Set-up and Use of the Panasonic PT-50LC13

[MLM]

Now that so many of us have gotten this TV, I'm repeating an earlier post in order to start a new thread on the use of the Panny.
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Got my component cables in 2 days from Blue Jeans Cable (I use long ones) and the picture is very much improved from S-video. That is no surprise.

However, using the Faroudja chip in my Philips dvd963sa to do the progressive scan is much much better than letting the TV do it. Thge picture is far sharper. And that is still with the original factory settings on the dvd player. There are many adjustments possible.

I suppose that one way that Panasonic may have saved money in this set is not to have the best progressive scan chip set available. OTOH Samsung uses a Faroudja.

I'm saving the DVI for an OTA HDTV tuner due next week.
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In addition, to respond to a post on the "Availability" thread, as a good start to getting the most PQ, you might want to look into pre-ordering the new Digital Video Essentials disk at Amazon.com. It's a lot cheaper (and presumably more up to date) than the Avia and will be released in the first few days in September.

[doug_k]

Originally posted by MLM
Now that so many of us have gotten this TV...

Wait a minute.. I've been away for awhile, but is this the NEW panasonic rpLCD, the one that looks similar to their new plasmas?

[folgersnyourcup]

Yes Doug, that is the one being talked about here.

[Cruiser]

Here are user klemsaba's settings on his set using Component 1, AVIA and his Toshiba 3900 DVD player.


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attac...479&fullpage=1

Shawn

[Cruiser]

We need someone to find out the service code to get in to the service menu!

Shawn

[Master-G]

Originally posted by MLM
However, using the Faroudja chip in my Philips dvd963sa to do the progressive scan is much much better than letting the TV do it. Thge picture is far sharper. And that is still with the original factory settings on the dvd player. There are many adjustments possible.

How do you disable progressive scanning on the Panny TV? I didn't know that you could do this.

[mlandau]

my problem-when I use pip or split, and an analog cable feed direct from the wall, my right side picture is filled with snow. Anyone have a similar problem? Any suggestions?

[darthemma]

I am "this" close to buying this TV, but I need to ask a couple of quick questions to those of you who already own it. I saw the tv in BB and thought the black levels were not as good as the Sammy DLP's. I watch a lot of scifi DVD's (lots of dark scenes). Do the black levels bother you?

I am considering purchasing either the Bravo D1 or the Sammy 931 DVD players. (Both have DVI out, but I hear the sammy has trouble with 4:3 material because it stretches it to fill the screen and there's no way to change that setting, so I'm leaning toward the Bravo.) Do any of you have these connected to the panny? Are you happy with the picture via dvi? The reason I ask is that folks with the Samung DLP tv's and a dvi dvd player are ECSTATIC about the picture. I want to know if the new Panny owners feel the same way.

I'd love save the $1000 or more and get the panny, but I don't want to "settle" on the picture quality and wish I'd gone with a Sammy DLP.

Thanks for any comments you can provide!

[MLM]

Originally posted by Master-G
How do you disable progressive scanning on the Panny TV? I didn't know that you could do this.

I'm assuming that if the Panny receives an interlaced signal it converts it to progressive, and that if it receives a progressive signal, it disables its own progressive conversion. Of course the manual says nothing about this.

In any event there is a clear difference when I use the progressive output of my DVD player or not--in both cases using the component output/input. In addition, using the progressive output gives me a few very useful set-up controls not available on the DVD player otherwise.

Anyone with a progressive output DVD player should probably try it both ways.

[gcbrowni]

My set was just deliverd, but it had no manual.

I finally found the buttons to get the menu up, but I can't seem to find out how to get the 'Component 3' or 'Video 1' off of the screen; the input message is always there in the upper right corner.

In addition, I'm a bit baffeled by the options in the 'Video' menu, and by the 'Dynamic' option in the picture menu. Could someone with a manual briefly describe them?

(I don't see the manual on-line yet.)

One more thing, were there any 'when you first power on the Tv' precautions in the manual?

Grov

[Ein]

Originally posted by gcbrowni
My set was just deliverd, but it had no manual.

