Official Panasonic 2011 TC-PxxS30 Thread - Page 12

I don't use nonstandard and get to see all the bars.
You have to check your player's settings.
When I was calibrating with AVSHD and used PS3 as the BD player, I ran into this issue, I had to make setting changes in PS3.

As for cabling, composite won't deliver HD,
I suspect you meant Component.

bobby29,
what do you mean by these are all gone at my Costco?
are you saying the the new sets at Costco don't have this issue?
how did you test them all?
As far as I know, this is how it is and you can't don't anything about it, no board swap will address this.

if that is not the case, I surely would like to hear about the details.

Jaxson de Ville,
I know about this issue, and have it too, and bet everyone else too.
but how do you notice it with real viewing?
to be honest when viewing TV (not calibration patterns) I haven't had a moment where I said to myself, I'm noticing this brightness issue and is getting on my nerves,
Granted, there are times you sense, but screens change and it's really unnoticeable.

I meant that my Costco has sold out of them - no more left. I have a November 11 build date, so supposedly the a-board already has the patch/new firmware applied. However, that doesn't mean the a-board is not bad out of the box.

It was super evident on the test pattern Jaxson provided. I'm assuming the gray scale chart on the right is static and should always remain the same, regardless of what is being shown on the screen. Mine does not, and fluctuates a great deal during the test pattern loop.

I have noticed fbr on both the BD player and FIOS, both via HDMI. I saw it quite a bit on The Kings Speech BD last night. I'll observe over the weekend and maybe give Panasonic a call. If there is no fix I definitely will be returning this set within my 90-day window.

EDIT - Just wanted to add that all this stuff about replacing the a-board has been taken from the ST/GT/VT threads. Although no one really talks too much about the S series, there have been reports about fbr in these also. We'll see if Panasonic will acknowledge the issue.

On my set it can be pretty bad you don't have to always look for it, on some shows skin tones keep shifting from reddish to yellowy when I play that calibration pattern parts of the gray scale are reddish & when the screen should go black it goes light gray on some stuff it pops up a lot, on others almost not at all.

Curious to know if your normal greyscale is reddish? Or only the one that cause this issue?
My calibrated set us always neutral, though I do get the fluctuation as stated previously.

I suspect that you don't have a neutral gray scale, and brightness induced level change takes you from one level that is too yellow to another that is too red.
If that is the case, calibrating the set, should make it more acceptable, as the only noticeable (barely) change would be level change and not hue change.

here's some blurry pics on FBr-1 its normal then it shifts to FBr-2 the red on the 30% pops out more to the naked eye.

Here's a 30 second video of the test pattern Jaxson provided on my 50S30. I'm assuming the grey scale chart should always remain the same no matter what the screen is doing?

http://youtu.be/GWv9vDvxYbk

As you can see it's all over the place.

I read these boards and it seems people are just looking for issues and anomolies. You would think that as the cost of the set goes up the issues would diminish but they don't at least not to the point that it would justify the difference in cost. Anyway I set out to adjust my set (60s30) as I mentioned in a prior post that some of the colors looked washed out when watching directv. I started with badabings settings as my standard and after watching various directv cjannels and blue ray discs I did not change a thing. I can't imagne the set looking any better. I use a PS3 as my blue ray player (HDMI connected)and the picture does not fill the screen. I think I have all the setting on the tv and ps3 correct but the only way to fill the screen is to slect zoom on the tv and then you lose some of the picture. Is this normal with a screen this large?

Instead of comparing the S30 to other more expensive Panasonic plasma TV's, how about comparing the S30 to other TV's of similar size and price points?

I paid $899 for my 60" S30 and for $899 I couldn't find another TV of any type that had a better picture than the panny.

This is similar to chatter on the Corvette Froum where someone announces they just bought a base vette and it doesn't perform like the Z06 or ZR1. And of course he's told he should have purchased the higher end models. Seems like nothing changes but the item in question. I own 3 panny Plasma's and bought the S30 for casual viewing and gaming. It's not my prime display. Now if the S60 will be your prime display then maybe you should off buying until you can afford a higher end model. But there's a reason manufactures offer various models at varying price points.

So what's a better $900 TV?

