The Official Panasonic GT30 Settings Thread - Page 41

Thanks Amigo!

I haven't been on this forum for quite a few months. Finally decided to look into adjusting my 60" GT30 again.

I've applied the SD card 2.1 and the 2.2 update a long time ago. Also a technician came out and did an SD card update
to fix the fluctuating brightness.

I can't really comment on the picture quality before and after those updates as I simply don't remember if that's what made the difference. What I do know is using the various suggested settings like Dave's and others I don't get good skin tones. The colors on other things seemed okay but skin tones were extremely grey. Definitely couldn't be right. THX has been by far the best so far.

Question:
What could be wrong? I don't think my GT30 is defective as it seems to be working fine but clearly the suggested settings that everyone seems so fond of are resulting in very very poor skin tones. Could some firmware (especially the two SD card updates) not be compatible with each other? Or applied in some wrong order? I doubt it but also know the result was highly dissatifying. Only THX has been good.

I know, why not stick with THX then? Curiosity as something must be not quite right with what I tried.

Thanks

If you had the Fbr problem (many early Panny's did) and the card was replaced (A-card??), the as-delivered-factory settings were lost unless the tech TRANSFERRED the settings to the new card. That could explain your poor video quality.

If the factory-settings were NOT lost, then I have no plausible explanation to offer other than you have a real reason to do a pro-video calibration.

I remember reading after 2.1 patch colors were a little muted, but I take it you're not seeing gray skin tones in Custom, without a Pro calibration that is?

The settings that you see in my signature are what I'm using today. These produce excellent picture but not reference quality. Face colors and tones look 'real' IMO and that is why many like these settings.

Experiment with these or Dave_O settings until you like what you see.

The Panasonic tech didn't replace anything, used the SD card update to fix the fluctuating brightness issue.

Hi all,

Very noob here :-). Checking this beautiful thread, I have some questions: my model is a TX-P42GT30E (european version), with firmware 1.323 installed. I have seen that you have installed the 2.1 patch, but from the panasonic support page I discovered that the patch is only available from 50'', is this correct, or there is another page compatible with my model? Another question: almost everyone likes a "warm" temperature settings, may I ask why? Because I (or at least my eyes) see a more "natural" picture with a cold temperature...

Thanks a lot!!

I did a while back, as well as use the Disney WOW disc.

Does the 2.1 patch affect THX much? Skin tones look pretty good with it, but the picture lacks an overall "punch" unless the source material is exceptional. I guess that's where the other modes with the patch applied will be helpful? Broadcast cable in SD (Comcast with a 4yr old HDTV box) looks like total crap, HDTV naturally looks much better, just not as great as I'd hoped when I bought the set. I figured it was due to the fact that the store didn't calibrate it, and that I could dial it in to look the way all the great reviews touted. I can't afford a Pro Calibration, and am just a little leery of an non-reversible patch just for skin tones. Is it that it allows you to make other adjustments ( mainly to Custom, etc.) that would spoil the PQ without the patch? Sorry, I know this has been covered somewhere in this thread already...just trying to reassure myself before I change something that'll make my wife exclaim "what the heck did you do to the TV???"

The V2.1 patch is only to be used for ". . . for North America and Mexico (GT30 / VT30 series)" w/ screen sizes from 50" to 65".
That's b/c it needs some color correction that you'd get from a calibration. My set looks better w/ "Normal" color temp than with "Warm1" or "Warm2" b/c of a color 'offset' toward the "yellow". Use of "Normal" seems to produce very natural skin tones.

I think the key is . . .are you happy w/ the picture?? If so that's all that's necessary!

I agree that is a bit softer than my Custom settings but with the increased contrast, it produces a picture that videophiles would say is 'better' than my Custom settings.
I have an OTA antenna and I pick up the local HD channels as well as specialty channels such as "MeTV", "AntennaTV", and "This". These channels are 480i and there's a lot of 'artifacts' but it's not that bad. It's to be expected that when you try to display SD on a 1080p TV.
That was the big consideration for all who applied the V2.1 patch; you can't go back!

