Panasonic PZ80/PZ85 Owners Thread [No Price Talk] - Page 54

I'm very aware of Vizio's 08 LCD lineup. There isn't much there to speak of. It's pretty much Samsungs 07 lineup at best. However, enough of this because we are really getting off topic. It's very clear you're a Pioneer guy and they make a great set but we'll see how things pan out later this year.

Are there any 2008 models actually released to compare to? On paper, they look good, but they did last year too, and most reports in the forum weren't good.

If you're last statement is true, Pioneer displays may not last much longer, even with Panasonic or Hitachi panels.

I'm out for the best PQ, period. I could care less about the nameplate on it....plasma wise, I prefer Pioneer and Panasonic over any other brand.

Great attempt to "fish". Not going to work on me.


Now back to the PZ80/85 series.

Tom, thanks a lot for your help. A few things in response to your points...

1) Ok, didn't realize. Just kinda took a guess.

2) So I'm assuming you took my data, normalized the L values, and then back-calculated new x, y, R, G, and B values?

3) I heard the Spyder isn't the best. Perhaps I can get something better down the road, but I'll just have to work with what I've got for the time being.

4) I agree that this data doesn't completely support what appears to be a greenish blob. However, since it appears reddish all around the blob, it can be viewed as an absence of red in the middle if you look at it a little differently. The data shows MM to have the highest green level(although still less than 100%) and also one of the lowest red levels. This seems consistent with what I see.

5) Regarding my deviation from D65, I know I need some more work on the calibration. The numbers aren't as bad on average with your recalculation. However, shouldn't we look at the spread of dE values in addition to the average? Your highest value is 3.6 and I have 4 values higher than that including a 7.1 and a 6.7. Your standard devation is 1.2 while mine is 2.2. This also indicates more non-uniformity with a couple of regions being much worse than anything on your screen.

That's all I've got for now. Still trying to figure out what to do. I'll work on the calibration a bit more here sometime soon to see if that helps anything. I really don't want to exchange it for a set that's even worse or has other problems like dead pixels. But I also don't want to settle for something even slightly defective after spending so much money.

Thanks again! I'm enjoying trying to sort this out, but I wish there was nothing to sort out.

Mine is this way too with a solid gray and white screen, which I finally noticed after much staring. I don't have any color variations (ie: green spot) though, and it is only noticeable on solid screens and don't see any effects on normal viewing. I'm not sure if this is a flaw or not, but at this point, I'm not worried about it since I don't stare at solid gray screens all day. Every HD source I've watched has looked amazing to me.


I would only worry about the top and bottom during break-in. You can't change their color, btw.

I'm not fishing, D-Nice, no matter what you think. I'm serious. They are outsourcing other panels to save money and be more price competitive, but if Panny's are going to be too expensive, then Pioneer definitely is, and even Sammy and Panny may have trouble if the displays are only purchased on price. But I agree, we should be discussing the 80/85U.

I'd have to agree that D-nice has a point here. that economic turmoil is one reason we are seeing the price drops on these pannys so frequent and soon (which is very nice for ALL of us consumers! ). I believe at least one of the 2008 Visio Plasmas has the Silicon Optix processor (that can pass the 1080i 3:2 film resolution test that even the new 2008 panny (v-real pro III?) procs seems not to be able to pass) At least in that respect I think the Vizio will be superior to the 2008 pannys, in the other aspects of PQ (CR, black levels, color accuracy, etc, etc) we'll have to wait and see.


nicely said. But D-nice is likely right in his assumption here too....it's kind of obvious the pios will outperform the pannys given the price diff and previous history between the two. I'd be looking forward to his comparative review anyway to make my own conclusions about the 'bang for the buck' part since that opinion will vary from person to person depending on their individual 'buck' (read 'budget').

D-nice, will you be including a non-elite kuro in the comparision also? When you say panny 11G comparision (all the way from 85 to 850) to 9G you can't only take the top of the line 9G, you should include a lower one too. would help in drawing the bang-for-buck graph/curve....

I believe one of the forum sponsers has kindly arranged to send D-Nice the first 9G he receives, which should be a non-Elite 5020. (Or is it going to be called 5090?)

