Official Panasonic GT50 Series Discussion Thread [No Street Price Talk] - Page 155

I'm in the same boat as you, except I've got an ST model. Exchanged the first for what I found annoying buzzing (pretty much what you described in your earlier post) only to get a panel that buzzes the same. Again, mostly not noticeable but when there is a transition from a darker to brighter scene and there is low volume sound, I can hear the buzzing from 12 feet away. Annoying to say the least. The fact that so many are reporting no or minimal buzzing is what makes my quest for a quiet set still worth pursuing. Some posters in the ST thread suggested that I should just ignore the buzzing given that it's not noticeable most of the time but to me it's bothersome, especially in those darker-to-brighter transitions. And I also thought to myself, what are the odds of getting two defective TVs, from two different build dates that have the same defect? Maybe this is normal and some people just don't hear it. But just to remove some individual hearing variations, both my wife and daughter can hear the buzzing, although neither of them is bothered by it as much as me.

I'm going to call Panasonic tomorrow and hope to arrange for a tech to come and see if there's anything that can be done about my unit. I hate exchanging big TVs, it's such a hassle, and given that I've got two panels that buzz exactly the same, I'm not so sure the 3rd will be quieter.

I've been through two GT50's (first had an issue with power) but neither one of them buzzed at all. It's definitely an issue with some of them but its certainly not "normal" for them to buzz as loudly as described above.

I'm seeing ABL kick in right now during the Knicks game. Close ups during breaks in the action look vibrant and sharp but during the actualy game, the arena must get too bright as the contrast is dropped and everything looks greyed over and dim. It was a bummer, but I was learning to live with it when it only applied to NHL 13 on Xbox and some hockey games, but this isn't cool. If I hit the menu button when I notice this happen, the right side of the screen not covered by the menu of the screen shows the game lit up nicely. How is this acceptable to anyone? I'm not sure I understand how it took actually getting this TV into my home before realizing this was even an issue, despite all the research I did. Is it possible that my TV is faulty, or are plasmas just not for me...and for the record, though I usually watch TV with the lights on (not overly bright), I'm doing so with the lights off right now and it's the same deal. Really frustrating...

I have never noticed anything like what you are seeing on this TV. I had fluctuating brightness (ABL) issues with a E8000 that I returned for my GT50 and I have had no issues. This sounds like a defect to me.

My 65GT50 is smoking, really diggin' it. The picture is the best I've ever seen in my life and I've installed quite a few HDTV's in the last year.

That said, I have a question for anyone who has the knowledge with either a cable box setting or this exact box from Comcast. The RNG200N. I believe it's actually a Cisco box.

It has these settings (pictured at bottom).

Any suggestions on these specifically?:

1. HDMI/YPbPr output (there is 1080p60, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i, and Native) I've been using 1080p60, but have grayed out option on 24 direct in. Comcast airs live TV in 1080i correct? So when it is set to 1080p60 does it mean the cable box is doing the up-converting instead of the TV and if so which would be the better up-converter?

2. Video Sharpness (I've played with and it does seem sharper without adding noticeable noise when on 5 vs 1. Default is 3). Maybe just a "taste" thing

3. Color Space (YCC4:4:4 or RGB)

I don't game although use a ps3 on occasion (weird I know)

Just an HDTV/movies eye candy nut! Thanks for any insight

Is there customer service for the Apps? The Youtube app shows the videos in my Favorites lists, but most of my other lists, on one page shows the thumbnails for my custom lists, but when you click on them it says No Data and you can't watch any of the videos in the list, its like the lists are empty. I've used the Youtube app on the XBox and PS3 and they don't have that issue, I can play my custom play lists. There is a blue feedback tab that now pops up momentarily on the left edge of the top Youtube app screen when you first load it and heck if I know how to select it before it disappears. Thanks for any replies.

I think I'm going to do the same thing either today or tomorrow. I want to know if the buzz coming from my unit is considered "normal" according to Panasonic. Keep us posted on your results with the Panasonic tech! Like you, I'm not all that confident that returning my second unit for a third is going to make any difference.

I also had a buzzing issue with my set. I had this same issue last year with an ST30. I had a service call for the ST30 and it turned out that the reason was a loose screw on one of the boards inside the TV. What I was experiencing with this GT50 was very similar, so...

Please note I am not advocating doing this yourself, please let an experienced technician do this via Panasonic's warranty service...

I was feeling brave one day, so I took the back panel off of my TV. I have no warranty on this TV since it was a replacement for my defective ST30, so it was either I do it myself or pay Panasonic to come do it. I'm quite comfortable taking my electronics apart.

I plugged it back in with the back panel off, turned it on, and isolated the buzzing sound. It turned out that it was coming from a screw. I shut the TV off, tightened the screw, as it was about one turn too loose.

Turned it back on, the buzzing was gone for the most part, I still have a very faint buzzing sound, but its about 75% quieter.

If you do get a service call, based on my experience with two different Panasonic 3D TV's, have them check to make sure all of the screws are tight.

Me either??
What are your settings ?

The only picture issue I have seen, which I am attributing to the plasma technology, is that when doing the image retention wiping, the white is not a totally clean white, it looks like a dirty window in some areas. I don't notice that when watching content, and I don't watch white screens.

