Panasonic PZ80/PZ85 Owners Thread [No Price Talk] - Page 418

I hope it is what you are used to seeing.

I bought mine in February 2009 and I have not had any problems with it.

I think the picture is great and it recently improved when I bought better coaxial cable and wires for the back of the tv.

So far I am loving it.

I guess the only way to really verify would be to measure the black levels and compare to sets of similiar age.

This is from the review by CNET, they didn't review the 50 but they liked the 46 inch model except for a couple of negative comments for color accuracy and video processing.

"Black level: The TH-46PZ85U exhibited the deepest shade of black we've seen from any Panasonic plasma, deeper than any display we've reviewed except for the Pioneer and the OLED-based Sony XEL-1. Those deep blacks lent punch and dimension to both dark and brighter scenes; the black background behind the freaky girl Goth librarian, for example, was a couple of shades darker than the Samsung and the other displays in our test, aside from the Pioneer. The black-level difference between the Panasonic and the Pioneer was slight, and we could only confirm it by side-by-side comparison.

Doesn't sound like the set that I looked at the other day and thought it had poor black level performance.

It must be my imagination. Will try doublechecking the settings.

Our friends here on this thread ... what is the standard you are using to measure the black levels? Is it realistic? Another thread here on AVS Forum stated that the Kuros crushed the blacks. I must admit my only experience is with the PZ80U. Did Pioneer really know how to do blacks, or is there a urban legend about Kuros? I do not doubt some plasma TVs will lose black level over time, but is it universally true that all Plasma will turn gray!?!

I am not aware of any standard to measure black levels although I am sure that the pros on here know a few ways to do it.

I have always heard that Kuros was the best and they did look good. But they were insanely expensive compared to the picture that was given and the price being charged. My panny (and yours ) are much better values.
But I would not worry about Kuros because they are no longer made.

And I have heard rumors about Panny's turning gray. That may have happened 10 years ago when plasmas were still new but I think it is just a rumor. Our panny's have a ridiculous life of like...40,000 hours before there is a loss of pic quality. So in 20 years it will need to be replaced. I'll probably have another tv in 2,3 years (3D? ! ) so I won't worry about it.

hey everyone i was thinking about buying a g20 or maybe getting my 85u isf calibrated any advice out there your help or input would be appreciated

Is there a way to disable overscan in the TH-42PZ85U?

HD Size 2 in advanced picture settings

Why would you want to disable overscan ?
Is there a benefit to it?

And how do you get to advanced settings ?

I would personally wait for the next gen Panny's (if you are wanting a Panny) to see if the black level issue (erm..feature) is fixed.

If you are going to do that , you may as well get a 3D television.

Tis may be a weird question, but apparently my pz85 should have a pixel orbiter function, but i cannot find any such option in any of the menus.

(1) to see the whole picture and (2) to get 1:1 pixel mapping

To get to advanced scroll to the bottom of picture settings and select advanced settings.

under setup, anti-image retention, pixel orbiter

Thats the weird thing, no such option exists there.

Thank you, it worked perfectly!

does anyone know what size the holes are in the back of the flat panel and what size screws fit those holes? I was told 8mm but that is not correct.

I recently added a 2nd HD TV in my office (Sony Bravia 22EX308). I added a 1x2 HDMI splitter from Monoprice between my 50PZ80U and Tivo HD so that I could watch my Tivo in both places. For the most part things work well, but it seems like after about 2 days I lose audio for any HD content on the Panasonic TV (Sony has been fine so far). To get it to work again I have to power down the Panasonic and the splitter. I've ordered another brand of splitter that is labeled as HDCP 1.2 compliant hoping that it solves the problem. Wondering if any others have experience with HDMI splitters going to your Pannasonic and if you see any handshake type problems like this?

Hi all,
I really hope someoNe can offer some advice.

I have had the 46pz85B for some time now and generally very happy. However, i cannot shake the feeling that cinema mode is somewhat off. I have had the set calibrated and everything set so that in cinema mode the default settings are accurate. However, when using it, the picture lacks punch. It's almost as if it's a bit too airy/'washed out.' this goes away if I turn down the brightness but of course then I lose detail.

Swithing to normal mode makes th picture alot punchier, but loses detail. Is cinema meant to be like this, am I going mad etc? Should cinema only be used in low light conditions?

Apprecite your help.

James

So no one has any ideo why my 42PZ85E has no pixel orbiter options??

Dreassic, my answer is the same as PlasmaPZ80U. I also own the PZ80U. We own the model for the U.S.A. market. What market do you reside in?

As you can see in the post, the E model, thus Europe. But that should not make a difference, this is about a vital feature, a pixel orbiter.
I know of other, less important features, differing in models from different countries/regions, but one would think a pixel orbiter would be in ANY model.

The problem with Cinema mode on 2008 models is the gamma (midrange brightness) is set wrong. The picture probably looks as if someone has jacked the brightness up too high causing the image to look flat and 2 dimensional. This is essentially what you are correcting by lowing the brightness, but as you've said it's not a solution because doing so will crush blacks.

Some of the 2009 models can now achieve the correct gamma curve via an advanced picture menu and this makes all the difference in the world. I've just upgraded from a PX80 to an S10 with the gamma control unlocked and I can tell you the difference it makes is truly astounding. With the gamma corrected, images now look 3 dimensional and realistic. The picture now seems as though you are looking out a window.

I'm struggling to understand why Panasonic would not set their TV's to the correct 2.2 gamma setting by default from the factory. It clearly looks superior to any other gamma setting. Everyone I've shown the S10 to agrees at how nice 2.2 gamma looks.

Yes that's it exactly. Quite why my calibrator didn't pick that up I don't know. Is there a way of going into the service menu to adjust gamma?

Not on 2008 models I'm afraid. I've spent many hours trying to correct gamma on my PX80A, but to no avail. If you want realistic images you'll have to get a 2009/2010 model.

By the way, the reason Normal mode looks punchier is because the gamma in that mode is set to S-curve. But that isn't correct either and gives an artificial look.

I feel very ripped off and annoyed now!

By Panasonic or the calibrator?

Bit by both to be honest!