Tom

I think it's less about comparing with the more expensive models and more about understanding the feature/quality differences. For someone like me-- I didn't buy the S30 JUST because it was cheap, I bought it because I like panasonic plasma and I just need a monitor. Most of the features being offered by higher models are lost on me: I'm not interested in 3d, Internet apps or wifi. For me the S30 represented a way to get a good picture without having to spend money for things I'll never use. If the problems that I DO have with the S could be solved by moving up the model range then I would consider it... And I'm sure I'm not the only one! Unfortunately for me I've seen green blobs on a VT so...

so had the tv for about 4 days now...the more i watch it the more i love it, especially for the money paid....i ran slides overnight to get as many hours on it as i can because i want to do a calibration, probably around 200 hours.....but i have this bad boy running on some settings i found and for 700, cant beat this for a 50 inch

Well, I calibrated my dad's 50" yesterday. Not too happy with the results. Ended up with 27ftL and a gamma 2.1. Faces of people have that clay look going on. The problem I noticed was at 10% through 20% grey scale, the light output was so dim that my eye1 display sensor had a hard time reading the screen. The B-DRV was way down on the scale and I had to increase it 47 clicks. Contrast is at 84 and brightness at 60. With all the adjustments I made you would have thought the ftL would at least be in the 30's.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I missed or can try to brighten things up?
Cinema warm2
contrast 84 (over this crushes the white)
brightness 60 (barely shows 2% above black using AVS HD pattern)

I am using DVE on Bluray through my PS3 to calibrate. I broke it in using D-Nice's slides on standard and only watched full screen programming with no watermarks for the first 100 hours. I am sure the set still has to "calm down" some, but I tried to calibrate last night in a completely dark room.

My problem is in the color section mostly, although I am not sure I have the contrast set right either. When I get the color adjusted correctly using the "blue" filter, it has the colors pushed to the point that it does not look good. I want to say that the setting it wants is in the high 60's to low 70's range. It looks better when I bring the color down around 50, but then the color test patterns are off.....

I have used DVE with great success on Tosh DLP and Sony LED in the past. Just frustrated with this one......

Brightness: 67
Contrast: 65
Color: 65-72 range (can't quite remember)
Tint: 0
Gray scale: Warm 1 or 2 (tried both)

Looking for some advice on what to do here. Thanks!

No it doesn't change anything, the adjustment settings just don't adjust anything.

The service tech is coming in the morning, I'll let you know what he says

He's not going to do much. This panel is DIM. As part of the 2011 lineup it's the dimmest of the bunch and the rest aren't exactly bright! Honestly, it sounds to me like it's working as it's supposed to!

The panel being dim is not the issue, it is the color, I've been around enough to know what colors should look like even on different display devices. Something is up with this one.

Sorry, I have one more question maybe you guys can answer:

If I were to set Cinema and Game modes with the exact same settings, would they perform identically? What I mean is, are there options that cannot be selected by the user that would change how they perform?

Thanks!

Sorry-- I think I was mixing responses.

That's funny because the color on my panel in cinema is VERY good. Unfortunately the green smear tends to discolor anything in the low-mid gamma ranges. This is especially noticeable in skin tones.

No. Gamma is entirely different in these two modes and I've noticed sloppier color as well as vastly better luminance in game mode... But there's no lag!

Your brightness is set way to high-mine is at 55.

Yes, you are correct. I was initially trying to calibrate the "game" mode. I have given up on that. I played with it last night and learned that the gamma settings are diff for each "mode." I found that Cinema mode produces the most accurate color so far but I have been unable to eliminate the "haze" that is produced in this mode.

My brightness setting is much lower (55 or so) in Cinema. I assume this is the favored mode to calibrate and use most of the time?

I found that cinema out-of-the-box was pretty darn good but the luminance makes it useless for anything but dark room viewing. The haze that you're talking about is most likely the ambient light of your room over powering the picture for control of the grey, unfiltered screen!

I use custom/game for everything else.

Okay what can you tell me about color spacing and how to correct it?. it seems to be the problem between my tv and directv.

Did you use a calibration disk for Custom and Game modes? Would you be willing to repost your settings for custom and game? Also, I am a bit nervous about messing with the service menu, as I don't want to make bad worse. I like the tv and feel that it has the capability of looking really good for the money spent, however, I am frustrated with trying to calibrate this one......

BTW, I am from Detroit area. But have relocated to FL.....I miss the food......

In the month I've has my 42"S30 it's been rock solid-I don't know what all the wacky stuff you people are talking about-green blobs, color problems, etc. are-no problems here.

Well, I noticed the contrast "flash" or brightness fluctuation that others are talking about. My set is only a week old. From what I have read on this forum, it appears only in the Cinema mode. Can someone please confirm?

