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Panasonic PZ80/PZ85 Calibration Thread (Updated first post) - Page 35

post #1021 of 2470
10/1/08 at 6:21am
Two pics, one of the Ideal Lume and one of what you have to do to your windows for tv calibration





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post #1022 of 2470
10/1/08 at 8:57am
Gregg Loewen just finished. Took 1hr 50 minutes, and hes a great guy.

Some comments from him:

*) My set in particular had an almost spot on grayscale (this fluctuates between sets)

*) He moved blue up a bit and red and green down in the service menu.

*) He explained that many people expect to see the perfect picture all the time, but its not the case. He calibrated to my bluray player so it will give me the picture the director intended when watching movies. The Directv is on the same settings, and skin tones are better. He stated what many see with skin tones (red/yellow) in normal tv programming is just the fluctuation between cameras and cant be helped. He said you just cant calibrate to HDTV, because its not consistent. That being said, my D* looks better.

*) Gamma in Cinema mode was 2.1, which is excellent and Warm is definitely the best temp to use regardless.

I cant post my settings because he adjusted Contrast and Brightness in the SM with Cinema mode after he reset it. Only two Cinema mode settings he changed after the Service menu were tweaking color and tint.

He stated that this tv had "excellent" blacks, and I think he's considering a 85 or 800 for himself. He commented that Kuros were awesome sets, but he really liked the Panny's, especially for the price.

Ill post pre and post calibration pics in the pictures thread. Whole calibration cost me $510 and that includes the ideal lume lamp (which he mounted properly for free).

I asked him about CATS, and he has no idea either
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post #1023 of 2470
10/1/08 at 9:36am
Cool!

Just out of curiosity...how did the calibration affect your "user" settings for color, brightness, etc.? Could you post those settings for the hell of it? I'd be curious to see how those changed with the calibration.

Thanks!

Rich
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post #1024 of 2470
10/1/08 at 9:58am
If you go intoe Cinema and reset it, all are the same except for color and tint. (44 and +2)

He reset cinema, then went into the service menu and calibrated it. So if I ever accidentally reset Cinema, I just pull out my calibration sheet and change the color and tint to the proper setting.
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post #1025 of 2470
10/1/08 at 10:05am
BTW, the machine he uses to check Color, FL's and Temp is $16k

My FL's were 32.25 at highest and the Te,p ranged from 6490 to 6600. He said tooo many people on here and other sites tout D65 too much. All of the sums have to be good, not just one, and calibration is finding the sweet spot.
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post #1026 of 2470
10/1/08 at 10:15am
Here is a pic of the ideal lume mounted. He said we could use the included velcro, but recommended ties. I only had green in the small so it looks goofy, will fix later. He mounted level at the middle back of the tv. He adjusted the cover so its firing directly at the wall and the light bounces up and around. Not as bright as my other lamp, but I like it a little better dimmer.

Dont laugh at my wifes frilly crap

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post #1027 of 2470
10/1/08 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElwayLite View Post

Gregg Loewen just finished. Took 1hr 50 minutes, and hes a great guy.

Some comments from him:

*) My set in particular had an almost spot on grayscale (this fluctuates between sets)

*) He moved blue up a bit and red and green down in the service menu.

*) He explained that many people expect to see the perfect picture all the time, but its not the case. He calibrated to my bluray player so it will give me the picture the director intended when watching movies. The Directv is on the same settings, and skin tones are better. He stated what many see with skin tones (red/yellow) in normal tv programming is just the fluctuation between cameras and cant be helped. He said you just cant calibrate to HDTV, because its not consistent. That being said, my D* looks better.

*) Gamma in Cinema mode was 2.1, which is excellent and Warm is definitely the best temp to use regardless.

I cant post my settings because he adjusted Contrast and Brightness in the SM with Cinema mode after he reset it. Only two Cinema mode settings he changed after the Service menu were tweaking color and tint.

He stated that this tv had "excellent" blacks, and I think he's considering a 85 or 800 for himself. He commented that Kuros were awesome sets, but he really liked the Panny's, especially for the price.

