Official Panasonic TC-PxxVT20/25 Owners Thread NO PRICE TALK!! - Page 337

Hey guys-

So today I tried setting up my netflix account and apparently I'm logged into somebody else's account already.

Anybody know how to logout so I can log in?

Hey all, i have owned a 58VT25 for 2 weeks and was hoping some of you knowledgeable people could give me some advice. I love this TV, the HD quality is superb. Blurays are amazing and sports is also amazing. I have one beef though. Are the fullscreen white levels capped on this set? I am a HUGE hockey fan, and when i am watching a game and the camera is following the action. The overall brightness levels of the ice seems dimmed. The contrast doesn't seem as bright as it should be. I have tried the contrast at 75 in custom mode. The gamma at 1.8, and the ice still looks a tad brownish or grey and the overall picture seems dimmed. I have the A.G.C set at 0. I have a G25 also and it seems like a brighter set when it comes to white levels and i dont notice this issue as much.

Now other sports are as bright on the VT25 as they are on the G25. But hockey is not. When the screen is showing a predominately white program it seems to be dimmed. If i crank the contrast from 75 to 100 while watching hockey it doesn't brighten the ice color at all. It brightens everything else but not the ice. Its hard to explain.

Is there anything i can do in custom mode to brighten the whites on this set? If i were to pay a calibrator to come in, could he fix this issue? I honestly think there is some type of limit this TV will go when full screen white is shown. Is there an option in the service menu to turn off or raise the capped whites if thats what is happening? Calibrators, could you please answer this because this would be a deciding factor for me in terms of getting the set calibrated or not because other then this issue i love the PQ on this set.

Please help.

Thanks.

Mike

A quick call to netflix solved the problem for me. For future reference it's a key pressing sequence-like the Contra code.

up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, up, up, up, up

Well I figured I would post on this thread seeing as its still pretty active, instead of making a whole new thread. I'll try and keep short. I will be hopefully picking up a VT20/25 on clearance at my local BB, last one since the VT30's are on the way(I'd wait, but the price is double what I'd pay for the VT20/25 and I can only fit a 50" and I hear the Vt30 only comes in 55" and above). And I had a few questions since this is will be my first Plasma set I buy. Most deal with Burn in/IR:

1)I know about the "break-in" period. Avoiding still/static images like channel logos, tickers, and HUDS in video games for the first 100-200 hours. But I plan to mostly game on this set(probably close to 70-80% of the time) and the channels I do watch from time to time contain those annoying logos.Currently the only games I own that allow me to remove Hud's are Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Killzone 2 and 3, Dead space 1 and 2, and Heavy Rain(more or less). But I do play a lot of competative online FPS's on both XBL and PS3, should I worry about burn in/IR after I've broken in the TV?

2) Kind of related to my first question. Do I run the Tv during the first hours in THX mode only? can I change/adjust any PQ settings at all or will I risk damaging the set?

3) Will Black bars on movies be troublesome down the line and/or Static images or will it be safe to view after the break in

4)I've heard Calibrating these sets is a must in most cases or should definitely be considered. I know costs vary by state/person/size of TV etc. but on average how much do they usually cost(I had it at 200-300 bucks...I could be off)

5)Is it worth purchasing the extended warranty from BB?

Sorry for the noob questions, I just want my first plasma experience to be awesome and I would hate to mess something up due tofault of my own. Thanks in advance

It all depends on what you like. I watch a lot of DVD and Blu-ray movies so I've had our display calibrated to get more natural colors. I especially like natural skin tones. Someone who only watches TV will not get the same benefit from a professional calibration because there is so much variability in broadcast quality.

Screen size has nothing to do with the cost of calibration. The best calibrators, that you can find here at AVS, do tours to different parts of the country. They have to have several customers in the same general area in order to keep their travel costs down. From what I've read, a calibration might cost you between $300 and $450. It can be more depending on what you have done.

You can contact the calibrators here at AVS that you are interested in hiring and get exact cost information. To read reports written by owners who have had their displays calibrated use the link at the bottom of my post. The first post in that thread has some general information and links to calibration reports about direct view (CRT) and projection displays. The second post has links to reports about flat panel calibrations.

I picked up my 58VT25 at Future Shop for $1400 less then it was priced in Canada last August. Now is the time to buy Panasonic 2010 models before they run out of stock. I got mine FAR cheaper then most stores sell it in the US for, which is unheard of in Canada.


1) If you use THX mode after the set is broken in for gaming and avoid marathon gaming sessions you should not have a problem with permanent burn in. You will probably see a little retention, but it will go away with normal viewing. If you have your contrast and brightness settings cranked and play for 6 hours straight you will likely over time permanently damage your set. Like anything its common sense. I also would set the Orbiter to Periodic and 1 minute. If you have 8 hour gaming marathons which i would consider more then excessive you might want to look into LCD. Plasma's were not designed for that kind of long term abuse in my opinion, some here might disagree with me. Definitely break it in properly if you are gaming for extreme periods of time.

2) I have a VT25 and a G25 and i didn't use either set strictly in THX mode during the break in period. I used CUSTOM mode with contrast set at 68 and the brightness around 56. I have avoided black bars stations for the last two weeks with the new VT25 and i will continue this for another month or so. I have watched a 3 hour baseball game with static scoreboards and havent had an issue on this brand new set. I will occasionally put a white screen up to check for any retention and ive seen barely anything. Fill the screen with the FORMAT button so the black bars are gone, another thing i did was set my STB to not use black bars, it uses light grey. Judging from my own personal experience with these sets, image retention and burn in is completely overblown with normal use.