HOWEVER: this is the PZ80/PZ85 owner's thread, so that conversation should really be held elsewhere!

+1

please keep us posted Tom. thanks.

I wasn't comparing my level of knowledge of these unreleased panels to yours or anyone else's. In fact, since they have not yet been released my knowledge of them is just about zero. I was simply offering an observation about methodology. I am less inclined to look with enthusiasm on a test whose results have been announced with great enthusiasm prior to the test even beginning.

Just guessing, given what we already know about the previous generation Kuros, I would expect the new ones to have higher on/off CR than the new Pannys and substantially higher ANSI CR. They also seem to have better processing. However, the other aspects of performance (gamma, grayscale tracking, color decoding, overall color accuracy) of the standard Kuros--the Elites are another story--were no better in my experience, and some cases worse, than the new Panny.

I am a member of a very exclusive tribe. I happen to think that on/off CR much above 6000:1 or so means very little for real-world performance. Short of bragging rights and laboratory test results, the vast majority of people would find a 6000:1 native CR display and a 40,000:1 native CR display indistinguishable, all else being equal, on about 95%+ of all program material in about 95%+ of all viewing environments. I know that it is heresy to say such things, but I can't help myself.

I am much more interested in displays adhering to Rec. 709 and/or SMPTE-C color standards, which almost none do, including the current Panny. The results of this are easily visible on almost all program material, even to the untrained eye.

a little problem with my newly purchased 85U ..i select tv/video , #1 tv , #4- hdmi which is how the cable box is connected to the tv , #5 hdmi connected to DVD .. the problem is i get no sound with #4 hdmi - the picture is fantastic , #1 tv is so-so even if cable box says 1080i , #5 hdmi connected to DVD is great & sounds works great ...but i've only set up default speakers from the tv ... tried changing audio thru 'viera link setting' per the instructions ..can't figure what i did that sound doesn't work while connected via hdmi ....any help would be appreciated ...

There are others here infinitely more capable than I but since I just happen to be here and you posted 20 minutes ago....

I'm confused by your reference to the #1 tv and cable in the same sentence "#1 tv is so-so even if cable box says 1080i" The #1 tv refers to the antenna input on the back of the 85u, can I assume you do not have the cable box connected there? And further that you have no other connections between the cable box and the tv?

Focusing on the hdmi ports, it appears the dvd works on hdmi #2 and the cable box doesn't on hdmi #1. What happens if you flip them? The working dvd makes it clear the speaker itself is working. It's hypothetically possible one of the hdmi ports is bad though that seems highly unlikely. Far more likely you need to change the config on the cable box. I don't know anything about cable boxes (don't have one, never will) but I think we're safe assuming yours is like just about every other device you might connect in that it needs some configuration instruction about how to use the HDMI interface. Is it possible your cable box can only pass video via HDMI and it needs separate audio connections to your tv? Perhaps if you provide your cable provider name and cable box model others here can assist. Your cable provider may even have instructions on its web page.

Man, Im so glad I got to read thru 10 posts of Pioneer/Panny fanboy crap. Can you guys please leave the pioneer **** in the pioneer thread and the panasonic **** in the panasonic thread. I love how you guys argue about stuff MOST consumers wont notice or care about. Most of them react by saying "MAN that Panny is pricey" and then they say "MAN that Pioneer is overpriced" all while noticing they look the SAME on Best Buys floor.
I chose the 85u over the XBR4 and the 5080 HD (OH MY what was I thinking).

Anyways, watched Hitman and Harry Potter 5 on BD tonight after my DVE adjustments and I can say Im very happy with this tv and the colors/blacks.

Oh wise one, please enlighten us. I think the fact some people on this forum like to follow you around and quote your words like gospel has gone to your head. If you arent trying to sound arrogant, maybe you should work on it.

when you select tv/video , it comes up with a menu - numbered #1 - 8 , tv , component 1, component 2 , hdmi 1 , hdmi 2 hdmi 3 (game) etc ... i have time warner cable connecting via HD- DVR scientific america 8300HD so on the back of TV , hdmi #1 is connected to the hd0dvr box , hdmi #2 is connected to the DVD player ..the only other connection between tv & cable box is by the antenna terminal (antenna cable in ) to ant out ... hope this helps ...no sound with hdmi #1 but beautiful tc screen , you get sound with tv set to TV but picture not as good as hdmi # 1 .... great picture & sound using hdmi#2 connected with DVd player ... very confused ..trying to set up using 'viera link' everything looks good but sound missing ......