It happened 4 or 5 times while watching Inception last night. I suppose calling Panasonic will prove to be pointless as I have read that their firmware updates have not worked. I really hope that they can fix this, because I am going to keep this tv and would like to not have to experience this. I am not sure of my firmware level, but I just got the tv a week ago, however, I am sure it is a 2011 model.

@dtbreen76

I'll be happy to post my custom settings when I get home tonight. To be clear I'm NOT happy with them but they're about as good as I could do with the picture controls available. FYI I'm using the AVS HD 709 disc.

The FBr is noticeable but it doesn't bother me much. Hate to say it but anyone who has a problem with this should go watch an LED LCD for a couple hours-- compared to that I'll take panasonic's issue any day!

Also, Panasonic has been leaving me messages for the last couple of days concerning my last trouble ticket (green tint)... Will call them back tomorrow and report back here with the results.

Thanks Sage.

Yeah, I called Panasonic tech support about brightness fluctuation today while I am at work and they asked me to call back when I am in front of the tv. Apparently they feel that there are some settings adjustments that can help or dare I say it, resolve this issue. I won't get my hopes up.

It seems to only happen 4-5 times in a movie, but it still bugs me. Nothing I will return the set over, as I paid $650 for my 50" and I don't think I will find a better tv for that price.

My 46" Bravia LED that I had before this was great until my son broke the screen. I never had any brightness fluctuation that I can recall and the tv was very accurate color wise and easy to calibrate. It handled motion poorly was the only thing I didn't like about it.

I only wish that our Panny would be easier to adjust the picture on. Seems that any mode other than cinema and we have to wrestle with the colors too much.

I wouldn't bet on a fix for the fluctuation.

I was actually referring to the new active edge-light in most new LED LCDs which raises or lowers the backlight depending on the scene. My buddy has this on his Sony 829 and it's mostly infuriating especially in dark scenes where the panel can turn completely off!

My Olevia, a defunct brand now but state-of-the-art when I bought it, has much more accurate color than either of my Panasonic plasmas. This is most noticeable in skin tones... Then again my olevia came with factory performed calibration! Samsung or LG will sell you a plasma panel with better color but the black levels are anywhere from "ok" to poor unless you spring for the Samsung 6500, 7000 or 8000.

Panasonic has traditionally lagged behind the competition when it comes to picture controls. But you also have to keep in mind that this is an entry level panel and panny's intended buyer for this product is not one who would likely have use for such controls. The ST adds gamma adjustment for it's custom picture mode. Then you run into guys like us who are looking for a good deal and don't necessarily need the features of a higher end panel but would still like a good picture! Lol! I mean, Panasonic has to give you some reason to spend more, right?

Sage,

I couldn't agree with you more. I bought this model because after my son broke my Bravia, i didn't have enough money to buy a higher end tv a second time. I bought a 51" Insignia for $650, knowing full well that it was a bargain basement tv. It had a problem within two months and they couldn't order the new panel that it needed (samsung part number,) so they had me exchange for a "comparable" model. Well, to my delight, I was able to get them to give me the panny at the same price. The two don't even compare. The screen on the insignia might as well have been a mirror and there were far less controls/options for calibrating it. It also had fluctuating brightness, go figure.

So in the end, I am actually very happy with this tv, as the screen alone was a huge upgrade in terms of far less reflection. i really don't think we could have bought a better tv at this price point. Panasonic told me that the fluctuating brightness is a result of the energy star software and could not be eliminated. It is annoying for sure, but it only happens 3-6 times throughout a movie, so i will deal with it. The only other thing that I have noticed is how easily this tv exhibits IR. I had the color test pattern up for maybe 2 minutes and it held a square or two for another minute or so after the image was gone! So I am kinda scared to play video games on this thing.

I was able to get the settings where I am happy with the picture in Cinema, just have to work on a Custom setting for daytime viewing and Game mode for gaming. I really wish that there was a WARM 1.5, as I think it would be the perfect grey temp. Clearly a professional calibration would help, but I can't see spending 2/3rds of the purchase price to get there. I would just as soon spend that money on a higher end TV without Fbr issues.

I would appreciate seeing your fav settings for custom/game if you get the chance.

Also, I have a question about contrast. Based on my basic calibrations in Cinema mode, I have it set around 68, and I know it can handle even more but I want to keep it safe. At 68, am I setting this tv to "torch" mode? I would like this tv to have a long life, as I can see it becomming a nice bedroom tv at some point. I don't know if higher contrast settings also creates IR or not.