Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 148

If you are worried about IR set the Custom mode to the CNET settings, which retains the orbiter. That is the setting we use most of the time. My wife watches the shopping channels and we watch other shows that have banners running across the bottom. We have not noticed any IR, but we do watch a lot of different programs, which I believe is the way to prevent IR. In other words the images on the screen are varied, and we do not play games, which I understand can provide a fixed image for hours.

You do not need to use expensive HDMI cables. I have used inexpensive HDMI cables, from online sellers like Monoprice, for years and they work just fine. Lots of online articles say the same thing.

Scott- To me the rationale for plasma is good PQ at all viewing angles. If you're like me I often listen to those news shows away from TV since I am doing other things, so off-angle is important.

As far as Image Retention (IR) suggest you go to CNET.com and search on GT50. You will see that CNET accidentally did several IR "experiments" with GT50. Bottom line is these new Panasonic ST/GT panels do seem to have some IR tendency, but it goes away with time; it is generally not permanent.

You be the judge. If you said you listened to the same cable channel logo for 12-hrs each day and then you demand IR-free screen for movies that night, maybe a concern.

I have not received my ST50 yet, but our small bedroom Panasonic TCL32X30 has a lot of ways to rezoom/justify the full screen, so you should be able to vary where the logos/banners sit. Also there is timer to turn set off after say 3-hrs, so there are some ways to manage. First weeks of use is most critical and read threads here for guidance...I will try to wear it in slightly carefully with mixed content but I am not going overboard.

Easiest way to find this settings? (page no? or search)
Thanks

Try this:

http://forums.cnet.com/7723-19410_102-566046/panasonic-tc-p55gt50-picture-settings/

Well after reading hundreds of threads and dozens of reviews, I just pulled the trigger on a 55GT50!!! It'll be here on Wednesday!! I have my fingers crossed, this will be my first plasma. Currently I have a 46" Sammy LCD that I bought in 2007. It's been a great TV, but I think it's time to upgrade.

The only things I'm nervous about are the possible IR issues some have experienced and the fact that its going into a "bright" room. I still feel that the benefits of this set outweigh the possible downsides. After reading I just didn't feel comfortable purchasing a new LED. We'll see!!!

Any tips or advice is welcomed!!!

My Sony SXRD was really getting the dreaded green tint to it. Tried to sell it, but finally gave it away. Ordered the GT50 55inch week and a half ago from Amazon, and it came 4 days later, and that was with free shipping. I spent quite a bit of time reading about all the different TV's on this forum, and finally decided to go with this one. I love it!!!! It has a beautiful picture. I tweaked the settings using CNet's calibration, and that seems pretty close to where I like it. As of yet I have no hum to the TV, and no IR, and I've watched various things with scrolling, logo's, wide screen. Initially I was going to use the speakers from my surround system for the audio, but when I tweaked the audio settings on the TV I feel it gave me really decent audio from the TV. My TV does not sit inside of an entertainment unit, so I think that helps with the speakers on this TV. I do think I want to get the Monoprice adapters. That's the one thing I don't like that the plug ins are on the side of the TV, but I can take care of that with the adapters. All in all.....a beautiful TV that we are all really enjoying at my house!!!!!

I have a new GT50 ( 11/2 mos.old) and like most have had no IR issues. It sits in a very bright living room and the picture is plenty bright. I am happy to say that it is by far the best tv we own, which includes other plasmas and leds.

Thanks for the links and direction re: custom settings.

Finally mounted and ran my 65" GT50 last night. Pretty sweet unit. Couldn't get Viera link working... the new router I bought recently should fix that. Picture on THX Cinema mode looks awesome. Coming from a 46" Sony XBR4 120hz LCD the blacks on this GT50 look out of this world.

Regarding "buzzing", this TV definitely makes audible noise. It only appears to be when there are bright (mostly white) images being displayed. When a dark scene is pictured, or lets say an image that is overall more dark than bright, the unit is dead quiet and I can't here anything from my approx 15ft viewing distance. But when the picture is really bright I CAN hear the screen. For me it probably won't be a big deal... for years I learned to deal with the extremely noisy buzz from my old PSB Subsonic 3i 15" subwoofer. So when my theatre speakers finally get hooked up the buzz from the sub is going to out due the TV anyways. I've been considering gluing/taping 1/2" blue foam insulation board to the wall behind the GT50 perhaps just around the bezel, but I'm worried if this would cause the TV to overheat (I would in fact be enclosing the space directly behind the center of the TV). Need to look at the specs to see exactly where the fan(s) is located on this set. Overall though I don't consider the noise/buzzing a problem but I could see it being an issue for others. To be fair my Sony XBR upstairs makes an audible (soft hum) noise when the room/scene is quiet, but not quite as loud as this GT50.

