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#1 ·
Well I originally started this as a mid panel brightness settings thread, since I can't find a lot of research into settings that work for this brightness, but some others pointed out we have yet to get an "official" ST30 calibration thread going so let's just do it that way...


I'm like a lot of you in that Cinema looks good but only in low lighting, which really leaves something to be desired in the brightness area.


Problem is an expert calibrator once told me setting the panel to mid destroys the gamma and that it takes SM adjustments to compensate and even then you won't get the PQ of low settings.


So let's start a thread for those of us who wish to tinker with settings and see if we can come up with some good results...



I'll go first. I'm not an expert and you do what I did at your own risk. I followed the D Nice panel prep method found at the Site Which Shall Not Be Named which you can find HERE .


From out of the box straight to panel prep. Ran my TV for 100 hours straight, no normal viewing, on 1080p color slides (file included with this post), with D Nice's settings.


If you follow these settings exactly, the slides should be on a continual loop of 30 seconds per frame. I let that run from Monday to Friday.


Once done, I decided to use D Nice's post panel prep settings as my reference settings that I saved as default.


Currently I am trying settings with panel set to "mid" brightness. Started with these:

Custom


65

80

37

0

20

Warm1

off

off

off


Pro:

Normal

+7

0

+17

+7

0

+2


Black ext. +2

Gamma 2.4

Panel Brightness Mid

off

AGC 0


off

off

off



So how about you guys?

 

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#27 ·
I've pretty much settled on D-Nice's settings for the most part, but on mid panel brightness and Warm 1 color temp. instead of Warm 2 (still getting accustomed to the red/brownish shift inherent in more accurate colors; I'm coming from a pretty crappy circa ~96 low end Sony LCD). I'm not a complete videophile, to the point that I'm not bothered by (or notice) what is apparently skewed color accuracy on mid brightness. I feel like going from low to mid brightness gives the picture just the right amount of pop, again in my non-expert opinion.


I've tried a bunch of others, including Cnet's settings, and wasn't impressed with them compared to what D-Nice's settings have done for my 55st30.


I was really curious as to how I would react to a plasma picture having never owned one. I can honestly say I LOVE my decision...stunning picture for those like me who live on the fringe of videophilism.


Anyone else care to share?
 
#29 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by cabbiepimpin /forum/post/20561392


I've pretty much settled on D-Nice's settings for the most part, but on mid panel brightness and Warm 1 color temp. instead of Warm 2 (still getting accustomed to the red/brownish shift inherent in more accurate colors; I'm coming from a pretty crappy circa ~96 low end Sony LCD). I'm not a complete videophile, to the point that I'm not bothered by (or notice) what is apparently skewed color accuracy on mid brightness. I feel like going from low to mid brightness gives the picture just the right amount of pop, again in my non-expert opinion.


I've tried a bunch of others, including Cnet's settings, and wasn't impressed with them compared to what D-Nice's settings have done for my 55st30.


I was really curious as to how I would react to a plasma picture having never owned one. I can honestly say I LOVE my decision...stunning picture for those like me who live on the fringe of videophilism.


Anyone else care to share?

You sound like me.


I'm D-Nice settings with the following adjustments:

MID Panel Brightness

Warm 1 Color Temp

Contrast 70

Color 37


Like you said, the right amount of pop and I can't notice any color inaccuracy. The set looks beautiful to me.
 
#30 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by device manager /forum/post/20562056

mfrey0118, the Photo & Slideshow settings in your original post mimic those that D-Nice posted on hdjunkies back in Feb. Please give credit where it is due.

http://www.**************.com/showth...-Issues-Thread

I thought we weren't supposed to mention it on this site. I just posted them without mentioning where I got them from because of that and also because so many people on here keep asking where to find them. No one's trying to take credit away from anyone else. I went ahead and edited it. Review and make sure it doesn't offend your sensibilities any longer.
 
#31 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by mucktuckfoo
Does anyone have a calibrated setting for any other mode besides custom, wondering what people are using for Cinema,game,vivid, stand. wish the tv had a custom1, custom2 and a custom 3 now that would be handy
Yeah I'm actually looking for some Cinema settings that work well for daytime viewing.
 
