Official Panasonic GT30 Series Discussion Thread [No Price Talk] - Page 50

Don't know what others are doing, but I am just using the stock THX mode, accepting that gamma is less than ideal, and hoping for a firmware fix in the future. I'm sure I could get pretty close to THX mode's settings with proper gamma using a properly calibrated "Custom" mode, but I'm not interested in doing that. I like the peace of mind of THX mode and honestly, all things considered, the PQ in THX mode is gorgeous on this thing.

The Gamma in default THX mode is quite good, if measured with the small APL Window patterns on the AVSHD 709 disk . See attached jpeg.

That sums up very well my thoughts also.

I am sending Pandora back so far. No sound issues but not lossless of course.

Just got the new 3rd gen 3d glasses from Bestbuy for my GT30, they came in a 2 pack for $199. Goin to watch Avatar 3D and see how they work. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll give you guys my opinion after. All I can say right now is they are pretty damn light.

That would be nice....

I thought a couple reviews said that gamma in THX was not great.

CNET said gamma washed out shadow detail but I can't recall if it was in regards to THX mode.

Home Theatre Mag review said that gamma in THX mode was not as good as in Cinema mode. Also mentioned "the calibrated GT30 had a noticeable brownish shift in dark grays, plus a subtle tinge of green, which was most noticeable on black-and-white material."

Anyhow, just trying to figure out how serious these issues are. Is the GT picture better than the ST despite these issues?

Also, some reviews say the black level of the ST and GT are identical.

The GT30 is very sensitive to what calibration patterns are used for testing, especially for Gamma measurements. Very small windows seem to be what THX uses to certify that the set meets their standards, and my measurements and others bear this out. I think that many of the "Bad Gamma" reports are the result of using the standard Windows souce patterns, not APL Windows or Small APL WIndows.

I find the THX default settings to be very good, but I'll often bump the Contrast up from 60 to 75 for more light output.

Never saw the brownish shift or green tinges.

Thanks. Good feedback.

Any clue as to whether the black levels of the GT are essentially the same as the ST...or are they a bit better, (noticeably lower)?

P.S. Somebody re-write the firmware so the GT runs 72 Hz...lol...

The GT30's blacks are basically the same as the VT30.

St30: .008
Gt30: .005
VT30: .004

The hdtvtest.co.uk reviews show a lower black level on the GT 0.018 cd/m2 vs the ST at 0.028 cd/m2 but then the VT is actually higher than the GT with their measurement for the VT at 0.02 cd/m2 . Maybe there was an error.

Also the Home Theatre magazine reported both the ST and GT models with the same black levels at 0.008 ft-L.

It's not clear to me what the real world black level differences are between all these sets. The VT does have a different panel than the others, so you would think it should be more different than the ST and GT.

My 55GT30 is finally being delivered tomorrow after a mixup earlier in the week. The set was just delivered to my local distribution warehouse center yesterday or the day before. I don't know if they came from another larger dictrubtion center or from Panasonic directly, but I am hoping they came straight from Panasonic as I would have the best chance of getting an August build date. I was in a store today picking up an HP tablet and I checked out the TV section. I am still as unsure and torn as I was when I was researching between this set and the Samsung PN59D7000. Each has it advantages and I hope I made the right choice. The big scare with the Samsung is the screen peeling issue. I would guess there are many people on this thread that narrowed their decisions down to the same 2 TVs.

Only readings I trust is D-Nice's who uses a K-10. These are the readings he got.

Well, if that is the case....then yes, it would look like there is a bigger difference between the ST and GT than there is between the GT and VT. I guess I'd like to see more comparisons. The hdtvtest.co.uk also use a K-10 meter although they were quoting in different units. I wonder if they made a mistake in testing or in their write-up? Perhaps errors are more likely when the difference is so small. I haven't seen the GT and ST side by side, so it's been hard to judge, especially when a GT model may be set up in a different location in a given store, with different lighting and different settings etc.

Just got my set delivered. Build date of June 2011. If wasn't for bad luck I would have no luck at all...no doubt in my mind that I will have a unit with the FBr issue.

Don't be so pessimistic. You may not have one with FBr or it may be so minimal as to not bother you. I have a July build and I've had to really look for it on my set on the infamous videos and it's very hard to see (if I can see it all). The units really do seem to vary in how bad it is, so don't convince yourself that you're seeing it before you do.

Also, not every change in brightness is FBr. Sometimes it's the source. For example, I watch a lot of sports on TV, and sometimes I see what looks like FBr, when in fact its just the camera's iris opening or closing (which I've confirmed by seeing the same thing on another set). Sometimes when we're looking for trouble, we get bothered by every little, tiny thing, or imagine stuff that is not there. Think positive dude.

I hear what you are saying Smitty. My luck always goes this way though so I will be surprised if I have a set that does not have the FBr issue. As far as the fix goes, if I do need it, I have read a little and it is my understanding that if you can get Panasonic themselves to come out and do it then it is a simple software fix from an SD card. If they send a 3rd party out then it is an "A-board" swap. Is this correct? As far as the board swap goes does it require removal of the entire back of the TV or is there an access panel somewhere that just needs to be opened? Also, what is the preferred method of rectifying the situation if the FBr issue is present? Deal with my store and try and swap it out or contact Panasonic directly and deal with them. Any info on this will be appreciated.

