The Official Panasonic TC-PXXC2 Owner's Thread - Page 3

I'm not sure what you mean by, "beat out." However, this TV will definitely give you better blacks, contrast ratio and a much faster refresh rate which will eliminate any motion blur you may notice when watching sports on your current LCD TV. I also find the back lighting to be more even on the Plasma TV's. I notice that mid range LCD TV's tend to have bright spots in the corners and along the center edges. You don't see this on LED or Plasma TV's.

There are several factors that could make one monitor superior to the other. Is it my belief that the PQ will be way better on the Panny Plasma than the Sammy LCD? Absolutely. There are several reasons. 2 DayTrader already mentioned, which happen to be most important to me, which are 1) Deep, inky blacks, and 2) no motion blur. LCD's are known for motion blur. The no motion blur is crucial to me because I watch a lot of action movies with fast moving scenes, I play alot of video games, and I watch alot of sports. I also think color saturation is superior on the Panny plasmas, and they don't have the other problem mentioned by DayTrader, which is the uneven backlighting.

There are things about the LCD that you'll probably miss though. You have a much greater chance of burn in on a plasma (or image retention). So with a plasma, there's a break-in period that most stick to in a way of avoiding this. Also, glare is a big issue to alot of people. If you're viewing the Sammy LCD in a well lit room, you probably won't have near the glare that you will in the same well lit room while viewing this particular model of Panasonic Plasma. You can go a step up in price range and get the anti-glare, but it still won't be as low-glare as the LCD.

Another thing you may be concerned with is viewing angle. LCD's have a very limited viewing angle (not so much with newer, high-end models, but I'm sure you've noticed this on a 2-year-old Samsung LCD). This Panasonic Plasma has no such issue. You may view the tv from any angle and see the same image quality as if you were sitting right in front of it.

Finally, you should consider how much you'll notice the difference between a 720p television and a 1080p television. I personally can not tell the difference at anything under a 50" screen size, but you may be able to. Especially if you've been watching blu rays and playing video games in 1080p for 2 years. But will you notice an improvement in the depth of the picture, the deeper blacks, and the faster refresh rate by switching to the Panasonic Plasma? Definitely. Hope this helps you're decision making.

I was wondering if anyone else can share their settings. I'm still not completely happy with my color settings. I was using similar settings to Iamsometal's but with the Custom mode. I noticed that the greens were too bright and almost lime green. I changed to Cinema mode and noticed that the colors were too washed out. I now have the same settings as above only I increased the color setting to about 62. I was watching the baseball game yesterday and thought the picture looked good until I walked upstairs where the same game was on my 50" Panny (higher end model) and the picture looked a lot better.

So if anyone else could share their settings I'd appreciate it.

These are pretty much the same settings that I posted earlier in this thread. I'm very happy with them, colors seem very natural. It looks best in a darker room so if you have lots of light you may not like them.

Picture Mode: Cinema
Contrast: 57
Brightness: 58
Color: 44
Tint: -2
Sharpness: 25
Color Temp: Normal
XV Color: Off
CATS: Off
Video NR: Off
MPEG NR: Off
Black Level: Light

My 42in 720p has about 250 hrs so I decided to calibrate. I used the free HD calibration software from here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948496

I used the basic calibration setting since I don't have any calibration equipment. These are my settings. I am sitting about 7 feet from the TV

Picture Mode: Cinema
Contrast: 56
Brightness: 59
Color: 47
Tint: +11
Sharpness: 50
Color Temp: Warm
XV Color: Off
Video NR: Off
MPEG NR: Off
Black Level: Light
3:2 Pulldown: off

My sharpness setting looks high compared to other settings on this thread. Its possible I misunderstand the insstruction for setting sharpness. I watched couple HD and SD movies and they looked great.

hello,

i just bought the plasma panny TC-P46C2 from sears last night and was wondering if anyone had the calibration settings for it?

Thanks
Mike

OK, I've spent a lot of time researching color calibration and here is what I've come up with.
Picture Mode: Cinema
Contrast: 76
Brightness: 65
Color: 43
Tint: -2
Sharpness: 0
Color Temp: Warm
x.v. Color: Off
CATS: Off
Video NR: Off
Mpeg nr: Off
Black Level: Light

Let me know what you think.