Ill post pre and post calibration pics in the pictures thread. Whole calibration cost me $510 and that includes the ideal lume lamp (which he mounted properly for free).

I asked him about CATS, and he has no idea either



So...

Excluding the Lum thing...

If you had had the adjustment at your previous favorite setting and walked out and then came back in and watched the same 30 second movie clip AFTER the calibration, is it a night and day difference to you?

Or were you not far off already as it is?

C.
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post #1028 of 2470
10/1/08 at 11:14am
My observations so far (watching HD recorded on DVR) other than the detail/black improvement:

Colors appear better, fleshtones are not red anymore and look MUCH more accurate.

He flat out told me I wouldnt see as big as imporvement because of my luckily accurate grayscale. He said he's had one of the new Kuros come out perfect from the factory, then 4 more were a good bit out.

Im most happy with the detail improvement and the colors/flesh.
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post #1029 of 2470
10/1/08 at 11:26am
Forgot the Sharpness note. He stated that it does very little ( as we all concluded) and he used the DVE BR test pattern and stuck his face up to the tv. He settled on 15.
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post #1030 of 2470
10/1/08 at 11:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElwayLite View Post

My observations so far (watching HD recorded on DVR) other than the detail/black improvement:

Colors appear better, fleshtones are not red anymore and look MUCH more accurate.

He flat out told me I wouldnt see as big as imporvement because of my luckily accurate grayscale. He said he's had one of the new Kuros come out perfect from the factory, then 4 more were a good bit out.

Im most happy with the detail improvement and the colors/flesh.

It's good to hear calibration works better than the "color around 37 and tint of -2 or so" flesh tone fix that somebody told me to try.
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post #1031 of 2470
10/1/08 at 11:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by plmn View Post

It's good to hear calibration works better than the "color around 37 and tint of -2 or so" flesh tone fix that somebody told me to try.


It does. You can see Ive tried damn near all of them. Best is how it looks now.
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post #1032 of 2470
10/1/08 at 11:44am
So......the light shouldn't reflect the wall and ceiling...just the wall?
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post #1033 of 2470
10/1/08 at 12:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rkish View Post

So......the light shouldn't reflect the wall and ceiling...just the wall?


No, it does reflect around, just not as bright. My other light was laying flat behind the tv and firing upward, he has this firing at the well. This way you get less light out the sides and top.
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post #1034 of 2470
10/1/08 at 12:20pm
Ive always had a negative opinion of the flesh tones on Prison Break (OTA), even on my previous TV. Just watched Mondays episode, definitely better. Everyone looks real, and not pink lipped or sickly.
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post #1035 of 2470
10/1/08 at 12:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElwayLite View Post

It does. You can see Ive tried damn near all of them. Best is how it looks now.

had you previously made any color service menu adjustments posted in the past?
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post #1036 of 2470
10/1/08 at 12:24pm
Yes.

The reason they dont give you the same results is each tv is diff from the factory. Being mhy grayscale was very good before calibration, Im not seeing as big of improvement as others.

I sat there and he let me watch everything he did, Im not just going off stuff he told me, but data I saw.
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post #1037 of 2470
10/1/08 at 4:24pm
Great looks like you are happy with the results now if I could only afford the money for a calibration Oh well It's good to hear that the pic looks better
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post #1038 of 2470
10/1/08 at 11:12pm
After messing around and trying everyone settings I find these to be the best by far...

Picture Modes
Picture Mode : Cinema
Color Temperature : Warm
Aspect Ratio : Full
Picture Settings
Picture (Contrast) : +70
Brightness : +50
Color : +34
Tint : -6
Sharpness : +18
Color Temperature : Warm
Color Mgmt : Off
x.v.Color : Off
C.A.T.S. : Off
Advanced Picture
Video NR : Off
MPEG NR : Off
Black Level : Light
HD Size : Size 1

By the way I have the 50PZ80U but I think the settings are the same on both sets just about..

http://www.tweaktv.com/tweak-my-tv/c...h-50pz85u.html
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post #1039 of 2470
10/2/08 at 3:56am
do most people go with Size 1 or 2 ??
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post #1040 of 2470
10/2/08 at 4:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ErieMarty View Post

do most people go with Size 1 or 2 ??

