Official Panasonic 2011 TC-PxxX3 Thread - Page 4

From what I understand, BB Black Friday sale starts at midnight, and they are handing out the tickets 2 hours before (10PM). I'm hoping people will be enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner with their family and not think about standing in line at BB.

I know, same thing I think. family always first!! I plan on getting there around midnight. Hopefully they don't sell out

The black bars are causing the area to age slower, that will show up brighter than the center. Stick with the grey bars to minimize the brightness difference.

I have watched enough 4:3 content through the netflix app where I can see a brightness difference between the black bars and the center. It's subtle but shows up on some solid white scenes. I wish there were aspect controls for Netflix on Panasonic's displays.

Dunno about the X3, but my old PX77U (a 2007 model) had among it's aspect ratio options a "4:3" mode which would overlay (by the TV, not the set top box) gray pillar-bars for just the sort of content you guys are describing. Stuff that gets sent to the TV as a full screen image but is in fact only 4:3.

jeff

Most home theater specialist recommend using an external device like your PS3 or a Blu-Ray player to do streaming. If you are concerned about IR, running a white snowy screen occasionally at full contrast will help reduce the effect. On some Pannys this can be achieved by selecting the antenna input, if you're not using it.


Ian

Actually I just purchased the TC-P46X3 online at Best Buy about 30min ago. 7:00 PST 11/24/2007 for the $399.00 price. Everyone needs to check it online if they want the screaming deal and NOT wait in line.

Hey guys. Little update after checking out my dad's 50" X3 (he paid $562 out the door a couple weeks ago).

Got to his place, saw the picture was terrible. All blown out and over contrasty. What do you know, it was in Vivid with contrast at 100. Took me about 3 minutes to get into the menu and enter Ian's settings for custom mode. These looked great. Colors looked natural and brightness was excellent.

Other observations. From <5' or so the pixel structure was quite apparent and the picture seemed rather noisy. I have a 2007 50" "720p" Panasonic and some combination of the newer set's reduced resolution and maybe some other fabrication changes definitely makes the screen door effect more obvious. For longer distances (the seats in this room are all 10'+ away) those issues are not apparent.

This set is like a mirror, literally. The backyard view out the bay window was perfectly reflected by the screen. Highly distracting on all content from some seating positions. This is a major consideration if you're considering this set or anything else without a anti-reflection filter. We were able to mitigate it by rotating the set just a bit, but in some rooms this may not be possible. The problem here is that matte LCDs are only available in 46-47" for more money, or a handful of crappy 55"ers. Best plasma option is the ST30 I guess, which seems to run $300+ more than the X3.

Overall I think it's a terrific value set, especially if you can manage the reflections and aren't a demanding viewer. To think I paid $600 for a standard def, 32" Toshiba CRT 10 years ago (that was a really nice TV) and now the same money will get you this thing, it's unbelievable.

jeff

Was this ever figured out?

I've bought a display model in the past, but since then have read that doing so isn't such a good idea. I actually "threw out" the 21" CRT demo model I had for about 7 years when I bought the Panasonic, but my 10-year old 34" 4:3 CRT, which replaced the 21" in the bedroom, looks great!

And, I completely agree with you re: LCDs. Kills me to recommend them at sizes below 42", which here in Israel is the smallest size plasma available.

Jay

Hi Keith.

I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to reply. I don't think I got notifications of activity on this board, which I thought I had enabled. I hope you haven't returned the 42X30...

Anyway, to address your issues and questions, regarding the laptop issue, I send a 720p signal from my laptop to my 42X30 via a 5-meter HDMI cable and the picture quality's the same as my yes box as far as I can tell, except for choppy motion, which I'm fairly certain is a byproduct of my laptop's onboard Intel GMA, probably not the best graphics processor. Up until about two weeks ago, I streamed college football games via ESPN Player and the quality was really good - when ESPN's servers were able to provide a high-enough bitrate.

I haven't set anything on the laptop or the screen regarding PAL/NTSC, although everything is European spec, which means native 50Hz display and broadcast signals. If I'm watching something that is 60Hz source, like college and NFL games, I imagine there's a conversion done before it gets to the screen, and you do see these artifacts, even in HD.

Compared to the laptop's built-in 17" LED screen, the Panasonic screen's picture quality is about the same, but I don't know what a signal from my laptop to a large LCD screen would look like.

Maybe send me a message offline with more details about your laptop...

To answer your earlier questions: My current yes package includes a great set of "basic" HD channels, including all the HD yes and MGM movie and series channels along with Eurosport HD and MTV Live HD, but I'm still in my initial 3-year commitment to them. And even though Fox Sports HD is not included my package, I've decided that because the Fox Sports SD channel is of such high quality, paying extra for the HD version isn't worth it. On the other hand, I have watched tennis matches, for example, on Eurosport HD and it is pretty amazing. I can't wait for the Olympics next year.

Unlike the Fox Sports channels, the National Geographic channels do not broadcast the same programs, and there may be a bigger difference between the quality on the SD channel and the HD channel.

I have also seen recently that yes indicates which programs on HD channels are upconverted from non-HD sources ("HD מותאם"), including some movies.

I also read a while back, on Hebrew forums, that the bitrates on yes dropped at some point, affecting the quality of the picture, but I didn't have an HD screen before this reportedly happened, so I have no way of knowing first hand how big the difference is.

Bottom line is, if the quality of your SD channels are good, and you're satisfied with the picture, then there's no reason to spend more, right?

I still watch a lot of SD channels, including ESPN, and as I mentioned in an earlier post, at my viewing distance of a little over 3 meters, I would not want a bigger screen because blowing up the SD content any bigger would not look so great.