3) This relates to question 2. I have had my G25 since last July and I watch movies and tv shows with black bars all the time with Custom mode and brighter settings. I have never had an issue with serious retention and i dont even think about it anymore on the G25. Any retention i get on that set now is gone in about 5 minutes of viewing something else. I will avoid doing this with the VT25 for the first month and a half or so. I just make sure when the kids are gaming on the plasma its in THX mode at the default settings which look great on the PS3.

4) I haven't had either set calibrated. Not knocking calibration, but these sets are so good out of the box you might not bother. Especially if 80% of its use will be for gaming. Like stated above, screen size doesnt matter and they cost anywhere from $300 to $500.

5) Extended warranty - Yes. I bought it with both sets. Through my own personal experience, i have used the extended warranty on large screens TV's on at least 3 occasions. My G25 was an extended warranty replacement for a Sony LCD.

Hope this helps.

Mike

Thanks for the advice. Yeah for some reason I thought size mattered in terms of callbrating. Also I don't like overly bright settings to begin with(not to dim either) and at the longest I ever play a game straight is between 4-5 hours but.that's pretty much it for the day, and I rarely do that.

I can't say how that would effect an "aged" plasma, but I wouldn't do it for the first few hundred hours. The equivalent might be watching back to back NFL games on the same channel. I didn't do that until I had over 500 hours on our display. It's never had any image retention that I've noticed.

^^^oh no I would only game like that after break in. I plan to watch full screen movies/content and the games I listed above since they contain no huds and/or prolonged images. I was saying 4-5 hours after breaking the tv in. Sorry for the confusion

Yup, that's what I did too.

Sounds good to me.

For hockey and sports, I put it in game mode and it's great. I know some may not like it or whatever. Works for me though and I like the brightness.

the only vt25s my best buy have left are open box ones

Is it normal to have motion judder during quick pans while viewing directtv?

I'm seeing this, as well. Could anyone comment?

I am looking to pickup a 50VT25. Can anyone recommend a good place to score one? Thanks.

The only thing that I can think of is to Google for one in your area and see what happens or to ask a store who would handle the 50vt25, better yet you can also go to the Panny site and see who around your area is a authorized Panny dealer and see if they have any in stock.

Perhaps someone can pipe in with a better idea?

Got a few finger print spots on my VT25 screen. Whats the best way to clean the screen? Thanks for any thoughts!

Give the manual a check. I saw cleaning instructions in there somewhere (but I don't trust my memory well enough to try to remember them for you).

Use only soft, lint-free cotton for cleaning. Start with plain water, then Windex if needed.

NEVER USE WINDEX on a plasma!!! A clean dry microfiber cloth will take off most fingerprints. If necessary add a little water and a drop of dish detergent.

Yup, you were correct, page 66 of the manual. says the panel has been specially treated. Just water and if needed, heavily dilluted dish soap! I stuck with plain 'ol water and it worked fine. Thanks for all the suggestions!

Anyone heard anything further regarding the VT25 and loosing black levels?

Last time I heard anything was awhile ago when CNET's study said that the VT25 had in fact lost black level...

But like I said, that was about 6 months ago or so...

I ended up finding a display model VT20 at Best Buy a few days ago. Since then I've been running it through the ringer with all types of content (Blu-Rays, games, PC usage, and 3D content on all of the above), and I've only had the slightest hint of IR initially, which was when I was cranking up the settings in Custom mode. Now that I'm in THX at all times (and more properly calibrated), I haven't found a hint of IR, regardless of what I do.

I say this to encourage anyone looking for this set to not be afraid of display models. You get an excellent price along with a completely broken-in set, and thirty days to return it if you find any issues. Given how well this went for me, I'd actually recommend going with display model plasma screens rather than new given the choice, provided you can find one in a condition at least as good as mine. Heck, spend some of the savings on a good professional calibration, and you'll be in even better shape!

I never expected to get a screen of this caliber at such a low cost. I'm expecting to get quite a lot of use out of this baby.

I'd recommend BestBuy. I believe they have the p50vt20 (essentially the same as the vt25's) for about $1400. I purchased an open box p65vt25 there for a GREAT price.

Is there any risk to replacing a panel on the vt25's?

I purchased BestBuy's black tie protection and have a minor burn in issue on my p65vt25 TV and they offered to replace the panel but I'd like to know what the risks are associated with this process and if it would be worth it to fix the minor burn in issue?:

Apparently I do not have any issues with my VT25 and Onkyo HT 3300 setup after doing some swapping of ports and cables, however, I turn the devices on in a certain order. First is the receiver, second is the source (HD DVR or Blu-ray player) and third is the TV.

I have the same issue with the screen going black. I think it's related to resolution changes on commercials, etc. It happens a lot when fast forwarding through DVR recordings. Only happens with my Comcast box so it's obviously their problem not the set.

I have a question for PS3 owners out there.

The PS3 is able to produce both 24Hz and non-24Hz (whatever that ends up being) signals to the TV. At first, I had it output 24Hz, with the TV set to 96Hz, but obvious color banding (the "Tangled" Blu-Ray is great for testing this) has pushed me away from this setting.

My question: which, then, is better (and why?) - the PS3's non-24Hz output (which I am currently using, and appears to be good so far), or the 60Hz option within the TV?

It's likely to be a negligible difference, but I'd appreciate any input from more knowledgeable users.