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Official Panasonic 2011 TC-PxxX3 Thread

post #1 of 175
5/3/11 at 2:04pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys,

I didn't see a thread for the Panasonic 2011 TC-PxxX3 series, so I thought I'd start one!

I got my TC-P46X3 a few weeks ago, and I really enjoy it. Coming from LCD, there is a huge difference in quality with regards to picture detail.

Figured I'd christen this thread with my findings so far, and some pictures of my TV, and let others post any questions they may have for me (from a user experience standpoint) or share their own experiences!

See my post later on in this thread for my current calibration settings.

I'm just astounded by the minute picture detail that I'm seeing on content I've watched so many times before. Also, I'm a huge hockey fan, and watching NHL games on this TV is so much better than what I was seeing on LCD (I thought it looked pretty good on LCD until I watched a game on this set!)

Pictures will be coming in my next post.

Let's get this thread going!
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post #2 of 175
5/3/11 at 2:32pm
Thread Starter 
As promised, here are some photos of the set in action (each photo has the television's bezel included for reference). The camera was set up about 1.5 feet closer to the television than the normal viewing distance, and it was zoomed in to fill the image with the screen.

The first 4 are from the Disney WOW set (first 3 are paused, 4th is of the video playing). The last 2 are from Avatar (first 1 is of the video playing, 2nd is paused).

Obviously this is the best quality that my camera can show (in combination with your computer monitor), I do feel that the quality in person is better than these pictures represent:













Just a quick edit note - the lines visible in the paused images are NOT visible when viewing the set, apparently my camera did that when taking the photos.
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post #3 of 175
5/5/11 at 9:04am
How is the AR filter on this set. Does this set work well enough in a room with wondows in the daylight?
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post #4 of 175
5/5/11 at 9:13am
Thread Starter 
The screen is fairly reflective, so it depends on what content you are watching during the day.

The pictures above are from my livingroom in the late afternoon. I do not have any direct sunlight on the screen from windows, and I would consider the environment used for these pictures to be low-light (not no-light).

In full daylight, dark areas are affected only. Bright areas in the picture do not show any reflection that I can discern while normally watching the set. For example, if you were to have the type of picture shown in the first 4 images, there would be little to no discernible reflection during the day. For the 5th picture, there might or might not depending on how bright the room is. For the last picture especially, there would be reflection in the black areas.

I have no problems watching daytime\\children's television on this set during the day, however watching darker movies might be an issue during the day without any ambient light control.
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post #5 of 175
5/5/11 at 8:42pm
Quote:


Also, I'm a huge hockey fan, and watching NHL games on this TV is so much better than what I was seeing on LCD

Dude when I read this I instantly had to login and reply here. I too am a HUGE hockey fan. The playoffs this year have been outstanding. I will tell you, if you don't have a good set to watch hockey, it can kind of be difficult to keep track of where the puck is (especially when you have a white background with mostly dark colored jerseys and such). Hockey + plasma goodness = awesometown


I too have the TC-P46X3(currently mounted in the master bedroom). It's a perfect size for our room. My impressions so far : .... amazing. Black levels are great, colors are great. I have zero complaints about this plasma.

Also, thanks to tornadobox for posting your calibration settings. I have been searching the internet for someone who has done some kind of calibration for this set.
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post #6 of 175
5/7/11 at 10:18pm
X30 is supposed to be the same as X3 right?
I own the 50X30 and satisfied with it.
Cheap, no buzz (I can't hear it from zero feet away on the front of TV lol), great color, good black level. I only wish it has better calibration menu and AR filter.

In the store, with heavy lightning as usual, I compared it to Samsung 51D450.
The D450 has better black but uglier color especially white. I'm pretty sure that was overly saturated color which gonna be tiring my eyes. I'm surprised the shopkeeper keep telling me those set has more natural color. And even though the black is good, many details in dark scene are lost. The white in D450 is not in uniform and looks dirty. X30 in comparison has grayish black but more natural color and clean white. Details in dark scene are preserved as well.

