Official Panasonic ST50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 27

Diamond.G:

Any buzzing occur on your ST50 yet? That's my major concern before a decision is made...

Thanks!

Just as I expected - I know damn well what I'm looking at an will not be fooled by Panny fluff .

Katzmaier said that he did not calibrate for 3D and that it was as good as the VT30.

CNET:

"It doesn't include 3D glasses, and 3D picture quality showed more crosstalk than many competitors' models."

AVForums:

"Whilst a screen size of 50" is probably the limit for a great 3D experience, the immersive nature of the experience was also improved by the general lack of crosstalk which meant we never found ourselves being drawn out of the movie. There were very occasional instances of crosstalk but you really had to look for them and they were never distracting."


I'm so glad I read reviews - really helps clear up these questions I have.

So, which is correct? Is the crosstalk good or bad? I found it interesting that CNET used HUGO for their 3D test disc. Over on blu-ray.com they review HUGO, and say:

"Crosstalk is not only present, but severe. It's constant and distracting, heavy and disappointing. It greatly interferes with the film and, for all the good the remainder of the 3D visuals do, at this time the standard 2D version proves to be the best option for pure visual perfection."

So I wonder if Hugo is indeed plagued with crosstalk, which would affect the Panasonic review, or did Blu-ray.com use a tv that had bad crosstalk, meaning Hugo was not the problem.

I'd really like to know one way or the other how the crosstalk is on the new Panasonics because that will definitely affect my decision.

This is what Katzmaier said about 3D on the ST50:

3D: Overall the ST50 didn't maintain as impressive an image with 3D sources, but it was still solid. I compared it in a lineup that also included the passive 3D Vizio M3D550SR, the 2012 Sony KDL-55HX750 and our current 3D reference TV, the Samsung UN55D8000.


The first chapter of "Hugo" (a movie I plan to use for all 3D testing this year since it has significant depth and lots of interesting camera movement, is live action as opposed to animation, and was shot completely in 3D) has some scenes where crosstalk was quite prominent on the ST50. The ghostly double-image was especially visible on as Hugo's hand as it reached for the mouse (5:01), the tuning pegs on the guitar (7:49) and the face of the dog as it watches the inspector slide by (9:24), for example. The VT30 looked nearly the same in comparison, but the PND7000, the Elite, the UND8000, the HX750, and the Vizio all showed less crosstalk than either Panasonic.


In the default Cinema, Movie or THX settings (I don't calibrate for 3D) the ST50's 3D black levels looked deep enough, with good shadow detail, but didn't look appreciably deeper than that of any of the others, aside from the Sony HX750 and the Vizio. Its color also seemed a bit too blue, especially in dark areas, although it wasn't egregious. Of course any of these differences could change with a calibration in 3D. I did not test 2D to 3D conversion.


http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-t...=rvwBody;page2



I believe that we should consider that we are in a new place for 3D and that the standards by which a new model is judged is higher. Also, this is the ST50 being mostly compared to last year's top, most expensive models.


I think that some people are narrowing their focus on small details without looking at the whole picture. IMO, 3D is more than acceptable for this price range. If you want a VT50, D8000 or E8000 then buy one and expect to pay those prices.

Nice catch. It is for this reason, among others, that Cnet does not weigh most heavily in my decisions. I mostly like them for the videos of the sets - until last year that is. I just don't completely trust them.

I just had to go look at the review here on AVS and Ralph Potts stated this: If I had to describe the experience of watching Hugo in 3D I would describe it as natural and completely involving. I noticed some instances of ghosting here and there but it never proved overtly distracting.

Edit: Katzmaier was comparing the same movie on several sets to form his opinion - hopefully. What we can take from this is that the "test" may have been a bit extreme in using a movie known to have inherent crosstalk problems and most people may be very please with the 3D when using this set in their homes only experiencing some crosstalk with movies that inherent problems.

I noticed buzzing when I first turned the TV on. The ambient noise floor in the living room is higher than silence, so the buzz isn't noticed from any of the potential seating positions (or floor). When I get home I will poke my head around the TV more to reconfirm.

Currently I own the Samsung D7000 plasma, and the crosstalk naturally varies depending on the content. I am strongly considering trading it in for a new Panasonic because of brightness pops on the Samsung that I find totally and constantly distracting, among some other issues. But I'm afraid if Panasonic has worse ghosting than the Samsung then it will be a step back in terms of 3D for me, and I am a fan of 3D so I want a tv that performs well in that department. That's why I'm keeping an eye on the crosstalk comments - I just want to make sure I don't end up with more crosstalk than I currently have. The Samsung seems very good overall with crosstalk, but it can get bad depending on what I play. I've seen some pretty bad crosstalk on my Samsung at times. I certainly don't want it to get any worse.

