Official Panasonic ST50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 304

Originally Posted by biggweeziehd 

I tried d-nice... Panel prep and non prep and cnet. My girl liked game but it was not good to me and seemed to crush black. And as I said with my denon video enhancer it looks ok and even better with my bdt220 blu-ray set to fine but I feel I shouldn't have to do all this for a little crisper picture. Frustrated cuz it's a deal on one of the best sets out but as of now I'm on the fence with 2 weeks left of my 30 return period. Hate to take it back if there's a way to get it right. And can I buy the wow disc anywhere in person or do I have to order it? Thanks

Originally Posted by biggweeziehd 

I tried d-nice... Panel prep and non prep and cnet. My girl liked game but it was not good to me and seemed to crush black. And as I said with my denon video enhancer it looks ok and even better with my bdt220 blu-ray set to fine but I feel I shouldn't have to do all this for a little crisper picture. Frustrated cuz it's a deal on one of the best sets out but as of now I'm on the fence with 2 weeks left of my 30 return period. Hate to take it back if there's a way to get it right. And can I buy the wow disc anywhere in person or do I have to order it? Thanks

Originally Posted by JSpectre88 

Did you try adding in your own adjustments? I found all the calibrated settings to be too dark at first, but I got used to them. Some TV shows are just too dark though, and for those I use game mode. I have a GT50 though, so I don't know if it's the same thing. You can adjust gamma and AGC to get a brighter picture, but leave panel brightness on mid. You can fine tune your settings to give you a brighter overall picture and not have to wash out dark scenes. Going one setting lower on gamma, adding in some AGC (5-15), and decreasing brightness slightly to compensate should work pretty well. You could also try vivid if you still can't get it bright enough, it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Do you find that bright scenes look good or are they too dim as well? As for WOW, it looks like you may be able to get it at BB or Walmart, but I'm not sure. Amazon has it for $20.

Originally Posted by p3Orion 

The fact that your girl prefers Game Mode and you find the picture less than ideal indicates to me that she and possibly you are used to an overly sharp, vivid picture, the kind of display settings you see in store. Another factor is that a 65" display really shows the flaws in content. I have a 55ST50 and some programming via dish is quite poor in comparison to my 42" 720p plasma.

Some people don't like a softer more cinematic picture. They like a crisp, detailed picture that really pops. I see two options, go with a display, e.g. LCD, that has those features or allow your eyes to adjust.

Originally Posted by JSpectre88 

It's true that the Panasonic line is more "cinema-like", where the Samsung's have more punch to them. You can turn the sharpness all the way to 100 on the Panny and it still has little effect. I guess it depends if it's something you can get used to or if you prefer a more "artificial look". Not that that's a bad thing or anything, it all comes down to personal preference really.

Originally Posted by biggweeziehd 

Your very true. I never viewed a panny plasma only a Samsung. We've had 6 lcd's so I really didn't know it was so different. I went to my local bar an hour ago looked at sports center noticed the glass screen and the softer picture and it hit me "bet it's a panny" and it was. You could tell it was a few yrs old but it had a similar picture. At least now I see that how it is and I can chill and either get used to it or get rid of it. Thanks for your responses bro. And what do you think of the wow disk anyway?

Originally Posted by biggweeziehd 

No I don't like the crazy settings in the store and I feel the set is bright enough for me, the sharpness as I have said is def different. My buddies Sammy plasma isn't soft. So it leads me to wonder if all the talk of "cinema like" is really a thing that's purposefully done or just something owners have made up to justify the st50 soft picture. Also my set is an 55st50. I went to the store as its on my way home from work to take a look and ask questions. The 50 sits next to the 55. And then the sales guy says "I notice how the 55 isn't as sharp as the 50... One day I switched the settings so they were the same and also swapped the sources and I still noticed it" I'm just searching here I guess. I love the color and the black level and the features too... Please comment on the "cinema like"

Originally Posted by p3Orion 

When I read your post above in which you quoted someone else I saw 65" and thought yours was 65".

I don't recall anyone else making the comment that the 55ST50 isn't as sharp as the 50ST50. I'm curious about this. I wonder if the two displays in store had identical settings.

As far as cinema like, I take it to mean that the picture is softer and doesn't have any artificial edge enhancement aka sharpness.

I will say that the dish onscreen menu seems a little out of focus (softer) on my 55ST50 compared to both a 42" and 50" Panasonic plasma in the house. It was one of the first things I noticed. When watching quality sources like blu rays the picture looks fantastic and I don't find it to be soft. Bad sources which have a lot of compression don't look so good, with a softer picture being one one of the downsides.

Originally Posted by rahzel 

A properly setup PS3 will not change anything.

Originally Posted by ColdsnapBryan 

Dang.. just realized I have no Blueray player on my PC to use the WOW calibration disc and using my Ps3 to calibrate would be useless because Ps3 changes your colors..

Originally Posted by Chancellor Todd 

They can be found on the Hi Def Junkies forum.

I have an unrelated question:

What kind of digital sound can the TV output from its streaming apps? Specifically, I'd like to know about the biggies like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon. I'm getting a 50 inch ST50 this weekend and I'm wondering what it will be able to send via its optical output from those apps. I have a Dolby Digital/DTS capable receiver, but I've been led to believe that Netflix carries Dolby Digital Plus, which I wouldn't be able to decode. Does the TV do any kind of decoding, or do Panasonics even allow multichannel digital audio from their apps?

Thanks for your time and attention.

Originally Posted by Bond 007 

Optical does not carry DD+. You will get DD 5.1 when available.

Originally Posted by Chancellor Todd 

Ah yes, I remember that now, thanks. I also now see that the TV can do an audio return channel over HDMI. Can that carry multichannel digial audio such as DD 5.1 or beyond?

Originally Posted by Bond 007 

Whats up rahzel. Good to hear from you.

Originally Posted by Chancellor Todd 

Ah yes, I remember that now, thanks. I also now see that the TV can do an audio return channel over HDMI. Can that carry multichannel digial audio such as DD 5.1 or beyond?

Originally Posted by Chancellor Todd 

They can be found on the Hi Def Junkies forum.

I have an unrelated question:

What kind of digital sound can the TV output from its streaming apps? Specifically, I'd like to know about the biggies like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon. I'm getting a 50 inch ST50 this weekend and I'm wondering what it will be able to send via its optical output from those apps. I have a Dolby Digital/DTS capable receiver, but I've been led to believe that Netflix carries Dolby Digital Plus, which I wouldn't be able to decode. Does the TV do any kind of decoding, or do Panasonics even allow multichannel digital audio from their apps?

Thanks for your time and attention.

Originally Posted by chunon 

I don't understand why Best Buy insists on using the Service Menu when all the settings anyone needs are right there in custom mode. Can you post your calibration charts ?

Originally Posted by chunon 

Sorry but that snt correct service menu changes impact cuts and drives they are in hex they do impact on a color temp basis where as custom is only applicable to that mode only. Dnice for example doesnt use the service menu at all

Yes if you want to cal cinema or a thx mode it is necessary but almost all the cals on pannys use custom mode

Originally Posted by chunon 

Sorry but that snt correct service menu changes impact cuts and drives they are in hex they do impact on a color temp basis where as custom is only applicable to that mode only. Dnice for example doesnt use the service menu at all

Yes if you want to cal cinema or a thx mode it is necessary but almost all the cals on pannys use custom mode

Originally Posted by JSpectre88 


Really..?

I don't think I would ever pay for that, I thought there was a lot more involved.

Originally Posted by htwaits 

Your loss.