Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 49

Option 2 if PQ is your number one concern. A calibrated ST50 will look better than a GT50 in THX mode. THX mode is good for a preset but it's not great compared to a calibration.

Option 3 is good if you have a calibration disc AND a meter. A calibration disc by itself will only get you so far. To do a full and proper calibration, you need a meter.

I think the only time I would recommend a GT50 is, you prefer the styling, the extra features appeal to you and/or you're not getting it calibrated.

THX Cinema and THX Bright room are both more accurate out of the box compared to Cinema and Custom, but both Cinema and Custom mode can be calibrated to look better than the THX modes.

I'd love to buy a meter as a hobbyist. What is a good starter meter?

Yenal, what are your needs?

If you get the ST50 you'll have one good mode that you can either apply the D-Nice settings to or have professionally calibrated. If you have that one mode calibrated you can have it calibrated for a bright room. And then you're done.

You saw what I said at the shootout, so I won't repeat myself.

In addition to the 3 THX modes (one for 3D) the GT50 also has a Custom & Cinema mode.

Since neither the ST50 nor the GT50 have isf tools in the cms using D-Nice's settings might sufficient for many. THX bright room looks so good that I may not feel the need to get it calibrated at the end of the year. This could be true for those with a ST50 using D-Nice's settings too. All I know is, that I like THX well enough, that if D-Nice's settings don't appeal to me, then I won't feel like I must get it calibrated since I like THX bright room mode that much. I have tinkered with Custom and I see that it has the potential to be even better than THX Cinema

Also, my needs go beyond watching tv so the dual core processor and multitasking is important to me.

I just ordered the ST50. I could not resist the low price. I will try to calibrate it to my needs. I'll possibly buy a meter.

In case of D-Nice settings, I really don't want to run the slides for 100 hours

How do you feel about Soap Opera Effect? What processing settings did you have turned on with your LED?

Great buy! I think you'll have a blast. Good luck with your new tv.

If you're going to use his settings then follow his directions at hdj to a T. Get the slides from over there, they are different.

It depends. The BBC version of Planet Earth is 1080p. I have it, and it has exquisite PQ.

A good starter meter would be a i1 display lt/2 (same meter, different software between the 2/LT). If you want something more accurate and that will last longer (colorimeters deteriorate and lose accuracy after a certain amount of years) the i1 display 3 pro is a very good meter but obviously more expensive. Try to store your meter in a dry, cool and dark area. I have mine in a drawer with desiccant packs. I believe you can also rent meters from spectracal.

For software, colorhcfr + AVS 709 calibration disc is a good free route. Or you can buy software like calman, chromapure etc and calibration discs with test patterns like Spears & Munsil.

There's quite a bit to learn, so be prepared to do some reading if you go this route. Any questions, the guys in the Display Calibration section can help.

Meters are expensive, but the nice thing about having your own is that you can do all of your displays, and you can touch them up after a few years when they start to 'drift'. The downside is, the results probably won't be as good as a professional calibration, unless you have a lot of experience and have good equipment.

An X-Rite D3 Pro purchased through Chromapure is, in my opinion, your better choice. The meter is going to drift less than the older models due to better sealing and the Pro settings will put you in the ballpark among the different display types. It costs a bit more but you won't get saddled with yearly maintenance charges ( WTH is that all about?) from other venders. Also, it will last much longer. You can learn on your displays and work on other displays (friends & neighbors) as well. If it turns out you like calibrating you can purchase an i1Pro Spectrophotometer on the cheap now that the i1Pro2 has been released and you can run profiles to the D3. The original i1Pro is approved by ISF & THX so you really can't go wrong.

Thanks a lot for all the info guys. How much time does it take for a newbie to get up to speed and do decent calibrations? Is it basically just reading few tutorials and practicing them on your display? I am a software developer but who knows maybe I'll switch to a new profession :P

This was recently posted elsewhere on the forum. Seems like a very good introduction!

http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10457

See my sig- I am a recent calibration hobbyist myself, and I detailed my first few calibrations in that thread, along with the gear I purchased. It's pretty easy to do nowadays with about $400 and some patience.

