The Official Panasonic TC-PXXS2 Owner's Discussion Thread [NO Price talk] - Page 6

i got the p50s2 a couple of days ago.

i'm running it through the color slides/tune up thing right now. I do notice a substantial amount of noise when it is displaying this pure one color slides. The colors look slightly different at the edge of the set than in the center, and there is a 'splotchiness' that appears to have a subtle motion. There is also a more 'static-like' background noise.

HD video from my Canon camera (720p) looks splendid

i watched a little bit of Wall-E as well (720p from HD DVR) and it looked terrific.

DVD of Star Wars III was pretty good, but a little noisy (HDMI, upscaled from 480p to 720p).

Ultimately, should noise showing up in Picture mode and 'splotchiness' of the pure single color picture cause undue concern at this point?

I am thinking about getting a power conditioner anyway, so perhaps that will help.

https://www2.aeroplan.com/mrch/elect...rodMZ2236.html

"This 50" 1080p plasma HDTV has a 600Hz Sub-field Drive that produces crisp, focused images with over 900 lines of moving picture resolution. The Viera Image Viewer™ feature sets up easy photo sharing and Viera Link™ allows for the control of all compatible devices with a single remote. Three HDMI inputs link up with other digital devices for expanded systems that are limited only by the imagination. Designed for 100,000 hours of panel life, this television promises years of satisfaction. "

Judging by that description, would you say this is the S2? I've ordered this with aeroplan points but it doesn't have a model #.

Could also be the u2

What are the differences? Specs seem almost the same.

I'm a proud new owner of a 42s2. Major upgrade from my ANCIENT circa 2003 panny RPTV.

I applied the recommended settings including SM settings. And I have a few words for the complainers: how in the world is this a bad picture? Granted it's not a reference-level display, but this didn't cost reference-level price.

When the picture looks like it lacks contrast, it's because the source lacks contrast. When the colors are muted, it's because the source is muted. If the greens aren't lime green, that's because the screen is showing damn near close to the source, instead of saturating the greens to Hawaii-on-an-acid-trip levels.

Methinks some of the naysayers like over-saturated colors and too much contrast.

Watched a touch of District 9 at 1080P through my PS3. Can't wait till the burn-in disc hits 100 hours or so and I can stop worrying about IR etc.

Totally pleased with the TV so far. Could it be better? Absolutely. Did I pay well under XXX for a 42inch 1080 plasma panel that looks great and has a 2 year service plan? Yes. Did I pay for a VT? No.

EDIT: removed price

Could you provide a link to the settings? Just got mine this morning


How long are you going to run the disk at a time? I'm planning on using Webapalooza's color slides, but he never seems to address how long at any one time you should leave it running. All i found was the following in the Readme:


I guess i'll just set the slide to change every 5 seconds.

I'm assuming leaving it going for 100 hours over the course of a few days is not what people are doing, but what is the maximum at any one time?

Curious on the settings too.

Don't know why I have such a hard time buying into the 100 hour burn in procedure...

The more I read this thread the more skeptical I am...

Break-in (or accelerated aging) is not required unless you want to reproduce the results of the calibration by D-Nice.

If you are going to use his offsets, he states unequivocally that he will not stand behind your results unless you perform the aging precisely as he describes.

Larry

Does anyone know if the optical out supports 5.1 or 2.1? my receiver only has one optical in.

I just went through a similar process, looking for a new TV for the Bonus Room. I already had two Samsung LCDs (LN37A550 in the family room, LN32B550 in the bedroom). I was initially deciding between an LN40C630 and a TC-P42S2 for the bonus room. My experience with the two Sammie LCDs has been very good, but I really wanted to go plasma. Read good and bad about both the C630 and S2, weighed it all and ended up going for the 46S2 as a last minute "upgrade".

My 37" Sammy has been fully calibrated and most people cannot believe how good and natural it looks for a mid-range LCD, but the S2 completely blows it away with only a quick eyeball calibration. Coming from the 37" Samsung and its full user menu CMS system, I am somewhat disappointed with the lack of adjustments on the S2, but honestly, once it is broken in and calibrated with what is available, I'm pretty certain it will be stunningly good, especially for its price.

As far as issues, I have already experienced the garbled HDMI audio issue, which thankfully there is a recent firmware update for. I have downloaded the update but not yet installed it. The only other thing that I have seen is the "floating black" issue... I have seen it a few times even on normal full screen video, and have a bit of concern about it, but the rest of it is so good that I think we'll just see how it goes. We are even discussing furniture options for the Family Room that would let us put the 46S2 there and put the 37" LCD in the bonus room, to get the most use out of the "bigger/better" set.

Did you use something like color slides to break it in, or did you just "break it in" by normal usage and minimizing static images (such as network logos and games)? I just got a 50S2 and can't decide if I should do the slides for a bit. I did turn everything to 50%, which definitely makes the image look way worse than it did in Best Buy, but I'm hesitant about doing an eyeball calibration since I've used the unit less than 1 hr.

It's running the slideshow now... just going by how good it looks before any calibration. Initial "calibration" was strictly eyeball, but I've been doing this (setting up TV studio displays) since the 70's, so I know where the right ballpark is. I have all the equipment and it will get the full service menu grayscale setup eventually... just not yet as it would be a waste since things will change as the panel ages.