First impression: I'm surprised the menu is so straight forward. My XBR has a million different sub menus and picture settings to play with. Just playing around last night I don't think I was able to unlock or open all the advanced menu tools I've read about. Will look into the recommendations mentioned here and go from there. As soon as my 3D glasses are charged up today it will be time to test that feature out. Will have to post a pick of the mounted TV set and the whole theatre once all setup.

BEAST of a TV! This is the first plasma I've ever owned and I'm already in love with the black levels. Can't wait to have all my audio hooked and and watch this thing in near-dark lighting.

Greetings plasma junkies...long time since I've been here probably 2009. I've had my TH-50PZ85U (calibrated) since 08 and have enjoyed it immensely. It will now be moved into the bedroom as I have the P65GT50 sitting in a box in the office!

Looking forward to the plasma tech advancements since 08 and posting here once again. I see some are still here....cool! Thanks to all those here who offer their advice and suggestions. Been reading and taking it all in!

My LL2 sanus wall mount & 5.1 system with AVR should be arriving this week and will be setting it up in our new home with new baby. He already digs the TH-50P and by the looks of it will enjoy the P65GT

.........regarding CNET's and Black ops settings, I found that Cnet's with the contrast set at 87 rather than 76 a better PQ. But PQ is all relevant to a persons visionary of what ideal PQ is. But for a good day/night setting you can't go wrong with that Cnet setting with the contrast pumped up a bit.

Garyjoe----proud owner of a 42S, 50S bought in 2009, and a 60gt50 only 1 month old. Love my Pannys!

I am just now noticing the buzz from bright whites and I have had the tv since August. Is this a normal thing? I can hear it over my sound system, especially when its a quite transition scene and it fades to all white you can hear the buzz like crazy. Was going to call customer care tonight to see if they could send someone out, but after doing some research I am noticing some people say they can hear the buzz when they put their ear to it, but not from far away... But I am far away and can def hear it over the movie..

EDIT: Also I noticed that color would sometimes 'float' around? So if there was a red box or something in the background, sometimes the color would look like it was dancing and moving around?
Edited by fyallm - 11/26/12 at 12:58pm

I finally got a chance to see a GT50 set up in a store here. I was also lucky enough that someone left the TV remove sitting beside the TV (usually those are hidden away somewhere), so I got to play with that as well.

Anyways, I got one of the staff to show me the blue-ray for TRON. I had watched a few minutes of the movie on one of those gigantic 80" Sharp LED TVs before that and the GT50 really showed off its better blacks, colors and motion.

The only thing I noticed was some odd "noise" or distortion in some parts of the image that I didn't notice in the LED TV. In TRON I always seemed to notice this when showing flesh (face, hands, etc). I was expecting a nice crisp image, but this effect always stood out on the Plasma but not the LED. I first noticed it on the co-axial feed and thought it would go away once I played the blue-ray, but it was still there. Any idea if this is a setting? Configuration? Something else? Hopefully not the TV... it was a bit disappointing to see. Wish I had a picture of it.

Howdy all... I just pulled the trigger yesterday on the 55" GT50, good deal right now at Amazon. Delivery is scheduled for Thursday, and I received the confirmation from the delivery service. I know some had asked about what to expect from the delivery "representative," and here is what was noted in the email to me. Interesting that they won't perform a power on test if the temperature is below 50, but they say that I should not accept the delivery if the power on test is not successful...ummmmm!

Like your pic! My 60GT50 replaced my trusty old TH50PZ700U which also now resides in the bedroom. The difference in picture quality especially black levels and brightness are day and nite between these new panny's and the older versions. I am using BlackOps settings with great success on this set. Enjoy your new plasma.