Size 2, its 1:1 pixel mapping. If a local station has an issue, you may get one line down the side, but I ignore it.
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post #1041 of 2470
10/2/08 at 4:11am
Size 1 for OTA HD...size 2 for PS3/BD
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post #1042 of 2470
10/2/08 at 4:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElwayLite View Post

Size 2, its 1:1 pixel mapping. If a local station has an issue, you may get one line down the side, but I ignore it.

thats where my TV is set..

Glad to hear I am not the only one who sometimes gets a white line down the side of the screen..I didn't know if it was my TV going bad..but then it would go away when I switched channels so I didn't worry about it too much..

glad to hear the calibration when great for you
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post #1043 of 2470
10/2/08 at 4:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ErieMarty View Post

thats where my TV is set..

Glad to hear I am not the only one who sometimes gets a white line down the side of the screen..I didn't know if it was my TV going bad..but then it would go away when I switched channels so I didn't worry about it too much..

glad to hear the calibration when great for you

Nah, I talked to Gregg Loewen about it yesterday while calibrating (he saw the line on my NBC OTA feed). He said he has customers ask him to calibrate the line out sometimes or they think their tv is bad.

Nothing you can do about the issue on the providers end, except size 1. I never use it though.
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post #1044 of 2470
10/2/08 at 6:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElwayLite View Post

If you go intoe Cinema and reset it, all are the same except for color and tint. (44 and +2)

He reset cinema, then went into the service menu and calibrated it. So if I ever accidentally reset Cinema, I just pull out my calibration sheet and change the color and tint to the proper setting.

So he moved your TINT setting to +2? I know it seems that every set is different and he made SM adjustments, but what did you have the tint set to before?

I am thinking since he dialed back Red & Green in the SM that is why he only went with the +2 instead of my +7 for Tint that DVE on BD showed me was correct. This just makes me wonder how people can have the correct settings with some of the -6 TINT settings I have seen posted.

Enjoy your calibrated display! Do you think it was worth the money considering how close your picture was before?
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post #1045 of 2470
10/2/08 at 7:07pm
I was using -2 before.

I do think it was worth it, Im seeing much better flesh tones on all my OTA HD tv shows. No weird colored skin.
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post #1046 of 2470
10/2/08 at 7:10pm
i'm so confused about calibrating my TV...
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post #1047 of 2470
10/2/08 at 7:13pm
You guys really know your stuff. I have the 42pz85u...what format do you use when watching blu-ray/ps3? Do you always have the horizontal bars when watching blu-ray?
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post #1048 of 2470
10/2/08 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcramer View Post

You guys really know your stuff. I have the 42pz85u...what format do you use when watching blu-ray/ps3? Do you always have the horizontal bars when watching blu-ray?

If the format is greater than 16:9, then yes (ie. 1.85:1, 2.35:1, etc.). It's normal.
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post #1049 of 2470
10/2/08 at 7:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fr. John View Post

Cinema
Picture: 67
Brightness: 54
Color: 38
Tint: -2
Sharpness: 52
Temp: Normal
Color Mgmt: OFF
X.V. Color: OFF
C.A.T.S.: OFF
Video NR: OFF
Black Level: Light


Are these settings for a calibrated unit or has the service menu been touched?These settings look very good on my unit just wondering if these are settings without touching those things?
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post #1050 of 2470
10/2/08 at 9:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElwayLite View Post

Size 2, its 1:1 pixel mapping. If a local station has an issue, you may get one line down the side, but I ignore it.

When I use Size 2, some of my HD channels (including HD Theater) have a pretty thick (1/4 inch or so) black bar at the top of the screen, and maybe an 1/8 inch along the side - not exactly sure why. I'm not comfortable leaving it like that, so I'm using Size 1 for now.
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