have some questions.

1. The Panasonics have 1 year factory warranty, and credit cards typically extend that one year. Is it worth it to get an extended warranty for $500+?

2. How do I determine the proper settings? What DVD's have the calibration program?

3. I am looking for a solid corner TV stand (wood). Has anybody else had a similar situation, and if so what kind of entertainment center did you buy?

Got an 42PZ77U... :) First "real" TV since 1995.

I have my mac mini displaying without issues using an HDMI input, but since it originates from DVI, I get no audio through the TV's speakers. Is there some way to do this?

hdmi 1 or 2 can't remember which one has analogue (red/white) audio input so you could get a male mini rca cable and connect it to the headphone out and the other ends with the regular rca male to the input on the tv.

Here is a link to the cable you would need at monoprice http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021804&p_id=665&seq=1&format=1#largeimage

I have my mac mini displaying without issues using an HDMI input, but since it originates from DVI, I get no audio through the TV's speakers. Is there some way to do this?

DVI is an uncompressed digital video interface but unlike HDMI, it doesn’t transmit audio signals.

Got an 42PZ77U... :) First "real" TV since 1995.

Congrats! Just got mine last week and am extremely satisfied.

Thanks RG_6, I hadn't looked closely enough at the back panel to notice that input. I have audio using the Mac Mini as a DVD player now.

One thing, the Mac doesn't really upscale particularly well (as compared to my Toshiba A-20 which is not supposed to be very good either, but much better than the Mini). I guess I better get another HD-DVD player for this TV.

hi i just bought the TH42PZ77, i am watching movies with it and i cant seem to find the correct aspect ratio. on "Full" or "Just" they are to flat, the only one that seems to look right is "zoom" anyone else have this problem? thanks


also i read things on here about a burn in disc? i did not get one of these. can anyone explane it for me. thanks


Allan I was having this problem too. Thanks to these forums I found out my problem was that my HD cable box was not set up to recieve the proper signal. If you have one of the Scientific Atlanta boxes you can turn it off then hold the guide and info button on the box (not the remote) while turning it on. This will take you into a secret menu that allows you to add signals that are accepted.

In my case only 480i was turned on, so I turned on all the other signals (1080i, 720p).

After this I went back into my cable box's regular menu and turned on "Pass Through".

Once all of this was done, my picture now displays properly.

Regarding Break In, I believe that the Panasonic's already have 100 hours of "Break In" placed on them in the Factory. In Canada I know this is the case, not sure about the States. The disc can be downloaded from the net, I believe there are links to it in these forums.

Yes and i nearly returned my unit for it ....what is was our Christmas tree lights and the antiglare with the set OFF... it looked like there were markings all over the set...however they were just shadows all it is nothing to worry about.

LOL, I noticed the same thing with the Christmas tree on and the Panel off. Did not notice it with any other light source but the tree. Its coming down in a few days, so its "nothing to worry about".

Guys just my 2 cents on adjusting the Picture and Brightness settings. Most of you already know this, but I just wanted to make it clear.

The Picture setting actually controls the "brightness" of the image.
The Brightness setting actually controls the black level and thus the "contrast" of the image.

If you set your Brightness control too high, the image will look washed out. If you set it too low, you lose shadow details. The right setting will give you a punchy / contrasty image without loosing too much shadow detail. Setting Brightness control higher doesnt make the image "brighter" - it just makes it look washed out.

If you find the image too dim, then you should increase the Picture setting. If you find the image too bright / glaring, then you should decrease the Picture setting.

I mention this because I noted many people posting positive Brightness control settings. For my set, I always leave the Brightness control at the default (in the middle) or slightly lower to get a punchier image. Setting the Brightness control beyond +5 for my set will definitely make the image look washed out. This depends highly on the black level calibration of your source, but if you are using HDMI, the black levels should be pretty much the same.

Hello everyone, I just joined the forum because I had to ask about the assertion bolded above.

This is how things usually are on most sets:
Brightness setting = brightness = black level
Picture setting = contrast = white level

But according to the above assertion, the Picture setting controls the brightness and the Brightness setting controls the contrast on this set. Is this true? Besides sounding very screwy, the poster also equates black level with contrast, which is wrong.

No offense to Hardcore but that is incorrect.

Picture= white level
Brightness = black level

Allan I was having this problem too. Thanks to these forums I found out my problem was that my HD cable box was not set up to recieve the proper signal. If you have one of the Scientific Atlanta boxes you can turn it off then hold the guide and info button on the box (not the remote) while turning it on. This will take you into a secret menu that allows you to add signals that are accepted.

Regarding Break In, I believe that the Panasonic's already have 100 hours of "Break In" placed on them in the Factory. In Canada I know this is the case, not sure about the States. The disc can be downloaded from the net, I believe there are links to it in these forums.

SUCH A GREAT TIP!!! HELPED ME TOO!

If you like the Denons, you might want to look at the Onkyo's. They make some great receivers that perform on par with the Denons and don't have HDMI compatibility issues with plasmas.

I first picked up a Denon 688. This doesn't have an issue with carry sound over HDMI. It says it only carries video and you have to use coaxial or optical cables to carry the sound. I returned it and picked up the 788 model. Works great using HDMI to carry audio and video.

Just picked up a Toshiba HD A30. It came with HD DVD movies3 00 and Bourne Supremacy.

Both movies have the black bars at the top and bottom.

I wanted to verify I have my HDMI settings correct. I was hoping to no longer have top and bottom wide screen bars with HD/Hdmi. Does the movie format/DVD create these bars?

many thanks,

Just picked up a Toshiba HD A30. It came with HD DVD movies3 00 and Bourne Supremacy.

Both movies have the black bars at the top and bottom.

I wanted to verify I have my HDMI settings correct. I was hoping to no longer have top and bottom wide screen bars with HD/Hdmi. Does the movie format/DVD create these bars?

many thanks,

It really just depends on what aspect ratio the movie was filmed in. The movie theater can just adjust the curtains above and below the screen to accomodate, so you don't really notice in the theater.

"My laptop has NVIDIA 7900GS card that can output up to 1920x1200 (native resolution on my 17" laptop screen). When I hook up the system to TV using DVI->HDMI cable, I get a beautiful picture with no flickering/etc. but I cannot seem to match the resolution 1:1 (outputting 1920x1080). The sreen seems to be a bit large (when maximizing windows, for instance, I don't see some parts of top/left/right/bottom borders). Laptop screen and TV are configured separately. I tried using NVIDIA's "resize HDTV" option but that didn't help."

Turned "size 2" (1:1 pixel mapping) from within the PICTURE menu. Works like a charm now.

In the menu system there is an adjustment for the HDMI, one of the choices overscans and you loose some portion of the four sides of the picture, the other choice is more of a 1:1. It solved the identical problem I experienced on my mac mini.

does the current rebate apply to Best Buys $80 delivery and basic install package?

I think they take it out of the package and will put it on a stand.

They do take it out of the package, assemble it, put it on a stand, and do the basic setup. I don't know if it qualifies for the rebate though. Based on the text on the rebate form, I think it should. If I find the UPC codes of my package I will submit and see what will happen.

does the current rebate apply to Best Buys $80 delivery and basic install package?

I think they take it out of the package and will put it on a stand.

According to bottom of ad:

http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/promotions/Plasma_200Rebate_B.pdf

It says installation includes Wall mounting or placement on a stand.

You should be golden. Wouldn't hurt to mail it in. The worst they can say is no, but it seems clear to me you qualify.

Just saw this other day myself. I got the 50PZ77U and it's been sitting in the box in my house for a few days now. Installation isn't scheduled until the
10th.

Still can't tell if a break in disk is necessary. I downloaded it and created the dvd. Just not sure if it's worth it to take the tv out and mess with that in the mean time

I did no break in (at least consciously) on my 42" Panny and two years later it still looks great - never had an issue with burn in or IR.

Hi everybody! I purchased the TH-42PZ77U last night online and am due to receive it in about 3 days. As a gamer, I have looked extensively for the right HDTV for me. Then, I found myself in the 42PZ77 vs. 42PZ700 dilemma. Obviously, I decided on the 42PZ77, but I have a couple questions.

Does the antiglare screen detract from the gaming experience at all?

Should I buy a surge protector for the TV?

I decided on the 42PZ77 because I'm in a dorm, but over the summer I'll be at home, and next year I'll be in an apartment, so the TV will be in a lot of different lighting situations. I'm hoping I made the right decision. What do yall think?

According to bottom of ad:

http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/promotions/Plasma_200Rebate_B.pdf

It says installation includes Wall mounting or placement on a stand.

You should be golden. Wouldn't hurt to mail it in. The worst they can say is no, but it seems clear to me you qualify.

Just saw this other day myself. I got the 50PZ77U and it's been sitting in the box in my house for a few days now. Installation isn't scheduled until the
10th.

Still can't tell if a break in disk is necessary. I downloaded it and created the dvd. Just not sure if it's worth it to take the tv out and mess with that in the mean time

I did no break in (at least consciously) on my 42" Panny and two years later it still looks great - never had an issue with burn in or IR.

I've had my 5077U for several weeks now.

I don't have the 'burn in' DVD, but I did back off the picture and brightness from the default.

Image looks great! No dead pixels, I have seen NO IR at all even after watching football games, and so also, no burn in.

Maybe I'm lucky...but...this hand wringing over burn in and IR seems to be all for nothing, imho.

Enjoy your panny - it'll look great!

Erik

Hi everybody! I purchased the TH-42PZ77U last night online and am due to receive it in about 3 days. As a gamer, I have looked extensively for the right HDTV for me. Then, I found myself in the 42PZ77 vs. 42PZ700 dilemma. Obviously, I decided on the 42PZ77, but I have a couple questions.

Does the antiglare screen detract from the gaming experience at all?

Should I buy a surge protector for the TV?

I decided on the 42PZ77 because I'm in a dorm, but over the summer I'll be at home, and next year I'll be in an apartment, so the TV will be in a lot of different lighting situations. I'm hoping I made the right decision. What do yall think?

Go to BB or CC or some such retail outlet and go look for *yourself*.

You decide - for yourself - based on YOUR lighting situation.

Some like the PZ77U, some don't. Some have fretted so much over this issue that they returned their PZ77U still in the box just because they read some things on the internet.

I've got a PZ77U and will go on record as a completely satisfied owner because I went and looked at both side by side and
1)could not justify the extra money for the 700U
2)from 12 ft away (where my viewing spot is), I really couldn't tell the difference
3)for my home setup I have several windows that really reflect and the PZ77U cuts down on this annoyance for daytime viewing.

Go decide which is best for you - it will be the ONLY way you'll be content with your decision. Don't let other folks that you don't even know make that decision for you - don't be a lemming ;)

Erik

Hi everybody! I purchased the TH-42PZ77U last night online and am due to receive it in about 3 days. As a gamer, I have looked extensively for the right HDTV for me. Then, I found myself in the 42PZ77 vs. 42PZ700 dilemma. Obviously, I decided on the 42PZ77, but I have a couple questions.

Does the antiglare screen detract from the gaming experience at all?

Should I buy a surge protector for the TV?

I decided on the 42PZ77 because I'm in a dorm, but over the summer I'll be at home, and next year I'll be in an apartment, so the TV will be in a lot of different lighting situations. I'm hoping I made the right decision. What do yall think?

I have it and love it. My only recommendations are to dial back the settings to zero and download the burn in disk. I'd put at least 100 hours on it before doing any serious gaming, and even then take a break every half hour or so just to be sure you don't get any IR. As you should know, IR leads to burn in, so it's best to start out a little easy and work your way up as your confidence in the display increases.

Sorry, I know what you mean. I guess I'm just having buyer's remorse. Regarding the surge protector, I was asking because of the power failures I have heard about on these tv sets and the fact that I had heard somewhere that surge protectors may help to prevent this problem.

Sorry, I know what you mean. I guess I'm just having buyer's remorse. Regarding the surge protector, I was asking because of the power failures I have heard about on these tv sets and the fact that I had heard somewhere that surge protectors may help to prevent this problem.

I have the 50pz77u, you probably will love this display as I do. But, as Erik Tracy says go on and SEE for yourself. If you're iffy you should take your gaming console of choice to the store and hook it up.

What do you mean about power failures on these tv sets?

Ok, thanks for yall's advice. But can somebody answer my original questions please? (I can't compare gaming at BB or CC or any brick and mortar place that I know of.)

I'm not sure if its a real problem, but I just remember reading in some thread somewhere that these TVs sometime have a tendency to have bad power supplies and that surge protectors somehow alleviate the problem. Is this a real concern? (sorry jlatnyc, you posted when I was typing my post)

I'm not sure if its a real problem, but I just remember reading in some thread somewhere that these TVs sometime have a tendency to have bad power supplies and that surge protectors somehow alleviate the problem. Is this a real concern? (sorry jlatnyc, you posted when I was typing my post)

Just my opinion but I 100 percent think you should have a surge protector on such an expensive piece of equipment.

I bought this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7963938&type=product&id=1153337209702

The benefit of this particular surge protector is that it also provides "Clean" power (power conditioner) to your TV meaning you'll get a better picture.

I didn't believe that it would make a difference but I did find the picture better after I switched over to it.

I read a post where someone took their console to one of these stores. Also I don't recall reading anything about bad power on these sets. But a good Surge Protector is always good. Although MonsterPower is about the only thing I would buy from Monster their prices are still too high.

Check this one out. From a reputable dealer in NYC. DataVision
http://www1.datavis.com/Belkin_Components_PureAV_PF31_Home_Theater_Black_Power_Conso le.html
Remember thats just an example of a nice one that would look just as nice next to your components, they have another Belkin PureAv power strip w/ cleanpower for under $70. Which has higher power ratings, better portection warranty than the Monster. Also APC also makes a few surge protectors for home theater. Another reputable dealer in NYC is http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ I've bought plenty of stuff over the years at their store and I here their online sales are very good too. Browse for yourself.

Just thought I'd chime in here on break-in. I live in Canada and the reply I got from Panasonic tech support was:

Thank you for your e-mail. Please be advised that our panels have already
been operated for 100 hours at the factory prior to distribution. We do
recommend that you change the Picture Mode from the default of Vivid to
either Standard or Cinema, based on which you feel looks better in the room
that the Plasma is in (lighting conditions).

