Official Panasonic ST50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 245

We had several 60ST30s in house (two "long term" - that is, in excess of 500 hours usage), along with one working 60S30 (& one non-working, which doesn't count...).

Replacement for those is a 60ST50, which is our current "HT" set.

We do NOT: Game; Use our plasmas as Super Larger Computer Monitors; OR View 3D content (have Pan 3D player, Avatar 3D, and the ST50 - but too cheap to spring for glasses, as the 2D version of Avatar looks Outstanding as it is....)

That said, would consider the ST50 a Significant step up from the S30 - but, to be fair, also considered the ST30 a clear upgrade over the S30 (had 1 sample of each of those running side-by-side for a while). (And any of these panels easily beat our two older Pan plasmas for Blu-ray Viewing - although the older, smaller, panels hold the edge for viewing Less-Than-HD material.)

If you placed a GOOD 60ST50 next to a GOOD 60ST30 (no green blobs, pink tint, yellowish cast, vertical "shadows" - or Whatever - on either screen), would expect the ST50 to be judged the clear winner.

HOWEVER - OTHER THAN a Growing Pink Tint - the two 60ST30s we kept for over 500 hours produced a Very Satisfactory PQ, for our usage (see "We do NOT..." list), and if one of those sets was still serving as our primary panel, would not be willing to move to a ST50 - unless, of course, it could be done for Very Little Expense.

In the absence of a Specific Complaint (green blobs, pink tint....), the 60ST30s are fine HDTVs, and most viewers will be extremely pleased in their display - again, barring a side-by-side comparison.

Also, the 2013 panels are now only a "few" months away: as much as the ST50s represented an Improvement over the ST30s, it makes sense to see what 2013 will bring (especially as Further Improvements have already been hinted at).

OTOH, if one has the wherewithal to BUY a New Panel EVERY YEAR: Why Not pump up the economy a bit???

Man I just left work to meet the delivery guys too. They did everything you mentioned. I did flashlight to check for spider cracks and turn tv on for buzzing BUT I forgot to check for dead pixels. I also signed the delivery form with "Subject to Inspection for Hidden Damage" written on it as Randy suggested. And I also asked them to leave the packaging which to my surprised they said most people do BUT most people do not inspect the panel like I did. But in all honesty unless I was a member of AVS I would've never known how to inspect a new TV and what to look for. And as I stated earlier I forgot to check for dead pixels I am back at work now but will have to check it closely when I get home including for bending along the frame. Never even thought to check for bending...

Other than that I must say the TV looks more stylish than at the stores. Could be b/c I am going from a 2008 42" VIZIO to the 55st50 and it also could be b/c it is not next to those fancy looking LG's with the "no" bezel look.

The only buzz I heard was when I stuck my head behind the set and put my ear about 6" away. This was during the screen saver screen which looked white/greyish and the viera logo moving around. It is my understanding that this amount of buzzing is perfectly normal. Oh and BTW this is my first plasma as well so I am cautiously optimistic about its performance.

Now that I have my new 55st50 is there a benefit to registering the product with Panasonic? I think they give you an option to create a profile on their site and enter the serial# model# etc to "register" the TV.

Did you guys do this?

FOr people that game is d nice settings good. I tried em myself his settings seems to give me no ir. when i gamed with cnet settings it gave me a little ir from the cod hud. Anyone has any settings for game mode cause game mode seems to have virtually no input lag

Couple of questions. I have an 65S2. I am now helping a family member purchase a 65ST50. Are the same slides valid? (20 slides White to grey to black to red to green to blue)

We will be running them for at least 100 hours to even out the color fade and IR possibility.

Anyway, does anyone have settings for the 65" when using the slides?

Thanks much

Ok....Ok.....So I just got the tv everything looks legit....no damaged box, no spider cracks in the screen....now time to turn on.....so I am preparing for slide prep and realize....do I change the picture mode to "custom" in the main menu???? D-Nice's prep settings says picture mode custom, just wondering....because custom default is at 100% contrast...thanks and please reply soon so I can start the slides...thanks.

If you're not using D-Nice's settings, then you don't have to run them. They won't reduce IR or make any noticeable difference to the PQ. Just run fullscreen content for the first 100-150hrs.

D-Nice's is the only one who has posted settings using his prep slides. If you want to try his settings, even though they're for the 50/55 models, then run the slides. He changed them a bit this year, so use the ones specifically meant for the 2012 ST50. They're posted at the 'other' forum that cannot be mentioned.

I didn't run the slides, but If you want to try my settings, they're posted on page 153 of this thread. Yes, set it to Custom and leave everything default as per his instructions. Make sure to disable the pixel orbiter, too.

Just how noticeable should dither be when u are upclose and is dither those little whitish particles around like a dark scene?