#32 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mfrey0118 /forum/post/20565572


I thought we weren't supposed to mention it on this site. I just posted them without mentioning where I got them from because of that and also because so many people on here keep asking where to find them. No one's trying to take credit away from anyone else. I went ahead and edited it. Review and make sure it doesn't offend your sensibilities any longer.

D-Nice doesn't want his settings posted anywhere. Might be best if you just referred to them, linked to them (if AVS will let you) but removed them completely from your post.
 
#33 ·
i know CNET mentioned that Custom had a stronger dither effect than Cinema, but i found it to be the exact opposite on my 55ST30.


i get dither in the letterbox on my movies in Cinema, but ZERO dither on the letterbox in Custom.


it's almost impossible to see the dither on the black scenes in Cinema, although i could've sworn i could see it on the first day.


anyone else notice the difference in dither between the two settings?
 
#34 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by nlpearman /forum/post/20567190


D-Nice doesn't want his settings posted anywhere. Might be best if you just referred to them, linked to them (if AVS will let you) but removed them completely from your post.

Done.
 
#36 ·
Hey guys! Good day to all of you! Anyways, question here, I've got a beautiful p50st30 over here and was wondering if anybody has the calibration setting for game mode. I have a PS3. Oh and any tips for the 3d setting on this tv as well for I do play in 3D quite a lot. Thanks in advance guys! Hope someone can help. I've been looking for game mode calibration for this tv set but can't find any.


Ps- thanks mfrey0118 for the link to this thread! :]
 
#37 ·
i was watching Kung Fu Panda on the weekend during the day, and while the picture was nice, I felt as if the colours were a bit muted. i tried playing around with the settings, and couldn't get the picture to look right.


that is, until i changed the panel brightness. WOW!!!!


if you leave everything else the same (D-Nice custom settings), and just change the panel brightness from low to mid, the colours just jump off the screen.


i didn't see what the effect would be at night in an almost all-black room, but i'll try that tonight. might be a bit too bright i'm guessing, but we'll see.


while Cinema and D-Nice settings are great for a "natural" and more realistic look for film, i think changing the panel brightness to Mid looks amazing for animated films. and in fact, i believe James Cameron's settings for the 2010 plasmas had panel brightness set to High in fact.


just FYI. enjoy guys!
 
#38 ·
OK. I was committed to mid panel brightness and enjoying the pop, but it seemed a little too much for nighttime viewing. Also, even though I'm a proud non-videophile, the colors just didn't look right.


I reverted back to the D-Nice settings for nighttime viewing and the colors were simply unbelievable. My TV is so beautiful!


So D-Nice for night and, if I care enough, mid panel brightness for daytime.
 
#39 ·
ok i tried Mid panel brightness (everything else was D-Nice Custom), and it looks fantastic with animated movies even at night. a bit on the bright side, but everything really pops. Avatar and Monsters Inc look incredible, although Avatar looked far more realistic, while Monsters Inc looked like the colours were on steroids.


for non-animated movies, Mid panel brightness screws up the colour a bit too much, with skin tones looking sun-burnt, and other colours a bit too exaggerated. you get more pop with Mid, and your eyes naturally prefer that level of brightness when you switch back and forth between Mid and Low, but i think overall Low is a bit more realistic.
 
#41 ·
do people find their black levels to be worse with Mid panel brightness? I want to make sure my black levels are at optimum levels, since this is why i bought the set!


although i think the picture looks quite natural with Low, it seems a bit washed out imo (found that to be true with THX on the G20 I had too), and no pop.


Mid is nice, but then the colours get screwed up.


at the same time, if we go Mid, what was the point in doing the 100 hr panel prep?
 
#42 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by the_r /forum/post/20596976


ok i tried Mid panel brightness (everything else was D-Nice Custom), and it looks fantastic with animated movies even at night. a bit on the bright side, but everything really pops. Avatar and Monsters Inc look incredible, although Avatar looked far more realistic, while Monsters Inc looked like the colours were on steroids.


for non-animated movies, Mid panel brightness screws up the colour a bit too much, with skin tones looking sun-burnt, and other colours a bit too exaggerated. you get more pop with Mid, and your eyes naturally prefer that level of brightness when you switch back and forth between Mid and Low, but i think overall Low is a bit more realistic.