Thank you DT! Was waiting to hear someone with an '08 tech'd panny PDP contrast the two (and I honestly think the black levels on my TH are really good). You've made me even more excited to get it setup and tweaked

So how'd you like the CNET settings and what made you go with Black Ops over it

Is the picture suppose to appear sparkly when standing a 2-3 ft away? There is a sparkle to the overall picture/menus/screensaver on my GT50, is this normal to plasma and or the GT50?

Thanks

Edit: I am not sure if I am using the correct terminology. The picture isn't clear, it's almost like static, but very weak. From all HD sources, areas intended to be completely black are speckled with white/gray. This may be something inherent with Plasma, it's been a long time since I have had one but recall a similar issue.

I guess I'd say the picture doesn't seem as clear/clean coming from a Samsung LN52A750. We have a Best Buy a few counties over, figured with the raving reviews I'd be safe.
Edited by Pyrophoric - 11/26/12 at 10:17pm

How big is the screen that you are standing 2-3 feet from? What type of source material are you watching -- Blu-ray, DVD, HDTV, SDTV?

The help you get is directly related to information you provide.

With a 50" screen you should be at least five or six feet away if you are watching good Blu-ray or HDTV. If you are watching SDTV or DVD sources you should probably be a foot or so further for a 50 " screen. There are web sites that have optimal viewing ranges based on screen size and content.

What you are seeing is the activity in each pixel as the image is being created. Just step back slowly until you no longer see it and you should be fine. It's normal for plasma.

I've been in stores selling big 80 inch DLP RPTV sets where you couldn't get more than four or five feet away. It makes them look like crap.

To my eyes BlackOps settings just look slightly better to me perhaps largely to the increased contrast setting. Also he has a daytime and night time setting to choose from depending on how bright your room is. Wait till you get your new 65GT50 set up and tweaked, the first true HD source from your Bluray player will put a huge smile on your face! I did not purchase this set for 3D but after watching Avatar and Madagascar with the family at nite with all the lights off it made all of us want to watch more 3D movies.

I just wanted to know if it was normal in general..

The TV is 65" and we will be about 7' away when viewing, further in our new home.

The way reviewers were going on about the set, you'd think (I'd think) it was a higher quality picture than an LCD. Sure, you can move back but everything looks a little cleaner the further back you get. A dirty car can look like a freshly polished and waxed vehicle at a certain distance.

Coming from a 4 year old LCD, I was just not expecting the effect I guess. Close viewing, I don't notice any issue on an LCD and everything looks crisp.

Edit: Source PS3/Blu ray, HDTV

If you can hear the buzzing during normal viewing, I'd say the TV is defective. If fact, you should not be able to hear it more than a few feet away. I have a 60ST50 whose buzz I can hear from 11 feet away when there are bright scenes and am exchanging it. I went to listen to a GT50 in the local store and I could only hear a very faint buzz when I put my head behind the panel. So seems like panel buzzing in plasma is a lottery much like flash-lighting and clouding are in LED TVs.

I think this might be what I was noticing in the post above where I described my in-store experience. I was viewing a 60GT50 from about 4-6 feet away watching the blue-ray of TRON. There seemed to be some sort of "noise" in certain parts of the image. I noticed it in the faces and hands, but I'd imagine the solid dark areas had it to some degree as well... I just didn't notice it. I had watched an 80" Sharp LED before that and the image was crisp and consistent.

Same as Pyrophoric I'm just wondering if this is normal or not.

Yup, that's about the look of it. Almost like there is some kind of snowy image under the main content. Even in dark areas, which is suppose to be the strong arm of a plasma, it looked noisy and horrible. If this is normal, how is a plasma even considered in the same league as an LCD?

Thanks, I have a Panasonic tech coming out on Wednesday so hopefully they can figure out what is going on

There has been a video on the Internet that the buzzing was caused by an untightened screw on a circuit board of the TV. You should ask the technician about it.

Can anybody help me out? We just received a 60GT50 from Amazon. Once the panel itself is on the stand, the screen is not level. The right bottom corner of the screen is nearly an inch closer to the TV cart then the left. A level confirmed this. What to do?

This has been reported before and a solution was posted. I believe four screws are loosened, the TV is pushed to the level position, and the screws are tightened while the TV is held in the level position. Search for message on this board to find which screws are used.