Since I'm watching it in low to no light environment the grayish black I'm seeing in store is gone and the black is acceptable.
Don't have many time to calibrate, my setting for PC display currently:

Viewing Mode: Cinema
Contrast: 65
Brightness: 0 (default)
Colour: 55
Sharpness: 50
Tint: 0
Colour Balance: Cool
Vivid Colour: Off

Oh, for information I'm a noob in calibration
I choose "Cool" because I only managed to get white in that colour balance. Normal and warm gave me a goldish white.
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post #7 of 175
5/8/11 at 2:21pm
Thread Starter 
hey holy_reds,

I'm not sure, I've not heard of the X30...maybe it's an overseas version (since the default brightness of the X3 is 50, not 0 like yours)?
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post #8 of 175
5/9/11 at 1:46pm
Great thread. Glad to see there are some people with some great input on this plasma. I just purchased the 50x3 picking it up on Saturday. Does anyone have any input with this model? or pretty much the same as the 46x3? Sorry if its a newb question.
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post #9 of 175
5/9/11 at 1:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by nogspea View Post

Great thread. Glad to see there are some people with some great input on this plasma. I just purchased the 50x3 picking it up on Saturday. Does anyone have any input with this model? or pretty much the same as the 46x3? Sorry if its a newb question.

From what I understand, the 42", 46", and 50" are all identical aside from size.
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post #10 of 175
5/10/11 at 8:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tornadobox View Post

From what I understand, the 42", 46", and 50" are all identical aside from size.

Thanks
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post #11 of 175
5/12/11 at 8:09pm
Thread Starter 
What do you all have your external devices set at for output? The set accepts up to 1080p for input, but I've ended up setting all my devices to 720p. While I think the picture is a little sharper from 1080 sources, I feel like 720p gives motion a slightly smoother look in specific circumstances (like hockey for instance), but the difference really is minimal, and I'm wondering if it's just in my head.
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post #12 of 175
5/12/11 at 10:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tornadobox View Post

What do you all have your external devices set at for output? The set accepts up to 1080p for input, but I've ended up setting all my devices to 720p. While I think the picture is a little sharper from 1080 sources, I feel like 720p gives motion a slightly smoother look in specific circumstances (like hockey for instance), but the difference really is minimal, and I'm wondering if it's just in my head.

When I owned a 720P DLP RPTV, I converted all channels to 720P in the cable box. I never bothered to look for small differences.

There was no Blu-ray at that time. Your Blu-ray player may do a better job of converting 1080p to 720p than your TV. That would explain what you are seeing.
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post #13 of 175
5/13/11 at 6:05am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by htwaits View Post

When I owned a 720P DLP RPTV, I converted all channels to 720P in the cable box. I never bothered to look for small differences.

There was no Blu-ray at that time. Your Blu-ray player may do a better job of converting 1080p to 720p than your TV. That would explain what you are seeing.

I was thinking more along the lines of maybe 60fps vs 30fps on 720p potentially looking smoother than 1080i from my cable box...I haven't really done any testing with my PS3 and Blu-rays at 1080p (movies generally don't pan fast enough to see what I'm seeing when watching hockey).

Maybe that's just it, that the 60fps from the 720 signal is just a little more visually appealing to me for faster motion than the de-interlaced 1080 30fps. But then I'm not sure where that 600hz subfield drive comes in to play with how it handles the different framerates.

Again, maybe it's all in my head (for all I know, the signal from Versus is being sent at 1080i and converting it to 720p at the cable box isn't really doing much of anything).

In any case, either setting 720p or 1080i from the cable box for hockey is WAY better than how it is on my LCD's
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post #14 of 175
5/13/11 at 6:28am
Thread Starter 
So, after a bunch of digging, apparently Versus broadcasts in 1080i...so maybe it is all just in my head after all
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post #15 of 175
5/13/11 at 12:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tornadobox View Post

So, after a bunch of digging, apparently Versus broadcasts in 1080i...so maybe it is all just in my head after all

Back in 2004, when I got my DLP, there was a common belief that 720p was best for fast sports action. Which, according to the theory, was why ABC and Fox went with 720p. There was a third 720p channel, but I haven't thought about differences between 720p and 1080i in so long that I can't remember which one it was. Maybe it was ESPN.
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post #16 of 175
5/15/11 at 5:27am
Thread Starter 
I've got all my stuff set to 1080 for output now (xbox/ps3 on 1080p and cable box on 1080i). Watched the Bruins pathetic outing last night and there was no difference between 1080i and 720p (probably due to the broadcast being at 1080i).

I suppose since all the sports that I care about are either on VS, NBC, or NESN (all broadcast at 1080i), there's really no reason for me to use 720p on the cable box.
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post #17 of 175
5/15/11 at 10:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tornadobox View Post

I suppose since all the sports that I care about are either on VS, NBC, or NESN (all broadcast at 1080i), there's really no reason for me to use 720p on the cable box.

