2012 Panasonic Plasmas??? - Page 10

Originally Posted by mnc

I thought there was a color update that improved color luminance.

Originally Posted by sage11x

My 2008 looks like my ancient, now defunct olevia LCD after it's black rise.
My 2011 looks like this:

Originally Posted by sage11x

^ So what crippling defect will the new 2012 models feature? Maybe they can offer customizable color blobs or a rising RED level or how about blues suddenly turn to yellow when you're least expecting it!

Originally Posted by rogo

I'm curious who you think has "customer focus". The persistent problems with other brands are (a) as bad if not worse (b) getting less resolution. Panasonic pushed out a luminance update and a color update. For some people they weren't 100% satisfactory, for a lot of people they were. They actually pushed out updates for both problems even though the vast majority of customers never complained / noticed either.

Sounds like customer focus to me.

Originally Posted by mnc

I thought there was a color update that improved color luminance.

Originally Posted by ken325i

Agree with (most of) what you say -- but I believe all manufacturer quality has deteriorated, and none of the issues are being properly addressed. The poor qulaity hides behind the marketing spin of on going technical improvements. Just wish that one brand could get the fundementals spot on.

Originally Posted by rogo

There was something like that. Someone who owns one might tell us exactly what was done; it didn't affect me but I remember the update existed.



Yes, all manufacturers build relatively speaking garbage these days. That's just reality.

If I wanted to summarize it (non-Panasonic, since you have that covered):

Samsung: Plasmas have peeling AR filters, occasionally show up with their glass shattered internally, have fluctuating brightness Samsung did nothing about.... LCDs have non-uniform backlighting even on flagship models, which is basically due to shabby manufacturing standards

Sony: The flagship LCD had a filter-bonding problem that caused a visible line to appear on many people's TVs. Sony considered this acceptable. Oh, and the flagship's killer feature -- local dimming -- leads to haloing off axis, but within the normally acceptable viewing cone of LCDs... Yippee.

Sharp: The backlighting is non-uniform on their fully-backlit LCDs, nevermind the edge-lit ones. Their flagship model has two defects which currently lack resolution.

You can't even buy quality if you are willing to pay extra for it. In my mind, Panasonic's quality and commitment to glitch fixing is comparable or better than anyone's.

Originally Posted by rogo

Yes, all manufacturers build relatively speaking garbage these days. That's just reality.

If I wanted to summarize it (non-Panasonic, since you have that covered):

Samsung: Plasmas have peeling AR filters, occasionally show up with their glass shattered internally, have fluctuating brightness Samsung did nothing about.... LCDs have non-uniform backlighting even on flagship models, which is basically due to shabby manufacturing standards

Sony: The flagship LCD had a filter-bonding problem that caused a visible line to appear on many people's TVs. Sony considered this acceptable. Oh, and the flagship's killer feature -- local dimming -- leads to haloing off axis, but within the normally acceptable viewing cone of LCDs... Yippee.

Sharp: The backlighting is non-uniform on their fully-backlit LCDs, nevermind the edge-lit ones. Their flagship model has two defects which currently lack resolution.

You can't even buy quality if you are willing to pay extra for it. In my mind, Panasonic's quality and commitment to glitch fixing is comparable or better than anyone's.

Originally Posted by sage11x

My 2008 looks like my ancient, now defunct olevia LCD after it's black rise.
My 2011 looks like this:

Originally Posted by ken325i

Given the way Panasonic has not supported the resolution of issues with the 2011 models - luminance and color decoding - I will never trust or buy another Pan PDP. Their arrogance and lack of "customer focus" is pathetic. They push em out and walk away. I am hung with a GT30 now, but it will never happen again.

Originally Posted by rogo

I'm curious who you think has "customer focus". The persistent problems with other brands are (a) as bad if not worse (b) getting less resolution. Panasonic pushed out a luminance update and a color update. For some people they weren't 100% satisfactory, for a lot of people they were. They actually pushed out updates for both problems even though the vast majority of customers never complained / noticed either.

Sounds like customer focus to me.

Originally Posted by rogo

Thanks for that excellent summary Rich.