Sincerely,
Panasonic Canada Inc.
Viera Support Team

I also called Panasonic Canada and they said any break in using dvds etc on sets (up in Can anyway) would be, (and I am quoting here) "a waste of time".
Gist on my conversation with the tech people there was enjoy the set, play games, watch movies and tv, don't worry about burn in as you'd have to really abuse the display to get actual burn in (versus IR) (like leave the weather channel on for weeks at a time.....)



My only Q here is...what purpose does 'vivid' mode have? Funny that they would have a setting that Panasonic themselves tell you to not use - although not an issue IMO.....vivid looks way to hot for my taste anway.

In any case, thats the scoop from the company that made my set (50Pz77 btw).

Loving the set, great picture, antiglare screen is fantastic.

Just thought I'd chime in here on break-in. I live in Canada and the reply I got from Panasonic tech support was:

Thank you for your e-mail. Please be advised that our panels have already
been operated for 100 hours at the factory prior to distribution. We do
recommend that you change the Picture Mode from the default of Vivid to
either Standard or Cinema, based on which you feel looks better in the room
that the Plasma is in (lighting conditions).

Sincerely,
Panasonic Canada Inc.
Viera Support Team

I also called Panasonic Canada and they said any break in using dvds etc on sets (up in Can anyway) would be, (and I am quoting here) "a waste of time".
Gist on my conversation with the tech people there was enjoy the set, play games, watch movies and tv, don't worry about burn in as you'd have to really abuse the display to get actual burn in (versus IR) (like leave the weather channel on for weeks at a time.....)


Pretty much what I've experienced.



My only Q here is...what purpose does 'vivid' mode have? Funny that they would have a setting that Panasonic themselves tell you to not use - although not an issue IMO.....vivid looks way to hot for my taste anway.


Maybe "Vivid" = "Sales" mode - which is what they might set the display model to when its in the store? :rolleyes:

Erik

Pretty much what I've experienced.




Maybe "Vivid" = "Sales" mode - which is what they might set the display model to when its in the store? :rolleyes:

Erik

Seems like a plausable explaination.

Just for the record, my father in law has an older 42 inch Panasonic plasma (not sure on model #, sorry)...maybe 2 1/2-3 years old that has been on vivid with picture at 30 the entire time with zero break in of any kind and he never fills the screen all the time. I've never seen any burn in on this set at all, and I have looked for it.

Is this a good surge protector, when compared to the Belkin PureAV $70 one?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/NexxTech-4200-Joule-Surge-Protector-N4200SURGE/sem/rpsm/oid/166080/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do#warranty

I have one dead or stuck pixel on my th-42pz77, not sure which one is it, it only shows up when the screen is blue? Is it dead or stuck... and will it go away after a while?

Anyone else know anything about the fact that a 77U model won't turn on? I get 7 blinking red lights on the power indicator. I looked over at Bruzzi's forum and saw that it is some floating voltage thing. I have called for a service appt, but c'mon, the tv is only 36 days old! And yes, it is plugged into a surge protector and the fact I have a whole house surge protector at the panel. I tried returning it to sears and was told the policy is only 30 days. We exchanged a few words, but in the end they didn't take it.

Anyone else had the blinking red light and the set doesn't turn on?

Hi everybody! I purchased the TH-42PZ77U last night online and am due to receive it in about 3 days. As a gamer, I have looked extensively for the right HDTV for me. Then, I found myself in the 42PZ77 vs. 42PZ700 dilemma. Obviously, I decided on the 42PZ77, but I have a couple questions.

Does the antiglare screen detract from the gaming experience at all?

Should I buy a surge protector for the TV?

I decided on the 42PZ77 because I'm in a dorm, but over the summer I'll be at home, and next year I'll be in an apartment, so the TV will be in a lot of different lighting situations. I'm hoping I made the right decision. What do yall think?

I myself was in the EXACT same boat as yourself....I had the pz77u at home, had the TV for 3 1/2 weeks. Used the break-in dvd.

I mainly use it for xbox 360 and hd dvd.

At first I thought that the TV was a little dim for gaming. Using the recommended settings of around 0 for break-in was unplayable. Games were WAYYY to dark, had to turn it up to about 15 picture to even play. After break in with normal setting games looked very very good but still whites looked dim/hazzy.

Bought an HD dvd player and put in my first movie, Shooter. Movie looked great, awesome details, again dim/hazzy... no glossy color POP that a PLASMA should have. That wet, shiny glossy color look that you only get from a plasma.

This is my first plasma and I can tell you that I could notice the difference right away after switching to the 700u.

Whites look ALOT whiter, they have no haze anymore which I'm convinced is due to the anti-glare "LCD" like screen.

HD Movies now look AMAZING, just what I had expected in a plasma. A nice shiny, WET look with the colors glazed over the glass.

In short, the 77u did look great it had ZERO reflection/glare problems, but the haze took the plasma feel out of it for me. It's kind of like looking at an older projection style TV screen, that checkerboard textured feel, but with a great picture.

700u same picture, but colors stand out more, are brighter, and more depth in the picture as there is nothing but shiny glass in the way.

Bottom line, both AWESOME TV's.....get the 77u if you have ALOT of lights, big windows or sunlight that you can't control.

My final settings after calibration were:
picture: 26
brightness:7 or 8
color: -3
tint: 1
Sharp:0 turning the sharpness to -20 as other suggested gives some noise in dark colors. Sharpness doesnt seem to do anything at all, but it did clear up the dark colors a bit turning it up.

Thanks for everyone's input regarding 700u vs. 770u. This will be my first HDTV, and I'm going to be keeping the 770u. I've decided that, since these are both great TVs with their separate pros and cons, worrying about whether or not I got the right one is (for me), just splitting hairs.

Now, with that said, where do I find a good break in DVD?

I have had my 50PZ77u for three weeks. Yesterday when I turned on the set...no audio from PZ77U speakers??? No settings were changed...I have checked everything suggested in the manual relative to touble shooting "no audio".

Just wondered if anyone else had audio issues??

Thanks

no problems here...

I have one dead or stuck pixel on my th-42pz77, not sure which one is it, it only shows up when the screen is blue? Is it dead or stuck... and will it go away after a while?

I have the PZ77u with one dead pixel. It's toward the top of the screen and I can only see it when the image is white and I am about 2' or closer. Any further away, or if the image has any color, I can't see it. I'm past the 30 return period. I'm not going to bother yet with Panasonic warranty unless more dead pixels present themselves. What you have might be a stuck pixel and it might unstick itself.

If I were able to see it during normal viewing, then i would certainly raise heck.

I have had my pz77u for months now and have had the 700u I much perfer the colors on the pz77u. It has deeper color better blacks and much improved glare.

There is no comparison imo. pz77u is just the better TV. I see no difference in the whites that makes me step back and say wow what a difference.

"My laptop has NVIDIA 7900GS card that can output up to 1920x1200 (native resolution on my 17" laptop screen). When I hook up the system to TV using DVI->HDMI cable, I get a beautiful picture with no flickering/etc. but I cannot seem to match the resolution 1:1 (outputting 1920x1080). The sreen seems to be a bit large (when maximizing windows, for instance, I don't see some parts of top/left/right/bottom borders). Laptop screen and TV are configured separately. I tried using NVIDIA's "resize HDTV" option but that didn't help."

Turned "size 2" (1:1 pixel mapping) from within the PICTURE menu. Works like a charm now.

I did this too with my 8800GTS 640mb card and the picture looks great but the text during internet browsing and on various menus is grey whereas with size 1 it is black. Any way to make the text readable?

I've ordered the 42pz77u the weekend week before Christmas and I'am still waiting. How long did most of you have to wait for back orders? Thanks.

Just got mine today and this TV is awesome. The NFL playoffs feel like I am in the stadium.

Thumbs up from me.

I need to work on the setting for the xbox 360 though. any suggestions?

Well, hopefully you have better luck with yours as mine only lasted 30 +/- a day or two. The Blinking light of death I guess. Sears won't even take it back being only 4 days over their return policy. Panasonic will send someone out in 48hours but who wants to keep a tv that could possibly require 3 boards to be changed out after only 30 days....

Well, hopefully you have better luck with yours as mine only lasted 30 +/- a day or two. The Blinking light of death I guess. Sears won't even take it back being only 4 days over their return policy. Panasonic will send someone out in 48hours but who wants to keep a tv that could possibly require 3 boards to be changed out after only 30 days....

That does suck, sorry to hear.

I'll start by saying I live in Canada - so perhaps things are different here. Digital cable here is only 480i. I have to say some stuff looks great but some channels or programs look like absolute ****. Perhaps, as the FAQ on the Panny website says, it is because when you are taking 480 signal to 1080 you will see really how crappy it is. I am disappointed because I was under the impression that some Plasma TVs gave you the option to be in 480, 720 or 1080 mode - with the click of a button?

So, not sure what to think. I notice the blue writing of my cable box channel menu is blury at times. I was using an RF cable to hook the digital cable box to the TV cable in. So I now have the S-video connection as well to the cable box. Will have to see if that makes a difference in the picture or not. But with S-vid in the video 1 slot it won't actually allow me to enter the Submenu or use the SAP button. I can only do that on TV mode using the signal coming from the RF cable.

Regretting perhaps not sticking with our original plan to get the 780p LG for $300 less. HD seletion (like Sirius radio selection) is absolute crap in Canada and a lot more expensive. I envy you Americans with all your selections and great deals. Retailers here at best will match a price.

Well, hopefully you have better luck with yours as mine only lasted 30 +/- a day or two. The Blinking light of death I guess. Sears won't even take it back being only 4 days over their return policy. Panasonic will send someone out in 48hours but who wants to keep a tv that could possibly require 3 boards to be changed out after only 30 days....

Why won't they take it back after 30 days? My Sears receipt states 90 days. What, is it different from state to state?

Just in case anyone cares, I fixed my audio problem by unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable on my Gefen HDMI switch. It appeared to be properly seated, so I am not sure what happened--anyway, it's fixed.

I have had my 50PZ77u for three weeks. Yesterday when I turned on the set...no audio from PZ77U speakers??? No settings were changed...I have checked everything suggested in the manual relative to touble shooting "no audio".

Just wondered if anyone else had audio issues??

Thanks

Faramir1971, you need to get a HD cable box or HD satellite receiver and hook it up with HDMI. S-Video is not HD. I was watching HDnet this weekend and was getting amazing quality from my Satellite feed.

Faramir1971, you need to get a HD cable box or HD satellite receiver and hook it up with HDMI. S-Video is not HD. I was watching HDnet this weekend and was getting amazing quality from my Satellite feed.

Yes, I know - but for a meage 8 channels I am not prepared to buy a $250 HDTV ready cable box so I am sticking with digital. Just wondered if HOW I connected the cable box to the TV made a difference. Doesn't seem to. My Motarolla cable box must be old b/c there is no Component connectors on it.

Incidentally, the the anti-glare screen on the 77U may actually be a blessing. I don't usually watch TV in the day and here in Victoria winters are very dark - but I wasn't considering the fact that our front window faces a direction in our yard that gets all the sun. I didn't believe my wife when she told me, but today was very sunny, and even with the curtains down (the way she likes it), the sun peeks through the slit between each of our hanging curtains and it definately does reflect off the plasma screen. I imagine the reflection would be far worse without the anti-glare filter.

I actually don't believe that the 77U is Vesa compatable. Knowhere on the box does it say so and if you go to the Panny site some TVs specifically mention Vesa but this TV does not.

Panny really wants you to buy their $600 mount. I got a AVF mounting kit from Costco. I don't know is only for the Canadian version of the Pannys but the screw holes for the brackets are metric. None of the screws with the kit were long enough - the one that fit was an M8 but it was only 20 mm long.

So it took me 1 and half hours (towing my 2 - 1/2 yr old with me) to locate the proper screw. Rona was all out of metric bolts of the type I needed. Went to a local store and let me tell you finding metric hardware that you need is not easy, but alas I found a screw/bolt M8 that was 40 mm long - long enough to get the bracket on the Panny. We live in an earthquake zone so I would never reccomend just sitting the TV on a fireplace mantel. So its bolted on good.

Faramir 1971...

The cable company's in Canada make you buy the box? That sucks not so here in the States.......or at least mine OK.

You need a new cable box ...it stinks you have to pay for it but it will have hdmi/component out which will improve the pq of all your stations with this set.

This set has a clear qam tuner ...not sure if Canadian tv has any unencrypted qam stations that would be HD; you might try connecting the cable to the t.v. and see what it finds; typically the major networks are in clear qam.

good luck

I was able to take it back to Sears for a full refund. I was actually glad this happened for the following reasons.

SD TV on this thing, and all wide-screen TVs I've seen, is an utter joke. This unit was rated very good by Consumer Reports in the SD TV department, but I don't know what they're smoking. SD TV on an HDTV looks like really bad projection TV's you saw in sports bars in the mid 80s.

HDTV in the television department is disappointing, to say the least. At least here with Comcast in Portland OR. Compression, motion artifacts, HD stations that put up their ridiculous borders on a 4:3 image while they're not HDing ... crap. (I should say that I am subscribing only to basic cable, no set top box. I plugged the cable right into the panny, the QAM tuner picked up 5 HD stations and a host of SD digitals. For a review of the SD stations, see above.) Now, that said, occasionally a football game would come in beautifully, not flawlessly (say compared to a 1080i HD DVD player, see below), but enough to say "OK, not bad, very nice." But this was only once in a while.

ON THE OTHER HAND: DVDs are amazing, even played on a 1080i HD DVD player like the Toshiba HD-A2 (which just became obsolete, but never mind that). The first thing I played on the Panny was 2001, A Space Odyssey, in HD DVD. Oh, man I fell off my chair. Better than watching it in a theater. The detail ... This shows what this and other HDTVs can do, and it shows how we are getting screwed by the TV stations.

So a few weeks ago I got the blinking red lights (7 blinks, pause, 7 more, pause ...). The Panny had died. I called up Sears and they said they'd replace the damned thing free. Then I thought ... great, got to transport the behemoth home again, put it on the stand again ... If TV came through as nicely as HD DVD I woulda done it. But I shouted "refund!" and surprisingly they agreed (my receipt said 90 days for returns, but I was within 30 days).

I'm waiting another year or two to buy a wide-screen. All and all, my little 20 inch Sony CRT beats the pants off this HD crap as it stands.