That sounds right to me.
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post #18 of 175
5/17/11 at 1:32pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, now let's talk about judder.

I'm noticing this a lot in video games, and a google search indicated turning off IFC (intelligent frame creation).

I don't seem to have this option on my set, is this something Panasonic removed for 2011, or just for the X3 line?
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post #19 of 175
5/29/11 at 7:53pm
Anyone else have any settings for this set? Post-calibration settings would be fantastic. I haven't had any luck finding any other threads for it.

Thanks.
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post #20 of 175
6/3/11 at 3:51pm
Could someone please post detailed calibration settings for the P46X3? Specifically for watching DVD's and Bluerays. This would be greatly appreciated!
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post #21 of 175
6/3/11 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 
I've just completed a more thorough round of calibration with my Disney WOW Blu-ray disc using the Advanced test set.

I don't know how many hours are on my panel, but I've been using the set quite a bit (regular & HD TV, video games, and movies) since my initial posting (if anyone knows how to view the panel hours I can post that as well).

I did NOT do any artificial aging with color slides or anything like that, I used the set to watch what I normally watch on a daily basis right from the start.

With that in mind, here are my calibration settings for the Standard, Cinema, and Game modes (I don't use Custom or Vivid at all).

First, a note on Contrast and Sharpness:

Contrast wasn't easily calibrated on this set using the Disney WOW Blu-ray. There was no point at which (between 0 and 100) there was any difference in the test pattern being able to be displayed. The only difference on Contrast was the overall brightness/whiteness of the whites. I do not have a light meter so I could not calibrate by measuring foot lumens. I ended up putting the Contrast to a setting where the brightness of the whites was acceptable to me, though I imagine this is a setting that would increase over the age of the panel.

Sharpness was another setting that was more difficult than I had expected for calibration. There wasn't a whole lot of difference in the visual sharpness of the test pattern while sweeping through the sharpness range. I felt there was hardly a difference, if noticeable at all, between the 0-40 range. Between 40-50 there was a slight difference, and then 50+ there was slightly more of a difference. For this, I just set it to what I felt looked "good".

For each of the 3 video settings that I use, the following are all the same across each:

Contrast = +75
Brightness = +58
Sharpness = +50
Color temp = Normal
Color mgmt = Off
C.A.T.S. = Off
Video NR = Off
Mosquito NR = Off
Black Level = Light

For the Standard and Game settings, I use the following:

Color = +55
Tint = +3

For the Cinema setting, I use the following:

Color = +50
Tint = +1

The calibration was done in a room with the lights out, with a little bit of ambient light coming in from the adjacent room.
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post #22 of 175
6/11/11 at 9:40am
Thanks for the settings! I pretty much copied yours since I don't know much about calibration, it looks great.

If I notice a different setting that looks better I'll let you know, and if anyone else has settings that they think are better let us know so we can all enjoy them!

So far I have watched some of the office through netflix (it was HD) looked great!

also watched the dark night on blueray and it was stunning!
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post #23 of 175
7/16/11 at 11:33pm
I am interested in this model also
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post #24 of 175
7/17/11 at 12:04am
How does the new X3 compare to the 2009 X1 ? The X1 has the infinite black feature from what I read.
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post #25 of 175
7/22/11 at 4:02pm
i got a 50X3 and was looking for some recommended settings. ill try yours tornadobox

thanks
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post #26 of 175
7/23/11 at 1:07am
Hello. I apologize for the long post, but I think it contains useful information.

First of all, thanks to tornadobox for establishing the thread, and the other posters.

Like a previous post, I'm assuming the TC-PxxX3 series is the US version of this series, and outside the US, the series is also known as TX-PxxX30 and TH-PxxX30, with specific market markers appearing after the zero. For example, my TH-P42X30M is intended for the Middle East market.