Originally Posted by robertw11


Talk about being burned, not once, but twice. Absolutely unacceptable. Can you still return that set?

Originally Posted by RichB

I think that Panasonic has been steadily improving the product and the customer focus is much better. I think they did what they could within the limits of the design and the risk involved with releasing new firmware
Customer support had been very good. There have been management changes, including AVJunkie, which are improving the product and the company.

- Rich

Originally Posted by dean-l

More management changes than just AVJunkie are needed. But, are you sure? He's still posting as an employee over "there".

Originally Posted by Fanaticalism

I think he is including AVjunkie as one of the changes/additions to the team. He has only been with the company a few years.

Originally Posted by dean-l

More management changes than just AVJunkie are needed. But, are you sure? He's still posting as an employee over "there".

Originally Posted by RichB

Panasonic put out two fixes last year:

1) Fluctuating Brightness - After a scene change, there would be a change in the brightness of background objects after about 1 second. It was an annoying problem. The fix was fixed by an on-site Panasonic tech via firmware update or third party replacement of the A-Board. D-Nice says it is still there if you know where and how to look. I have not seen the problem since the fix so it was completely acceptable. This was excellent customer support.


- Rich

Originally Posted by RichB

AVJunkie is one of the good things happening at Panasonic.
He does have an obsession with shiny things, but heh, nobody's perfect

- Rich

Originally Posted by Jonesky

My GF's ST30 fluctuated pretty badly when watching a basketball game the other night. I found it bothersome as the the tv got brighter and dimmer as the game went on. I assume this fix will correct this and is the only way to get the software update thru Panasonic and their tech? Nothing one can do themselves? And this is a different update than the one over the tv's internet link?

Thx for any answers.

Originally Posted by RichB


AVJunkie is one of the good things happening at Panasonic.
He does have an obsession with shiny things, but heh, nobody's perfect

- Rich

Originally Posted by RichB

Panasonic put out two fixes last year:

1) Fluctuating Brightness - After a scene change, there would be a change in the brightness of background objects after about 1 second. It was an annoying problem. The fix was fixed by an on-site Panasonic tech via firmware update or third party replacement of the A-Board. D-Nice says it is still there if you know where and how to look. I have not seen the problem since the fix so it was completely acceptable. This was excellent customer support.

2) Luminance Fix - This is tough to say. It clearly fixes the over saturation of Custom mode. It may have improved gamma on THX that is what others have posted. This was a download made available and not automatically applied. After the fix, I found custom mode was greatly improved and used it to calibrate my 65GT30.

Still there is something a bit different about the look of the GT when compared to my 500M and 600M's. There seems to be a push to the colors on the GT that cannot be corrected by altering the saturation. I believe there is a non-linearity to its performance so calibrating it with different window patterns 50 or 70% produces different results.

Using Calman and a Lumagen Radiance, the luminance of the colors was easier to adjust after the luminance patch.

I can get the GT close to the Kuro in terms of color but not quite there. Even if the 50 series does not get much improvement in black level, if the basics are improved, it should be capable of producing a picture that is as good in all but the darkest rooms.

The 500M is simply fantastic. It is noticeably better than my 600M because it has more punch and has less ABL (Automatic Brightness Limiting). On the 600M, I always can see scenes where the white areas of the screen darken.

The GT is better than the 600M. You can see ABL, but it is not a detrimental.
If the 50 series improves ABL handling, it will exceed the Kuro performance in normal viewing environments.

- Rich

Originally Posted by RichB

Call Panasonic tech support and tell them you have fluctuating brightness problem. They should send a tech with firmware or a new A-Board.
Both ways of fixing it are the same.

- Rich

Originally Posted by dean-l

Dear Lord.

Not BOTH forums.

I like a place where no one has over 50% of the posts in a thread.

Originally Posted by StockInv

I talked with a Panasonic rep at BB on Sunday. She stated that the bezel on the VT50 will be thinner than the current VT30. There have been complaints about its large size relative to the size of the screen, so they will remedy that with the new model.

Originally Posted by cpc

Any idea of the weight of any of the 2012 Panasonic plasma TV's?