I think I agree with just about everything said here, especially the distinction between MID panel brightness for animated vs non-animated material. I settled on MID with Toy Story on iTunes HD as my main demo movie. MID had nice pop but the reds were a little saturated.


I realized how awesome the D-Nice settings were with LOW panel brightness while watching TDK on Blu in the middle of the night.
 
#43 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by nlpearman /forum/post/20601472


I think I agree with just about everything said here, especially the distinction between MID panel brightness for animated vs non-animated material. I settled on MID with Toy Story on iTunes HD as my main demo movie. MID had nice pop but the reds were a little saturated.


I realized how awesome the D-Nice settings were with LOW panel brightness while watching TDK on Blu in the middle of the night.

yeah i was tinkering with Mid for an hour or so last night, and i can't get myself to like Mid for regular non-animated movies. the picture doesn't look as natural, and something seems "off" or "artificial" about it, whether it's the colours, or the brightness.


i watched TDK mostly for these tests, and yeah, i just can't go with Mid. ended up preferring Low much more.


i thought since Cinema was the most accurate according to CNET, and the fact that D-Nice Custom was virtually indistinguishable to me compared to Cinema, that these two must be the most accurate or "reference" settings for the TV.


i say virtually b/c i do find whites tinged on the red side with Custom, so i actually went as far as -4 on the W/B Low R, and left W/B High R on 0. then i did a blind test between Cinema and my new Custom setting (had the wife change the modes while I closed my eyes) and i couldn't tell one from the other, which was interesting.


however, I will stick with Mid on the animated movies, cuz the images just seem to jump off the screen. everything looks sharper too, with more detail for some reason as well.


quick question though. has anyone noticed while on Cinema, the black bars on letterbox movies have quite a bit of dithering (viewed 2 inches from the set), but on Custom, there's zero dithering on the black bars? i found it odd that CNET reported the opposite. was wondering what other people were experiencing.
 
#44 ·
Did Panasonic change the Cinema setting for recent builds? My 65ST30 is a May build, and right off the bat, the Cinema setting was at a perfect brightness, and I only hand to lower the Brightness setting down two notches to achieve 0 blacks with no sparklies on my letterbox bars. (Which was also where 0 black became uhh.... 0.)


In fact I had to lower my Contrast value down to about 40, as 50 and up were brighter than I normally like. Contrast was default at 100 in Cinema, though 50 through 100 was barely any different, but 0-50 was where all the change occured.


I think Panny may have fixed the low light output of Cinema. Standard at default was incredibly dim compared to Cinema, not to mention horrible in PQ.


I'll try and mess with Custom, but I'm very happy with Cinema, even with lots of lighting. I've come from LCDs, which I tended to put at Blacklight 3 out of 10, so jumping to Plasma wasn't a big change in brightness for me.


I think the Cinema setting may be using a mid level lighting now.


I'd also like to know if anything carries over from one input to another. I know Cinema does. Looks like Custom doesn't.


I ask, because I dunno what it is, but it seems at random times, the Motion Smoother isn't OFF when I know that's where I had it... That and Noise Reduction being set to Weak when I know I put it as OFF. Is this not saving when I turn off the TV?
 
#45 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven Crimson /forum/post/20604462


Did Panasonic change the Cinema setting for recent builds? My 65ST30 is a May build, and right off the bat, the Cinema setting was at a perfect brightness, and I only hand to lower the Brightness setting down two notches to achieve 0 blacks with no sparklies on my letterbox bars. (Which was also where 0 black became uhh.... 0.)

i had NO idea changing the brightness setting would get rid of the sparklies!? i tried that last night on Cinema mode (from default), and dialed down brightness by either 1 or 2 clicks, and all the sparklies in the letterboxes went away?! it lowered the dithering in the entire picture dramatically as well.


i always preferred Cinema, and felt it had plenty of light output, but i didn't like the dithering, and now it's gone.


so a big thank you to you sir!


mine is an April build, and i'm happy to use Cinema for day and night, and Custom Mid for animated movies.


i'm loving this TV more and more each day
 
#46 ·
FWIH, Dithering is how Plasma deals with shadow detail in the darkest grays. It'd make sense that the 0 black wouldn't have dither, since there shouldn't be any detail in 0 black. In any case, with test pattern even value of 1 out of the 255 has very minor dither, so you know that you're not crushing blacks at the brightness setting you have.