Sound like you were thinking with your head to me. XBR4 is overpriced and has a list of issues. The 5080 is a nice set but only 720P. The PZ85 isn't the best set every either but seems to hit the sweet spot in performance per dollar since the 50" is floating around the $2k mark at a lot of places.

Fine, you grab the chainsaw and duct tape and i'll hold the 5020 Kuro still while you "augment" it down to a 42" for me

I was looking at a 85u, 5080 HD, and a LG plasma today at BB
The 85u picture looked a little fuzzy and not as clear and smooth as the others. I figured it was the split source and just a bad connection but the 80u right above had the same issues. It has to be the source right? A LG can't possibly have a clearer picture, can it? I have read complaints earlier in this thread about a fuzzy picture.

Tom, it seems that I've been experiencing the same black level trend with my "PX75" display, although I have NOT been raising the Brightness control.

In fact I have started a new thread to gather feedback from forum members, so it would be great if you and other folks could have a look at it here : http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1016048 .

Thanks,

Fernando

I'm getting used to the 46. I watched some of Blade Runner and it looks fantastic, but maybe because its kind of a slow-paced movie. Also played some games, and i think ill get used to the size of the screen. I still wish i had a couple more feet just to see the difference. The best thing to do is go to the store and test the tv with the same distance. I did that, but the problem was that there were bigger TVs next to it, so it looked smaller than when i brought it home.

I got mine from EPP delivered w/o any problems. In fact the delivery guy said that he made extra sure to handle with care as he has never broken a set and he didn't want to start with mine.

I work at CC and can tell you that all 3 of the sets you looked at were probably in Vivid or dynamic. Brightness sells. I recently purchased the 50PZ85U and used the settings that Tom had posted up earlier in the thread and was VERY impressed. Took most if not all grain out of the picture and provided realistic colors and deep blacks. His recommendations were Cinema mode with a few changes. Most of the TVs we have on display as if they are being set up in a home or store environment went first powered on. Many of them reset their picture settings back to torch mode after some time.

If you've seen a fuzzy picture, its either settings or source.

Im using Cinema with the settings above and the picture is sharp on OTA and Blurays are amazing(keep in mind this is my first 1080p tv).

I do know that other settings like game and vivid give a much brighter picture, but they are fuzzy as heck. If you look at a 85u in the store, put it on Cinema and use the settings in this thread and you'll see if its the signal or not. Should not be fuzzy.

+1

What city are you in? Wonder if he would delivery one to my house?

I wont say anything else it would all be very bad!

However, I like what looks good to me. I have never enjoyed a set more so than my PIO 5070. I believe that this TV is a 7th generation set.

If I pick up a panny pz85u the blacks should be better than my 5070 right. If so then that is good enough for me. The processing should also be better rt.

I just need blacks comparable to my 5070 and I am good. All that other stuff you guys can fight it out.

Being this is my first 1080p tv, I'm curious about the 3D look some scenes have. Are those a result of 1080p, or just a better set than I had.

My example is from last nights viewing of HP5. WHile he's sitting in the playground scene looking at the kids taunting him (when you are viewing the kids thru his eyes), they appear realistic and 3 dimensional. Granted not every scene of a Blu-ray looks like this, but they are there.

If you are happy with the Pioneer, why not get a newer model(not meant to sound like Im being an ***)? I stuck with the Panny because I previously owned an older model and loved it, plus its in my price point. I cant comment on blacks vs other tv's, but its the best blacks Ive seen with my eyes on a tv ive owned.


On another note, I forgot to add that the funky hint of green has all but disappeared on the break in dvd(Im at 94 hours)

cmon, the guy didn't take marriage vows with Pio when he bought that one 5070 he's entitled to "look around"

seriously though, hes got a legit question, and maybe he'll get lucky and someone here would be able to answer. I sure found it helpful to hear footbaggin's comparative account of the pio 5080 and the 85u since he has both....



Good to hear that