As far a making adjustments, with or w/o the V2.1 patch, you can make changes and see if you like them. Of course, write down any settings BEFORE making the changes!

Thanks really a lot for your fast answer... Will try to to set the temperature to normal and see if I'm comfortable with that setting. Thanks again!!

Just picked up 65gt30 brand new at a pcrichards - they didn't even know why they still had one in stock! Anyway it is a September 2011 build with version 2.07 installed. Do I need any patches? I am about 50hrs into the slide break-in. Will I see fbr during slide break-in?

Im pretty sure the September 2011 builds already addressed the Fbr issue, so you shouldnt need your A board replaced. You could download the 2.1 patch that fixes color correction, but some people like how there picture looks before this patch..... To each his own. If you find great settings that you enjoy before doing the patch i wouldnt do the 2.1 patch. Because i dont think you can go back

thanks wermy! so just sit back and enjoy then huh? if I do decide to insatll 2.1, should I do it before 2.2?

I'll give adjusting the picture one more shot. Just to make sure - the 2.1 Patch is only to correct the color imbalance outside THX and brighten the picture? It doesn't enhance Gamma or dynamic range?

As it states in the V2.1 link under 'description', the V2.1 patch does "change professional color setting". It 'fixes' the TV's CMS as best as a patch can. However for the details of what it precisely does, that would be best explained by a seasoned calibrator.

Pretty good answers here in this thread.
Edited by JForge - 1/31/13 at 9:38am

Hey guys, just wanted to start out by saying thanks for all the amazing settings you've come up with. I'm getting ready to do the 2.1 patch and am wondering once u get it downloaded on the sd card and put in the tv is there anything else u need to do or is the update complete?

Im having some trouble with this update..Ive downloaded the update to my computer and the downloaded the file SDDL.SEC to my sd card, but when i insert the sd card into my tv nothing happens.. Does anyone have any ideas to why my tv is not reading the sd card? Thanks for any help

I used a 2GB SD card formatted with FAT32. Then copied the file to the 'root' directory.

From there, follow the install instructions contained in the Panasonic V2.1 link.

CUSTOM MENU: Adjust the Tint to +5 to get more realistic skin tones than the calibrated settings listed at the beginning of this thread.

Hey guys I have a question regarding its smart capabilities. So when on WiFi I go to netflix but I don't know how to search. So does anyone use the smart tv portion of it? If so how do you search for a specific movie or show on netflix? Thanks in advance

I think you're limited to loading what's in your Watch Instantly queue, i.e. no looking up movie titles ala keypad

Thanks for reply. I just been using my smartphone to find and play the movie then get it on the tv. It was driving me crazy though thought there had to be a way to search from the controller. I guess not

I don't know why it's crippled, but it's a big disappointment. My LG and Panasonic BR DVD players are the same.

I happen to own TC-P55GT30 and DMP-BD110 BD player. The Netflix app on the TV is a very old version and on BD player it's a much newer UI implementation that has newer features like search box as well as "Just for Kids" selection, etc. Also when you use the Netflix app on the TV it effectively takes control of the TV. For example, if you streaming content from Netflix on GT30 you will not be able to adjust the aspect ratio of the video. That's why I prefer to use the Netflix from my BD player since it also is plugged into my receiver and I can get 5.1 sound.

I was wondering, if you were to chose a "top three" settings provided by members in the thread, what would they be? I have tried several different recommended settings provided in this thread that all look great and just want to settle on one once and for all. What is everyone's top choice for a room without windows that would be considered "nighttime viewing"?

I am running 2.2 with the 2.1 patch applied, any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If you don't want to mess with the service menu adjustments, like me, then use Dave_O's settings for 2.2 with the 2.1 patch. Otherwise, it sounds from reading here, JForge's settings are very good and he checks in here frequently enough that you can pick his brain for more advice.

I have seen several different versions of his settings. Could someone please direct me to his "final" settings? Thanks!

If you find his posts I believe they are linked in his signature. I access from an iPad and don't see signatures.

Check out post #1132 for links to JForge's settings