Mine's a july build and honestly I do not have any FBr, even after checking that video on vimeo.com.

my build is May and i dont have any FBr issues. Or at least none that i can see

That's my understanding.


I can't seem to re recall. If you read the last several pages of the thread on the FBr issue on the "other" forum, you'll probably find the answer. I do know that they require the TV to be removed from any wall mount.


If you're within your return period, you could swap it out, but there's no guarantee you'll get one without the problem. If it were me, I'd have it fixed, as then you know you basically have a new board updated with the new firmware and no FBr (or very minimal FBr). The way to handle it is to call the Panasonic Concierge service. My understanding is that this is the preferred route, as they seem to be aware of the problem.

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully FBr will not be an issue and all this will be a moot point. I do have a couple of questions about the set though. First, I began the process of running the Evanangelo slides but stopped when I saw something that didn't look right. There is a "blank" picture in between each of the color pictures. The TV says something about being unable to read the file on each of the blank pictures. It doesn't seem right to me that this pop-up box should come up between each of the slides. Am I correct that these should not be there and it should be nothing but color slides in continuous order? If so, how do I get rid of the blanks? On my computer when I view the pictures from the USB stick they are not there. I am using a MacBook if that makes a difference. The other issue is the 4 holes for the wall mount on the back of the set. I thought I read in the owners manual that these are M8 threads and to use 10mm min and 16mm max length hardware. Is that correct? I just looked at the "insert nuts" in the holes and they seem to be bigger than M8 to my eye. Anyone that has mounted one of these can you please tell me the correct size hardware to buy so that I gan get this set up? Any and all responses are appreciated.

Can you download the slides using Windows? That's the easiest way to go. If you do that, you just need to delete the non-jpeg thumbs file.

If you have to use a Mac, then there is a special way to download the slides with a Mac so you don't have your issue. Check the Panasonic Settings Thread where you get the slides and settings. It's discussed in there a couple of times. I didn't pay much attention to the procedure, as I used Windows, but I know it's in there.

They are only $76 per pair at Amazon.com. Does Best Buy have some kind of promo w/the new glasses/Avatar?

Thanks again Smitty. I searched the thread that you recommended and found a solution that involved sending the slides to iPhoto and back. Now I have another dilemma. The stand I have which has a mount that hold the TV above it, seen here http://www.amazon.com/Techcraft-TRK5.../dp/B000HZF170 will not work right with the GT series. The problem is the speakers which protrude out at the bottom on the set. I never noticed that the bump was there. This will not allow me to attach the arms of the mount all the way down very close to the bottom of the tv so that I can get the right height for viewing as well as have the room under the panel that I need for my equipment and speakers. I was on the TechCraft website looking to see if they sold some type of extension for the main piece that runs vertically up the back of the stand but came up with nothing. So I guess my options are to consider wall mounting (which is tough because the set goes in a corner), live with it as is, or return it (and probably have to pay a restocking fee) for another set that is flat all the way down the back like the Samsung PN59D7000 that I was considering along with this one to begin with. Any advice, suggestions, and comments are appreciated.

D-Nice just said 60" and 65" Gt30s measure between .0036 and .004 mll!

My son just received a GT30 directly from Panasonic. After reading the reviews between the VT and GT series, the reviews said they were pretty much the same TV except that the GT was thicker because of two glass panels. This GT30 is replacing my son's Panny S-Series Plasma because he wanted 3-D, so I used the old TV as a reference for thickness. Wow! the GT30 is almost as thin as my father-in-laws Sammy LED. How much thinner could the reviewers expect on a TV to make them happy? He's running the DVD burn-in disc from the download here before he does any serious TV viewing.

Agreed! My GT30 is SO thin .. every TV enthusiast friend I have has a hard time believing its not LCD. Thats why I try not to read too much into reviews - some of the people writing them are just way pickier than your average consumer like myself.

Wow! That is significantly better than even the VT series!

I'd like to read more on that thread...could you point to the post/thread where he said this?

Idk if I will order until they have some sort of Avatar promo.

I walked into best buy the other day, just going in to view the Panasonic gt30 and the samsung d7000. No intention of buying or anything.

Out of curiousity, I did a check for a credit line there. Now I don't have the best of credit but I have been working on it for some time. To my surprise...$2000 credit line....

So they were out of the 55"...so I was forced against my will to pick up a 60". Poor me.

Such a big improvement over my G15. I am superbly happy with my purchase. Just one question, can someone direct me to specific settings for this TV to break in? Like should it be on vivid mode with certain settings? I can't seem to find it. Sorry if this is asked a lot.

I had a somewhat hard time noticing my diminishing black level over time, but this new set makes it very apparent. Excellent black levels.

Oh and one more thing, is there any easy way to identify the Fbr issue?

Thanks

These measurements were actually for both the ST30 and GT30.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...postcount=1564