I have a few notes about this model:

1. Black level in lit rooms: I have placed the TV in a living room with a medium-sized, north-facing, unobstructed window that allows in what I would consider an average amount of light during a sunny day. The black level on the TH-P42X30M during a sunny day with the window's blinds open is quite poor, surprisingly so. I knew that this was an issue with plasmas in general, and with entry-level plasmas in particular, but I didn't realize how significant it is. The TH-P42X30M replaced a 10-year old 34" CRT, so that's what I'm comparing it to. It appears that the Panasonic's Eco mode adjusts the contrast according to the ambient light in the room, which is useful, but this does not really compensate for blacks that appear medium-grey under these conditions.
2. Only two Internet-based Viera Tools: The only Internet-based Viera tools delivered with this model are a passive-only facebook (see below) and Shoutcast. I paid a significant premium for the X30 model versus the X20 model, and while I thoroughly enjoy the DLNA functions, it almost seems a waste of LAN/Wi-Fi capability to offer just two Internet applications. I personally would love an ESPN3.com application so I would not have to physically connect my computer to the TV with an HDMI cable. I would, at the very least, have expected a YouTube application. YouTube actually offers a large-screen version, YouTubeXL, which appears like it would seamlessly integrate with Viera Tools.
3. Facebook application limitations:
a. Passive only: The facebook application does not allow user input, only viewing of existing content. This TV supports text input, both via the remote (for input naming, for example) or via a simple USB keyboard, so I should be able to use facebook as it was intended, interactively. For that matter, with this TV's DLNA certification, I should be able to upload photos, videos, and so on, from my laptop, too.
b. Content not filtered: The content I see using the facebook application is not filtered according to my account settings. For example, I do not see updates from every one of my facebook friends in my News Feed when I access my facebook account via my laptop and mobile device, but updates from every one of my facebook friends do appear in my News Feed when I access my facebook account via Viera Tools.
4. Media Server fixed volume: During Media Server music playback, I am unable to change the volume via the remote control's volume buttons. I have connected the TV to an audio system using the RCA Audio Out jacks, and I have set the Volume Control (VAO) setting to Audio Out (TV Off). When I change the volume during Media Server playback, the change only takes effect after Media Server is no longer the input source.

Again, I am quite happy with this TV, and I hope that at least some of the issues I have described will be resolved with firmware updates.

Jay L. Abramoff
Lehavot Habashan
ISRAEL
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post #27 of 175
7/23/11 at 3:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlabramoff View Post

Hello. I apologize for the long post, but I think it contains useful information.

First of all, thanks to tornadobox for establishing the thread, and the other posters.

Like a previous post, I'm assuming the TC-PxxX3 series is the US version of this series, and outside the US, the series is also known as TX-PxxX30 and TH-PxxX30, with specific market markers appearing after the zero. For example, my TH-P42X30M is intended for the Middle East market.

I have a few notes about this model:

1. Black level in lit rooms: I have placed the TV in a living room with a medium-sized, north-facing, unobstructed window that allows in what I would consider an average amount of light during a sunny day. The black level on the TH-P42X30M during a sunny day with the window's blinds open is quite poor, surprisingly so. I knew that this was an issue with plasmas in general, and with entry-level plasmas in particular, but I didn't realize how significant it is. The TH-P42X30M replaced a 10-year old 34" CRT, so that's what I'm comparing it to. It appears that the Panasonic's Eco mode adjusts the contrast according to the ambient light in the room, which is useful, but this does not really compensate for blacks that appear medium-grey under these conditions.


This set does not have a AR filter, but if calibrated properly it can still offer good black levels in a fairly bright room. I have a 46'' C2 which uses the same panel. I suggest you get a calibration disc like the Disney Wow disc that the op uses. Keep in mind every set is a little different. Setting the correct brightness and contrast on these sets can be a bit tedious, but with a little time and patience you will be glad you did. I also suggest you use the custom mode for the best contrast and color accuracy.


Drishat Shalom,
Ian
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post #28 of 175
7/24/11 at 5:46am
Thanks a lot, Ian. Todah rabah...
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post #29 of 175
7/24/11 at 6:16am
I'm looking at this set for the office. 42" @11' viewing distance, I doubt I would notice the difference in resolution between this set and the 1080 ones, but will there be any other differences - like the quality of the colours, or the "speed" of the panel? Total newb moving from a CRT I was totally happy with until it started to fail.
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post #30 of 175
7/24/11 at 9:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by riffer View Post

I'm looking at this set for the office. 42" @11' viewing distance, I doubt I would notice the difference in resolution between this set and the 1080 ones, but will there be any other differences - like the quality of the colours, or the "speed" of the panel? Total newb moving from a CRT I was totally happy with until it started to fail.

The only issue I have with the entry level Panny's are the 50'' models. Even at normal viewing distances which is up to about 10 feet, there is still a very noticeable screen door effect which I personally find distracting.


Ian
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