Did you look through the blue filter to set your color and tint. I used it for my settings. Your tint setting is significantly different from mine. I am not saying that it is wrong. Just curious.

I didn't use any tools to calibrate the color settings. I read this CNET setup guide and did it by hand.

http://reviews.cnet.com/basic-hdtv-tips/?tag=mncol;txt

According to the guide, they recommend that, "...Unless you're using one of the discs mentioned in the Intermediate section to set it properly, this control is best left at the midway point." I moved mine to -2 just because I feel that this TV has unusually bright greens. However I probably could leave it at 0 since I can't really see any noticeable difference between 0 and -2.

I've tried out your calibration settings and it looks pretty good. Let me know if you come up with anything else.

Just picked this set up today. Sort of an impulse buy.

Set it to the calibration settings provided by Daytracker. I personally changed it to Black level- dark as it looked better in modern warfare 2 (but might change after watching movies)


Only issue is actually in modern warfare 2. This is on the PS3. The screen seems to be cut off just slightly. On the left the timer for game time left like half of the "minute" part of the timer is cut off. On the right for kill streaks about half of the icon for killstreak is cut off. Not to big of a deal but kind of annoying. I tried changing to different aspect controls with no luck. Just using "full" then rest pretty much made it worse. Any ideas?

^You manually set the on-screen displays in MW2. Go to options and set it up for this TV. Also, dark black level usually crushes blacks.

Thats right i remember that part now that you mention it.

i figured im the only one who likes the dark black, just my personal preference at the moment. Im sure itll change once i actually watch a movie or something besides playing MW2

I just purchased a p42c2 and I'm super happy with it, except for one issue. I might as well elaborate on my first HD TV buying experience. Please feel completley free to skip the next paragraph haha.

I've actually been trying to settle on a HD TV for several months here, but I keep finding/obsessing about issues with each seemingly great set. The first one I got was a nice little 32 inch 1080 LED vizio, which was fantastic... but after a few months I couldn't get over how terrible the black levels were. One could especially tell during night scenes how bright the levels were, especially after a ridiculous amount of time spent fiddling around with the color settings. So, I returned that one and got a cheaper phillips 720 that was on sale, but the motion blur during sports was awful so I ended up returning it immediately. At this point, I started to get a little annoyed with my lack of research, so I read a bit more about choosing a TV and changed venues from target to best buy. I decided I'd raise my price range a bit and ended up getting a magnavox 36 inch 1080 LCD, and after a few days, I wasn't satisfied with the black level OR motion blur. By this point, I was getting really sick of returning TVs, so I tried as much as I could to like the TV, but my OCD kept kicking in. I told my story to the salesman at BB and he suggested a plasma TV, since both of those issues are easily revolved with that type of television. SO, Like I mentioned before, I got a p42c2 720p 42 inch, which initially I was really impressed with. Ok, long incoherent story over.

SO, the one issue I have that has kept me from truly enjoying the beauty of this particular set is that the brightness tends to fluctuate when I'm watching a majority of things. This includes HD/SD cable, DVD, netflix on my xbox. I have that ambient room brightness setting turned off, and I've tried a multitude of different video settings. I've actually been using DayTrader's awesome settings for the past few days. I did see many threads on here of people discussing this type of issue and I've tried to gain some insight from those conversations, however, I figured I'd mention it in this model's thread. As much as I'm trying to get used to the random changes in brightness, it's really bothering me. Still trying to decide if I need to pack it up and return it again. I really really really don't want to haha. Maybe it'll get better with time? Oh, I've also read that this auto-brightness/color-adjust is an inherent "problem" with plasmas? I find that incredibly odd. If true, I may have to go back to my LCD hunt.

Thanks for reading.

Are you using Cinema? It is likely the best picture mode for this set. I have the px80u, which is two years older than the c2, and all other video modes introduce noise and can have the contrast fluctuations you are speaking of.

I was using Cinema and noticed it and I've since then tinkered with the default settings. I may try resetting to the original settings, but I don't foresee that helping. Thanks for the idea though!

