Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 69

I think that the overwhealming majority of these sets are "good ones". The handful of exchanges/returns being illuminated here are no doubt a small fraction of the production line. Some of the "problems" being described on this forum probably would never have been noticed unless the owners hadn't read this forum and found ways to pound faults out of their sets. I tuned in to hear what was being said and to see what the potential problems were before I purchased. Speaking very generally, and not spefically about the GT50 thread, folks on the AVSForum site can nit-pick a small issue to the point that leads you to believe that a manufacturer has no other option than shuttering its plants and leaving the industry.

Enjoy your new set; its awesome !

Please do take a look. I don't know if I was seeing DSE or dithering or both. I saw it throughout the movie but mostly in those last scenes.

I have the same issue. If you put your xbox 360 in 720p it will do it as well. It gives the picture a blotty, smeared, oil painting look, especially things at a distance. This makes faces look like a painting too.
I tried a ST50 & a GT50, both have the 720p issue but I can confirm that last years ST30 did not have the issue at all.
This is a huge disappointment to me because otherwise I am well pleased with it. I am thinking about keeping the GT50 anyway cause I just can't bring myself to spend the money for a LED set & I'm having trouble tracking down a GT or VT30 in a 55" new.
But, this means I have to run my XBOX 360 in 1080p (always ran it in 720p before) & stay away from 720p games on the PS3. Or, get a new AVR that upconverts to 1080p but I shouldn't have to buy a receiver to get my TV to look right but that's what it has come to. I'm assuming that this is the way the 2012 Panasonic plasmas are across the board but that's just based on the two sets I've tried & none of the others.
I have tried all picture settings & this issue cannot be fixed with any settings. IDK if it can be fixed by a calabration or not.
I have to say that 1080p looks fantastic but there is a clear problem with the way these new sets handle 720p. A definate step back from last year.
Edited by maul528 - 6/9/12 at 10:38pm

I just watched the whole of Chapter 19 (DVD) which the last train scene is in and I can't say I noticed anything that stood out as abnormal or negative. FWIW, the DVD was played through a PS3, unconverted to 1080p and the TV was in THX Cinema mode.

Thank you so much. I hope it's just this recording or maybe my hubby changed something on the set. I didn't think to check.

Thanks everyone for checking it out.

So it looks like an issue with the broadcast?

Too bad I won't get another chance to test it as I'll be at work during the next few games

The DSE is there, during the shooting scenes in chapter 19. I played the blu-ray using the BDT310. I just now played it over and over, using different modes, and adjusting brightness and contrast. It got a bit better but it's definitively there. I didn't have Pure Direct turned on, but do now and it looks a bit better- maybe less dithering. I've never seen DSE before, with the exception of a review on CNet.

I think it's the result of new tech, including probably not only that in this tv, but also the cameras used to televise, and maybe even the strobes in the arena.

The buzz noise which I didn't hear so much with regular cable/DVD ,is much more apparent when browsing .open up google.com and since that screen is mostly white I can hear the buzz at around 8-9 ft away..as soon as I switch to songbird(black theme) the noise is reduced but still audible..

So there,now I am suspecting that this is it common..?

Yes, I also purchased a Blu Ray with the 50GT50 and the picture is a little better with the Blu Ray. I also increased the sharpness to 75, which was a significant improvement. But I'm still disappointed in that I didn't have to adjust the sharpness level on my 50UT50 and it was sharp out of the box. I also notice huge hot spots where the spotlights hit the Miami Heat's white uniform during game 7. The hot spots are glaring and annoying. They look like blown highlights when the contrast is too high. I tried decreasing the contrast to 45, and the brightness to 50. I tried watching in cinema, THX cinema, and standard. The hot spots are still there. I guess this TV goes back.

No, it's not common. I heard the buzz for the first time the other day- with my ear two inches from the screen and only when near the brightest part of the screen.

Exchange or have your tv repaired.

Ok, more info on the 720p issue. It is also present on 480p content as well.
Let me say that I saw this issue which lead me to search for what it was. I recently found this review which seems to speak on & point out what I see on 720p and/or 480p content. I beleive now it is some edge enhancement that you cannot turn off which is what I suspected. I would like the ability to disable this feature as it looks horrible.

"Resolution and Frequency Response
Just like the TX-P50VT50, we found that the Panasonic TX-P50GT50B applies subtle undefeatable sharpening to all incoming images, which is presumably what they market as the “Edge Ultra Resolution” feature. We discovered this by looking at a Luma Zone Plate test pattern, which shows with significant moire artefacts (as well as a bizarre “four leaf clover” shape in the middle) on the GT50 and VT50, even when the [Sharpness] control is set to its lower positions. There’s no way of turning this feature off, not even if [1080p Pure Direct] is selected, but as with the VT50, we couldn’t see it making any effect on video images – positive or negative. There are no glowing outlines around text in menus, for example. Very fine pixel details from a computer source can end up looking ragged, though, so the undefeatable processing isn’t entirely invisible with real-world material."

Aaaah, David MacKenzie.

What I get from this is - what you see is what you get and that any signal enhancing (of resolutions below 1080) will need to be done prior to getting to the tv.