I register all of my electronics. Seems like a good idea if you ever need to use the factory warranty. Sometimes companies will even extend your warranty a little bit if you register.
Edited by Bond 007 - 11/28/12 at 4:04pm

Is normal to see it upclose, but on the distance its perfect

Yup i noticed that too. I can only see dither when i come like 6 inches and look for it. For some reason there is virtually no dither when i game on my ps3

TV is working good. Only issue so far is NetFlix lip sync is off by a bit. I tried searching thread for this issue, and I'm sure it has been covered, but I was unable to find out how to fix it. I am streaming via WiFi the Walking Dead. The HD quality, although not bluray, is very decent, but my sound is off. I am using the TV speakers...help!

EDIT: OTOH I was happy to see the st50 recognized my dual band router and was able to achieve WiFi connection via 5GHz. I am surprised I haven't read many posts showing this TV as dual band capable...
Edited by GatorRican - 11/29/12 at 7:57am

Panasonic called me yesterday and to say they closed my service ticket. WTF? They cannot tell me why, only that they will escalate. So, I call the local Service Center who said he ordered the A-Board to fix the TV, and he tells I cancelled the service order. Again, WTF? I'm like, Dude, why would I be patiently waiting to have my TV fixed for 4 weeks now and cancel the order? What a total cluster FUC this is. Today Panasonic calls and the escalator guy doesn't know anything at all. I tell him I've been waiting for 4 weeks to get my TV fixed, and ask how long will the back ordered part take to arrive? He says he doesn't know. I AM SO PISSED OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brand new TV and it's sitting unplugged for a month becuase if I plug it in, it just clicks over and over and over until I unplug it again. I told the guy at Panasonic I would like a new TV. He said that's not how it works. I say so how much longer do I have to go without a TV? I've had no TV for a month now. Hell, I haven't had a servicer in the home to even look at it. All they did is call ask questions, order a part, call a week later to say it's backordered, and now they cancel my order and say I did? WTF? Wow, not a big fan of Panasonic right now. Escalation guy says he'll call me back when there is an update. Wow! thanks for letting me vent.

Hi all,
I've got around 50 hours on a 50st50 and started to notice something. I'm not sure if this would qualify as banding, but let's say the screen was showing a guy wearing a had. At the brim of the hat, you'd see like a shadow or trailing horizontal edge to the right, sort of like if the picture was out of focus. Work your way down, and the same thing would be showing at the persons shoulder, It's so hard to explain!
I've tried messing around with the contrast/sharpness/brightness with no luck, but this seems to be random. Another good example would be if a box was on screen, you'd see the left and right edge shadows extending all the way across the screen. The problem is, this doesn't happen all the time and sometimes the issue is obvious and other times you have to look for it.
Maybe this is banding? I haven't run any slide to check yet. The gray slide is the best to point out this defect?
I'll try to snap some photos next time.

Otherwise, HD channels are beautiful, but SDs look terribly out of focus/blurry at times.

FYI, no IR's so far. Panel date: October 2012

Hi Randy,
i just scrolled through the menu and didn't see a 'warranty' section.
Can you help me out?

Thanks!

sounds like that might be line bleed. put in a bluray and pause it on the green "PG-13" screen, see if it does it there. that screen seems to be were line bleed is at its worst.

WOW! I dont really know what to say. You are handling it better than I probably would. I would be calling them every day from now on until you can get something concrete. Do you have a work order # or anything to prove you have been going through this? Ask peoples names (this can be surprisingly effective sometimes) and request a supervisor on every call. You should be compensated somehow but you need some evidence. If nothing else a higher model and they can keep the A-Board. Tell them to email you something. Dont let it stress you too much though. It is just a tv and it will work out eventually.

Any particular reason d nice keeps 3:2 pull down on auto and cnet keeps it on on. How will either setting affect my set on 1080i content using hdmi cable for tv viewing. And does that option affect 720 p or 1080 p content?

Anyone using game mode to game
On this? Is so what are ur settings?

If you have a 1080p display and you are asking about the broadcast resolution for TV channels, then your set always converts 1080i and 720p to 1080p.

ABC, ESPN, and Fox are the only 720p stations. All the rest are 1080i. Some cable companies may convert 720p to 1080i before it gets to you. All the cable boxes that I've had will output your choice of 1080i or 720p.

ah crap after reading up on 'line bleed' that's exactly what it is!
Can this be fixed via calibration or is this a defect in the panel?
Is line bleed just as prominent as banding?

kinda disappointed here

Whats the best way to get rid of ir? Is it running the scroll bar, running the slide ive heard just running the white slides will do. Or is it just watching full hd content

A couple of questions on pixel orbiter:

1. Is the general consensus to leave it on, i.e. no effect on PQ?

2. If I were to go calibrate the TV myself using an X-Rite, should I leave it on during the calibration? Or, will that cause issues?

Thanks.

Regular full-screen content or the scroll bar.

No effect on pq. I leave it on because I cant tell the difference and it is supposed to be helpful.

What is the point of dither?

Last night was the first night w/ my brand new 55ST50 and for a minute there I thought there was something wrong with my set. I even took a phone video of it, but then I read your comments. When you are very close to the screen it looks like is snowing with little dots everywhere but from my viewing distance...nothing! I had never seen this on any other panel I've ever owned.

Its normal on Plasma tech, it actually improves your viewing experience. The use of dithering helps to reduce banding: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dither