Before I go out and buy new connectors and cables, should I be able to connect my Sony Vaio VGN-S260's VGA out using a VGA to S-Video cable that I alreaqdy have and connect that to my PZ77U through one of the s-video ports? I am trying it right now but get no picture on the Panny. The display function in the control panel has a check box for "Extend my Windows desktop on to this monitor" so I have the second monitor selected but no matter what resolution I choose, I still don't get anything to display. This is a Sony widescreen laptop with an ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 video adapter with settings up to 2048x1536 but I don't see 1980x1020 as a choice. The closest are 1280x800, 1280x1024 or 1920x1200.

I am not sure if the cable just won't do what I want and that I need to get a vga to dvi adapter and then a DVI to HDMI cable and go that route or that it is because I cannot match the 1980x1020 as a choice. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kirk

Your right about the 90 days for anything other than electronics. Its only 30 days for Home electronics and Mattresses for refund or exchange. Trust me, I tried everything including making a scene in the store. They would take it back, but wanted to charge me a 15% restocking fee. Thats a subjective charge to say the least. Still angers me....

Hi There,

I've had my TH42PZ77U for about 3 weeks now and I've noticed a problem. In certain scenes I can see light and dark vertical bands through the picture. The problem is most easily seen in scenes with quick horizontal motion, or a light colored background. Generally these bands are effectively invisible, but they stand out when watching. I'm debating exchanging this set for another one of the same type, or calling Panasonic and seeing what they have to say about the issue. Is anyone else having this problem?

From my previous posting, I've ordered the 42pz77u before Christmas but haven't received it still on back order. I have now read some specs about the 2008 panasonic plasmas and was wondering if I should hold off until the new line up comes out.

Faramir 1971...

The cable company's in Canada make you buy the box? That sucks not so here in the States.......or at least mine OK.

You need a new cable box ...it stinks you have to pay for it but it will have hdmi/component out which will improve the pq of all your stations with this set.

This set has a clear qam tuner ...not sure if Canadian tv has any unencrypted qam stations that would be HD; you might try connecting the cable to the t.v. and see what it finds; typically the major networks are in clear qam.

good luck

In Canada you have 3 choices from the cable company. Regular from the wall analogue. Or using a Motarolla digital cable box. This is what I have - this is not a box for HDTV. Digital cable is about $51.00 per month. I think the box was $100 but they may have given me $100 in free programming.

They have HDTV service (the 3rd option) for the same price per month but one requires a new HDTV cable box. The cable company actually charges $450 for the box and $600 for a Tivo HDTV box. But I know for a fact one can get a box for $250 at a retailer. So far they haven't offer any credits for buying it.

Even digital service is only 480i. My wife is from Denver and she was shocked to learn we had to pay for service in Canada. I guess much of what we pay for is free in the US. Cable means something different in the US as well I think. "Cable" for us just means any service that doesn't require an attenae (free but usually only a few stations come snow free). In order to get ABC and the major networks is considered cable as is at least $25 per month. I thin "cable" in the US refers to premium services like HBO?

What is a QAM tuner and what does it do for you?

Well, hopefully you have better luck with yours as mine only lasted 30 +/- a day or two. The Blinking light of death I guess. Sears won't even take it back being only 4 days over their return policy. Panasonic will send someone out in 48hours but who wants to keep a tv that could possibly require 3 boards to be changed out after only 30 days....

Mine only lasted 7 and 1/2 days. Came home today wanting to watch the football game and my wife said the TV shut off all by itself.
I said "yeah right what did you do to it". Played around with it and nothing happened. Then I saw the 7 blinks of the power led light followed by a pause followed by 7 more and a pause and so on.... Then I did a search and found other people have the same problem. After all the research I did in making this choice of a 42PZ77U , not once did I come up with a bad review. Really disappointing to see this come from Panasonic. My question is the boards they have to replace,will they be of better quality or will this become an unending service call.
I'm curious of how many people have this problem. Thanks .

Hey Moemann66, you may want to know that Panasonic will be announcing whole new 2008 models available in the Spring of 2008: see some info here

.....ces.cnet.com/8301-13855_1-9841653-67.html?tag=head


for 2008 Panasonic dropped it in favor of a new antireflective screen that's used throughout the line. Looks like Panasonic has decided to drop the PZ77U's Antiglare screen. The 42-inch TH-42PZ80U has 1080p resolution, native contrast ratio 20,000:1,
Game Mode, SD Memory Card Slot, 3 HDMI connections.

Also new 42-inch TH-42PZ85U adds 24p Native Reproduction, and has 30,000:1 contrast upgrade.

If you can wait may be worth considering new models and return your current model. I was very close to selecting between PZ77 and PZ700 but decided to wait for 2008 models.

Hey Moemann66, you may want to know that Panasonic will be announcing whole new 2008 models available in the Spring of 2008: see some info here

.....ces.cnet.com/8301-13855_1-9841653-67.html?tag=head


for 2008 Panasonic dropped it in favor of a new antireflective screen that's used throughout the line. Looks like Panasonic has decided to drop the PZ77U's Antiglare screen. The 42-inch TH-42PZ80U has 1080p resolution, native contrast ratio 20,000:1,
Game Mode, SD Memory Card Slot, 3 HDMI connections.

Also new 42-inch TH-42PZ85U adds 24p Native Reproduction, and has 30,000:1 contrast upgrade.

If you can wait may be worth considering new models and return your current model. I was very close to selecting between PZ77 and PZ700 but decided to wait for 2008 models.

i dont get it, so both the 80 and 85u's replace the 77u with all kinds of improvements as well as a contrast and 24p (which i thought it technically already had and should then be in the 80u as well) seperating the two.

but then what happens to the 700u upgrade? will there be an 800u?

Yes there is a 700u upgrade:

Quote from Cnet article on CES update---- "The top of the line TH-PZ800U series, including the 42-inch TH-42PZ800U, the 46-inch TH-46PZ800U and the 50-inch TH-50PZ800U, is THX Display Certified, which may or may not indicate better performance than the 85U series. Other differentiators include a fourth HDMI input and a new "one sheet of glass" design concept."

What is a QAM tuner and what does it do for you?

Not sure how to define it, but it allows you to tune in unencrypted digital channels, whether HD or SD, via cable, with no set top box. My basic cable sub from Comcast allowed me to get 5 HD (the locals) channels this way. (I only pay $3.00 a month net, after the discount on internet, for cable TV, so this QAM tuner saved me some money.)

Hey guys, I purchased a 700u about a month and half ago. This set seems to be great. The only problem I have is that I think I should have got the 77u cause of the anti-glare. At first the glare did not seem bad because I did not have it in the in the actual room I was going to have it in due to I did not have a stand to put it on. Now that it is in my living room which has 3 windows directly opposite of the TV the glare is pretty bad during day time viewing, its like a mirror on dark screens.

So basically I'm going to return this set for the 77u. I noticed that the speakers on the 700u seem to be great sounding but I noticed that the specs on the 77u are not even close to that of the 700u. How does the 77u sound compared to the 700u? And is the Anti-glare and speakers really the main difference between the two sets? I know that contrast ratios are different but I figure that is to make up for the anti-glare.

Thanks

Hey guys, I purchased a 700u about a month and half ago. This set seems to be great. The only problem I have is that I think I should have got the 77u cause of the anti-glare. At first the glare did not seem bad because I did not have it in the in the actual room I was going to have it in due to I did not have a stand to put it on. Now that it is in my living room which has 3 windows directly opposite of the TV the glare is pretty bad during day time viewing, its like a mirror on dark screens.

So basically I'm going to return this set for the 77u. I noticed that the speakers on the 700u seem to be great sounding but I noticed that the specs on the 77u are not even close to that of the 700u. How does the 77u sound compared to the 700u? And is the Anti-glare and speakers really the main difference between the two sets? I know that contrast ratios are different but I figure that is to make up for the anti-glare.

Thanks

Those seem to be the 2 major differences in the two. I honestly can't comment on the sound because I've never used the speakers because I have it hooked up to my Yamaha receiver.

I feel sure someone will post about the 77 not even being in the same ballpark as the 700 but I disagree 100%. I researched them both to death, looked them over in the store, and decided I also needed the anti-glare screen for daytime viewing.

I then came here and see several saying they didn't like it so traded for a 700. I have worried myself to death on the subject. I can however say I am happy with it. I am not returning mine. I think the picture is like looking out a window on any HD source and the SD isn't too shabby either ;)

If you have reflection problems then I think this set is fantastic. If you can control the lighting then no...stick with the 700.

Those seem to be the 2 major differences in the two. I honestly can't comment on the sound because I've never used the speakers because I have it hooked up to my Yamaha receiver.

I feel sure someone will post about the 77 not even being in the same ballpark as the 700 but I disagree 100%. I researched them both to death, looked them over in the store, and decided I also needed the anti-glare screen for daytime viewing.

I then came here and see several saying they didn't like it so traded for a 700. I have worried myself to death on the subject. I can however say I am happy with it. I am not returning mine. I think the picture is like looking out a window on any HD source and the SD isn't too shabby either ;)

If you have reflection problems then I think this set is fantastic. If you can control the lighting then no...stick with the 700.

I think that regardless of the sound I need the anti-glare. I was just curious to what others have thought about the sound differences cause the 700 sounds great!!. I can control the lighting in the room but during the summer months we like to have the windows open to have fresh air and it will stay light out to 9-10 pm in the summer so I think I'll end up regreting this TV when summer time comes around. I just hate have to pack up the old set and haul it back it just seems like such a pain in the arse, but I guess it needs to be done, unless the store has free delivery and will pick up and return the current set that way.

I just read a review on best buys site and the guy mentions the black levels are not adjustable on the 77, is this true? The 700 gives you an option for light and dark. Thanks

I just read a review on best buys site and the guy mentions the black levels are not adjustable on the 77, is this true? The 700 gives you an option for light and dark. Thanks

77 has the same option ;)

[QUOTE=Mister;12714555]Hey Moemann66, you may want to know that Panasonic will be announcing whole new 2008 models available in the Spring of 2008: see some info here

.....ces.cnet.com/8301-13855_1-9841653-67.html?tag=head

Thanks for the info but it's going to be tough to give up this TV since I got a terrific deal on it, however if it happens again in the next 21 days it will be returned. Hopefully I'll never the blinking power light again. Thanks.

Hey guys, I purchased a 700u about a month and half ago. This set seems to be great. The only problem I have is that I think I should have got the 77u cause of the anti-glare. At first the glare did not seem bad because I did not have it in the in the actual room I was going to have it in due to I did not have a stand to put it on. Now that it is in my living room which has 3 windows directly opposite of the TV the glare is pretty bad during day time viewing, its like a mirror on dark screens.

So basically I'm going to return this set for the 77u. I noticed that the speakers on the 700u seem to be great sounding but I noticed that the specs on the 77u are not even close to that of the 700u. How does the 77u sound compared to the 700u? And is the Anti-glare and speakers really the main difference between the two sets? I know that contrast ratios are different but I figure that is to make up for the anti-glare.

Thanks

I noticed the same thing you did. Never watched my 77U except at night and dark winter days. This Sunday the sun was shining and I remembered our livingroom faces the part of the yard that gets the most sun. It was streaming in through the gaps of the 3 curtains and I had to put the TV on Vivid mode to watch it. Apparently the 700U also has some sort of anti-reflection technology, but the 77U may work better.

Makes me a little angry that Panny realized their mistake about the 77U anti-glare. Perhaps they will give us all a free 700U?:mad:

Yes, the sound system is superior on the 700U - question being will you notice it? And the 700U has an input for a computer connection. The only reason I wanted that was if I found something on YouTube, I wanted to connect it to the TV. My wife posed the question "How often are you REALLY going to do that?" You can get adaptors apparently anyways.

Still miffed a little. Sounds like SEARS was pushing the 77U to get it out knowing Panny turfed the anti-glare screen and were bringing out 2008 models. Got sold on the 1080, finding out afterwards that the day Canada goes to 1080 signals will be the day I die most likely. Buyer beware. Went in looking at the LG 780 model that was $300 cheaper. Maybe I am just suffering from buyer's remorse?

Still plenty happy with the 77U and while I understand what most people are saying about the 700U having a bit more "pop", to me the 77U looks great. I do get some light from across the room where I currently have it set up but I am going to move it upstairs to an area that gets a lot of sunlight so I am sure I will appreciate the 77U even more up there.

I noticed the same thing you did. Never watched my 77U except at night and dark winter days. This Sunday the sun was shining and I remembered our livingroom faces the part of the yard that gets the most sun. It was streaming in through the gaps of the 3 curtains and I had to put the TV on Vivid mode to watch it. Apparently the 700U also has some sort of anti-reflection technology, but the 77U may work better.

Makes me a little angry that Panny realized their mistake about the 77U anti-glare. Perhaps they will give us all a free 700U?:mad:

Yes, the sound system is superior on the 700U - question being will you notice it? And the 700U has an input for a computer connection. The only reason I wanted that was if I found something on YouTube, I wanted to connect it to the TV. My wife posed the question "How often are you REALLY going to do that?" You can get adaptors apparently anyways.

Still miffed a little. Sounds like SEARS was pushing the 77U to get it out knowing Panny turfed the anti-glare screen and were bringing out 2008 models. Got sold on the 1080, finding out afterwards that the day Canada goes to 1080 signals will be the day I die most likely. Buyer beware. Went in looking at the LG 780 model that was $300 cheaper. Maybe I am just suffering from buyer's remorse?


The anti-glare on the 700u is not nearly the same as the 77u. You can barely tell it's on there on the 700u. That is why I'm going to give the 77u a try, I will not wait until the new models come out. I just hope they give me the same price on the 77u as I got on the 700u. BB priced matched the 700u to the on sale Sears price for the 77u cause they did not have the 77u in stock when I purchased. So I'm shooting for an even trade hopefully, since it seems prices have went up a little since I purchased and I'm going to refuse a price increase. I'll find out later today when I make it there. If they don't give me an even trade I'll probably just return it and see what the new models are like.

I have had my pz77u for months now and have had the 700u I much perfer the colors on the pz77u. It has deeper color better blacks and much improved glare.

There is no comparison imo. pz77u is just the better TV. I see no difference in the whites that makes me step back and say wow what a difference.
You must be kidding, Stix. I've also had both the 77u and 700u and I agree totally with Kelfa. The picture on the 700u is full of the "smash" and WOW that we want in a plasma HDTV... the picture on my 77u paled by comparison (literally and figuratively.)