Aww, sorry to hear that... I was in about the same spot as vidya46 -- not hearing it most of the time but definitely with a big white screen at 7-9 ft away. With a dark screen I can hear it at around 12in.

Just wanted to say that the $20 Samsung 4100 glasses work great! Bought 2 since I already have 2 Panasonic glasses. I figured I'd chime in with some positive since it seems like there's a lot of negatives being talked about the passed couple of pages. I guess I'm lucky I got a panel with no issues and I don't watch hockey

Thanks for this heads up! But could you specify what you mean by great? What im geting at is how did they compare vs. the panasonics glasses. Could you tell a difference in feel/comfort or more importantly 3D picture quality?

My TV's buzzing until last night had been minimal and not heard during regular content viewing. Last night however I was watching a show late into the evening when everything was quiet and the show itself was dialogue-heavy and generally quiet and it was the first time I heard the buzzing over the content from 10 ft away. Mainly when part of the scene was either white or very bright. This is the first Plasma I've owned where I could hear the buzz from that distance over normal viewing content.

I'm gonna call Panasonic Canada first thing tomorrow and see if I can get a tech out to look at it. I'm really hoping it can be fixed (board swap or something along that line) because I really love the panel otherwise and don't want to risk getting it replaced only to have the replacement be plagued with some other issue.

This leaves me in a strange predicament. I can return the tv but I don't know what I could replace it with.
Samsung plasmas seem to have serious buzzing issues & led .... well I guess I could settle for one but I may end up with greater problems than I have now.
Any suggestions?
I could return the tv & get some el cheapo to use or just give up on the whole thing & become a serious reader lol.

Well... I know how you feel.

Oh no.

I don't always like how the outside strip of pixels looks when it's on size 2 - sometimes there is extra noise all around the edge, so I've mostly been using size 1

Well, I think pq-wise they're on par with the panasonic glasses. Maybe the black level was a little better with the panasonic but then again, it could be my mind playing tricks on me after reading a review talking about the same thing lol Honestly though, for $20 you can't go wrong. I bought these as extras....My only personal preference is that the panasonic glasses block out side light but then again that's not an issue for me since I watch my programming in a dark room. Only movie I tested so far was Journey 2. I will check out Hugo tomorrow and comment back.

You didn't say, but that should only happen with SD TV material. Try Size 2 with shiny disk movies and HDTV stations. Use Size 1 when you see garbage.

My unit does that. The unit I had before this for about an hour (the glass was smashed in shipping so only briefly experimented with it before the delivery guys came back) also did that. You will be wasting your time by trying to get it repaired in my opinion. Some people are more sensitive to it than others or just don't hear buzzing that well I guess. Plasmas ALL BUZZ. It's normal. It's how it works. The Pioneer Pro-150 plasma from years ago that people still consider perhaps the best plasma ever still buzzes just like my Panasonic GT50 does 6 years later. They sound identical, and they do it on the same scenes for the same reasons. Turn up the volume. Get more speakers. If you want good picture quality, a very minor buzzing when the screen goes super-white is a good tradeoff until 2014 when OLED becomes viable.

OK, I was all set on getting this display, but now I'm starting to have doubts. I know these forums are skewed towards nit-picking (no offense intended. I'm a nit-picker), but there seems to be some real concerns.
We currently own a Kuro 5020 and love the picture, but need to move to a 65-inch display due to moving to a bigger room. We watch a lot of DirecTV(mostly HD, but some SD as well), streaming Netflix, and 1 or 2 BRs a week.

People are making it sound like this display is going to look like a blurry hot mess with anything less than a pristine source.
Loaded question: For those with previous Kuro experience(or any good plasma) , are you happy with this display?

You're right, my old G15 and PZ77 also buzzed but I never ever heard them over regular content. It just seems my GT50 is a little louder. I contacted Panasonic Canada this AM and they offered to either replace it (through the store I purchased it at) or send a tech out. I opted for the latter because like I said earlier this set is otherwise flawless. I'd be curious to see if the technician is able to narrow down the source of the buzz and if they can fix it. I read a few posts in other threads that said sometimes it's from a power board that can easily be replaced. We'll see I guess. I would say if the buzz doesn't get fixed I'd still keep this set. I just can't get over how nice the PQ is on it.

I'm a certified nit-picker myself but I'm not a previous Kuro owner, I've owned a few Panasonic plasmas before my 60GT50 (The PZ77 and G15) and the new set blows them both out of the water in every respect. I have a Telus IPTV (720p), a PS3 and a Sony BD player with Netflix (1080p) and so far all content has been handled very well. Of course BDs looks especially great but even HD content from Netflix and Telus have been very good, certainly better than my previous pannys. Apart from the little buzzing that my set has (which I can only hear at night when the content itself is quiet and only in bright/white scenes) I've been extremely happy with it.

Please let us know how you make out. If the tech can really fix it it would be good news for all of us.

I've spent considerable time reading the thread, but didn't find the answer. In terms of Picture quality only, is the GT model noticably better than the ST? Are there any reviews and/or posts that directly address this?

Thanks.