Official Panasonic 2011 TC-PxxS30 Thread - Page 7

Sure, my display is in fairly low light (most of my viewing is bluray/dvd).

Contrast +65
Brightness +58 to 60 (personal preference changes sometimes)
Color +47
Tint -1
Sharpness +15

Color Temp: Warm 1
Color Mgmt: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off
Video NR: Off

Block NR: Off
Black Level: Light
3:2 Pulldown: Auto
24p Direct In: 60hz

As a side note, my HDMI settings are at AUTO and my bluray player is set to output at 1080p, with most of the settings put at AUTO as well. The majority of my broadcast viewing is off air signals. I haven't felt any need to alter service menu settings (I'm no proffesional haha). I hope you get some nice results!

Those settings look good fabes but they are lacking the detail, especially in shadows that you will find in the cinema or even the game settings. I like the detail that cinema shows but it is dull and doesn't pop like I want it to. I would live to know what changes to make in the service menu.

Just a note on my 50s30 . I have had it since october. did a decent burn in and have tried everysetting under the sun. I cannot get rid of what I call the black crush when getting a decent brigh clear picture. When i adjust any color setting to releiving some of the deep blacks to show some detail the picture gets too soft and washed out. Definately not the kind of picture you would expect. Also the color is a bit off usuall a bit of a yellow or greenish push. I called pannasonic for service and they want me to send pictures of all the settings ect a couple hours of work also I do not have the equiptment to do such properly. The said they would send someone out but if they determine nothing is wrong there will be a charge. Kind of upsetting like I am giving them carte blanche. I am definately very disatisfied with theyre practice and am startin to write a complaint to the usless BBB. The store I bought it from etc. I would strongly recommend anyone looking to by one of these carefully study the warraqnty information before doing so and buy from a reputable company that will let you return it within the first 30 days. I bought min from p.C richards and the have a not return policy on flat screens I knew this and bought anyway. Should have paid a few more buck and bought a BB. Just a warning. I had a toshiba 65" rear pj that had a better picture and a JVc lcd Pj that is 2yrs old and amazing never have to tamper with it. Not a novice here. Hope everyone else here has better luck.

volblood,
what is it that you need from the service menu?
How to enter the service menu and and how to apply the changes?

Fist you need to determine what changes you need to apply,
for that you either
- rent / buy calibration tool and use special software / Media to figure what changes are necessary
- or use someone else's posted settings.

I attached my P60s30 settings (both, picture settings and service menu settings) in a earlier post, but those are good for my set, and I don't know how good it will look on others.
If anyone had tried those, their feedback could give you a clue if they're any good.

You mentioned that you're looking for that pop (punch), what's your color settings? it sounds to me that perhaps you like a little over-saturation, perhaps some high contrast too.
they won't necessarily be the best natural colors, but if they that's what you like, then you can perhaps increase the colors and or contrast.

I find that Cinema mode factory settings are the closest to an out of box decent settings.

William, is this your first plasma? I'm not trying to be offensive, mind you, but I'm beginning to see that a lot of the complaints about this sets PQ are from owners who are new to plasma.

I have some bones to pick with this set-- and one MAJOR defect to discuss-- but overall I'm amazed at the picture quality for the price. Honestly, plasma isn't for everyone and I seldom recommend it to my friends as its advantages are-- to most people-- seldom worth it's many, many weaknesses. I'm still evaluating my set but I'm going to post my observations, in detail, in a few days.

I took the plunge and tried out your service menu settings and thought I'd take a moment to share my results. I noticed that my defaults were a touch different than yours. Not off by a whole lot, but I decided rather than duplicating your settings exactly I would just determine the offset from factory you did and perform the same offset from factory on mine.

Here's my factory settings | adjusted settings | offset (Cinema / Warm)

R-CUT: 80 | 87 | +7
G-CUT: 80 | 80 | 0
B-CUT: 80 | 85 | +5
R-DRV: D6 | CF | -7
G-DRV: FF | FF | 0
B-DRV: 48 | 4E | 3

I then based my picture settings off of yours, but tweaked it to taste:

Cinema
Contrast: 73
Brightness: 59
Color: 51
Tint: 0
Sharpness: 26
Color Temp: Warm2
Color Mgmt: Off
C.A.T.S.: Off
Video NR: Off
Screen Format: Full
HD Size: Size 2
Block NR: Off
Mosquito NR: Off
Black Level: Dark (trade off... slightly less dark detail, but I find it removes that 'washed out' cinema look I wasn't a fan of.)
3:2 pulldown: Off

Overall I'd say the service mode tweaks are worth it - in my experience, and without any sort of calibrating tools, the biggest difference is that it seems to balance the 'Warm' setting a bit and makes the colors pop a little more.