I just bought the 77U and love it, after a couple of days. (Of course, this is my first foray into HD world, so anything is bound to look great.)

Aside from this huge thread, is there any place I can go to see what settings people recommend for this unit? (I'm very new here, so don't really know my way around the forum yet.)

Thanks.

Yes there is a 700u upgrade:

Other differentiators include a new "one sheet of glass" design concept."



Isn't that how Pioneer produces their best blacks, with a single sheet?

You must be kidding, Stix. I've also had both the 77u and 700u and I agree totally with Kelfa. The picture on the 700u is full of the "smash" and WOW that we want in a plasma HDTV... the picture on my 77u paled by comparison (literally and figuratively.)

I think the point that most are missing here is that 'perceived' PQ is NOT the only consideration for determining which choice is better for any given person.

I also compared the 700U and the 77U side by side at CC.

1) At the time the 700U was several hundred dollars more expensive - even using netbots to search prices - the 77U was cheaper
2) From 12 ft away (where my home viewing position is)- I really could not see much of a difference between the two.
3) The 77U had a MUCH more effective screen/coating/whatever that reduced side and back reflections than the 700U - which FOR MY home setup would have been a distraction if I had bought the 700U. When viewing them side by side at CC, I could clearly see in the 700U display screen overhead lights, the facial features of the guy standing next to me (moustache or not, long hair, male/female etc) - whereas the 77U did not exhibit as much distracting/annoying detail.

The 'poo poo-ing' of the 77U is really been blown out of proportion based on my personal viewing comparision.

If folks have controlled lighting, cool, the 700U may be for you.

But maybe it isn't and the 77U is the better choice. It has gotten some very good reviews as one of the better/best displays Panasonic has made to date, and I personally think the PQ is excellent.

Some of the comments here make it out to be a POS - where it really is more of subjective/relative difference in two very good PDP choices.

Does having "less pop" make the 77U a POS?

No, not in my opinion.

Only that for some the difference in "pop" is regarded more important than the ability to reduce annoying reflections.

Implying that the Panasonic blew it with the 77U is unfair and I seriously question whether folks have truly tried to do some sort of objective viewing for their own and are simply parroting back the hype that has been built around this topic.

Maybe I'm just rationalizing my own choice - could be. But I'm still VERY happy with my choice of the 77U as it works how I want it to with a very enjoyable viewing experience.

FWIW,
Erik
Happy TH-50PZ77U owner

3) The 77U had a MUCH more effective screen/coating/whatever that reduced side and back reflections than the 700U - which FOR MY home setup would have been a distraction if I had bought the 700U. When viewing them side by side at CC, I could clearly see in the 700U display screen overhead lights, the facial features of the guy standing next to me (moustache or not, long hair, male/female etc) - whereas the 77U did not exhibit as much distracting/annoying detail.

I did the same side-by-side comparison and had the same observations. I could see an obvious difference in the reflection and no difference in the PQ. But I am probably not nearly as discerning as most people here.

I'll add that, once the 77U was set up at home (in my bedroom), I was very happy that I chose it instead of the 700U, since I still noticed a slightly distracting reflection when one particular lamp was turned on. I suspect that I am actually somewhat sensitive about this right now, and will get used to the mild reflection soon. But in any event, the lamp in question is easily turned off if I want to, so I certainly don't regret the purchase. Indeed, I wonder whether an LCD would have the same amount of reflection.

Isn't that how Pioneer produces their best blacks, with a single sheet?

some people have been saying the single sheet thing is just cosmetic, but so far there hasnt been an explanation of what is iexaclty i dont think.

When the kuros were coming out on their marketing site Pioneer does talk up something related to a special sheet technology, playing a role in lower reflections and better viewing angles.

I think the point that most are missing here is that 'perceived' PQ is NOT the only consideration for determining which choice is better for any given person.

I also compared the 700U and the 77U side by side at CC.

1) At the time the 700U was several hundred dollars more expensive - even using netbots to search prices - the 77U was cheaper
2) From 12 ft away (where my home viewing position is)- I really could not see much of a difference between the two.
3) The 77U had a MUCH more effective screen/coating/whatever that reduced side and back reflections than the 700U - which FOR MY home setup would have been a distraction if I had bought the 700U. When viewing them side by side at CC, I could clearly see in the 700U display screen overhead lights, the facial features of the guy standing next to me (moustache or not, long hair, male/female etc) - whereas the 77U did not exhibit as much distracting/annoying detail.

The 'poo poo-ing' of the 77U is really been blown out of proportion based on my personal viewing comparision.

If folks have controlled lighting, cool, the 700U may be for you.

But maybe it isn't and the 77U is the better choice. It has gotten some very good reviews as one of the better/best displays Panasonic has made to date, and I personally think the PQ is excellent.

Some of the comments here make it out to be a POS - where it really is more of subjective/relative difference in two very good PDP choices.

Does having "less pop" make the 77U a POS?

No, not in my opinion.

Only that for some the difference in "pop" is regarded more important than the ability to reduce annoying reflections.

Implying that the Panasonic blew it with the 77U is unfair and I seriously question whether folks have truly tried to do some sort of objective viewing for their own and are simply parroting back the hype that has been built around this topic.

Maybe I'm just rationalizing my own choice - could be. But I'm still VERY happy with my choice of the 77U as it works how I want it to with a very enjoyable viewing experience.

FWIW,
Erik
Happy TH-50PZ77U owner

Agree 100%....except I am a Happy 42PZ77U owner :D

I just bought the 77U and love it, after a couple of days. (Of course, this is my first foray into HD world, so anything is bound to look great.)

Aside from this huge thread, is there any place I can go to see what settings people recommend for this unit? (I'm very new here, so don't really know my way around the forum yet.)

Thanks.


Hello Wynton, check out this thread.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=938089

TY, Flea.

After prematurely asking, I found that thread myself. I've copied everyone's settings and intend to experiment around them, hopefully without driving myself completely batty in the process.

Does anyone just leave the factory settings alone? All I changed was to make it "normal" rather than "vivid" and to me inexperienced eye, things look pretty darn good already.

So you had it repaired, or you returned it for exchange for the same model?

[QUOTE=Mister;12714555]Hey Moemann66, you may want to know that Panasonic will be announcing whole new 2008 models available in the Spring of 2008: see some info here

.....ces.cnet.com/8301-13855_1-9841653-67.html?tag=head

Thanks for the info but it's going to be tough to give up this TV since I got a terrific deal on it, however if it happens again in the next 21 days it will be returned. Hopefully I'll never the blinking power light again. Thanks.

I just got back from the store. They worked with me on the price so I just have to pack up my 700u and exchange it for the 77u. There is a difference in "pop" yes but the reflections during the day time viewing in my room is pretty bad on the 700u. So I have to get the 77u and what good is "pop" if you can't see the picture. If this was in a dark room the 700u would be the hands down winner but if you have room that has less than ideal lighting conditions then the 77u seems like the way to go. Just about like anything else in life there are always sacrifices to be made, this time it is the "pop".

I just got back from the store. They worked with me on the price so I just have to pack up my 700u and exchange it for the 77u. There is a difference in "pop" yes but the reflections during the day time viewing in my room is pretty bad on the 700u. So I have to get the 77u and what good is "pop" if you can't see the picture. If this was in a dark room the 700u would be the hands down winner but if you have room that has less than ideal lighting conditions then the 77u seems like the way to go. Just about like anything else in life there are always sacrifices to be made, this time it is the "pop".

Gasp! :eek:

You are THE ONE - folks have been waiting for someone to post that they actually returned a 700U for a 77U!

Huh - imagine that.... ;)

I totally agree with you btw - same decision. You'll be happy given your situation.

Cheers,
Erik

I just got back from the store. They worked with me on the price so I just have to pack up my 700u and exchange it for the 77u. There is a difference in "pop" yes but the reflections during the day time viewing in my room is pretty bad on the 700u. So I have to get the 77u and what good is "pop" if you can't see the picture. If this was in a dark room the 700u would be the hands down winner but if you have room that has less than ideal lighting conditions then the 77u seems like the way to go. Just about like anything else in life there are always sacrifices to be made, this time it is the "pop".

/faints

They are both outstanding televisions ;)

I just got back from the store. They worked with me on the price so I just have to pack up my 700u and exchange it for the 77u. There is a difference in "pop" yes but the reflections during the day time viewing in my room is pretty bad on the 700u. So I have to get the 77u and what good is "pop" if you can't see the picture. If this was in a dark room the 700u would be the hands down winner but if you have room that has less than ideal lighting conditions then the 77u seems like the way to go. Just about like anything else in life there are always sacrifices to be made, this time it is the "pop".
ws6guy, I'm looking forward to hearing how your swap of a 700u for a 77u works out. I'm one of the guys who didn't like the "dull" look of the 77u and traded it for a 700u... best move I ever made. I can't imagine anyone thinking, after comparing these two sets IN THEIR OWN HOME, that the 77u looks better - but maybe it's just my own eyes.(and the eyes of my friends and family!)

[QUOTE=Randyman;12726700]So you had it repaired, or you returned it for exchange for the same model?

Will have it repaired in the next day or two. I still have 19 days to return it.:(

ws6guy, I'm looking forward to hearing how your swap of a 700u for a 77u works out. I'm one of the guys who didn't like the "dull" look of the 77u and traded it for a 700u... best move I ever made. I can't imagine anyone thinking, after comparing these two sets IN THEIR OWN HOME, that the 77u looks better - but maybe it's just my own eyes.(and the eyes of my friends and family!)

Like said I already know that I'm going to take a hit in the color quality but I don't have much of a choice since I have 3 windows directly opposite of the tv, which turns the 700u into mirror on sunny days. Since the wifle likes to have the windows open on nice days I have to make a sacrifice. But this will still be a huge improvement over the 10 yr old tube tv it is replacing.

I am debating the Panasonic 75 vs 77. I have a very dark living room and watch most TV at night to boot-- only 2 windows, nothing directly facing the TV, very unlikely to get glare except from lights that I could turn off. Given this (and I dont expect to move or this to change), am I better off getting the ($170 cheaper also) 75 without the antiglare-- seems from this post that the picture may be better?

thanks

I am debating the Panasonic 75 vs 77. I have a very dark living room and watch most TV at night to boot-- only 2 windows, nothing directly facing the TV, very unlikely to get glare except from lights that I could turn off. Given this (and I dont expect to move or this to change), am I better off getting the ($170 cheaper also) 75 without the antiglare-- seems from this post that the picture may be better?

thanks

It's hard for me to comment on this because I have the 77U and primarily watch most of my TV at night. Although I did chose this model for my occasional daytime viewing. That being said...I often kick back while watching a movie or football and think to myself "how could this picture look much better?"

I do however think the anti-glare cover makes dialing the set in more difficult. I tweaked for weeks before finally getting my settings to my liking.

I am debating the Panasonic 75 vs 77. I have a very dark living room and watch most TV at night to boot-- only 2 windows, nothing directly facing the TV, very unlikely to get glare except from lights that I could turn off. Given this (and I dont expect to move or this to change), am I better off getting the ($170 cheaper also) 75 without the antiglare-- seems from this post that the picture may be better?

thanks

I'm not an expert on these yet, since this is my first time dealing with these tv's. But when I was at a local store they had a 50" 77u with anti-glare next to a 42" 700u with out the anti-glare. So with the two sitting side by side the color on the 77u was a little bit more dull. The picture still looked great but the 700 did look a little bit better. I however did not check the settings on these tv's. Maybe some of the color loss could be made up but I feel that it still would not be the same.

So if you have a dark room I would say go with the 700u. I also had 2 small windows to the side of the TV and I could leave those open with the 700u with no ill effects, but the 3 directly opposite of the set was a different story.

Or another possibility is wait for the new models of panny's, they are supposed to be out sometime in the spring. I could not wait cause I got a really good price at the beginning of December and they are still honoring the price match on my 700u to 77u exchange and I don't want to spend anymore money.

It's hard for me to comment on this because I have the 77U and primarily watch most of my TV at night. Although I did chose this model for my occasional daytime viewing. That being said...I often kick back while watching a movie or football and think to myself "how could this picture look much better?"

I do however think the anti-glare cover makes dialing the set in more difficult. I tweaked for weeks before finally getting my settings to my liking.

If you don't mind sharing what settings are you running? The store should picking the 700u and dropping off the 77u this weekend.

If you don't mind sharing what settings are you running? The store should picking the 700u and dropping off the 77u this weekend.

Sure, here is what I am running on PS3 via HDMI:

Mode - Custom
Picture + 27
Brightness + 5
Color -3
Tint - 2
Sharpness +30
Temp - Warm
All filters off
HD 2

I have the HD-A30 HD-DVD Player and my Directtv HR20 HDDVR set very similar but tweaked a tad different.

If you haven't checked out the PZ77 tweak thread give it a look as well ;)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=938089

The anti-glare on the 700u is not nearly the same as the 77u. You can barely tell it's on there on the 700u. That is why I'm going to give the 77u a try, I will not wait until the new models come out. I just hope they give me the same price on the 77u as I got on the 700u. BB priced matched the 700u to the on sale Sears price for the 77u cause they did not have the 77u in stock when I purchased. So I'm shooting for an even trade hopefully, since it seems prices have went up a little since I purchased and I'm going to refuse a price increase. I'll find out later today when I make it there. If they don't give me an even trade I'll probably just return it and see what the new models are like.

Here in Canada to 700u is generally $500 more than the 77U and superior in its connections and sound system - if anything I wonder if you could ask for some money back?

Erik, you make a good point. Some of us like myself had no idea what to expect and frankly have nothing to compare it to. And some of us are viewing primarily SD and others HD. That makes all the difference. Some SD programming and channels, when seen through a magnifying glass, look like absolute crap. They always did - just that on my old 27 inch CRT I must have no noticed it is much. Then again some SD programming looks smashing. I imagine the Panny 77U is able to take HD and kick butt with it, but even the best TV can't do anything to improve a bad broadcast. It just looks bigger.

Still sorting out the the picture. I did notice for the life of me I could not read the red lettering of the credits at the end of 300. And I had noticed that red lettering is a problem elsewhere as well. And some channels really pump out the blue and red hues.