Same here.

Touching on something I brought up earlier, here are a few comparison shots to show what I'm talking about with ABL kicking in in NHL on Xbox 360. Granted, these are really crude shots taken with my camera phone, but I'm borderline desperate here;





Ignore the settings as I was randomly tinkering around hoping something would magically work (I started with "out of box/pre calibration" settings I found from either D-Nice or Black Ops, can't recall), but notice when I hit the menu button, less white is taken up on the screen, so the right side lights up nicely. Now, I could live with the dimmer ice, but the ABL drowns out details in the players by lowering the contrast ratio. In the second shot, notice that the player lights up and details on his jersey can be more easily made out.

I've asked around and the consensus is that NHL looks great on plasmas, some even playing on ST50/GT50's. I can't buy how that's possible if their image looks like mine.

Are you able to get an NHL game via your cable box and if yes, how does that look?

That doesn't look right at all. On the Anti Rentention Wipe I see very faint,very, very faint vertical lines.And I've seen some faint horizontal lines coming out of boxes, like you might see them on smaller formatted videos on the Youtube app. But that doesn't look right. What are your settings? I am using Black Ops on the HDF.

Not perfect with my LCD-accustomed eyes, but with proper settings, not too bad. I've accepted that ice is not bright white, so with a good HD feed of a game coming in, it can look pretty good. I see ABL there too however (the menu button "trick" is a giveaway as to when it's happening), but not to this extent.

Please disregard the lines in the photos. They're caused by my camera and can't be seen by eye. My screen, thus far, is free from imperfections (*knock on wood*).

All-

I am a happy new owner of a 60GT50. Only had it a few weeks and so far have been very very please with the PQ. In addition, so far (fingers crossed) not buzzing. So very satisfied.

I do have one PQ related question though:

On certain scenes the dark portions of the picture seem quite noisy. For example last night I was watching Game of Thrones and there was a scene where they are in a darkly lit chamber lit only by torches. The picture seemed very noisy with a lot of "movement" in the darker, shaded portions.

It sounds like what I have seen described as "dithering" (I think...does that sound right?) except I am 7 feet away, and I thought you should only see dithering from close up.

Does anyone know what Im referring to, and whether I can improve this? I am using the CNET settings...

Thanks.

I also have a 60gt50 and I only notice movement on blacks from up close. Have you allowed your tv to be on 4 days straight yet? If not I eecommend it because I have noticed a decrease in the nose in blacks since then. Or just play around with the contrast/brightness.

This tv doesn't like white, if hockey is your thing your better off with a LCD.

are you using vivid? if not what picture mode are you in and how are your contrast and brightness settings set?

That means your source device is not outputting 24 FPS. You will need to refer to your input device settings and look for options relating to 1080P 24p output.

I have a 60GT50 and if a lot of white is being displayed I can hear the buzzing from my couch if there is not audio to mask it.

See my post from six days ago: Post 4554

This TV, or plasmas? So why won't people just say so? I've had one other person tell me that's the way it is, but a large majority say everything looks great. I can't be the only one...truth be told, I hope I am the only one. I wouldn't mine the set being faulty, I can always get it repaired.

I look forward to hear (pun intended) if anything can be done about it. I do not want to exchange my TV.

Two quick thoughts; first, Make sure the ECO mode is set to standard and not "saving". That will effect images with a high overall brightness level.

Second, I know you indicated that the stripes in the photos are from your camera. Why is it doing this? Are you completely sure those stripes are not present on the tv but are being frozen by the camera in a "stop motion" fashion?

A series of scrolling dark bars would certainly lower the overall luminous output.

OK Thanks. So does that mean your recommendation is that on my custom settings I turn down the Panel Brightness to low?

It's definitely burn in. My TV is set to THX Cinema and I still got burn in by just browsing the DirecTV guide. I used D-Nice's prep slides through out the night for about 8 hours and it's still there. Now I'm really paranoid about what I can watch. My G10 that I replaced had the MSNBC banner burned into it and that was set on THX as well.

I just did the same thing you did with the opening splash screen on the xbox360 and it does in fact brighten up the other half of the screen when the tvs menu is brought up. I think this is normal for this tv. Whenever the screen is mostly white or grey it will dim it slightly. Its kind of annoying but the trade off with the black levels is well worth it, to the point I will never choose and LCD over a plasma again. Considering how often the screen is most white or grey is only briefly in my tv world I have no problem with it but if I where a hockey fan I could see that being a huge problem. Is this all plasmas I don't know this is my first. But I have seen in custom then pro there is a panel brightness option.

Based on my conversation with Panasonic today, a tech should be coming to check my panel within the next 5 days. I'll post the outcome.

I'm sure I have Eco mode off (or on "Standard"). I even tried putting it on to see what it would do, much like I've done with every other setting.

...and those dark stripes/bars are not in the actual game. Here are a couple of more pics without the bars. The difference in brightness when the menu pops up shows the heavy influence of ABL.





Unfortunately, Pic 1 is basically the best I can get the game to look in action. Does this look abnormally dark/washed out to anyone?