Thanks for taking the time to post your settings 1badabing2005! I'd been searching everywhere for anyone with real calibration gear who had taken the time to play with the S30.

I appreciate what you are asking me. Yes to be honest it is my first but I knew the plasma weaknesses and had been quite familiar with the panny entry level plasmas already. My daughter has one 2 years old and my best friend a year both the 720p ones and seem to have quite a nice pic that is why I purchased one.. This one definately has some issues not new to home theater here. Also there are some other issues like a 1/4 inch line at the top of the screen which I cannot remove hard to describe etc. I also have a completely light controled room I do not use it with bright lighting mostly lights off. Just really supprised at how bad it is and the reaction of Pannasonic,

Thanks snogcel for taking time to provide feedback on the settings,
You're really not far off with the exception of black level, which as you stated is a personal preference.

I noticed that your default cinema warm settings (SM) were different from mine.

Here's your factory settings | My factory Settings (Cinema / Warm)

R-CUT: 80 | 80
G-CUT: 80 | 80
B-CUT: 80 | 80
R-DRV: D6 | ED
G-DRV: FF | FF
B-DRV: 48 | 39

And if you notice my earlier posted factory settings, those two values were the ones I was in doubt.

I would really love to hear from others if their default Service Menu Cinema Mode Warm R-Drv and B-Drv match yours so that I correct my reference, in which case the offsets that you used would change a little (posting the offsets was a good idea by the way)

Thanks again

One other issues does anyone have a slight distorted opaque line across the top of theyre screen. Also on the left right and bottom depending on contrast and brightness adjustments. I have this issue and can seem to adjust it out except never across the top, I have a panny visit scheduled on tues afternoon but based on my phone conversations they feel all the issues I am having are just non issues. Mabey I expect too much from this unit. Just hard to accept whith friend and relative with a lesser older model able to adjust a much better more detailed picture over mine.

Welcome to my nightmare:

And yes, it does show up in full color:

This is a problem.

As far as I know this can affect any Panasonic from any line: S, ST, G, GT, VT... My father is returning his second 60" ST30, he bought from amazon. His exhibits a stronger pull to pink along the edges. Picked up this 50" from Costco to see if it was maybe a bad batch. I feel sorry for any poor bastard outside his return policy...

This is a problem. 4 issues in 4 years from Panasonic. I'm not condemning a model but I'm damn sure ready to condemn a brand. All indications are this is something to do with the driving mechanism on these new 2011 sets. Whatever it is it ruins any positives this picture may have had.

wow looking at tjay makes me feel that I do not have any problems. wow.

If you think that's bad you should see my dad's ST.

I'm going to try a different model tomorrow and if it still has a green blob then I'm done. My 4 year old Panasonic 46pz800u looks like my off-brand LCD after the black rise-- I really like the picture qualities of plasma but I'm starting to lose the faith. I've all but stopped recommending plasma to friends with all the issues they've had in recent years and I may need to move on myself... The only problem is to where? Edge lit LCD (led) is a mess and conventional backlit models are practically extinct in larger sizes save the premium local dimming sets.

I haven't had a chance to look through this thread, but I have a question that may have already been covered.

I bought a 50" S30 yesterday from Costco and I've noticed one issue. If there is text on the screen, such as credits or the MPAA warning in a trailer, the color alters horizontally on the screen where the text is.

Otherwise everything is okay at this time. This set replaced a LG 42LD450, which was never bad, yet never outstanding.

Mr Zoid

Same problem on my S30... would have attempted to correct this but the green blob/tint issue is more pressing. I'm returning the display instead.

Well unfortunately guys I tried to go back to my service menu and get my defaults but the "before" changes once you cycle past it. I know red drv and blue drive were several more adjustments downward that your default values for me. my BDRV was 65 default in cinema warm.