Erik, you make a good point. Some of us like myself had no idea what to expect and frankly have nothing to compare it to. And some of us are viewing primarily SD and others HD. That makes all the difference. Some SD programming and channels, when seen through a magnifying glass, look like absolute crap. They always did - just that on my old 27 inch CRT I must have no noticed it is much. Then again some SD programming looks smashing. I imagine the Panny 77U is able to take HD and kick butt with it, but even the best TV can't do anything to improve a bad broadcast. It just looks bigger.

Still sorting out the the picture. I did notice for the life of me I could not read the red lettering of the credits at the end of 300. And I had noticed that red lettering is a problem elsewhere as well. And some channels really pump out the blue and red hues.

Precisely. Crap in = Crap out

I used to fret and fiddle with settings while watching HD Football games and then gave up as some games looked gorgeous and others looked like crap - even in HD. Hanging out in the HDTV forum confirmed that broadcast PQ is sporadic even from the same network on the same day.

I just watched Dragonslayer rereleased on DVD and other SD DVDs on my 5077U and am VERY pleased with the PQ. I 'stole' my kids PS3 to watch Spiderman3 on BluRay via HDMI and was blown away by the PQ.

So I *know* the 77U is very capable of producing a beautiful picture.

So now I stop fretting and fiddling when I watch a crappy HD program or SD program because I know it ain't the 77U. Instead, I now complain to the network or TWC - but that's like shouting down a hole.....:mad:

Erik

I also have windows all over the place, so it was either this display or another LCD. I haven't been happy with the black level or off axis performance of my LCDs, so PDP it was. I compared the 77U to the 700 (and the Pioneers). I always went into the menu and tweaked the picture to my liking and determined that the difference (what little there was) was not as important as the anti-glare coating. I constantly compare the same HD broadcasts to my other displays and I have no complaints (I do wish there were more color controls). It has taken me about a month to adjust everything to what I think is perfect...for every input (all of my settings are in the settings thread). I couldn't be happier with this display for everythig it has to offer in my situation. Would I have bought the 700U if I didn't have lighting control issues? Yes, but that is not my situation.

I don't know if anyone else experienced this, but after about three weeks of breaking in my 50PZ77U...tweaking and re-tweaking, the PQ seemed to "pop" more as time went on. Settings that I had originally settled on fell prey to improved settings and an already beautiful picture improved. My wife even commented on it. We have been using football on CBS OTA week to week as a comparison. This Sunday's Charger game was much more punchy and bright than the games that I had watched weeks prior.

I really feel as though the few (and it is a few) that constantly chime in with complaints about the antiglare screen of these displays had not given the set either the time or attention that is required to exact the wonderful picture this dispaly is truly capable of.

I own two other displays (this is my 4th HD display)... a sony LCD and a Vizio LCD and the 50PZ77U is hands down the best I have owned.

Hello PZ77U owners.

Here in Europe the Panasonic Full HD 1080p plasma only come with a anti glare screen. Only the HD Ready 768p plasma have a reflective screen.

Is it correct your PZ77U looks like this?
http://image.aving.net/img/2008/01/08/20080108174631140.jpg

My main concern is that light on the screen gets a flare (and thus making the reflective image bigger than it actually is), as you can see on this image in the upper rightcorner. And I have the same feeling about the image being a little 'dull'. I must confess, this is looking at the screen in the store.

Because Panasonic at present doesn't have other options, I'm also looking at the Pioneer Kuro Full HD screens. The Pioneer has a coated anti-reflective screen. A lamp or windows image is strongly muted (and gets a kind of dark purple reflection) and is thus less noticable (and certainly not getting bigger due to a flare image).
My feeling is also that the Kuro image is more alive, looks stronger. It is the same with a photograph. Behind a normal glassframe is looks better than behind a matted glassframe.

So, I have to choose between a Panasonic with a anti-glare filter or a Kuro with a coated anti reflective screen.

Picture Skewed/Shifted to the Right:

Anyone experience any shift in their picture with the pz77u? mine seems to be shifted about 2 inches on the left side of the screen.

I actually don't believe that the 77U is Vesa compatable. Knowhere on the box does it say so and if you go to the Panny site some TVs specifically mention Vesa but this TV does not.

Panny really wants you to buy their $600 mount. I got a AVF mounting kit from Costco. I don't know is only for the Canadian version of the Pannys but the screw holes for the brackets are metric. None of the screws with the kit were long enough - the one that fit was an M8 but it was only 20 mm long.

So it took me 1 and half hours (towing my 2 - 1/2 yr old with me) to locate the proper screw. Rona was all out of metric bolts of the type I needed. Went to a local store and let me tell you finding metric hardware that you need is not easy, but alas I found a screw/bolt M8 that was 40 mm long - long enough to get the bracket on the Panny. We live in an earthquake zone so I would never reccomend just sitting the TV on a fireplace mantel. So its bolted on good.


I just bought two mounts both by Sanus. I hung my 2 year old 42" panny in the basement. Worked like a charm.

The other Sanus mount is for my new 50PZ77U and should work without a problem as well - but Best Buy is installing that one for me. Sanus gives you all the bolts you may need and costs $169 (I paid $150 both times because I had 10% off coupons which Best Buy always seems to be throwing around)

Perhaps the Sanus mount would be a good option for you.

If you don't mind sharing what settings are you running? The store should picking the 700u and dropping off the 77u this weekend.


For the 50PZ77U, my Avia set up DVD came up with

Picture +15
Brightness +1
Color -3
Tint -3
Sharp +5

All color management stuff turned off or on normal, Black Level set to light.
DVDs look awesome!!

For watching cable I adjusted eveything up from these leves to my personal likeing to:

Picture +17
Brightness +1
Color +2
Tint +1
Sharp +8

Hi Def looks fantastic and standard def channels look really good (better than on my 42" panny) The National Championship game looked outstanding (besides my Bucks getting trounced)

Obviously, these settings work best for the room it's in and ligthing, etc play a significant role in setting the levels.

I've had it for a week now and I've been very pleased. I was kinda worried after reading this thread and the numerous misgivings people have about it, but I can honestly say to anyone on the fence to just do it. You'll be very happy with this set. Don't worry about "pop". It has plenty of it.

Finally, my two cents on the break in period: I think it's bunk for the most part. Never used a break in dvd on my old panny and the picture still looks awesome. I've watched several things with black bars both on top and the sides and have had no IR. As long you don't have the levels set to nuclear, you should be fine.

Here in Canada to 700u is generally $500 more than the 77U and superior in its connections and sound system - if anything I wonder if you could ask for some money back?

Here there is only a $200 price difference between the two. Trust me the price was very attractive for the 77u.

So I just picked up the 77u last night and hooked it up. First impression was just as expected, the PQ is great but the colors don't jump out at you as much as the 700u. Also the sound is good but not as good as the 700u. I knew this when making the trade so I'm not disappointed. If might lighting conditions were better the 700u would be great but there is nothing I can do about the lighting unless I buy a different house.

Also I purchased a panny blue ray as well and signed up direct tv too(since my cable company is awful and using "old" moto boxes). I cannot wait until this weekend when the D* TV guys come out and when my extra HDMI cable comes in from monoprice. I will be spending alot of time in front of the tube:D

Also I purchased a panny blue ray as well and signed up direct tv too(since my cable company is awful and using "old" moto boxes). I cannot wait until this weekend when the D* TV guys come out and when my extra HDMI cable comes in from monoprice. I will be spending alot of time in front of the tube:D

Tube??? I thought you just bought a plasma:p

Here there is only a $200 price difference between the two. Trust me the price was very attractive for the 77u.

So I just picked up the 77u last night and hooked it up. First impression was just as expected, the PQ is great but the colors don't jump out at you as much as the 700u. Also the sound is good but not as good as the 700u. I knew this when making the trade so I'm not disappointed. If might lighting conditions were better the 700u would be great but there is nothing I can do about the lighting unless I buy a different house.

Also I purchased a panny blue ray as well and signed up direct tv too(since my cable company is awful and using "old" moto boxes). I cannot wait until this weekend when the D* TV guys come out and when my extra HDMI cable comes in from monoprice. I will be spending alot of time in front of the tube:D

Oh is that what the complaints are about that say it doesn't have pop - a concern over the colours? If that's the case I have nothing to worry about, because if anything, the natural setting have way too much colour. You have to get that colour management off because the greens are just ridiculous. The reds are way too overbearing. My wife said the guy on the televised version of the Counte of Monte Christo looked like he had pink lipstick on. Channels that have lots of red will give you a headache. There is plenty of colour for my taste.

My concern was over bluriness. For instance my program guide for the digital cable is blue and sometimes looks blurry. I think I have fixed that my adjusting down the brightness.

I have a few questions:

1) I noticed the Scan Disk card in my camera doesn't fit in the SD slot. What the hay is this SD thing - if I have to go out and transfer my camera card to another, that is just way too much bother....

2) Black levels - that option is grayed out for me and I watch digital non-HD cable. Is this just an option for HD? For DVDs?

3) Why are people here turning off the mosquito and other noise reductions? What benefit is there to turning it off?

SD memory is the most common in cameras nowadays, but many still use Compact Flash.

Hello PZ77U owners.

Here in Europe the Panasonic Full HD 1080p plasma only come with a anti glare screen. Only the HD Ready 768p plasma have a reflective screen.

Is it correct your PZ77U looks like this?
http://image.aving.net/img/2008/01/08/20080108174631140.jpg

My main concern is that light on the screen gets a flare (and thus making the reflective image bigger than it actually is), as you can see on this image in the upper rightcorner. And I have the same feeling about the image being a little 'dull'. I must confess, this is looking at the screen in the store.

Because Panasonic at present doesn't have other options, I'm also looking at the Pioneer Kuro Full HD screens. The Pioneer has a coated anti-reflective screen. A lamp or windows image is strongly muted (and gets a kind of dark purple reflection) and is thus less noticable (and certainly not getting bigger due to a flare image).
My feeling is also that the Kuro image is more alive, looks stronger. It is the same with a photograph. Behind a normal glassframe is looks better than behind a matted glassframe.

So, I have to choose between a Panasonic with a anti-glare filter or a Kuro with a coated anti reflective screen.


The set you have pictured is not out in the U.S. It will not be available until the Spring of 2008 here.

So at the moment this is what I find problematic with my picture:

1) Reds at times can be outlandish and so overdone it becomes blurry
2) Blues sometimes get too blue, but not as often as the Red
3) My wife watches a lot of Law and Order and that show really really has a bias to dark images - I find that it is just too dark. As far as I understand a certain amount of black level is good, no? It kind of creates that sharpness - like when you compare a good Sony LCD to say a Magnavox, it is like all the people on the TV have a sharp outline drawn on them, making them crisp. But maybe my problem is too much darkness? Is that only controlled by the black level (which is not accessible in SD programming)?

Faramir, do you have a calibration dvd like Digital Video Essentials, or Avia II? Panny's are known for having a bit of a red push with factory settings. YOu can tune most of it out with a calibration disc, but to really nail it, you have to get into the service menu to fine tune it. (I'm not willing to go that far, I get in there to check hours, but I'm not brave enough to tune from there) A calibration should also help set your black and white levels where you want them as well.

The recommended presets to work off of are the custom and the cinema, they have better gamma curves associated with them, which will keep coloring more consistent. Vivid's is way too much for me to use for anything other than my Xbox.

Is your black level set to light or dark?

I just got a 42 incher and I have all of the settings dialed to 0 for the break in period, and my HD channels are black and white, due to the picture setting being 0. Do I have to live with this for the 100 hours or can I bump the color up to enjoy a show?

Something dosent sound right. All my settings were set to 0 for me but HD and SD were still in color.

Yeah its weird. SD is in color but HD isn't unless I turn things up. I talked to Comcast about it and they didn't have an answer and said that its probably the display...

Sorry I cant help, hopefully the problem gets resolved.

Yeah its weird. SD is in color but HD isn't unless I turn things up. I talked to Comcast about it and they didn't have an answer and said that its probably the display...

Are you by any chance using component cables? I have had this happen and found that I didn't plugin the right colors. I had green & blue reversed. Once I corrected everything was okay.

No I'm connected via HDMI

I am getting IR from my ps3 menus. Should I be worried?:confused:

I am getting IR from my ps3 menus. Should I be worried?:confused:

Nah, IR happens on plasmas...as long as it fades after a few minutes I wouldn't think anything about it.

I just got my 42PZ77U a couple days ago, and have been running the break in DVD for at least 20 hours now. I have a couple questions if anyone would be so kind as to answer:

1. I noticed two dead/stuck pixels when I first turned on the break in dvd, and was hoping that they were just stuck, but they haven't disappeared yet. Also, it seems that two more have appeared. What should I do? Does it take longer for pixels to become "unstuck"? Does Panasonic replace TVs with dead pixels, or can they just come out and fix it?

2. I've heard many people saying that Panny Canada already puts 100 hours of break in into their tvs before they ship out. Does Panny US do the same?

3. I've tried my Xbox 360 a couple of times, and the dashboard and games look a little fuzzy (i.e. lines dont look crisp). I have my settings all turned down to zero of course. Is this going to change when I fine tune the settings? Or, is this the 77U curse?

I just got a 42 incher and I have all of the settings dialed to 0 for the break in period, and my HD channels are black and white, due to the picture setting being 0. Do I have to live with this for the 100 hours or can I bump the color up to enjoy a show?


Best Buy Hung My flat panel for me today. I showed the guy my settings (See page 72) and he thought they would be ok for the break in period. He did tell me to dial down the sharpness 3-4 clicks (for my cable viewing). And he did feel you should excercise some caution for the first 75-100 hours.

Normally, I wouldn't take advice from the Geek Squad, but this particular guy was only 1 of 2 people in the area certified to adjust tv settings via the service menus to NTSC standards.

He said they charge $300 to do that. I asked if he did it on the side, but he said he could not because the equipment used to make these (NTSC adjustments) cost like $10K and it has to be checked out like a library book. So they know where it is at all times.

He said it was worth it. I don't know. Sound & Vision always perform their reviews based on service menu tweaks.

Anybody done this? Recommendations?