I'm still happy with my 42" i bought back in May of this year. For the price and what i use it for i can't cry. I always have my bedroom 5020 Kuro as my main TV.

IF and its a big IF i remember correctly every time you switched you needed to make sure it was still using the cinema. I think i remember when switching between modes like computer, and game it went to the standard settings till you set it to cinema. Only happens for the first time. once you set it to cinema it stays that way even after switching.

OK, I know this is just an entry level TV, but I do have a Chroma 5 meter and ChromaPure software so I ran a calibration last night and here are the results.

What is up with the gamma on the Panasonic sets being so low, and why does it drop so much at the high end? Contrast measures worse after the calibration than it did before. Would it make more sense to set the black level to dark mode and then set the black level with this setting instead of going with the light setting?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

My user settings are:

Picture Mode: Cinema
Contrast: 62
Brightness: 61
Color: 46
Tint: +19
Sharpness: 50
Color Temp: Warm
XV Color: Off
Video NR: Off
MPEG NR: Off
Black Level: Light
3:2 Pulldown: Auto

I changed the WB settings in the service menu to bring the color temp in closer to the D6500 reference, and that all appears to be good.

Results are in attached file.

 

CalibrationSummaryDetailed.pdf 131.2294921875k . file

I am not a calibration guru - so I don't know what to say. I did a basic calibration on my set (see post #65) and the result looks similar to yours and I am happy with it.

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted.

I finally hit 250 hours using the break-in slides, so I finally performed a complete calibration using Digital Video Essential's HD Basics blu ray disc (using the primary colors filter). It only took me about an hour and a half and the results are pretty stellar. Here are my current settings:

Mode: Cinema
Contrast: 66
Brightness: 62
Color: 43
Tint: +15
Sharpness: 25
Temp: Warm
x.v. Color: off
Video NR: off
C.A.T.S.: off
Black Level: Light

SM Offsets:
WB-ADJ MENU
R-DRV: 0
G-DRV: -14
B-DRV: -11
R-CUT: -2
G-CUT: 0
B-CUT: +4

Now that the phosphors have had some time to mature using the break-in slides, this plasma is looking fantastic. The adjustment to the tint corrected my previous issues with the blues looking teal (I just had the tint pushed in the wrong direction using the Warm color temp in Cinema mode). The greens have also cooled down a bit, no longer looking as blown out as they did when I first got the tv. I was also a little shy with the color adjustment initially, but using the primary color filter, I was able to dial it in to an accurate, natural appearance. Skin tones now look spot on as well.

I'm really happy with these settings, so hopefully this helps.

To help clear up the tint issue, I have done a calibration with a DVE hd disc on an S1 and an S2 Panasonic plasma, and with both models, tint is correct when set to "0". However, when you change the set to Cinema mode, the tint set to "0" is way off.

For example, If you are in custom/standard/game/vivid mode, tint is correct at 0. For the tint to be the same in Cinema mode, the correct setting was +8 towards green. Custom Tint 0 = Cinema tint +8G

I have no idea if the C series works like this, but I bet it does. Someone in this thread should test this with a blue filter, to confirm it for everyone. It may solve the issues you guys are having with tint.

Thanks for the settings. I just picked up a TC-42PX24 at Costco a few days ago and love it. Its in a bedroom with no direct sunlight hitting the room, and the settings work great. I may play with the settings, but I'm lazy and this is a good start at this time.

Bob, I'm interested what Black level: Dark would do for gamma, as well.

It seems like all the 2010 sets have had these gamma issues. The S2 seems to average around 1.9-2.0 for most calibrators, same with the G20, while the VT25 gets a little closer to hitting 2.2, but still, it doesn't quite get there.

Have you tried going into the service menu?

Don't think D-Nice will have any reference settings for the budget model.

I did go into the service menu in order to get the grayscale and color tracking as good as it is now.

I don't think the dark level would improve things much as you'd then have to crank the brightness up in order to have the black level be "right" again. While the color gamut is indeed off, and the gamma is not where I'd like it to be, I think I can live with it for the price, espcially considering that I have a 3 year (parts & labor) warranty on it for that price. (Costco doubles it to 2 years, and I paid for it on my AmEx which adds an extra year).