PRICE ALERT
I bought a 60S30 last week at BB for $1099, it was delivered yesterday. Today in their weekly flyer it was priced at $999. So I go to get my difference and the young lad at the counter scans in my receipt info and says it's actually $899. He refunded me the $200. In addition the Monster Power Filter center I paid $279 for was also marked down to $239.

So for 30 minutes of my time I was refunded almost $260 on my purchase.

$899 for a 1080P Panasonic 60" Plasma has to be one of the best buy around. I'm in the process of setting it up in my Man Cave and after applying some picture calibrations I found in this thread and allowing to run for a few days I should be a happy camper.

So far this is as far as I've gotten


My Marantz 2285B circa 1978 is in the shop being refurbed and I need a Optical to analog (RCA jacks) converter to get the audio portion of my system up and running.

Just thought I'd pass on the current pricing on this tv.

Cheers

Tom
USAF Retired

Wow,
that's some terrible stuff you've got,
I just wonder if you experience this right of that bat or it happens as it ages?
there's none of that on my set, not even a hint of it.

Thanks AAcessUp
65 defualt value for b-drv cinema warm?
now we have 3 data points all different.
I wonder if the defaults are supposed to be the same? or they vary from unit to unit.
Perhaps each unit is calibrated at the factory and hence the defaults vary.
Then again, if they go through any sort of calibration, why wouldn't they a better job at it?

Only more data points can lead to some sense.

Who here is happy with their 60 inch s30?

Super Happy

I am. Find a better 60" HD for less than $900?

Tom

Im about to pull the trigger. Just scared about the dim problems people complain about.

I've heard some speculation that it may lessen with age-- my father seems to think his first set did (he's had 2 STs and 2 Ss). For what it's worth, Costco let me rummage through their inventory and, while I didn't check every set, this seems to affect the entirety of their stocks. My problem: no where in my instruction manual does it say "green blobs present on new display, will dissipate with time". I've taken home yet another set and this one seems less noticeable... I'll try aging the panel and see. In the end I get 90 days to return to costco so we'll see if it does fade-- or if I can find something comparable for the price in the meantime.

It's a real shame because the performance/cost ratio for this set is pretty amazing! Many who have reported this issue to Panasonic have been given the answer that their panel is "within spec"... So green blobs are acceptable at this price point? I would almost agree and spend more but by all indications this is an issue that affects the entire range! I'm pissed at S prices... I can only imagine if I plunked down for a VT and had this problem!

Honestly, at this point I would go LCD if I could only find a backlit model (not edgelit) at a decent size that wasn't complete shat. My friend has a 46" Samsung ccfl (B630 or B530 I think) and it's gorgeous. Samsung didn't make a 52" in 2011 unless you go LED and the uniformity / off angle viewing on those sets is TERRIBLE. Nevermind the prices on LED sets is a bit rich when you consider the quality of the image you're getting-- you can fool j6p with those hyper bright images but I know better!

I'm really glad I saw this post! I just bought one last Wednesday and paid $1,099 like yourself. Took the receipt back to BB today and the clerk said it was on sale in the store for $999.00 I asked her to check the on-line price and sure enough it was on sale there for $899. Thanks so much for posting that the price dropped even more!

I love this TV compared to my old Sony HD 50" LCD. I completed the 100 hour slide-show before even watching the TV. Now I'm just watching regular HD programing (with the settings still at 50) until I complete the 150 hour total break-in. I bought the Spears & Munsil High-Definition Benchmark Blu-ray Disc Edition and can't wait until I get it calibrated.

Thanks again for posting that it's even cheaper now!

Glad I could help.

Cheers

Tom
USAF Retired

Wow, reminds me of the good old days when you would have magnet marks on tube sets. Not sure if the same goes for plasmas. Maybe the whole batch was ruined due to poor inventory management on the Panasonic's part? Why not try buying the same model from a different store? In any case, that green blob is not normal so I wouldn't take a chance and hope for it to go away(chances are it won't). Let us know how you make out.

I can count 8 s30/st30s in either 50" or 60" all from different retailers that I have personally inspected and seen the issue. More if you count panels on display.

Yes, thank you for this. I got mine last week for $999 and HHGregg gave me a $100 pricematch refund. Of course I will likely be giving it back to them in a few weeks...