I just got my 42PZ77U a couple days ago, and have been running the break in DVD for at least 20 hours now. I have a couple questions if anyone would be so kind as to answer:

1. I noticed two dead/stuck pixels when I first turned on the break in dvd, and was hoping that they were just stuck, but they haven't disappeared yet. Also, it seems that two more have appeared. What should I do? Does it take longer for pixels to become "unstuck"? Does Panasonic replace TVs with dead pixels, or can they just come out and fix it?

I've seen other posts that say the break in disk (and perhaps regular viewing) will work out the stuck pixels. I ran the disk for about 5 hours and didn't notice any. If it bugs you (really noticeable) during regular TV viewing, call Panaonic and they should fix it for you free of charge (according to previous posts)

2. I've heard many people saying that Panny Canada already puts 100 hours of break in into their tvs before they ship out. Does Panny US do the same?

It seems only Canada does this. In this thread, I've seen several confirmations that the Canadian sets have 100 hours on them at the factory and no confirmation either way on the US sets.

3. I've tried my Xbox 360 a couple of times, and the dashboard and games look a little fuzzy (i.e. lines dont look crisp). I have my settings all turned down to zero of course. Is this going to change when I fine tune the settings? Or, is this the 77U curse?

Definitley becasue you have everything dialed down to zero. I noticed a night and day difference from the factory and zero settings to the settings I arrived at via my Avia DVD x

I bought a 42PZ77U at Sears before Thanksgiving. They were running a football promotion. If you bought a plasma and an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player, you were supposed to get free delivery (after mail-in rebate), one year of in-home service and seven pizzas. I bought an HD-A3 with the TV. My delivery rebate was rejected because "the TV was not on a list of eligible TVs." There was no list on the rebate form and no list in the store. Is anyone else having this problem?

Hi all - just picked up my 50" PZ77U. It's nice, and I'm about 20 hours into the break in via Discovery Home Theatre with the numbers dialed down.

I hooked up my 360 tonight, and had been using VGA on my Samsung 4051 LCD. But no VGA on the Panny, so I am using component (older 360, not the elite).

I have the dashboard update and can select 1080p, but the TV will display black til the 360 refreshes back to 1080i. Any advice? I tried running it through my Denon 487 but the same thing happens. Am I stuck getting an HDMI equipped 360 if I want 1080P?

Edit: NVM - just read the thread and that this TV doesn't do 1080p over component - that sucks - time to swap the 360...

Faramir, do you have a calibration dvd like Digital Video Essentials, or Avia II? Panny's are known for having a bit of a red push with factory settings. YOu can tune most of it out with a calibration disc, but to really nail it, you have to get into the service menu to fine tune it. (I'm not willing to go that far, I get in there to check hours, but I'm not brave enough to tune from there) A calibration should also help set your black and white levels where you want them as well.

The recommended presets to work off of are the custom and the cinema, they have better gamma curves associated with them, which will keep coloring more consistent. Vivid's is way too much for me to use for anything other than my Xbox.

Is your black level set to light or dark?

I think black level is not accessible in SD. I find cinema too dark, so maybe I will try custom.

I though to use calibration discs you needed other expensive tools you have to attach to your TV?

Thanks btw - I got your answer in the other thread on the service menu...

I just got a 42 incher and I have all of the settings dialed to 0 for the break in period, and my HD channels are black and white, due to the picture setting being 0. Do I have to live with this for the 100 hours or can I bump the color up to enjoy a show?

No, put picture on 15.

No, put picture on 15.

ok. Is this normal? On my 360 when I bump up the resolution the colors do the same thing. I have a Panny tech coming over Monday to see whats going on but if this is common I guess I'll cancel the appointment...

Hi all - just picked up my 50" PZ77U. It's nice, and I'm about 20 hours into the break in via Discovery Home Theatre with the numbers dialed down.

I hooked up my 360 tonight, and had been using VGA on my Samsung 4051 LCD. But no VGA on the Panny, so I am using component (older 360, not the elite).

I have the dashboard update and can select 1080p, but the TV will display black til the 360 refreshes back to 1080i. Any advice? I tried running it through my Denon 487 but the same thing happens. Am I stuck getting an HDMI equipped 360 if I want 1080P?

Edit: NVM - just read the thread and that this TV doesn't do 1080p over component - that sucks - time to swap the 360...

DO any tvs do 1080p over component????

Ok thanks for your help Vickroy.

I have another queston. What self-calibration DVD would you all recommend?

I though to use calibration discs you needed other expensive tools you have to attach to your TV?

Calibration discs such as Avia II and Digital Video Essentials are designed for use without additional equipment (just a DVD player). They put up test patterns and then you adjust your set until you think the pattern looks right. Sometimes, you adjust the set while looking at the pattern through a colored filter. This method is good for getting a pleasing picture without spending too much money.

There are also more expensive tools (such as the SpyderTV, among others) that include a disc for use with the accompanying hardware. These tools will put up test patterns which are measured by the hardware. You adjust the set until the computer program is happy. This method should give you a more accurate picture than adjusting it by eye, but it costs more too (I'll stay out of the discussion about whether this method make a noticeable difference that is worth the extra cost :) ).

I have another queston. What self-calibration DVD would you all recommend?

I have Digital Video Essentials myself. It is less expensive than Avia II, plus, I was able to pick it up locally (and on sale).

Component cables as a medium do support 1080p. HOWEVER, DVD players use a diff protocol due to which they can only do 1080i over component. Sucks for us. Great for DRM/Hollywood/HDMI Cable Mfrs

Is Avia II considered the premium self-calibration dvd?

Is Avia II considered the premium self-calibration dvd?

A lot of people use the Get Gray calibration. http://www.calibrate.tv/

I am considering the Samsung FP-T5084 and the Panasonic 50-PZ77u and I was able to compare them side by side against the Samsung FP-T5084 and the Pioneer PDP-5080HD (720) and the Pioneer PDP-5010FD (1080)

All were running the same content and all four were hung on the wall in a 2 by 2 square. It was perfect, I could view all of them from the same spot!

My impressions:
The 1080P Pioneer had the clearest picture. every detail was sharp, text was crisp, it was awesome, but it should be for $4000 plus.

The other three, it was very difficult to tell much difference. To my eyes they all looked about the same as far as PQ. the Samsung was way more Red than the others, but probably just an adjustment...

The biggest difference i noticed was watching the TV's from an extreme angle to either the left or right, both the Panasonic and the samsung got noticeably blurry, where the pioneers stayed clear... Is this a function of the anti reflective coatings on the TV's? Has anyone else noticed this effect? I didnt notice any ill effect at a more normal viewing angle, just at the extreme... (I'm only asking because I like to sit in my dinning room and have breakfast and I can see my TV to watch sports center but only at a pretty extreme viewing angle)

thanks

I am considering the Samsung FP-T5084 and the Panasonic 50-PZ77u and I was able to compare them side by side against the Samsung FP-T5084 and the Pioneer PDP-5080HD (720) and the Pioneer PDP-5010FD (1080)

All were running the same content and all four were hung on the wall in a 2 by 2 square. It was perfect, I could view all of them from the same spot!

My impressions:
The 1080P Pioneer had the clearest picture. every detail was sharp, text was crisp, it was awesome, but it should be for $4000 plus.

The other three, it was very difficult to tell much difference. To my eyes they all looked about the same as far as PQ. the Samsung was way more Red than the others, but probably just an adjustment...

The biggest difference i noticed was watching the TV's from an extreme angle to either the left or right, both the Panasonic and the samsung got noticeably blurry, where the pioneers stayed clear... Is this a function of the anti reflective coatings on the TV's? Has anyone else noticed this effect? I didnt notice any ill effect at a more normal viewing angle, just at the extreme... (I'm only asking because I like to sit in my dinning room and have breakfast and I can see my TV to watch sports center but only at a pretty extreme viewing angle)

thanks



If it were me and the extreme viewing angle blur that you see; I would move where ya eat breakfast... and save a couple thousand bucks

If it were me and the extreme viewing angle blur that you see; I would move where ya eat breakfast... and save a couple thousand bucks

I never thought of that! :p

Its more of a convenience thing really, the dinning room table just doesnt fit well as a coffee table! LOL

Could some of you do me a favor and check your tv when it's displaying a light, uniform color? I'm seeing these slightly darker vertical bands, almost like shadows. You can check for them using the break in dvd. I know it's the TV and not any of my components, because I can still see them using the TV's aging program in the service menu (the tv pretty much has it's own break-in dvd).

Hello,
Just bought a TH-42PZ77U. EXTREMELY Happy with it!

DirecTV came yesterday to upgrade my dish and my receiver (HR21). My issue is that every time I go up or down in the channel selection and I hit a station which is HD, the channel input label [HDMI 1] in the upper left keeps popping up. This is driving me absolutely crazy as it covers up the channel logo in the upper left. How can this be stopped?

Hello,
Just bought a TH-42PZ77U. EXTREMELY Happy with it!

DirecTV came yesterday to upgrade my dish and my receiver (HR21). My issue is that every time I go up or down in the channel selection and I hit a station which is HD, the channel input label [HDMI 1] in the upper left keeps popping up. This is driving me absolutely crazy as it covers up the channel logo in the upper left. How can this be stopped?

This happens if you have "keep native" or "native" checked in the DVR options I do believe. If you uncheck that and have it do 1080i for all stations it will stop doing that.

That being said though...I prefer the "native" resolution of the channels myself ;)

Hello,
Just bought a TH-42PZ77U. EXTREMELY Happy with it!

DirecTV came yesterday to upgrade my dish and my receiver (HR21). My issue is that every time I go up or down in the channel selection and I hit a station which is HD, the channel input label [HDMI 1] in the upper left keeps popping up. This is driving me absolutely crazy as it covers up the channel logo in the upper left. How can this be stopped?


This is just temporary for a few seconds, right?

This is just temporary for a few seconds, right?

Yes...but annoying as heck.

I did as RaiderRodney has suggested. This got rid of it. I am still trying to get used to all the settings but setting it at 1080i and taking off the native is working well for me so far.

Calibration discs such as Avia II and Digital Video Essentials are designed for use without additional equipment (just a DVD player). They put up test patterns and then you adjust your set until you think the pattern looks right. Sometimes, you adjust the set while looking at the pattern through a colored filter. This method is good for getting a pleasing picture without spending too much money.

There are also more expensive tools (such as the SpyderTV, among others) that include a disc for use with the accompanying hardware. These tools will put up test patterns which are measured by the hardware. You adjust the set until the computer program is happy. This method should give you a more accurate picture than adjusting it by eye, but it costs more too (I'll stay out of the discussion about whether this method make a noticeable difference that is worth the extra cost :) ).

Thanks so much for the info. Avia II is probably more accurate than the THX calibration on my Star Wars? Or is that JUST for DVD play?

BTW, what do I do about bleeding over done reds? Turn down the colour? Tint?

A couple more questions

1) Is it normal for the TV to take 3 seconds or so to power up?

2) So the TV is off, and I stand in front of it, and hold the power button for a couple seconds and let go. Isn't this how one gets the service menu? Nothing comes up

ok Just got a 42PZ77U. I read most of the issues folks have been complaining about and I thought I would chime in as well. I have been watching mostly HD for couple of days so no comment on SD yet.

1. Graininess: There are some discussions about graininess in the screen. Especially if the source is light in color. This is true. If the background is light color and it is moving, one can notice there is very slight graininess in the screen. I think this happens because of the micro perforation (as explained by some in the thread) used for diffusing the glare. BUT and this is a big but, I could notice this only when I was within 3 feet of the TV. My normal viewing distance is 10-11 feet and I squinted a lot to try to see the graininess but could not see any. Only time I see it is when I am very close.

2. Lacking THE pop: This seems to be the most common complaint. I personally did not find it lacking color, contrast. That is comparing to my other plasma (TH-42PX60U). I think this is a personal thing. I watch in cinema mode mostly. That is plenty pop for me. I will put it on standard when the room is very very brightly lit. So just play with the settings would be my suggestion.

Overall I am quite happy with it despite the fact that swapping it for 700u did cross my mind. I will post more impressions in couple of days.

A couple more questions

1) Is it normal for the TV to take 3 seconds or so to power up?

2) So the TV is off, and I stand in front of it, and hold the power button for a couple seconds and let go. Isn't this how one gets the service menu? Nothing comes up

1. Mine takes that long too, I hope its normal.

2. TV has to be on, then hold the volume down button on the side of the TV and press "recall" on the remote 3 times.

ok Just got a 42PZ77U. I read most of the issues folks have been complaining about and I thought I would chime in as well. I have been watching mostly HD for couple of days so no comment on SD yet.

1. Graininess: There are some discussions about graininess in the screen. Especially if the source is light in color. This is true. If the background is light color and it is moving, one can notice there is very slight graininess in the screen. I think this happens because of the micro perforation (as explained by some in the thread) used for diffusing the glare. BUT and this is a big but, I could notice this only when I was within 3 feet of the TV. My normal viewing distance is 10-11 feet and I squinted a lot to try to see the graininess but could not see any. Only time I see it is when I am very close.

2. Lacking THE pop: This seems to be the most common complaint. I personally did not find it lacking color, contrast. That is comparing to my other plasma (TH-42PX60U). I think this is a personal thing. I watch in cinema mode mostly. That is plenty pop for me. I will put it on standard when the room is very very brightly lit. So just play with the settings would be my suggestion.

Overall I am quite happy with it despite the fact that swapping it for 700u did cross my mind. I will post more impressions in couple of days.
mislam - I highly recommend you go ahead and swap it for a 700u like I did... you'll be very happy you made the move.

I hear you fourputt. I will give it a try for couple of days and see how it goes. So far so good although the "grainy" ness occasionally bugging me. It could be that my eyes are activeley looking for it now that I know what to look for... sigh.... Please post more of your observation between these two models. Thanks.

mislam - I highly recommend you go ahead and swap it for a 700u like I did... you'll be very happy you made the move.

That's kind of a general recommendation seeing as how you don't know what his viewing conditions are. What if he exchanges it on your recommendation and can't stand the reflections. He already stated he didn't have an issue with "pop". I have heard no one comment as to any other advantages of the 700 over the 77 beyond the perceived gains/losses due to the antiglare coating.

I can honestly say that I love my 50PZ77U. If it wasn't for the antiglare coating I would be watching a bunch of windows and my wife making dinner in the kitchen everytime she turned on a light.