I do believe in breaking in a plasma set, but I'm not gonna be super fanatical about it... I don't believe that some full screen viewing with reasonable settings mixed in with the slides is a big no-no. I intend to calibrate it myself (after 150-200 hours) so I'm not depending on it settling in the exact same way as someone else's set so I can use their settings.

So have you parked all the settings at 50% now, and then will start messing with them after 150-200hrs? Also, what interval do you have the slides changing? I was messing with it last night and didn't see that setting, but I didn't have much time to poke around. Do you leave it going for a couple hours and then turn it off, or just let it go for a whole day or more at at time?

Thanks for your help!

The output using cable as a source is 2.1. You only get 5.1 if you use OTA antenna and the internal tuner on the TV.

Yeah I use optical and get 5.1 OTA...can't speak to cable though.

Posting an update on my 42S2..


Got done with my slides, which I had them set at 30 sec. intervals (dunno why you would have them on for only 5 seconds?!)

I've ran the tv for close to 150 hours so far, and I've recently quit with the slides, and I'm on TV/movies now.. No IR that I can see either.

I would like to say that I haven't seen ANY hint of floating blacks so far
--I watched The Dark Knight last night (blu ray), I know a lot of people had problems with that one, and I watched all of it, and I didn't notice anything. I know what to look for, and I was afraid that they'd show up.. but they didn't.
----(no jynx, I hope it stays this way!!)

I looked on my TV, and it was made in April, if that makes a difference?



Very very happy
I wasn't sure what to think about my purchase after lurking around the forums a bit.. But I'm happy as can be at this point in time

I didn't turn any of my settings down, in fact, I ran the slides in Vivid mode, with a few of the settings turned up higher than they were originally.

30 second intervals.

I didn't have my set turned off for 5 days lol, kept it running the whole time. Makes the process go by that much faster

Gotcha. I've run the slides for prob 20 hrs or so at 50% in "normal" mode, and used it for about 5 total. Maybe I will try vivid as well.

I noticed when watching a movie that it seemed like the pixels were "dancing" when there was a dark background - i.e. I could see them moving. It doesn't happen all the time, but I can definitely see it, even from 12 feet away, and it's easy to see when you're up close. Is this just how plasmas look or is that something else? This is my first TV so I'm not sure if that's one of the drawbacks of the S2 or just how all plasmas look.

Just got a fantastic deal on the TC-P50S2 from Sears. TV on sale, free blu-ray player, and 10% off when I used the Sears card. It gets delivered next week. I'm reading the manual in anticipation.

And the best part is, my wife was the one who said we should buy it.

about 40 hours into a 54s2. graininess is not an issue in cinema mode. floating blacks are only visible in certain cases. neverbothered with break-in slides. have had too many plasmas now that i no longer believe it's necessary.

so...have folks who've had these sets running for over 500 hours notices any rising black levels yet?

Got it today

I have not noticed any graininess on any of the modes with TV and HTPC input, but I only watched it for an hour or so before going to work. I did flip to cinema mode and it appeared to wash out the picture. Standard mode seems to have a slight green tint to the colors, although I'm waiting until 100 hours or so to do any sort of real messing with the picture settings.

There's a window behind the sofa, and today is a bright sunny day. I could easily see the window in the reflection when the TV was off or displaying a darker image. With a normal image (like the Today show), the reflection was not noticeable.

I just ordered a p54S2 and am really excited about getting it. I recently ordered a p45c2 and while I liked the PQ, it was just too small. I decided that instead of worrying about a 50 inch set being too small, I might as well go as big as I can get, expecially since there isn't much of a price difference.

I will be sitting about 9 feet from the set. Is that too close for a 54" TV?

MMHand
I think you'll be fine at 9'. I'm probably close to that on my 50 and maybe a foot or two further on my 65.


For those ordering...
Where is the free bluray option? I see a free GPS...

A 58" would be perfect for that distance. That would put you in the recommended THX viewing distance and pretty close to the SMPTE distance.

A 58" sounds nice but since I found a decent deal on the 54" S2, I would end up paying about $700 more for those extra 4 inches.

Okay, now that I've had day to play with it, here's what I noticed.

1. Dithering ("dancing pixels") is visible if you're looking for it. I don't know if this is just how plasmas are, or if this set is particularly bad. After some more reading, I see that it's how it is, but it will get better with age. Not a huge deal for me.

2. Floating blacks issue. I watched Ninja Assassin (fun movie, btw), and the black levels noticeably changed depending on how bright the scene was. Not good for the quick cuts in this movie. Bright scene to dark, 5-6 frames later the black level clicks down a couple levels.

Other than that, I have no issues.

Good things:

1. Fast motion is crystal clear. My wife commented that the opening scene of the newest Star Trek movie was always just a blur on the old LCD but she could see everything happening on the plasma.

2. Black levels. Ninja Assassin is (as you'd expect) a very dark movie, yet there was no detail lost in the shadows. This is straight out of the box too, so I imagine it can get much better.

3. 1:1 mode. Great for any HD content that isn't hiding data at the edge of the picture. HD TV looks fantastic.

4. And of course, the standard plasma things: great colors, great off-axis viewing.

For those that have ordered, where are you seeing the free bluray player offer at sears?

It was in the weekly ad with the newspaper last week. I believe it was a Father's Day sale, so it's probably over now.

Found it, its still on their website. Will see if its still valid, if not us-appliance is running the same deal, just haven't ever purchased anything from them before.