I've been told that this particular set (TC-P42X24) "has gamut errors and even larger color decoding errors that cannot be fixed without an external processor like the DVDO Duo", so I am inclined to stop tweaking and just live with it for the next year or so until something near to the Pioneer Kuro Elite display quality is released at which time I'll invest more $$$$ for a set.

NOTE: I am not the source of the above statement, nor will I reveal the source of that statement other than to say it is someone respected and active in display calibration and also active in these (AVS) and other forums at other sites.

Agreed, redwolf4k. I've been using the color filter and the DVE HD Basics disc, and doing some tinkering with skin tones within a 4 point range from where you recommended tint at a +8 towards Green. I personally think +9 or +10 towards Green on the tint, with Color set at 52 gives the C2 the most neutral skin tones, while keeping blues looking their most natural. At +8 towards Green and at 47 Color, skin tones looked almost totally neutral, but blues still looked slightly teal. After using the color filter with the DVE HD Basics disc, I was able to adjust the Tint and Color to get blue, green and red perfectly balanced.

Thanks very much for the tip. It does appear that the S1/S2 and C2 have similar, if not identical issues with color processing.

Regarding Sharpness settings, there isn't one correct setting for all televisions.

Most monitors look perfect with Sharpness set to 0. This is because when sharpness is increased, more detail is artificially added to lines on the screen, which leads to aliasing, or 'jaggy' edges. Very few monitors look initially 'Soft' when set at 0, but I think this particular Panasonic Plasma is actually one of them. When I set the Sharpness to 0, I thought all content, including the Overscan test pattern on the DVE HD Basics disc did in fact look somewhat soft. I gradually increased sharpness from 0 until I began to notice some slight aliasing, which was around 27 or 28. I brought it back to 25 and it looked perfect. There was no detectable aliasing, and the image no longer looked too soft to my eyes.

I will say that increased sharpness is really a matter of preference, until aliasing occurs, then the picture will look incorrect. But if one prefers a softer picture because he or she feels that better simulates a theater-like image, then that would be a correct setting for that user.

I recommend using the Overscan test image and starting at a 0 Sharpness setting, then increasing the setting until you feel the image is no longer 'Soft' and has not yet began to create aliasing on the edges of the image. Focus on one point on the test pattern, like an intersection of two lines or on one of the numbers on the screen. As you increase the sharpness, you will eventually see some aliasing. Once you do, bring the setting back until the aliasing, or 'jaggy' edges disappear.

Thanks for your suggestion. I will give it a try.

thanks guys for the settings. i've had this set for about 4 months and have been waiting for a good calibration thread. got my 42" for $450 direct from panasonic & i'm super happy with it.

i went with iamsometal's settings and the results are phenomenal. big difference from standard, which is what i'd been using.

Question - what is "3:2 pulldown"? On my set, i don't have the option to change it to "on"

Hoping other C2 owners can help me with this... I'm trying to hook up my laptop to the TV.

I have an older model laptop from work, and it doesn't have HDMI inputs (only VGA).

Unfortunately my TV is already mounted to my wall, so i'm struggling to see what inputs are on the back of the set. (After I order the appropriate cables, I'll have to unmount it to install the cables, but for now I just want to know what to buy).

Am I missing something, or does this set not have a VGA input? On the panasonic website, under "PC input" it says "no" (see settings below).

Since my laptop is older and I'll probably replace within a year or 2, I don't want to spend money on a VGA to HDMI converter. I just want something that will do the job on a budget.... any help would be MUCH appreciated!!



INPUTS & JACKS .
Integrated ATSC Tuner Yes
VIERA Image Viewer Y (JPEG playback)
HDMI Input 2
Composite Video Input 2 (1 side)
Audio Input (for Video) 2 (1 side)
PC Input No
Component Video Inputs (Y, PB, PR) 2
Audio Input (for Component Video) 2
RS232C No
Digital Audio Output 1
HDMI Input-Support Feature Audio Return Channel (Input 1)
Analog Audio Input ( for HDMI/DVI) Yes
USB No
LAN Port No