Panasonic ST30 DIY Calibration and Settings Thread

Perhaps you could rename the thread title and just make it a general calibration thread for people to share their ST30 settings - using low and/or mid panel brightness - however they've calibrated.

Just a thought, as there doesn't seem to be a calibration thread for the ST30 and having everyone's settings in one thread is always a good idea and can be very helpful for other members.

Yes, but you'd get a lot more calibration settings if you made it a general ST30 settings thread. Not many enthusiasts (i.e. forum members) are using mid for the reasons D-Nice, Chad B, etc have already mentioned in their reviews.

It was just a suggestion. Hopefully some people will chime in.

+1.

That would be good.

I will be getting my panel shortly as it was hopefully shipped today.

After burn-in 100hrs with evangelo2's slides. i will throw D-'s reference settings in and see how she goes.. as he said.. you have to follow his directions that are posted over at hd-j forums to a T. if you want the results within +/- a few % pts.

although we aren't allowed to post these settings.. gustapo says so.

+1. Interested to hear how other st30 owners using mid-level panel brightness are setting the other picture controls.

+1

definitely want to see what people are using...I alternate between low and mid, depending on ambient lighting.

I found these settings in the ST30 owners thread and I've been using them for the most part. I think bottom one with gamma 2.4 looks outstanding.

Found the following setup on CNET. Seems a little extreme (-50 white balance on high reds?) but I'll try it tonight to see for myself. Also a little unsure of the High panel brightness...sometimes I find even Mid to be too much.

--Picture menu
Picture mode: Custom
Contrast: +80
Brightness: +59
Color: +32
Tint: -1
Sharpness: +20
Color temp: Warm 2
Color mgmt: Off [grayed out]
Photo enhancement: [grayed out]
C.A.T.S.: Off
Video NR: Off

-- Pro settings submenu
Color space: Normal
W/B high R: -50
W/B high G: -49
W/B high B: -26
W/B low R: +6
W/B low G: +1
W/B low B: -6
Black extension: 0
Gamma adjustment: 2.4
Panel brightness: High
Contour emphasis: Off
AGC: 0

-- Aspect adjustments submenu
Screen format: Full
HD size: Size 2
H size: [grayed out]
Zoom adjustments: [grayed out]

-- HDMI settings: [no change from default]

--Advanced picture submenu
3D Y/C filter: Off [grayed out]
Color matrix: HD [grayed out]
Block NR: Off
Mosquito NR: Off
Motion smoother: Off
Black level: Light
3:2 pulldown: On
24p Direct in: 60Hz

The CNet settings were God awful IMO.

HAHA really? Well then, maybe I won't even attempt it.

You have to click "advanced" when editing post #1 and then you can change the title.

Whatever this thread ends up being titled I'm glad that someone finally created it. I had asked about what settings ST30 owners were using in the mian thread with no replies so maybe this one will be more useful. Although the professional calibrators swear by the low panel setting, personally, I loathe it in any kind of ambient lighting conditions. It tamps the picture's vibrancy down so much that it feels like I'm looking at a screen that is starting to go to its maker. I must admit that I'm disappointed in Panasonic's insistence on limiting the luminance and gamma output in the ST's Cinema and the GT's THX modes they way that it does. Maybe they feel that owners of their plasma sets only watch Blu-rays in a completely dark environment? That's not very realistic to me. HDTVs are, first and foremost, televisions and I don't know many people who do their routine network or cable viewing in a dark movie theatre-like environmemt. I'm pretty much committed to using the custom mode with a 2.2 or 2.4 gamma setting and a mid panel level. While the image is clearly more lively however, the calibrators may be right about the lack of color accuracy and fidelity. I've been grappling with various combinations of the various video settings including the six white balance values and have yet to settle on a consistently good "set it and forget it" group of video settings, espcially for cable. I have yet to see that someone has gone into the ST30's service menu to play with the drive offsets as was common with the GT25 series. Has anyone seen this to this point?

When I saw those extreme changes in the White Balance settings I had a "WTF" reaction. For laughs and giggles I did try them and concluded that the CNET people must have a visual problem. They were pretty bad. It's why I pay little attention to CNET reviews at times.

So you clicked on post #1, clicked "edit", clicked "go advanced" and then updated the title and saved your changes, right?

I just did this on a thread I started a couple of weeks ago and it changed the thread's title just fine.

EDIT: I was wrong - it only changed the subtitle - not the title as it appears in the list of forum threads. I'm thinking the title can only be changed for a certain period of time - after that a moderator has to do it.

Hmmm...perhaps you could click on the "Report post" link on post #1 and report yourself (haha) and ask that a moderator change the title for you? That's the only idea I have at this point. If you report the post it will be flagged for the moderators and they'll have to read your comments.

Ha ha... I tried them for kicks and I actually like them. Mind you, I'm a proud non-videophile.

I'll try the 2.4 gamma mid-brightness settings in post #8.

I'm using the cnet setting(I like them), the D-nice were to dark for my well lit room. I switch between cnet(daytime) and if I watch a movie at night I will use D-nice's setting, will give the mid setting in this post a try.

I wish there was an easier way to switch between day and night settings.

I think I'm settling on the 2.4 gamma, mid panel brightness settings in post #8 for daytime viewing and Cinema mode for night time, partially for ease of switching.

Nice job getting the thread renamed mfrey. Now if we can just get more owners to start sharing their settings and calibration experiences!

Does anyone have a calibrated setting for any other mode besides custom, wondering what people are using for Cinema,game,vivid, stand. wish the tv had a custom1, custom2 and a custom 3 now that would be handy

I've googled but I can't seem to find what d-nice settings are, at least not on an avs forum, can someone help me out with this? I just bought the set today and I am running the burn in process right now. Would love to have some day settings such as the OP's and some night settings(D-Nice). Any help is appreciated :cheers:

I've pretty much settled on D-Nice's settings for the most part, but on mid panel brightness and Warm 1 color temp. instead of Warm 2 (still getting accustomed to the red/brownish shift inherent in more accurate colors; I'm coming from a pretty crappy circa ~96 low end Sony LCD). I'm not a complete videophile, to the point that I'm not bothered by (or notice) what is apparently skewed color accuracy on mid brightness. I feel like going from low to mid brightness gives the picture just the right amount of pop, again in my non-expert opinion.

I've tried a bunch of others, including Cnet's settings, and wasn't impressed with them compared to what D-Nice's settings have done for my 55st30.

I was really curious as to how I would react to a plasma picture having never owned one. I can honestly say I LOVE my decision...stunning picture for those like me who live on the fringe of videophilism.

Anyone else care to share?

mfrey0118, the Photo & Slideshow settings in your original post mimic those that D-Nice posted on hdjunkies back in Feb. Please give credit where it is due.

http://www.**************.com/showth...-Issues-Thread

You sound like me.

I'm D-Nice settings with the following adjustments:
MID Panel Brightness
Warm 1 Color Temp
Contrast 70
Color 37

Like you said, the right amount of pop and I can't notice any color inaccuracy. The set looks beautiful to me.