I like to look at it this way. The PZ77U series takes everything that is great about plasma and adds the benefits of LCD. It does everything better than the best LCDs...which is saying alot. The only area any LCD trumps this display is brightness, but the 77U is plenty bright.

I considered the 700u and I know I would have had to return it for something else with an antiglare coating if that was the direction I went. You shouldn't be so quick to tell someone what they should a and shouldn't do with out having all the information.

That's kind of a general recommendation seeing as how you don't know what his viewing conditions are. What if he exchanges it on your recommendation and can't stand the reflections. He already stated he didn't have an issue with "pop". I have heard no one comment as to any other advantages of the 700 over the 77 beyond the perceived gains/losses due to the antiglare coating.

I can honestly say that I love my 50PZ77U. If it wasn't for the antiglare coating I would be watching a bunch of windows and my wife making dinner in the kitchen everytime she turned on a light.

I like to look at it this way. The PZ77U series takes everything that is great about plasma and adds the benefits of LCD. It does everything better than the best LCDs...which is saying alot. The only area any LCD trumps this display is brightness, but the 77U is plenty bright.

I considered the 700u and I know I would have had to return it for something else with an antiglare coating if that was the direction I went. You shouldn't be so quick to tell someone what they should a and shouldn't do with out having all the information.

Agreed

DPowers thanks for your input. Do you see graininess? Does it bother you? What are your settings (I understand it is for your viewing condition)?

Thanks
Mir

Thanks so much for the info. Avia II is probably more accurate than the THX calibration on my Star Wars? Or is that JUST for DVD play?

BTW, what do I do about bleeding over done reds? Turn down the colour? Tint?

Avia II will be more accurate, but the THX calibration provided on Star Wars and many other THX discs is a good, cheap, start and should make the set much better than the default settings. You could use it for more than just DVD playback, but just remember, different inputs or sources may require different calibration numbers (you should be close though).

If you want to make the red less bright, you can turn down the color control (it will tone down all the colors though).

I hear you fourputt. I will give it a try for couple of days and see how it goes. So far so good although the "grainy" ness occasionally bugging me. It could be that my eyes are activeley looking for it now that I know what to look for... sigh.... Please post more of your observation between these two models. Thanks.
I owned a 42PZ77U for about three weeks. I tried every conceivable setting on the TV to try and improve what I perceived as a "grainy," "dim," and "no-smash" picture. Nothing worked to my satisfaction. Even my father would comment, as politely as possible, that the picture seemed a little "dark." After reading many comments on this and other forums that basically concurred with my observations, I reluctantly packed up my 77U, hauled it back to BB, and swapped it for the 700U. Problem solved; superb picture, great "wow" factor, no darkness or graininess - and no need for a "calibration disk" that seems so frequently mentioned on this forum - just tweaking the picture slightly with my own eyes for guidance. OK, that's my experience. For the record, I have a huge glass sliding door/ window that takes up the whole side of my living room, so I have a LOT of ambient light coming in throughout the day. This did create a glare problem on my old 32" tube-type CRT television during the afternoon, but has not been a significant factor with either the 77 or the 700. I'm not trying to bad-mouth the 77U, but in my experience, in my house, with my eyes, the 700U simply has a far better picture, which is my bottom line (and the sound is much better too, as a side note.) I'm sure many people are very pleased with their 77U, which is wonderful for them - it's just that I wasn't one of them. Incidentally, when I first looked at these two 1080p models side-by-side in the showroom, I couldn't tell much difference in picture quality, which is why I bought the 77U in the first place. Only after getting it home and watching/ tweaking it for many days did my uneasiness with the picture quality grow. In summary, I'm sure everyone has their own opinion as to what looks good and what doesn't, and I hope everyone is as happy as I am with their own TV, whatever they choose.

About "graininess".

I have noticed this only occasionally (during some old reruns of sitcoms). Is there a particular adjustment one can make to address this?

I notice this so infrequently that I probably shouldn't even bother.

About "graininess".

I have noticed this only occasionally (during some old reruns of sitcoms). Is there a particular adjustment one can make to address this?

I notice this so infrequently that I probably shouldn't even bother.

The graininess is caused by the anti-glare treatment on the panel. There is no user adjustment that will make a difference.

This forum is intimidating for a guy new to plasmas. I was convinced that I needed to take this TV back for something else after reading some of the posts. Luckily after reading some posts by guys like DPowers, I decided to give it week.

Anti-glare
The 2nd day I had TV, the sun came out and the south window lit up the screen in a bad way. Other than that, the anti-glare has performed very well on overcast days and againt room lights. We are building a house now, and this TV will face into the kitchen (open floor plan) away from all windows, so I feel good about the anti-glare for my situation. As much as I love the Pioneers, I know that the screen would drive me nuts watching my wife cook under the kitchen lights.

Graininess (sp?)
All white screens do look a little grayish, but I do not see the graininess. Heck, I even moved my face to within a foot of the screen but it still looks great to me.

1080 vs 720
I don't know if its just because my TV is native 1080, but the 1080i HD looks a LOT better than 720p signals. I had a 52" Toshiba DLP, and the Panny looks similar with the 720HD, but much better with the 1080i! I know my eyes are not supposed to be able to see that, but my eyes are seeing something with the 1080i...and it's better than anything I've ever scene. I wear contacts so I do have pretty good vision.

Shadow Detail / Break in
I know I am supposed to leave the pic and brightness at 0, but I cannot stop myself from playing. My Panny is very dark, and blacks get crushed with brightness at 0. Shadow detail is very important to me, and I find that I like the brightness up around 20 to show off the brilliant detail of 1080p HDDVDs and Blurays. After my 100 hours, I am cranking that up! I didn't spend all this money on 1080p to let that detail get washed out.

Conclusion
No TV is perfect, but I have come to find that I like plasma displays better than LCDs. This is my living room TV (windows, lights, family) so I want something to cut down on the reflection. This is the right TV for me. The CBS NFL game this weekend was the best sports picture I've ever scene. HBO played Over the Hedge at 1080i, and again it was the best animated picture I've ever scene. The "wow" factor is there for me with this TV. I recommend this TV to anyone who is looking for a plasma display in a well lit room. However, I would go with a good LCD if I had to orient this TV facing south windows. Something like the Samsung 61 series, which still has the good anti-glare coating unlike the higher end Samsungs.

I owned a 42PZ77U for about three weeks. I tried every conceivable setting on the TV to try and improve what I perceived as a "grainy," "dim," and "no-smash" picture. Nothing worked to my satisfaction. Even my father would comment, as politely as possible, that the picture seemed a little "dark." After reading many comments on this and other forums that basically concurred with my observations, I reluctantly packed up my 77U, hauled it back to BB, and swapped it for the 700U. Problem solved; superb picture, great "wow" factor, no darkness or graininess - and no need for a "calibration disk" that seems so frequently mentioned on this forum - just tweaking the picture slightly with my own eyes for guidance. OK, that's my experience. For the record, I have a huge glass sliding door/ window that takes up the whole side of my living room, so I have a LOT of ambient light coming in throughout the day. This did create a glare problem on my old 32" tube-type CRT television during the afternoon, but has not been a significant factor with either the 77 or the 700. I'm not trying to bad-mouth the 77U, but in my experience, in my house, with my eyes, the 700U simply has a far better picture, which is my bottom line (and the sound is much better too, as a side note.) I'm sure many people are very pleased with their 77U, which is wonderful for them - it's just that I wasn't one of them. Incidentally, when I first looked at these two 1080p models side-by-side in the showroom, I couldn't tell much difference in picture quality, which is why I bought the 77U in the first place. Only after getting it home and watching/ tweaking it for many days did my uneasiness with the picture quality grow. In summary, I'm sure everyone has their own opinion as to what looks good and what doesn't, and I hope everyone is as happy as I am with their own TV, whatever they choose.

Fourputt thanks for your input. I guess we are all trying to make the best possible choice for our own environment and a user need to make their own choice based on their own environment as they see it best fit. My wife loves Law and Order: CI. So we watched an episode last night. This is SD and it still looked good. She was quite fine with the picture. Funny thing is we did not notice the graininess all the time show was on. So that also tells me that my eyes are actively seeking out the graininess and/or expecting graininess when I am thinking about it. So I guess in par it is psycological in my case.

I also went back to Frys today to take a second look at 700u. I did not notice much difference in the picture quality (but you mentioned that as well) and came out quite convinced that I should keep 77u.

Indeed this forum can be intimidating to a new user. This is my third panel and second panasonic plasma. And still I was confused to hear all different degrees of experience. I guess until someone brings the tv to their environment, there may not be a right choice.

DPowers thanks for your input. Do you see graininess? Does it bother you? What are your settings (I understand it is for your viewing condition)?

Thanks
Mir

I use the custom or standard setting. Everything is off. My picture settings are set between +25-30. Brightness is around +9. Color is set around -2, hue around +2 or +3.

I can tell you form my experience that the source is everything. I have three other displays and they don't exhibit any more or less grain than my 77U. This has everything to do with the source material. Movie to movie there is zero to heavy grain...300 was the worst, but it had nothing to do with the display.

Where the 77U accels is in uniformity, color accuracy, black level, detail and most importantly antiglare.

I look at glare this way. People complain about color inaccuracies, SDE, bad black levels, dimness, processing, sharpness...whatever can be wrong with a display. All I have ever heard about the 77U is that it deasn't have as much "pop" as the 700U. I don't even know what that means. Reflections and glare are the same, if not worse than any of those PQ issues. What good is having a wonderfully beautiful display with inky blacks, when all you are seeing relflections. A reflection of a window or your wife cooking is worse than some perceived loss in "pop" because of the AG coating any day.

I know for sure that the 77U has A higher CR according to reviews and colorimeter readings that were posted in the beginning of this very thread. I think it came out to a 8000:1 real life CR. Explain how a display can have the same black level, a higher CR and yet be considered to have less "pop". This display has been reviewed as one of the best and most acurrate of the year.

http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/2ofAKind.html

The same few keep chiming in, talking about why they returned their display...one never even openned the box and returned it because of this very forum. Anyone who says there room is full of windows, yet they don't see reflections in their 700U is tippin back grandpa's medicine. Here's what was said about the 700U...can't say it's all good.

http://hometheatermag.com/plasmadisplays/907pana700u/

They are both great displays.

It is very easy. No light control=77U, light control=700U.

We are building a house now, and this TV will face into the kitchen (open floor plan) away from all windows, so I feel good about the anti-glare for my situation. As much as I love the Pioneers, I know that the screen would drive me nuts watching my wife cook under the kitchen lights.


LOL. So its keep the 77U and home cooking, or return it and your wife for a 700U or Pio and takeout?

I have the same situation with kitchen lights, and I went with keeping the 77U and wife as well.

Thanks DPowers for those links. Really insightful. As I mentioned before I am keeping my 77U for now unless Wife terribly objects between now and Saturday. :D

I use the custom or standard setting. Everything is off. My picture settings are set between +25-30. Brightness is around +9. Color is set around -2, hue around +2 or +3.

I can tell you form my experience that the source is everything. I have three other displays and they don't exhibit any more or less grain than my 77U. This has everything to do with the source material. Movie to movie there is zero to heavy grain...300 was the worst, but it had nothing to do with the display.

Where the 77U accels is in uniformity, color accuracy, black level, detail and most importantly antiglare.

I look at glare this way. People complain about color inaccuracies, SDE, bad black levels, dimness, processing, sharpness...whatever can be wrong with a display. All I have ever heard about the 77U is that it deasn't have as much "pop" as the 700U. I don't even know what that means. Reflections and glare are the same, if not worse than any of those PQ issues. What good is having a wonderfully beautiful display with inky blacks, when all you are seeing relflections. A reflection of a window or your wife cooking is worse than some perceived loss in "pop" because of the AG coating any day.

I know for sure that the 77U has A higher CR according to reviews and colorimeter readings that were posted in the beginning of this very thread. I think it came out to a 8000:1 real life CR. Explain how a display can have the same black level, a higher CR and yet be considered to have less "pop". This display has been reviewed as one of the best and most acurrate of the year.

http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/2ofAKind.html

The same few keep chiming in, talking about why they returned their display...one never even openned the box and returned it because of this very forum. Anyone who says there room is full of windows, yet they don't see reflections in their 700U is tippin back grandpa's medicine. Here's what was said about the 700U...can't say it's all good.

http://hometheatermag.com/plasmadisplays/907pana700u/

They are both great displays.

It is very easy. No light control=77U, light control=700U.


+1 I still love mine :D

+1 I still love mine :D

How's that Spyder2 holding up? I have been shopping around for a colorimeter myself. I am going to use the freeware in the calibration forums and see what I can do. I already have most of the service menu codes so I think I can get it pretty close to perfect. I hate that Panisonics use octal in their service menu. Wish me luck!

I just got a pz77u I like but I’m a little worried because e I have PS3 that I like to play and I had some IR after playing madden 08 on it for 2 hours. I would to play madden more but scared it will make it will burn in. I did the 100 hours of burn in time at low picture and sharpness. Also can I watch letter box on this without IR Im worried about burn in? What about the logos on TV stations.
What good is having a TV that you can't watch most the content thats available?

Can this set do 1080/24?

Can this set do 1080/24?

No

How's that Spyder2 holding up? I have been shopping around for a colorimeter myself. I am going to use the freeware in the calibration forums and see what I can do. I already have most of the service menu codes so I think I can get it pretty close to perfect. I hate that Panisonics use octal in their service menu. Wish me luck!


Moved on to a Display1 L/T still have the Spyder but I think the Display1 gives a better reading.

HCFR works great and easy to use.

I hate there SM the one Samsung uses is much better. Be carfull as my SM tint wont let me go back up so its to low and have to have the User Menu at +11 :mad:

Good luck

I just got a pz77u I like but I’m a little worried because e I have PS3 that I like to play and I had some IR after playing madden 08 on it for 2 hours. I would to play madden more but scared it will make it will burn in. I did the 100 hours of burn in time at low picture and sharpness. Also can I watch letter box on this without IR Im worried about burn in? What about the logos on TV stations.
What good is having a TV that you can't watch most the content thats available?

I have had some slight IR after hrs of useing the PS3 but it goes away with some normal (full screen) viewing. I watch letter box all the time again very slight IR and its gone after 1-2 min.

LOL. So its keep the 77U and home cooking, or return it and your wife for a 700U or Pio and takeout?