The manual should be on the bottom of the TV. Once you lifted it out the box along with the warranty card.

[gcbrowni]

Nope. Under the set was the second place I checked. It's not taped to the back or in the box either. I have a new one coming in 7-10 days, but I'd like to get tid of the source message, at least, before then.



Grov

[Ein]

I am "this" close to buying this TV, but I need to ask a couple of quick questions to those of you who already own it. I saw the tv in BB and thought the black levels were not as good as the Sammy DLP's. I watch a lot of scifi DVD's (lots of dark scenes). Do the black levels bother you?

Get the TV.

I just re-watched Lord of the Rings. The dark scenes are detailed and the bright scenes are vibrant. It's never going to be true black with the current LCD RPTV.

I canceled a DVI player on order, because I was so pleased with the PQ after hooking it up to my Panasonic DVD player (with the cheap component cable that came with the Zenith 520 receiver). I couldn't justify spending another $200 for the first generation DVI players right now. The improvement better be day and night. If I do get a DVI player, it has to have a disc changer.

[Foxbat121]

Originally posted by mlandau
my problem-when I use pip or split, and an analog cable feed direct from the wall, my right side picture is filled with snow. Anyone have a similar problem? Any suggestions?

Mine works fine. Did you try the PIP and see how it looks like? Sounds like the other tuner is bad. This set has dual tuners.

[MLM]

Originally posted by darthemma
I am "this" close to buying this TV, but I need to ask a couple of quick questions to those of you who already own it. I saw the tv in BB and thought the black levels were not as good as the Sammy DLP's. I watch a lot of scifi DVD's (lots of dark scenes). Do the black levels bother you?

So far it seems that you can adjust the set to get all the detail you want in the darker scenes, though on an absolute basis you can't get the blacks as dark as you may want. The Panny has plenty of brightness and contrast to work with.

My DVD player in progressive mode has a "Gamma" control which it says, "allows you to bring out low level detail in dark scenes". But I haven't played with it yet.

Does anyone know about the filters that some Wega owners have put in their monitors?

[Ten 99]

MLM, for more information, read up in UMR's thread on the GW2's, and also take some time to search through the front projection forums (both under $5k and over $5k) to read up on color correction and other types of filters that people have used to improve black levels. These things DO work. My guess is that they will work rather well with this Panny set, mostly because it seems to have such an overly bright picture out of the box.

[darthemma]

Which DVD players are you all using with your set and are you happy with it? I'm debating between a DVI player (but the choices are very limited) or a good progressive scan player.

[MLM]

Originally posted by darthemma
Which DVD players are you all using with your set and are you happy with it? I'm debating between a DVI player (but the choices are very limited) or a good progressive scan player.

My Philips dvd963sa gives me as good quality as anything I've ever seen from a DVD. As I wrote above, and on another thread, the PQ using its progressive output is awesome. But it's an expensive unity that I bought primarily for its audio quality (which doesn't hurt on some of the DVDs with great music). I would have bought it even if did not do video!

To me it's also important to save the DVI input for true HDTV either over the air or by any other means.

If I were you and if HDTV is in your future I would hop to the DVD player part of the forum and gather in the wisdom there for a player with SOTA progressive output.

[umr]

MLM,

To see what the filters do you should get your hands on the Kodak Color Print Viewing Filter Kit. This kit has a large selection of filters that you can look through. This will help you select the right filter or filters for your set.

[JGStenos]

Originally posted by darthemma
Which DVD players are you all using with your set and are you happy with it?

I'm using a Panasonic DVD-RP91 with my PT-50LC13 and am very pleased with the PQ. I'm saving my DVI input for D* and won't be buying a DVI-capable DVD player.

[Cruiser]

Let's see if this works to get into SERVICE MODE...

I am not currently at home, but maybe someone could try this before I get there and let us know if it works. I am quoting this from another post located here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...12#post2178806

Here's one way to check Lamp runtime status --

Enter Service Mode: With the TV powered off (make sure it's off for a few minutes before trying this, or you'll wait for the customary cooldown period before anything happens if you turn the set off and try this stuff immediately), press and hold both the "VOLUME Down" button on the TV itself and the TV/VIDEO key on the remote control simultaneously for about 7 seconds (they say over 5 seconds in the manual). The TV will be turned on and it will have a screen full of status data atop an active TV channel.