You're right. I blew it. I have the same version but it's on HD-DVD.

You just made my day! Now that I'm done with my finals, I've been getting into a lot longer gaming sessions that I have in a long time. It's nice to know that even if I do end up clocking four or five hours into the game on my VT50, I might not have to deal with a nasty HUD sticking around on the screen for days.

Keep your day job! Pay per hour is dismal considering equipment depreciation, study time on individual displays, travel costs, time expended, etc.

Read the basics and learn on your own home display. There is a little more time involved than most realize.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...99&postcount=1

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=852536

I've used my new 60GT50 for a few hours now, and I really like THX Cinema over THX Bright. I haven't given it the full daylight test, but at night with a medium amount of room lighting, the Bright looks a bit washed out to me and the THX Cinema is quite nice. Maybe skin is a bit red to me though. What does anyone do to tweak their THX Cinema defaults?

I have a few HD-DVDs, too. Last time I get involved in a format war.

LOL. I was joking. Don't worry I won't bring in more competition. So do I need the i1 Display Pro or i1 Pro. It seems like one is a colorimeter and the other one is spectrometer. If I need both it will be pretty expensive DIY solution.

For movie, soap opera effect is no good, doesn't feel like watching movie. I turned on motion plus for sports on cable. Most of settings on LED should be off as I followed calibration forum for that TV at AVS.

After I set "sharpness" to 25 or 10 from default 50 under THX bright room, channel guide seems to look a bit better but still not as clear as LED.

I will give it another week or so, if PQ doesn't get better to my liking (more sharp, less soft, do prefer a bit brighter), I'll just have to give it up.

You don't NEED both. The purists will say you do, but as an amateur you can get by just fine with the i1 display pro. Out of all of the "budget" colorimeters, it seems to be the most bang for your buck. It'll be profiled out of the box, and you'll only need it re-profiled (by something like an i1 pro) in 1-2 years, minimum.

May I ask where you got yours and the software? Also it seems like you did not use a free software. May I ask why?

There isn't a whole lot of decent software out there. I used Spectracal's Calman DIY.

So is this the meter I should buy: http://www.amazon.com/Xrite-EODIS3-i...7882327&sr=8-1

I don't want to order the wrong thing. Also what about this ChromaPure software everyone is talking about? Is Calman better than that?

Yep, that's the meter. It comes with OK software in the box for calibrating PC monitors, too.

As for Calman vs Chromapure vs ControlCal, I'm not one to ask. The shootout calibrators all used a mix of Calman and ControlCal, with Calman being their primary SW, and ControlCal as a backup due to some (now fixed) bugs between the VT50 and Calman.

Calman DIY is the same as professional software but you cannot make commercial use for it?

Visit Spectracal's website for info on the different licenses.

I already have the WoW calibration disk. Do I need more calibration disks if I purchase Calman DIY?

you can use the AVSHD 709 disk.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=948496

I hope it was my last time too. I bought into HD-DVD on Black Thursday for what finally amounted to a $200 discount. Early in January Warner Bros. killed BD-DVD.

Most of the BD-DVD disks that I have were at close out prices. I swapped 18 of those with Warner for BD at $5.00 each. What a deal.

I will let you know how i make out. More and more people keep coming out and commenting on the softness of the GT50 PQ. The funny thing is that it seems like only former Samsung owners that are commenting on this. The Samsung owners on the E8000 threads comment how Samsung has superior video processing (over Panasonic)...I dont know about that, but i do know that between the 4 dead pixels, constant buzzing and fluctuating brightness (during hockey) issues that i had with my 51'' E8000 along with all the great initial reviews i heard about the new Panasonic models, it was enough for me to request a refund. I got this refund directly from Samsung because my E8000 was a replacement for a defective C7000.

So at this point i feel like i am kinda commited to trying a GT50. Also with minimal adjusting to my entertainment center/tv stand i can fit a 55''. The Samsungs jump up to 60'' which would require alot more work and $ to fit.
I figure both sets will have their strengths and weeknesses. But i am hoping the weeknesses of the GT minor and are easy for me to overlook.

Now i just need the price to drop a little...come on!