I've always done well getting the brightness setting correctly on all my TVs. Its easier with LCD because all you have to do is set the TV to 4:3 mode and match the 0 black with the 4:3 bars (which are 0 blacks, always). Lots of people don't seem to notice that, lol.
 
#47 ·
^ yeah i read somewhere about why plasmas "dither", but didn't realize it was related to detail in shadow areas. this is my first plasma, so i'm still learning



i'm not familiar with the test patterns you speak of and the corresponding measurements. is this from a test pattern image you downloaded off the web, or from a calibration disc?


i'm considering picking up the Spears and Munsil (sp?) disc, but can't remember if amazon.ca had it in stock. almost impossible to find in B&M stores in Canada.


can't wait to watch some movies this weekend! planning on picking up How to Train Your Dragon, heard it was good!
 
#48 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by the_r /forum/post/20596976


ok i tried Mid panel brightness (everything else was D-Nice Custom), and it looks fantastic with animated movies even at night. a bit on the bright side, but everything really pops. Avatar and Monsters Inc look incredible, although Avatar looked far more realistic, while Monsters Inc looked like the colours were on steroids.


for non-animated movies, Mid panel brightness screws up the colour a bit too much, with skin tones looking sun-burnt, and other colours a bit too exaggerated. you get more pop with Mid, and your eyes naturally prefer that level of brightness when you switch back and forth between Mid and Low, but i think overall Low is a bit more realistic.

Try this:

color temp: Warm1,

color at 35-36

Contrast/Bright to your own taste

tint at +4/5

Gamma 2.2

Panel Medium

Black Extender +3/4

W/B you can boost the high and low Red a bit but again it's personal taste
 
#49 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by BassLake /forum/post/20620716


Great daytime settings.

Custom can get flakey on skin tones and Warm1 with the other settings moderate that quite a bit. I pretty much use Custom with these for day and night. I hate the low panel setting. It's like watching through a dark haze to me and Cinema mode's brightness is a bit too limited for me unless the room is pitch black and even then it rubs me the wrong way.
 
#50 ·
i think i've gone back and settled with Cinema. now that i've learned i can get rid of the dithering by lowering the brightness 1 or 2 clicks, i think the pic looks pretty good. not as much pop obviously compared to Custom Mid, and yeah, it kinda looks like you're viewing things through this light grey haze, but overall, i think the picture and the colours looks most realistic with Cinema.


i'll stick with Custom Mid for animated movies though.
 
#51 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cal1981 /forum/post/20623230


Custom can get flakey on skin tones and Warm1 with the other settings moderate that quite a bit. I pretty much use Custom with these for day and night. I hate the low panel setting. It's like watching through a dark haze to me and Cinema mode's brightness is a bit too limited for me unless the room is pitch black and even then it rubs me the wrong way.

Thanks Cal for putting in the effort to find the best looking mid panel brightness settings. I feel like it's a long journey with no immediate end in sight (reminds me of the end of fellowship) I don't even have the tv yet but I've been eyeing it for awhile. I'm trying to figure out if my family would prefer the mid panel settings or just the accurate colors the experts go for. I feel like to deliver the wow factor, your settings may just do the trick. And if you can't wow your family, then what's the point? If it was just for me (based on my G10 settings), I prefer the more accurate picture where your eyes can relax and enjoy the show. That being said, I've never experienced mid panel brightness settings, so maybe I would prefer them as well.


To get to the point, you said the settings you came up with (modifications of D-Nice setting's) did a good job removing the badly colored skin tones. Now let me ask you a question that may be hard to answer at this point: Do you think an average person that doesn't care about this stuff would notice anything was off with your settings? And secondly, do you think the average person would prefer your settings at night watching a non animated film, or would they think it was too colorful?
 
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