HTH, and תתחדשו.

Jay

FYI - Posted a sale on the new Deals section for this TV. I don't think I'm supposed to list the price here, so I'll just note that it is there. Unfortunately this is only in-store and the stores appear to only be in MI, OH & IN.

I was able to set up my new TCP42X3 last night and while I love it for the most part I see they don't include even a basic Electronic Program Guide for OTA (over the air) broadcasts. Has anyone figured out a way to get a program guide, perhaps using "Easy IPTV" or the DNLA?

I'm not positive what firmware version I currently have, but Panasonic's website support offers version 1.16 as the latest when searching by model. On the other hand another area of their website (http://panasonic.jp/support/global/c.../down_na2.html) lists version 1.3 as the latest for this model.

Has anyone tried the 1.3 version? What differences have you noticed?

The 1.2 description states: Improvement for Media player compatibility. Anyone using this?

The 1.3 states: Update Easy IPTV service

Part of me is hoping that one of these updates adds an episode guide.

Hi. I checked the website for my 42X30M, and I was able to install a later firmware version. Thanks for the reminder.

Jay

Turns out the firmware update (2015) includes a fix for an issue I reported to Panasonic, and on this forum: The inability to adjust the volume during Media Server playback.

Jay

I did the 1.3 update but did not notice any changes to any menus or the Vierra tools. I was hoping to see more options and choices in the vierra tools. I bought the tcp46x3 and went i read about it on BB website it indicated something about Vierra Connect and showed content from hulu and also Skype. The model i bought only has Netflix, Amazon, Pandora,Facebook,Napster and Cinematics. I got the impression I would be able to add more if I wanted to. Does anyone know if I can upgrade the Vierra connect / tools on my model?

Here in Israel, we can only WISH for all those Viera Tools! We only get a not-so-good facebook app and a Shoutcast app, which is a radio service, of course. Ironic, right? A video screen with a built-in radio app, kind of like getting a YouTube app built in to a speaker system. lol Also, I documented the limitations of the facebook app in an earlier post.

We pay about twice as much for these things as you do in the US, and get less, with one exception: Our models have a stereo analog audio output, which I have read yours don't have.

Here's hoping Panasonic adds more Viera tools for all of us!

Jay

I got the deal from BBuy's Black Friday deal. Overall, I'm happy with the image quality, but quite unimpressed with the DLNA capabilities.

Playing the same file from the same server via the TV vs my WDTV Live Plus, WDTV looks 100x better. The upscaling the WDTV makes files with half the resolution look acceptable (to me). Where on the TC-P46X3, it looks unwatchable & you only get 3 resolution options using the format button (Original/Aspect1/Aspect2). What I suspect they mean by Aspect1/Aspect2 is 16:9 or 4:3 . . . still neither are acceptable to watch.

I was hoping I didn't need the WDTV near the TV . . .

anyone using dlna with this set, using latest 1.3fw? i'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out what's wrong. the files i created are mp4 and play fine with over usb, but using my laptop or media server they play for 2 seconds and it then crawls to a stutter. files play fine on my ps3 too. i guess my hope to use this for it's connectivity was too optimistic. might have to return to bb at end of extended return period unless i can find a wd live tv thing for around $40

I am usnig dlna with 1.3fw and no problems... Playing HD .ts and other mp4 files.... Is your network hardwired (if not maybe you don't have enough bandwidth/signal on the wireless)?

I don't know how anybody can watch movies an an LCD either....Even if if the black levels were actually on par as in black, the inherent and horrible motion handeling is enough to drive me insane which basically can botch the entire experience.

I'm thinking about returning my 42" LG 720p Plasma and getting the X3. The only reason being is because I'm not too happy with the black levels on my set. Sure they're fine when there's a bright scene going on, but when everything is dark on screen the blacks are a horrible grey. While this set has fantastic color, it just doesn't quite cut it in the black levels department and is enough to dissapoint most avid film buffies.

How's the color on the X3 btw?
As far as gaming goes, I think I'll stick with my other 42" 1080p LCD. I just can't give up that amazing brightness, those bright whites and that crisper cleaner picture. For movies however I will 'never' watch anything on an LCD or LED again.

Just got a new 50X3 at a ridiculous price and I've been trying to get the picture dialed in. Spent some time on the ST30 DIY Calibration thread and picked up a couple of tips that apply to this model also. Here are my current settings (for HDMI1 and HDMI2 only):

Custom Preset

Contrast = 75
Brightness = 58
Color = 55
Tint = +2
Sharpness = 50
Color temp = Warm 2
Color mgmt = Off
C.A.T.S. = Off
Video NR = Off
Mosquito NR = Off
Black Level = Light

HDMI Settings, Content Type = Photo for both HDMI1 and HDMI2

The HDMI Content Type setting made a HUGE difference in skin tones. The Component, Composite and Antenna settings I have set to the Cinema preset.

Just my 2 cents, but a 50% sharpness setting is way too high for an HDTV, especially a plasma. You may want to try toning it down a bit. 25 is as high as I would go with any of my TV's including my Panny C2, which I spent some time calibrating and shares the same panel as the X3 set.



Ian

I have a hard time setting Sharpness using the pattern on my calibration DVD--any suggestions?

I had the same problem, so I tuned to a good clean HD broadcast channel on my DTV DVR, paused it on a close up, started at 0 where it's a bit soft and slowly increased the sharpness until the picture edges were just a bit more focused. No ringing. BTW, I do all my adjustments in a dark room.


Ian