I have the same situation with kitchen lights, and I went with keeping the 77U and wife as well.

Ha! If I return the wife, I will only be able to afford a 13" tube TV from Target.

Does anyone feel the need to push up the brightness? I was looking at the movie 300 "wolf scene" when I felt the need to push it up to +20 brightness to get good detail. Is this just a bad movie to judge brightness settings? I probably only have 25 hours on the TV, will it show more shadow detail at lower levels when it gets more hours? Thanks for the feedback.

No

Has anyone tested this? The tv has the same panel as the professional 10 series (doesn't it?) and those can do 24p.

I have had some slight IR after hrs of useing the PS3 but it goes away with some normal (full screen) viewing. I watch letter box all the time again very slight IR and its gone after 1-2 min.

Same here, I game on the PS3 for 2-3 hours a session and I get a little IR...but as was said above it is gone after a few minutes. Enjoy your new TV :cool:

Has anyone tested this? The tv has the same panel as the professional 10 series (doesn't it?) and those can do 24p.

Feeding it a 24p signal from my ps3 results in the movie being played in a shrunk viewable image in the top quarter of the screen.

I don't see why this is an issue anyway, watching bluray on this for a while now and have never noticed any judder anyway.

Feeding it a 24p signal from my ps3 results in the movie being played in a shrunk viewable image in the top quarter of the screen.

I don't see why this is an issue anyway, watching bluray on this for a while now and have never noticed any judder anyway.

Agreed, this seems to be (for the most part anyway) just another marketing gimmick :rolleyes:

Agreed, this seems to be (for the most part anyway) just another marketing gimmick :rolleyes:

big time. I've seen several articles on AV sites saying that in fact some of these 24p sets actually make the judder worse.

Bottom line, I've never noticed it in many many movies, and if it's something I really need to 'look for', it's a scam.

I have a question. When say I am watching CSI or any show and at the beginning of the show it says "Broadcast in HD" does that mean I can watch the show in HD format even though I don't suscribe to HD but only digital?

I have a question. When say I am watching CSI or any show and at the beginning of the show it says "Broadcast in HD" does that mean I can watch the show in HD format even though I don't suscribe to HD but only digital?

No and maybe yes.

With out a HD STB you can't get HD UNLESS you cable company does not scramble there broadcast HD channels (there not "supposed" to) Plug you cable right into your TV (bypassing the STB) and let it find all the stations. You "should" find some HD stations (ABC,CBS,NBS,Fox).

Where the 77U accels is in uniformity, color accuracy, black level, detail and most importantly antiglare.

I look at glare this way. People complain about color inaccuracies, SDE, bad black levels, dimness, processing, sharpness...whatever can be wrong with a display. All I have ever heard about the 77U is that it deasn't have as much "pop" as the 700U. I don't even know what that means. Reflections and glare are the same, if not worse than any of those PQ issues. What good is having a wonderfully beautiful display with inky blacks, when all you are seeing relflections. A reflection of a window or your wife cooking is worse than some perceived loss in "pop" because of the AG coating any day.

I know for sure that the 77U has A higher CR according to reviews and colorimeter readings that were posted in the beginning of this very thread. I think it came out to a 8000:1 real life CR. Explain how a display can have the same black level, a higher CR and yet be considered to have less "pop". This display has been reviewed as one of the best and most acurrate of the year.
Agree with your thoughts. From reading through these threads, I got the sense that the initial poo-pooing of the Z77U started with a small handful of Z700 owners who felt Panasonic had hoodwinked them by releasing newer models so soon after they had purchased their Z700's. The same posters jump into any and all threads where the Z77U is mentioned and immediately begin lambasting it. This seems to have influenced a lot of the armchair critics, some who have never even seen the set in person, thus perpetuating the negativity towards the Z77U.

I compared the Z700 and Z77U at the store and went with the latter. Fantastic set.

Agree with your thoughts. From reading through these threads, I got the sense that the initial poo-pooing of the Z77U started with a small handful of Z700 owners who felt Panasonic had hoodwinked them by releasing newer models so soon after they had purchased their Z700's. The same posters jump into any and all threads where the Z77U is mentioned and immediately begin lambasting it. This seems to have influenced a lot of the armchair critics, some who have never even seen the set in person, thus perpetuating the negativity towards the Z77U.

I compared the Z700 and Z77U at the store and went with the latter. Fantastic set.

I've kept an eye on the prices (since I had a 60 day pricematch) and have also noticed the reviews at online merchants and this model has as good or better overall ratings as the Z700. This really is a fantastic set and anyone thinking about pulling the trigger shouldn't worry ;)

I just purchased the 50' 77U from BB & went w/ the 4year warranty, but i'm wondering if i should refund that portion. (i do have 30days)

Just wanted to know if anyone here feels it's necessary or more a ploy on buyer emotions. I like the idea of being covered, but i wonder if in 2years the sets will be worth what i paied for in warranty coverage. :confused:

I have a cable box for standard and HD TV, Toshiba HD XA2, Onkyo TX SR 805, and Panasonic 1080p Plasma. All are hooked up via 1.3 HDMI compatible cables into Onkyo receiver and out to Plasma. Which component processes the video when watching cable, hd cable, an hd dvd, and a standard dvd? Does the uncompressed video portion of the HDMI signal pass through unaltered in each instance? What settings (Plasma, HD DVD Player, Onkyo, and cable box) would be best for this set-up? Also I have not heard any hum from the onkyo until I started watching a standard dvd. Why do some shows and dvds have bars and some do not? I also used to see HDMI Pass-through displayed on the Onkyo but now it is gone. I believe it stopped displaying this message after I took the advice of another member and turned the HDMI audio out to off. This was suggested unless I wanted to send audio to my TV speakers. True? I am waiting for my new speakers and have only a front right and left speaker. What settings would be best for this and how do I get more bass? Thanks in advance. I know this is a lot of questions but I am confident that someone in this forum can help.

I just purchased the 50' 77U from BB & went w/ the 4year warranty, but i'm wondering if i should refund that portion. (i do have 30days)

Just wanted to know if anyone here feels it's necessary or more a ploy on buyer emotions. I like the idea of being covered, but i wonder if in 2years the sets will be worth what i paied for in warranty coverage. :confused:

Dugga,

Do a quick search here. If you do want a warranty there are many after market warranties you can purchase online for about half the price and they all use the same service centers and have in-home service. I am looking at getting a Mack warranty shortly myself. You do have to purchase most of these warranties within 30 days of your initial purchase.

Warranty Thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=826857

Laurence

Hi All,

Has anyone else experienced that the TH-50PZ77U has a weak remote/remote receiver? Compared to my old 5 year old CRT, the remote on this is really lacking. I have found that I pretty much have to be pointing the remote directly at the receiver for it to work. With my old TV with new batteries in the remote I could point the remote behind me and it would work. With this TV I have found that I can stand 2 feet from the TV and if I aim to the right side of the TV it wont pick up! And of course at farther distances, say maybe 15ft the remote gets really flaky too.

Is this "normal" for this TV or do I have a serviceable issue?

Laurence

thanks for the info funsocaltiger. :)

Hi All,

Has anyone else experienced that the TH-50PZ77U has a weak remote/remote receiver? Compared to my old 5 year old CRT, the remote on this is really lacking. I have found that I pretty much have to be pointing the remote directly at the receiver for it to work. With my old TV with new batteries in the remote I could point the remote behind me and it would work. With this TV I have found that I can stand 2 feet from the TV and if I aim to the right side of the TV it wont pick up! And of course at farther distances, say maybe 15ft the remote gets really flaky too.

Is this "normal" for this TV or do I have a serviceable issue?

Laurence


Normal for almost all flat panels (LCDs and PDPs) I believe it has to do with the IR the TVs give off.

My experience is the most LCDs are worse, interfering with other components remotes, as in sometimes you can't change channels on a STB because of IR interference.

I just purchased the 50' 77U from BB & went w/ the 4year warranty, but i'm wondering if i should refund that portion. (i do have 30days)

Just wanted to know if anyone here feels it's necessary or more a ploy on buyer emotions. I like the idea of being covered, but i wonder if in 2years the sets will be worth what i paied for in warranty coverage. :confused:

Extended warranties make places like BB money. It's a waste of money. Any credit card will upgrade your warranty to 2 years for free. Good enough for me.

I just purchased the 50' 77U from BB & went w/ the 4year warranty, but i'm wondering if i should refund that portion. (i do have 30days)

Just wanted to know if anyone here feels it's necessary or more a ploy on buyer emotions. I like the idea of being covered, but i wonder if in 2years the sets will be worth what i paied for in warranty coverage. :confused:I have 3 plasmas..the oldest is 3 1/2 years old now and I didn't buy extended warranties for any of them. If you pay attention you'll notice that most electronics either fail well within the manufacturer warranty or years down the road when you are ready for a new set anyway. My personal feeling is that extended warranties for things like this are only good for two things: padding the profits of the retailer and offering peace of mind to someone buying their first $2K+ piece of consumer electronics. In other words, I never recommend extended warranties to friends but I also don't ridicule those who buy them..

[QUOTE=ORIGINALTBONE;12863957]how do I get more bass? QUOTE]

Get yourself a nice subwoofer.

Does anyone else have a problem with graininess or fuzziness, esp. in the background when watching HD broadcasts. I know this is probably mostly a signal issue and the fact that most broadcasts are compressed, etc. But the 55" Hitachi plasma I also have seems to have less graininess. I notice this a lot on football games on the green background. Could this be the conversion to 1080p? Any suggestions? I am using a cable DVR set to 1080i.

I mentioned this also in another thread. I also have alot of graniness and fuzziness , the backgrounds on HD broadcasts. It gets really bad on dark sences. I was watching "prison break" and some parts of the show the picture was competely fuzzy/grainy. Also see the grainy picture shows up on blu ray movies too but doesn't seem as bad, although I havn't watched but 2 blu ray movies.

I origianlly purchased the 700u and returned it for the 77u cause I had too much glare. But the 700 the picture looked perfect no grainy/fuzziness. The 77u has looked grainy since I hooked it up. Besides the background graininess the picture looks great.

Is this a biproduct of the AG screen or is there something wrong with this TV???

Thanks

DPOWERS: You mentioned something about the service menu and calibrating... and the fact it uses Octals... I am really interested in learning what each setting is in the 77u's service menu... obviously, I know how to get into the service menu, check the hrs the tv's been one, and have figured out how to browse around the menus and change stuff... But I'm a noob as far as some of the technical settings in the service menu... do you know what all of them do? I'd love if someone wrote a guide to the settings in the service menu... or if anyone know where to download panasonic's official service manual?

Thanks

I mentioned this also in another thread. I also have alot of graniness and fuzziness , the backgrounds on HD broadcasts. It gets really bad on dark sences. I was watching "prison break" and some parts of the show the picture was competely fuzzy/grainy. Also see the grainy picture shows up on blu ray movies too but doesn't seem as bad, although I havn't watched but 2 blu ray movies.

I origianlly purchased the 700u and returned it for the 77u cause I had too much glare. But the 700 the picture looked perfect no grainy/fuzziness. The 77u has looked grainy since I hooked it up. Besides the background graininess the picture looks great.

Is this a biproduct of the AG screen or is there something wrong with this TV???

Thanks
I don't think there's anything wrong with your TV... is it too late to get the 700U back?

I don't think there's anything wrong with your TV... is it too late to get the 700U back?

Yea I don't think there is anything wrong with it either. I went the BB yesterday and compared them again. Both the 77u and 700u have the same graininess. It just seems to stand out more in my house environment. I guess it's just the nature of the beast. It seemed that all of the TV's at BB hand the same graininess to some extent. Anyway I'm pretty happy with this TV the picture seems great 95% of the time especially with animated movies on Blu ray it is just amazing. Even though I liked the 700u better but it was pretty much unwatchable during the day(I have 3 windows directly opposite of the TV).

Thanks

Yea I don't think there is anything wrong with it either. I went the BB yesterday and compared them again. Both the 77u and 700u have the same graininess. It just seems to stand out more in my house environment. I guess it's just the nature of the beast. It seemed that all of the TV's at BB hand the same graininess to some extent. Anyway I'm pretty happy with this TV the picture seems great 95% of the time especially with animated movies on Blu ray it is just amazing. Even though I liked the 700u better but it was pretty much unwatchable during the day(I have 3 windows directly opposite of the TV).

Graininess can come from many sources. It can be an actual part of the source material (very common with older movies), it can be caused by the set itself (the anti-glare treatment of the 77u can impart some amount of graininess), or other sources (such as noise introduced on the component cables).

It seems that there are too many people here that think all graininess is the fault of the set and that if you see any graininess at all, you need to trade your 77u for a 700u to solve the problem, but they forget about the other possible causes. The graininess you saw on all the sets at BB was probably caused by the source material. If that is the case, the only way to get rid of it is to introduce a loss of detail.

The 77u is a good set that has many advantages. I'm glad that you're happy with it. Don't let the complainers that lurk in these forums convince you otherwise.

Graininess can come from many sources. It can be an actual part of the source material (very common with older movies), it can be caused by the set itself (the anti-glare treatment of the 77u can impart some amount of graininess), or other sources (such as noise introduced on the component cables).

It seems that there are too many people here that think all graininess is the fault of the set and that if you see any graininess at all, you need to trade your 77u for a 700u to solve the problem, but they forget about the other possible causes. The graininess you saw on all the sets at BB was probably caused by the source material. If that is the case, the only way to get rid of it is to introduce a loss of detail.

The 77u is a good set that has many advantages. I'm glad that you're happy with it. Don't let the complainers that lurk in these forums convince you otherwise.

Agreed. I have a HR20, HD-A30, and a PS3 and I often wonder where these "grainy" complaints are coming from? Yes...if I get about a foot from the screen I can see some from an angle but I don't normally watch mine from that close ;)

If this is your first HD set then welcome to the wonderful fact that standard def does NOT look as good as it did on a set designed for it. If you don't have any HD sources why buy a HD display?

I think I'm going try to rearrange my cables and hook up a HDMI to the D* box since I have another one laying around. My 700u looked perfect except for the glare. When i exchanged it for the 77u I also signed up for D* TV so I really did not have a chance to view the 77u on the same equipment as the 700u. Although the D* box should be better than the old Moto STB I had on the 700u(it didn't even have HDMI output.) We'll see what happens.