Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 47

New review of 50GT50 up on FlatpanelsHD:

http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.p...&id=1337671783

Update 5/22/2012, Set is in the repair shop waiting on a panel from Panasonic. This is poor quality control on their sets. I am now wonder if the new panel will have a different look than the original panels. Can anyone answer this question.

Attachment 247314

This may make a good icon for that

When did you buy it? Did you have too long past the return policy to exchange it? Repairing it seems crazy to do for a brand new set.

Very good review on GT50 as expected, that's what got me into getting this TV.

Now I just need to figure out why my set looks soft, sometimes to a point that it just seems blurry overall.

Since Randy mentioned this a while back I tried it on my DVR and it works just like he said. How does a good Blu-Ray look on the tv?

I got FIOS DVR, I believe their HD channels should be 1080i. I'm simply comparing to my 2010 C7000 Samsung LED TV and it just not as sharp. Pretty disappointed. Some said it needs break-in?

I tried blu-ray Planet Earth, it looks sharper indeed, but cable tv just seems terrible. FIOS channel guide is horrible, very blurry.

I seem to be the only one with soft/lack of sharpness issue, but I can't figure out what I did wrong.

I was wondering if there are any discrete codes to change the picture mode from say GAME to THX CINEMA? Using macros in my remote to enter menu and arrow over would probably get out of sync, but seems to be my only option right now. Still don't have IP control, but someday ...

I have two fairly new, small LCD TV sets (I am waiting to buy a 50GT50) and both will briefly display the specs of the transmitted signal, i.e., 1080i HD or 780p HD. Can the Panasonic do that?

I set my Fios (7232-p2) to native mode and only have HD channels active in the guide. Sharpness on box is set to normal (3), I think menu is set to classic, and hdmi to AVR with passthrough to HDMI2. Seems to have helped a bit as I also believe my picture was too soft. Maybe it is getting sharper with age

I'll try to post that for your tonight.

You can also post yours and we can make some suggestions for you to try.

As for "break in," I believe that most electronics improve after certain a certain period of use, if they're not abused. Also, D-Nice saw the black level drop on the ST50 after 268 hours (I think that's correct, I'm going off the top of my head).

A faulty display will not be sharp on one source and fuzzy on another source. By the way, Planet Earth is 1080i because it originated on TV. If you want a better check try a Blu-ray movie that's known to have good picture quality. For sharpness any Pixar animation will be 1080p and sharp.

You can check out Blu-ray picture quality here:

The New PQ Tier thread for Blu-Ray - Discussion

You shoudn't worry too much about owners who report changes in the picture quality over a couple hundred hours. It's just too hard to evaluate subjective reports. For instance, some folks think that the new Sony Blu-ray players are "softer" than the new Panasonic Blu-ray players. It's possible but very hard to evaluate because both groups of Blu-ray players should be passing film based 1080p through unchanged. If the owner chooses, their player would be deinterlacing 1080i TV sourced Blu-ray disks to 1080p which might make a difference, but probably shouldn't.

Kev, without going through all of your posts, have you seen any of the xT50 sets in store before purchasing? I don't think this is natural, I would probably return the display for another. What you describe is characteristic of SD material, but not HD. No to break in - if you're not wowed right out of the box then something is wrong.

I don't understand how anything other than poor video processing can create a soft / fuzzy image on a fixed pixel display. I also don't understand why the image would get sharper over time. Color and black-level, yes but sharpness ?

The only possible thing I can think of is that the individual plasma cells are horribly inconsistent in intensity out of the box and eventually "age" to a somewhat consistent level. But, if this were the case, ALL content would look soft/fuzzy out of the box not just some content. This leads me back to crappy video processing.

If Panasonic (or any other manufacturer) hasn't perfected simple video scaling to fit common resolutions on a HD screen at this point in time, they should just close their doors and go home.

What Am I missing ?

The setting on the FIOS should not matter in this case, the fact that I simply plug into a different TV (GT50) and it looks quit terrible comparing to LED TV. Same setting, different TV, big difference.

I have seen ST50 at Best Buy but I didn't lay attention as I don't trust their input source and the setting it was on. I just go there to see how I like the esthetic look of it.

I only watch HD channels (not sure if they come in 720p or 1080i) but I was not comparing to SD contents (don't watch them at all). One significant difference, again is the channel guide, wow it was definitely fuzzy/blurry.

Try a few HD channels I usually watch, other than it seems darker (which I expect plasma to be but didn't know it is that dark, but with THX bright room it is just barely acceptable), it just doesnt have the sharpness/definition i usually get from my LED TV

I also wish there was a little more discussion on the GT50's 3D Pic quality. The ST50 wasn't very good according to cnet's review and was wondering if the GT50's THX 3D certification is a big improvement in this area. Does it get bright? Minimal ghosting and cross talk?

