I just purchased a new Panasonic Plasma model # TH42PZ77U, does anyone have proper calibration/ picture settings for this TV so that I can get the best suited picture for this set.
Please email me if you do.
jsfowkes@kelcom.igs.net
Thanks.
PS I am in Windsor, Ontario Canada if it makes a difference on the settings.

Greetings

Why not just use a test disc and spend a wee bit of time getting the best settings for your TV rather than plugging in random numbers from other people's TVs ... which are different from your own ... and then you add the randomness of their DVD players.

5 to 10 minutes with even a free disc like the THX optimode would be better than what you are seeking here.

Regards

So Michael, do you have a "rubber stamp" post that says this? You are of course very much correct. It just continues to puzzle me why people think that there are some magic numbers that they can enter and that sets don't vary. If that was the case, calibration would be irrelevant and the factory could just enter the numbers and get it correct. Applause your way for continuing to educate people...

So Michael, do you have a "rubber stamp" post that says this? You are of course very much correct. It just continues to puzzle me why people think that there are some magic numbers that they can enter and that sets don't vary. If that was the case, calibration would be irrelevant and the factory could just enter the numbers and get it correct. Applause your way for continuing to educate people...

Its called "ball park figures" from the same model TV . Some people don't care to have it perfect, and someone else's calibration settings will get you close. The reason Michael responded that way is that if people share his settings, he thinks it will reduce business for calibrators. The reality of it is that for most of us, ballpark settings are good enough and we aren't going to waste our money on a calibrator.

greetings

That's not why I respond this way. Should probably ask me first before assuming or putting words into my mouth.

A self calibration with even a tHX disc is going to give the guy better results than blindly plugging in numbers.

If the person can't afford even 5 minutes of their time to do this ... then what really is calibration worth? Obviously nothing to the person. 5 minutes of their time. That's it.

People that ask these questions simply do not have an understanding of how this works. I'm just trying to help people out one person at a time. Do I ever say go get a pro calibrator in my responses to these questions? No.

My hope is that even spending the 5 to 10 minutes ... will peak some interest in the person and they will want to learn more. Random numbers don't do that or have a far lower chance of doing that.

It is better to understand what you are doing when doing something ... rather than not at all.

The battle continues ...

(Please pull from my 3800+ posts here at this forum that proves that I only care about protecting the calibration trade for calibrators ...)

Regards

It's like buying a piano and asking, "can't someone just tell me how many turns each string needs to tune it?":rolleyes:

I've probably read hundreds (but not all 3800+) of your posts and all I can say is that you patiently provide as much or more useful responses to questions than anyone else in this forum. I personally have learned a lot. Thanks.

It's like buying a piano and asking, "can't someone just tell me how many turns each string needs to tune it?":rolleyes:

I've probably read hundreds (but not all 3800+) of your posts and all I can say is that you patiently provide as much or more useful responses to questions than anyone else in this forum. I personally have learned a lot. Thanks.



I simply reject the premise of any post that makes that assumption. It is patently false. The difference with settings should be marginal at best, unless there was a flaw in the manufacturing process (quality control). I don't need to look at opinions of those on this board when I have reliable experts from reliable magazines, etc....That you (Michael) advocate not sharing settings is proof in the pudding.

And now you're (jd) comparing a plasma TV to a Piano after getting mad at me and others for trying to compare two brand new TVs that are identical models and manufactured around the same time? Ha...

Why not provide people with a sample of settings and let them decide whether they like them? Don't you realize that there are two possible goals with TV seettings that aren't necessarily consistent with one another? 1.) To get a picture that is highly accurate and 2.) to get a picture that is pleasing to the eyes. Most people want a combination of the two, not one or the other.

Personally, I'll buy a calibration disc, but I'd never pay a calibrator $300 to do something to my TV that I may not even like. I wish you'd lighten up!

:-)

And now you're (jd) comparing a plasma TV to a Piano after getting mad at me and others for trying to compare two brand new TVs that are identical models and manufactured around the same time?

First of all, I don't believe that jdbimmer is mad at you for trying to compare two tvs. From his posts, I gather that he is rather more upset by the fact that you posted that, "The reason Michael responded that way is that if people share his settings, he thinks it will reduce business for calibrators." This was written as though it were an established fact, and I don't believe that to be the case. Many of us on this forum have benefited from Michael's willingness to share of his reliable, expert, knowledge. It is upsetting to see his reputation maligned, especially when it is unwarranted.

I don't need to look at opinions of those on this board when I have reliable experts from reliable magazines, etc....That you (Michael) advocate not sharing settings is proof in the pudding.

Personally, I'll buy a calibration disc, but I'd never pay a calibrator $300 to do something to my TV that I may not even like. I wish you'd lighten up!

