Panasonic ST30 DIY Calibration and Settings Thread - Page 39

Originally Posted by red71rum

I got my P60ST30(october 2011 build) in mid March and did not do any of the Dnice(sp?) settings because I could not see leaving it on unattended while at work. I did turn everything way down and used settings from this thread. I have only watched full screen material, mostly without logos and have not played games that much. Anyway, I have a SpyderTV(it might be the Spyder3TV, but I can't remember and am at work) colorimeter that I used with my old samsung lcd and was wondering if it would be worth trying?

Originally Posted by chunon

Not sure on the accuracy of those meters, do you have calibration software like HFCR ? Couldnt hurt to measure and see where you are at grayscale wise. If you are willing to put some time in and learn might not be a bad experience for you. You might ask some follow up ?s about your Spyder 3 over on the calibration forum.

Originally Posted by red71rum

I just have the calibration software that came with the device. It seemed to do pretty well for my lcd when I had it. I might have to look at the calibration forum then.

Originally Posted by chunon

Yeah it would depend if that software supports smaller windows patterns which you will need to calibrate a plasma because of ABL.

Originally Posted by red71rum

I will have to check on the software when I get home to see if it supports plasmas.

Originally Posted by chunon

I can confirm it is alot of fun , but once you start you will be obsessed till you get it right or frustrated because you can't. Either way it is a great learning experience about the factors that go into getting a great calibrated picture.

Originally Posted by Jimmy

Watch it, gremmy will be selling his VP to you so he can buy the one he really wants.

Originally Posted by thevolumnus

I have very little experience with 3D, but I ordered a couple of pairs of Panasonic glasses (third generation from shopblt) to go with my open box 60" ST30 (from HDTVGUYZ) (fingers crossed it arrives in good shape).

I've read that using a different brand of 3D DVD player is not an issue. I have an LG BD670 that I use all the time for streaming .mkv HD across my wired gigabit home network. I could sell the LG and pick up a Panasonic, but it seems pointless. Why would I want a Panasonic DVD player that basically duplicates the capabilities of the TV? Wouldn't it be better to have a different brand of DVD player to have an alternate smart interface? If having a different brand of 3D DVD player compromises picture quality in any way though, then I can easily pick up a Panasonic. My local Bestbuy runs unbelievable open box deals on DVD players. While the LG BD670 was still $199, I picked it up for $70. Right now they have a whole shelf full of open box Panasonic players.

Originally Posted by dtbreen76

Yes, and the obsession/frustration is the fear. Right now, I am able to sit back, enjoy the tv and the outstanding picture it has. I would love to learn and to try to optimize it, however, I dont want to find the additional flaws in this set while doing so.....I seem to be very sensitive to them......

Originally Posted by ttnuagmada

Cobra, are you calibrating just the greyscale, or are you doing primary/secondary as well? If you still have your color at 50, this might explain why some stuff looks strange, and some doesn't (*)

Also, the contrast setting isn't going to clip anything on our sets. It's going to do little more than up the light output, though I think i've read that anything much over 78-80 can cause a green push. Your ftl measurments indicate that you're probably using the fullscreen fields, am I right? Use the small APL windows instead (*)

I ended up calibrating with BE at 4+. I didn't realize that I was losing shadow detail in the really dark areas until i started playing with it (*)

Originally Posted by 65Cobra427SC

I'm somewhat short on time at the moment (*) I haven't done the primary/secondary adjustments (*)

Originally Posted by 65Cobra427SC


(*) Material removed from original posts.

Wow, it's been a week already but I finally had a chance to do another calibration last night... Custom, +4 BE, Mid Panel Brightness, Normal Color Temp, 2.2 Gamma, Auto/Graphics HDMI. Used my i1D3 with newest version of HCFR 3.0.3.0 Beta. I also burned a DVD with the AVS HD 709 patterns and used it for everything instead of the DVE disc.

This time I read about Primaries and Secondaries, Color and Tint... very interesting stuff that completes the puzzle. Now I more understand how a CMS would improve things. Calibrating is like plotting points inside a box (or triangle in this case) without knowing where the box is to begin with, then attempting to build the box afterward.

I'm going to hold off posting all my settings for a couple reasons, but primarily, HCFR is being updated to work better with the i1D3... seems like that meter needs some special attention compared to the others... so I want to try this again with the next revision. But in the meantime...

Contrast: 85
Brightness: 65
Color: 41
Tint: 0

Previously I could decrease Contrast to 80 before ftL would drop by significant amounts... this time the cutoff was 85.

For Brightness, the AVS disc didn't have the same pluge pattern as the DVE disc so I used a screen with a series of vertical flashing bars... adjusted Brightness until I could just see #17 flash.

Color ended up at 41 which was lower than I expected so I want to take another look at this. Color accuracy is more consistent but the overall look of the display is somewhat dull.

Tint did not require any adjustment... the x/y values for cyan, magenta and yellow were all very close to their targets. Although I guess having Color so low and a dull display could be the reason.

I want to use these settings for a day or two just to see what I think, then do another calibration. In the meantime, please feel free to comment... ahhh... as long as they aren't personal

Originally Posted by chunon

Cobra:

Just curious are you using a blue filter to adjust Color and tint or are you using patterns of th 709 disc ? If you are using patterns you might try the smaller APL windows, read in some review about Panny plasmas that using the smaller windows helps mitigate ABL issues and you will end up with a higher color setting. For example mine came out to 46 using the APL patterns. Might be worth a shot if you feel your color is washed out.