Next, press the SWAP/STOP key on the remote for more than 5 seconds.

You should be taken to a screen that has " LAMP/FILTER/IIC" as a selectable entity. Press the Action key to select it and move to the next screen of info.

You'll see a status screen with the number of Service Mode Resets of the Lamp run time (I inadvertently reset my Lamp to 0 hrs after 95 hours of initial operation, and I'll show you how to avoid that in a minute). You'll also see Total Time, which I assume is total TV run time, Lamp Run Time, and Filter Time, all in hours.

You can backchain to the the prior screens with the Recall button on remote.

To exit this service mode entirely, you must turn off the TV.

You can also enter a different service mode menu to control a number of parameters, as I first learned from Doug McDonald at this link >> http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/show...hlight=pt40lc12 when I was trying to learn how to perform service mode color adjustments.

Depress the "Volume Down" button on the set itself while concurrently depressing the "Recall" key on the remote for about seven seconds, and you'll be taken into "Work Mode". At this point, you can press the Action key, and select "Information", where you'll not only see Input mode (as usual) but also Lamp Run Time (but not Filter time or total run time).

You can enter the more advanced service mode menu by pressing and holding the Volume Down button down on the set itself while concurrently depressing the SWAP/STOP key on the remote for more than five seconds. -- This displayed a Factory Adjust menu, with bunch of settings. See Doug's message for more details. (Do not press Vol Down on the set and PIP/PLAY on remote simultaneously, or you'll reset the Lamp time to 0hrs as I did !)

Unfortunately, the service manual does not describe all the tweakable settings in the Factory Adjust menu.......

Nick Stam
PC Mag and ExtremeTech

I imagine this will work, but can someone try it and see. If not, I'll check it out in a few hours when I get home.

Thanks,
-Shawn

[darthemma]

how long is the dvi cable that comes with the panny?

[MLM]

Originally posted by darthemma
how long is the dvi cable that comes with the panny?

2 meters.

[Cruiser]

So far I've checked the 1st procedure above and I can get to the Lamp Screen, but there is no SWAP/STOP button on our remote, so I don't know what to push next...

Also, the 2nd mode works, but I don't know what to push instead of the SWAP/STOP button to get to the other screens...

Shawn

[vfr700]

Any body have any luck with discrete IR input selection codes? A post in the original thread told a buyer to get a "decent" remote control - I assume that would be one with macro capabilities. Does the manual (which I haven't been able to find for download) indicate anything about discrete IR codes?

[darthemma]

I wondered if folks think it's a good idean to buy the extended warranty for this set? I can get 5 years (including annual cleaning) for $500 at Sears. The extended warranty includes the bulb. Is it a good idea?

[Foxbat121]

There is a SWAP button at the bottom of the remote and STOP button a few rows above. Maybe you can try either of them.

The manual, like any other CE manuals, says absolutly nothing about discrete codes.

[Brodequin]

Originally posted by darthemma
I wondered if folks think it's a good idean to buy the extended warranty for this set? I can get 5 years (including annual cleaning) for $500 at Sears. The extended warranty includes the bulb. Is it a good idea?

According to the Sears website, the warranty is $399 for 5 years. Are you sure that the warranty includes the bulb? Did a sales associate tell you that is does? Most forumers have said that BB and CC warranties do not cover bulb replacement, not sure about Sears, so this would be a great bonus.

IMO, I would get the warranty if the bulb replacement is not included. If the bulb is included, it would be a no-brainer.

[darthemma]

Originally posted by Brodequin
According to the Sears website, the warranty is $399 for 5 years. Are you sure that the warranty includes the bulb? Did a sales associate tell you that is does?

The sales associate confirmed that the warranty does cover the bulb.

[Cruiser]

Originally posted by Foxbat121
There is a SWAP button at the bottom of the remote and STOP button a few rows above. Maybe you can try either of them....

Thanks, but I already tried both of those, and they didn't work, not when pushed individually or simultaneously.

Shawn