How come there isn't any thread about GT50? I see one for VT and this one for ST. No excitement for GT series this year or something that I'm missing?

The lack of interest for the GT50 is most likely due to the fact that most people are deciding between the ST and VT this year. The GT50, from initial reports, doesn't seem to offer many benefits over the ST50 to justify the higher price. Most of us are waiting to see how much better the VT ends up being than the ST.

The GT50 has not come to market yet and there haven't been any reviews either. I'm interested in finding out if the shadow details are better on the GT50 than the ST50.

Got ya. And I just found comparison chart of 2012 models. It seems like only major (?) difference between ST and GT is the lack of THX cert on ST model.

Black and white films that aren't black and white but solid grey? No.
A solid wall of smoke that looks like a grey slide? No.
A hospital, lab, school, or prison painted the same uniform shade of grey? No.
A solid grey video game? No.

With the iPhone pic I saw colors. With the camera photo I see grey. And I don't see a problem.

I'm confused. You know what you're looking at, but you needed to ask someone else what you were seeing?

The Samsung D8000 had nearly perfect color, at least according to C-net. And it was D-Nice's top choice at the Value Electronics shootout, based largely on color, I believe.

So the ST50, which is cheaper (and probably better built), is pretty close. You "knew that", but you just wanted to double check, I presume.

But you call that "Panny fluff", which isn't fooling you?

What exactly is fluffy about it?

He doesn't even like plasmas, he just likes starting arguments. He started a whole thread saying the UT50 looks better than the ST50 because he saw them both at Best Buy and he just argued with everyone that posted.

It's not close @ ALL

The st50 is proving to be " iffy " color wise - a 2011 Sammy w fbr is still a better buy .

Panny also did a poor job with 3 D .

The St50 is showing to be a nearly 2k investment yet doesn't produce colors accurately - its either it does or it doesnt ,.

" close " isn't good enough

Most people don't like to pay extra unless there is an improvement in picture quality. The THX mode is nice to have but I wouldn't pay extra for it because you can calibrate custom to look better than THX mode, at least you could on the 2011 models. The GT has an extra HDMI input but that's about all I see other than THX. Last year the GT had a thinner bezel than the ST but they look pretty similar this year so I wouldn't think looks would be a factor.

? It was just an observation that led to people defending the st50 .

I hate to argue - I'm a very peaceful person.

Says the guy who's making display quality assessments at Best Buy. Your entertainment factor is really starting to wear off.

Entertainment Factor ?

Where else am I supposed to make observations ?? I can't but every tv I think I may like - so I have to browse right ?

I'm not interested in taking sides on if the ut50 is better than the st50 but I have seen the ut50 right above the GT31 at BB and must say that the ut50 looks better to me than the gt31. Blacks looked better, color looked better and it was brighter and looked sharper. It also had more reflections. It was higher up and closer the the lights so the light reflections were bigger but also brighter. I've seen the st30 and ut50 close to each other and thought the ut50 looked better also. Did the ut50 have more reflection, yes. I'm looking at the st50, e6500-e7000 myself. Leaning to the st50 since everything I've read on the Samsungs is they all seem to buzz! This will be in my bedroom and buzzing will just be that much worse in a smaller room!

I noticed the crosstalk on my 55ST50 before even realizing what it was. After hearing good things about 3D TVs, I was excited to try it. Playing Uncharted 3 in 3D had a lot of the ghosting. I then watched Puss in Boots in 3D, and while it was better, there was still crosstalk.

I purchased two sets of Panasonic's new 3D glasses. They are definitely comfortable, but lower the viewed brightness quite a bit.

Disclaimer: I have absolutely nothing to compare what I'm seeing to. The only other 3D content I've seen in the recent past was Avatar in 3D in the theater.

Hmmm..two opposing results and the one in favor of the crosstalk problem just happens to use a video known for crosstalk problems...seems a bit too coincidental but more data is needed.

The C-Net reveiw said stand does not swivel on ST50 but user manual shows that it does...
am i missing something?

The stand does not swivel.

50" swivels, larger sizes do not. Just like St30

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPER.../TCP50ST50.PDF

page 10 in question.. or do you have to lock the position by some locking mechanism?

got it thanks

Ah. I've got the 55".