Those brightness and contrast settings are pretty consistent with what I found if I used Be+4.

Originally Posted by 65Cobra427SC


No filters... used the patterns on the 709 disc for everything. I did try to use the smaller windows but I felt clumsy the first time around, trying to figure out where everything was on the disc. I'll be running another full calibration soon since I had the same problem the first time I tried to adjust greyscale. Will report back. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Jimmy

I've been waiting. You better learn quickly and take your best shot. I have countermeasure settings written down just in case the crown is threatened. Oh, wait a minute, I gave my word I wouldn't do that didn't I?

Originally Posted by Jimmy

Cobra, I also watched The Killing, because you mentioned it so much. Yeh, I don't like the quality at all. It's the way many of the shows are being filmed these days. Dark rooms, dim table lamps, dark hallways, almost black and white, no color, on and on. I have also noticed that commercials are using film editing and transitions that will use just about every grab your attention gimmick, that are actually TV flaws. I see line bleed, false contours, pixelation and others I don't know the name of. More than once I've seen these film add ins and thought "what the". It couldn't have been my TV. After all, I am using Jimmy's settings.

Originally Posted by 65Cobra427SC


I'll ignore that last remark

I'll probably get flac for this but I'm going to go off topic just once... so let me appologize now... so I can ignore the comments later

I agree about the way film is being used today but I still watch The Killing because I like it, the darkness isn't distracting, and it doesn't try to shove things in my face. It used to be easy to ignore things like that... i.e. the shaky camera syndrome of Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, etc... because I just didn't watch them.

Unfortunately, this has become the age of in your face advertising. The TV Station logo went to color and now they twist, turn and dance. Distractions have since moved to other corners of the display and now they want to shove things in your face while you're trying to watch a program.

I'm older... going on 60... but I'm not an old fart... 2 Hayabusa's, one turbo charged, and a 65 Cobra replica. Even though I have no interest in Facebook, Twitter, etc. at least they don't haunt me. But the tactics they use on TV irks me to no end. And they will use any trick they can just to get us to "glance" at what's on the screen. I've noticed movies that used to be in a 2 hour time slot, are now in a 2-1/2 hour slot but I would rather have longer commercial breaks than have bling shoved in my face while I'm trying to watch a movie or other show. Problem is they want to do both. I'll be glad when the law which limits volume during commercials goes into effect later this year but I'll probably be dead before they outlaw what I refer to as "Sling Bling".

I'll have time to do another calibration tomorrow since something on my schedule was cancelled.

Originally Posted by Jimmy

OK, back on subject now. I will say, I continue to get PMs requesting the settings and it is surprising how many report back they really like them.

Originally Posted by knucklebuck


Are these the current settings? /post 845/ (I can't post a url)

I replaced my beloved TH-50PX80U with a TC-P65ST30 and was disappointed as the initial settings I arrived at made everything look like a super hi-def soap opera. Thanks to everyone for this thread and their efforts...so satisfied with my new Panny.

Gave the 50" to my buddy who was still using a 31" Panny SuperFlat CRT and OTA converter.

Originally Posted by Jimmy

OK, back on subject now. I will say, I continue to get PMs requesting the settings and it is surprising how many report back they really like them. The D-Nice/ Combination DYI (how's that for correctness ) settings seem to be fairly universal, if not for everybody. I think that is a good thing and this has proven to be a good thread. Our job should be done. However, we'll wait for your last word.

Originally Posted by thevolumnus

I purchased an open-box 60" ST30 for $1150 from HDTVGUYZ, and it arrived this afternoon via AIG. The base is thoroughly scratched up. I have already mounted it on the wall, so that's a non-issue. The cabinet is smudged in several places (as if tape has been roughly removed) and the entire cabinet is comparatively dull, faded, and not new-looking in the direct light. All of the above is barely noticeable in normal light. The screen seems perfect. The HD picture is also impressive, and everything appears to work as intended. The remote looks brand new, but the box did not include a wifi adapter. The ST30's sold by TigerDirect include one. I assume they come standard. I emailed HDTVGUYZ about the mssing dongle. Maybe they will send me one. We'll see. My house is wired with Cat 6, so I don't really need it at the moment. I may be moving soon though. Recently got engaged.The packaging left a lot to be desired.

More importantly, I used Dnice's settings. I'm getting used to the look, but my first impression is that it's slightly dim and a little too red.

How do you guys use Viera Cast? I have a Denon 3311 AVR, and I run everything through it. I connected the TV to the AVR with an Optical audio cable, and I assigned the TV its own input on my AVR. The primary input for watching TV is connected to my DirecTV Box via HDMI. It seems like there should be an easier way. I must say I prefer the Smart features on my LG BD670 DVD player to this point.

Originally Posted by Citivas

Hi.

I'm trying to use the slides you can down loan here to run for 100 hours to break-in the set before trying D-Nice's settings. I've used them before a few years ago without issue on a Samsung.

But while I can basically get them to work on the ST30, between each slide it comes up with a blank black screen and says the file could not be read. Then it cycles to the next slide just fine, and repeats this between each slide. I checked and it does show each slide so none of the files are corrupted or missing. But I end up with 50% of the break in time being black and having the file message static in the same place.

I have opened the folder with the slides on the USB thumb drive on both a Mac and PC and checked for hidden files and don't see any. The only extraneous file was the thumbs one, which I deleted with no affect.

Anyone experience this before or know how I can get rid of this so it just cycles to the slides?

Thanks.