I know a lot of people are torn between the ST and GT and to a lesser extent the VT series from this year. By all accounts the 2D pic quality among all these sets is pretty close unless you do a side to side evaluation to see any huge differences. I wish 3D would also be included in these discussions as most of us here are making future proof purchases that will last at least a couple of years till OLED makes it into the mainstream. I for one know that the difference in 3D picture quality would be the deciding factor to tilt me towards the GT or the VT.

Iam still sitting on the sidelines until more people start posting their experiences or more detailed 3D reviews start coming out for the ST, VT and the GT.

In the mean time, I hope owners will take the time to test and share their 3D experiences with the rest of us still sitting on the wagon

EDIT: The Flat Panels hd review posted above praised the 3D Pic quality for the GT50 so I believe this is a great start. Hope we see more positive reviews following this.

I'm not super picky or a pro by any imagination, altho I'm quit technical in certain area, I'm just a typical end customer when it comes to critiquing PQ.

So if my eyes tells me it seems fuzz/blurry, then it must be (even my wife point this out to me). Like I told my wife, I'm super easy on food, so if I ever said a food is bad, trust me, it is bad....in that sense about TV.

Anyway, it was on default THX cinema or THX bright room. Did not change any setting at all. I will try for a few days, if PQ don't get sharper, then I have no choice but to return it.

I will see if I can post some pictures...

I use default THX cinema or THX bright room....did not change any setting.

I will try your customized setting to see if soft/fuzz/blurry goes away.

I will try to post FIOS channel guide with GT50 and C7000 LED TV, it is quit a difference.

They say it is the best 3D they have seen to date. That is good to know despite the limitations of 3D they also mention. GT50, my next TV.

I ended up with a 60" GT50 when my GT30 failed. I was pretty happy with the upgrade since my GT was a demo and purchased way below retail. On the other hand, coming to the conclusion it could not be repaired after two separate attempts, and then getting a new one to my door took nearly a month. The pain was worth it!

I don't believe the "softness" is related to sharpness settings but to contrast and maybe color luminance? I'm speculating.

Plasma's generally don't WOW someone, right out of the box, when they're coming from a LCD and those who've owned Samsungs seem to have a similar experience when they get a Panasonic too. After exchanging the 55", after 3 weeks, for a 60" there was a noticeable difference on day 1.

I came from a LCD aswell, (Sharp Aquos) at first yes it seemed softer but as time went on, a week or so, the picture did started getting much better and now it is the best I have seen. The picture is sharp and natural. The colors are beautiful and blacks are outstanding. Give it some time, The VT won best HDTV Plasma of 2012 and the GT is pretty much the same.

^^^
Perhaps you mistyped this? I was wowed by a 50" ST50 in Best Buy, even with no tweaking and under bright lights, and I have a 55" GT25 from last year's Panasonic plasmas. I think Kev should have been sufficiently impressed with the first image.

I would not hesitate to return that display. Both are disappointed, the model is obviously capable of better.

Before you apply these be sure that your FIOS box is set up for either 1080i/1080p or native. Personally, I don't like native since you can sometimes see noise at the edges, but that is just me.

THX Bright Room-
Contrast: 95
Bright: 49
Color: 53
Tint: 0
Sharp: 35
Color Mgmt: Off
CATS: Off
Video NR: Off or Weak
Aspect: Full
HD Size 2
Block NR: Off
Mosquito NR: Off
Black Level: Light
3:2 Pulldown: On

Edit: Note- I have not yet run any calibration software yet.

My GT50 replaced a LG 52LD550 and I was impressed, but I believe that's because I preferred the 42G25 we bought shortly after the LG. I was even more impressed with the GT50 after I made a few adjustments.

I do believe that mental changes happen when watching our tvs, and this is the reason that some people love SOE and love LCDs even to the point of enduring clouding, flash lighting, light bleed, etc. Some people's brains, like old dogs, don't change and just keep thinking- "this isn't right." But that's just my opinion.

Just took a look at the review mentioned in several earlier posts. I was left with a "so so" impression. Basically, at the end the review says if you like plasma TV, you will like the gt50. If you didn't like plasma before, the gt50 won't change your mind. Buzzing, reflections, dithering in dark colors, color wash out in lit rooms, expensive glasses / flickering 3D in daytime, smart TV content is poor.

I was set to get one of these to replace a LG LED that I don't like because of the standard laundry list of edge-lit LED complaints but now I'm thinking those issues may more desireable than the standard laundry list of plasma complaints.

I thought the review sounded like the author was very disinterested in what he was doing, even his bad reviews sound better than this one did. There was a lot missing in substance and tone that his other reviews usually have. It is not the best review I've read for this model, and given that it doesn't even meet the standards set in any other reviews on the site, I choose to ignore it. Maybe dude was having a very bad day.

Gotcha. This makes sense, but his experience isn't consistent - if he felt the same way regardless of source I would say it's a trick of the brain. However, this is not the case. I'd give another set a try, and if that too looks blurry stick with what pleases you.