You are absolutely entitled to your opinion--and in fact, there are probably others out there who feel the same way you do. That said, when someone comes onto this board asking for settings for "the best suited picture", they are asking for the opinions of people on this board. What Michael stated was true, that you cannot get "the best suited picture" simply by copying someone else's settings. The fact that Michael makes that statement hardly proves that he is trying to mislead a person in order to drum up business for himself. If the OP decides that he would prefer to just "get close" or use someone else's settings, there are often settings posted by owners in the official threads in the Plasma forum, you just have to search those threads in order to find them.

First of all, I don't believe that jdbimmer is mad at you for trying to compare two tvs. From his posts, I gather that he is rather more upset by the fact that you posted that, "The reason Michael responded that way is that if people share his settings, he thinks it will reduce business for calibrators." .

No....he (jdbimmer) has done it elsewhere too. It's like he finds all requests for service menu settings and tries to shoot them down with his "different TVs require different settings" speech. He does it every time.

And with regard to the other guy...The original poster asked for sample settings, not for a lecture about how he couldn't get his TV like he wanted it without spending more money. This was a clear attempt to to hijack the thread rather than help the original poster. I honestly don't care what his motives were. The guy asked for settings, and got a tangential response. All these people that are supposedly on here to "help" sure are unhelpful.

Here are some settings that I used on my pz4277u, I used a HD DVE disc to do a basic calibration...these settings looked very good to my eye.

Mode: Custom
pic: 24-28 depending on how much light you have
brightness: 8
color: -3
tint:+1
Sharp:0 if standard definition...-15 for HD

color temp:warm
color management: off
hd size: 2
all NR: off
black level light....dark looks great too but you might have to bump up the brightness to 14-16.

Try those and lemme know what you think

And now you're (jd) comparing a plasma TV to a Piano after getting mad at me and others for trying to compare two brand new TVs that are identical models and manufactured around the same time? Ha... I am not getting "mad" at you or anyone, I was merely 1) trying to "lighten up" the discussion with the piano analogy (which really does have some surprising similarities to video calibration), and 2) point out that Michael is an extremely knowledgeable and helpful contributor to this forum.
No....he (jdbimmer) has done it elsewhere too. It's like he finds all requests for service menu settings and tries to shoot them down with his "different TVs require different settings" speech. He does it every time. As an owner of 3 Panasonic plasmas, I tend to be in those owner threads, just as you are (when your ID was HPT5044 Owner last week). I am not the grayscale or the black-level police, but I will certainly point out misconceptions that one may have with regard to changing SM grayscale settings without instrumentation or sharing grayscale adjustments from other owners. And while some of these attempts at shortcutting the calibration process are well-intentioned, the odds are that even your factory Warm setting will be closer to D65 than a setting copied from another display.

Again, it is your set to do with as you wish. I am only trying to help. As I finally said after a long exchange in the PZ77 thread, "If you want to just hack at it with someone elses settings, then do so, but without instrumentation you will never know if you are in the 'ballpark' or out in the parking lot."

In your latest PZ77 post, you describe how you went into the SM and changed drv and cuts by "10 clicks" each. You described the results as "once I this, my TV looked amazing." If that is true, then you really don't need to be asking for settings anymore.

I simply reject the premise of any post that makes that assumption. It is patently false. And that sure makes it difficult to have any discussion then, so I will leave it at that.

I love the piano analogy! I couldn't have said it better.

...
And with regard to the other guy...The original poster asked for sample settings, not for a lecture about how he couldn't get his TV like he wanted it without spending more money. ...

And the question lies js, why do you think the poster was asking for sample settings? Simple, he wants a better / more accurate picture. All Michael is saying is you are better off with a calibration disc than blindly plugging in somebody else's number. JD is right that you are most likely to get a close enough setting at Warm temp with Movie mode if you TV has it, then tweak user controls with a calibration disk. Has anyone ever even wondered if the SM numbers people post are actually even the correct numbers they got from a paid calibration. I for one would not be posting my numbers if I had paid a calibrator $350 for them. Hell, they may be posting bogus numbers. And unless your view environment is identical to this other persons then I doubt they will work for you.

You are correct though that they 'MAY' be close, but fact is they may not be and you won't be able to tell the difference anyway.

The reason Michael responded that way is that if people share his settings, he thinks it will reduce business for calibrators.


As Michael has been helpful to me in the past with questions about my television, I felt the need to respond with a few facts. He does not by any means 'need' my defense, but you by all means do need a slap upside the head.

You joined in February of this year, and have contributed a total of 22 posts to the forum. Yet somehow you proceed to make up a fact about Michael's post history and intent.

Playing with a few numbers, let's just ASSUME (despite it being a false assumption) that 50% of Michael's posts are designed to protect the calibration business and keep people clueless.

That would still leave him with one thousand, nine-hundred fifty and counting posts that were helpful, useful, valid contributions to the forum.

You have twenty-two total posts, three of which have been shown in this very thread to be nothing but idiotic nonsense.

I for one, want to extend a thank you to Michael for his help on this forum in this thread and countless other ones.