Official Panasonic ST50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 106

Originally Posted by rjm-1

Oh Oh! Thanks Randy. I'm new to this forum and really don't know too much about this stuff. But I recognize your name as one of the more knowledgeable on this forum. I thought the same thing as far as being defective but after the Panasonic rep said it was the way I had it connected, well I figured I'd ask the forum members for input. I purchased it at Best Buy with a 4 yr extended warranty. Should I call them to replace?

Originally Posted by jonnythan


Same thing at my Best Buy. The 55ST50 was in a 3D display and mounted right next to an eye-searingly bright LED but with good lighting. The 60UT50 was high near the ceiling and washed out by the bright pendant lights.

Originally Posted by Barana2080

I went to my local Paul's Tv to check out an St50. I don't know if it's the set up that they have but the set did have some sort of static. They were showing an animated movie, but I could see static or small color dots lighting up the entire screen. You could really tell in the widescreen black bars. Is this normal for a plasma or just bad static set up on their part .

Originally Posted by jonnythan


Sounds like bad setup to me. They're probably using some sort of lousy component or even s-video distribution system.

Originally Posted by trinibwoy

So I finally got my 55 ST50 set up last night. Tried a mix of Netflix (via PS3) and FIOS. I'm sure it's covered somewhere in this thread but does anyone know why :

(1) standard mode looks like utter garbage
(2) even in cinema mode the picture seems soft or just off in some way I can't quite describe, especially with FIOS content.

Contrast and black levels are amazing though. Kicks my 5 year old Samsung plasma in the teeth.

Originally Posted by jonnythan

Sounds like bad setup to me. They're probably using some sort of lousy component or even s-video distribution system.

Originally Posted by trinibwoy

So I finally got my 55 ST50 set up last night. Tried a mix of Netflix (via PS3) and FIOS. I'm sure it's covered somewhere in this thread but does anyone know why :

(1) standard mode looks like utter garbage
(2) even in cinema mode the picture seems soft or just off in some way I can't quite describe, especially with FIOS content.

Contrast and black levels are amazing though. Kicks my 5 year old Samsung plasma in the teeth.

Originally Posted by RandyWalters

If there were any issue with the connections or an HDMI handshake issue it would affect the whole screen evenly, not just the lower half. And that scrambled colored interference pattern on the lower half looks like a board failure - it doesn't look like a handshake problem. I'm 99% positive that the board that drives the lower half of the screen is either failing or maybe the ribbon cable is just loose.


This could get tricky. I presume you're within the 30 day BB return window for the TV and also for the 4-yr EW so i'd return the defective TV for exchange (which should be no problem) but if you get a replacement TV make sure that EW that you bought gets applied to the replacement TV, and get it in writing. The fine print in the BB warranty states that if they have to replace the TV under the EW, the EW is considered "fulfilled" and is cancelled, screwing you out of the remaining years that you would have been covered for and you then have to buy another EW for the replacment TV.

So be sure that the STORE is replacing the TV, not their Extended Warranty department. If there's any ambiguity, return the EW for a full refund then buy a new EW for the replacement TV (and i'd consider getting a Mack EW instead of the BB EW).

With any warranty repair, you never ever want to utilize the EW while the TV is still under the one year factory warranty because if the cost to repair is too high, you use it all up too early and then it gets cancelled. Let the manufacturer handle all the repairs for the first year and leave the EW completely out of it until that factory warranty expires. And if you suffer a failure a few months after the factory warranty expires, Panasonic has been very good about covering the repairs when asked (many people here got free repairs even 3 months after the warranty expired).

If you don't want to deal with exchanging the TV, or if you're beyond the 30 day return policy window, then contact Panasonic and email them that picture and get a repair visit scheduled.

Edit - oops, i see you posted that you're returning the TV while i had my reply window open for a half hour. Just be mindful of the EW issue for the new TV.

Originally Posted by chas51

"and i'd consider getting a Mack EW instead of the BB EW"



do you have any comment about Mack EW compared to SquareTrade?

Originally Posted by chas51

"and i'd consider getting a Mack EW instead of the BB EW"



do you have any comment about Mack EW compared to SquareTrade?

Originally Posted by HLdan

Hi Chas, I don't know a lot about Mack but I do know that SquareTrade is highly rated and very high on customer satisfaction. One thing to know (which I recently found out) that ST gives you a spending limit. For example if your TV costs $1500 then that's your spending limit. If you need service and contact ST and they perform a service that cost them $500 worth of parts and labor they will deduct that from your $1500 spending limit leaving an amount of $1000.

Say after that $1000 remaining balance you have more problems down the line and ST realizes they cannot repair it and you need a replacement TV, they will send you a check of the remaining spending limit of $1000. From then you'd use that amount towards a new TV if you so choose.

Originally Posted by Barana2080

Is this normal for a plasma

or just bad static set up on their part .

Originally Posted by HLdan

Hi Chas, I don't know a lot about Mack but I do know that SquareTrade is highly rated and very high on customer satisfaction. One thing to know (which I recently found out) that ST gives you a spending limit. For example if your TV costs $1500 then that's your spending limit. If you need service and contact ST and they perform a service that cost them $500 worth of parts and labor they will deduct that from your $1500 spending limit leaving an amount of $1000.

Say after that $1000 remaining balance you have more problems down the line and ST realizes they cannot repair it and you need a replacement TV, they will send you a check of the remaining spending limit of $1000. From then you'd use that amount towards a new TV if you so choose.

Originally Posted by deathrattlehead

60ST50 is coming tomorrow also. Hoping for a good set.

Originally Posted by jonnythan


Same here! Between 8 and 12.

Originally Posted by deathrattlehead

3-7 for me. Coming from a 50". This could be epic.

Originally Posted by Mister Shifter

It's sad and frustrating every time I go into my local best buy (which is often) to see they always have their ST50 prominently displayed, but set on "Standard". The look is washed out grayish and dim.

They'd sell so many more if they're just put it on "Cinema". I'm sure many people dismiss arguably the best set on their floor just because of how it's setup in the store.

Originally Posted by rjm-1

Thanks Randy. Can you suggest a good connection sequence and type of cables to help reduce HDMI handshake? Handshake has been a problem with my set-up on my last Smasung LCD also. I have a Scientific Atlanta cable box, a Denon AVR-1611 receiver, and a Sony Playstation 3 for playing DVDs (not into video games).

Originally Posted by ludersven

65ST50 will be delivered tomorrow between 11 and 1. No questions, just wanted to share the joy

Common exclusions from coverage among all of the TV warranty service contract providers are:

Extended Warranty Starts from date of purchase of the TV and run concurrent with the manufacturer's warranty. The manufacturer's warranty supersedes the extended warranty during the first year.
TV screen burn in not covered.
Cosmetic damage or physical abuse
Pixel defect policy same as manufacturers policy
Pre-existing conditions that occur prior to effective date of contract
Manufacturer's defects occuring during the manufacturer's warranty period
TV must have valid manufacturer's warranty for at least 90 days
TV with removed or altered serial numbers
Cancellable within 30 days for full refund
Almost all cover damage caused by power surge or lightning
Any and all consequential damages

Following are the categories we felt were most noteworthy and important to the end user. We've come up with the following names to describe the most damaging clauses as "the buyout clause", "the dump clause", and "the strict limitation clause". A description of these clauses follows and explains why they are dangerous....

Originally Posted by sheshechic

Adjusted Custom is better, at least so if you believe Chad B's review, since Cinema has bad gamma which results in a washed-out look.